Hedgehog Bakes a Cake

Spottychop has a reading assignment every week for school. Its called "the story of the week". Spotty brings home a large storybook and reads me a story. Then I read him the same story. (there are all sorts of combos, I could read it twice, he could, but this is how Spotty likes to do it.) At the end of the week they get quizzed on the story they read. Spotty always does well with this. I am so lucky I have a child that reads!

This weeks story was Hedgehog Bakes a Cake. Hedgehog wants to follow a recipe, his friends show up to help, but they don't care about the recipe. I won't spoil it for you in case you want to read it. At the end of the story was Hedgehog's Yellow Cake Recipe

¾ cup sugar

½ cup butter

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ask an adult to set the oven to 350

Then, butter a 9-inch round pan

Mix butter and sugar together in a bowl

Add eggs, one by one

Add Vanilla

Mix in flour

Put batter into pan and bake for half an hour

Eat warm with a glass of milk.

Guess what Spotty wanted to do after we read the story? LET US MAKE CAKE! he yelled. We baked a cake. Spotty was happy. I was happy. And the cake? Well I am sure it too was happy, happy to be eaten! While I did have some issues with a new spring pan that Boy toy had bought me last Xmas. We were able to sort them out. 

Full disclosure the recipe actually said "if desired add vanilla", which I feel is an absurd statement. "If desired?" who the hell doesn't desire vanilla? Especially if someone (I won't mention any names that rhyme with WHO) teaches you how to make your very own vanilla. We also didn't eat the cake with a warm glass of milk. Spotty had black cherry kool-aide, I had iced tea.

Dear Spotty Chop you were 90 months old a few weeks ago

Good God where does the time go? I haven't blogged in forever. 

Lets see, you starting private swimming lessons. You are really enjoying them. You have been doing something really weird with your body when you swim. We tried to help you correct it during the summer but it didn't work, so we figured we would let the people that know what they are doing try. It seems to be working, but apparently it is common in kids your age. 

Halloween big success, there is a post in there somewhere. I am sure it will be done eventually. You slept over Nannie and Papa's so your dad and I could go to a Halloween party. We had a great time, you had a great time. They let you stay up WAAAY tooo LATE and watch movies together. Papa chases you through the house with a broom still. You think that its the most fun ever!

I got to be the mystery reader in your class. YOU were so excited. Your class sang me a welcome song and you sat next to me while I read. I brought 2 books, because I am a rebel that way. While I was reading you linked your arm with mine. You would lean against me and you would give me a content little sigh. I learned some of the "signs" you use when someone is reading to show that you agree with what I read or could make a connection to something you had read. After I read your friends got to ask me questions. I had such a blast! When school was over you ran off to go to the after school program. Apparently you had no interest in coming home with me, you wanted to go hang out with your friends. 

We went to your cousins birthday party. You had a good time. When we left we hit Walmart (it was right before hurricane Sandy) then went out for Chinese food. You decided to try won-ton soup, vegetables tempura and sushi. You like the soup and the veggies, you weren't crazy about the sushi, but YOU asked to try these things. SO frelling proud of you I can't stand it. 

You also went to a classmates birthday party. It was a sports party and you were so upset that during baseball you got out a few times. I tried explaining that you don't play baseball and this was only the second time you have ever held a bat, and when you got out it wasn't because you struck out, you hit the friggen thing EVERY TIME, but then you hit the ball that allowed the birthday boy to run home and win the game...you were happy after that. 

Finally to wrap things up...this is how you have been coming home from school... Apparently you are the talk of the school. 

What I will tell you? If you drive past me and let go of your dad again? YOU ARE DEAD MEAT BABY!

Is everyone over the Binders full of Women?

I'm not. These Tumblr thingys   make me laugh and laugh. Some things just don't get old to me.

 Here are a few of my favorites. I have no idea how Tumblr works. I had no idea what a meme was (but yes you will be seeing some of my favorite text from Hillary....why the hell didn't I know about this...) The internext is sooo cool!

My Very Favorite? I just can't stop giggling

Dear Spotty Chop you were 89 months old...2 weeks ago?

I know I said I wasn't going to obsess over these letters any more. In my defense I was hit with the barf bug, and then....we were doing stuff, and I was writing about it...

Let's see, we visited Grammie and Grumpa. Something we had not done in...months. I have told Boy Toy that he needs to initiate contact with his folks, I can't do everything. Anyhoo, Grammie wanted a photo of you so she could bring it to work and show all your old preschool teachers. Then she wanted a picture of you and Grumpa. You have only known Grumpa as being in a wheel chair and not speaking which is too bad. He has a hard time communicating (and even back in the day, he would communicate by telling you to get the hell out of the way of the TV ...whatever sport of the day he was watching.) You were standing next to his wheelchair when you suddenly got a glimmer in your eyes. You casually put your arm behind Grumpa to give him "bunny ears", and he caught you. You laughed so frelling hard, the two of you went back and forth for 15-20 mins, you laughing like a loon and Grumpa with one of the biggest grins I have seen. It was probably the best interaction you two have ever had. 

Soccer has started up again. You would rather be playing video games which i totally get. And I explained to you that you would be playing a team sport so deal. You have so much fun when you are there and after the game or practice you say how much you love it. But the next week it is the same argument. I wish you knew why you act like you do before we go. I've asked, and you don't know. All I can tell you is I love you.

We had a fun week where Jman's mom dropped him off at our house every morning so i could drive the two of you to school and she could get to her meetings on time. The two of you had so much fun together.

You loved the wedding up in New Hampshire and you were such a gentleman leaving the cabins with wood stoves for my cousins who just had babies or had no idea how do deal with the woods. But the best part of the weekend? Being able to show Nannie and Papa FransTed!

When I sent this photo to Moo (insisting that I needed her on the phone and sitting down) her reaction was everything I could ever hope for. I love that you only know Nannie as the wonderful loving Nannie that you know and not the MOTHER that Moo and I dealt with.  Nannie thought that when we camped it was like an African refuge camp. She is crazy...CRAZY IN LOVE WITH YOU..as am I 

love ya kiddo

Thematic Photographic 217 - Drink up

Carmi has a new photo theme up and I wanna play. This weeks theme is "Drink Up"  a celebration of any form of consumable liquid. 

Carmi has a beaut of a shot and if you like cool photos you should go here here and drink up the fun!

I actually didn't think I would be able to play, I didn't think I took any shots of consumable liquid recently, but low and behold.

During one of our camping trips this year Spotty Chop made me something to drink. I'm partial to Crystal Light's Ice Tea. You may notice that not all of the ice tea made it into the jug, but having my favorite child make it for me? Well, as you can guess it was the sweetest tea I had ever tasted.

Again, camping, this year (that I have yet to post photos of). We went to Whale's tale. We reserved a cabana due to the fact that when I mention the word S.U.N. I come up with a 2nd degree burn. This however was just some mosquito netting, not exactly what I was thinking of. As luck would have it, there was no sun that day. Except for the sun we brought for Spotty. His drink of choice if available. You can also see the beverage that keeps boy toy running. It in fact keeps America running. That's right Duncan Donuts ice coffee.

The ice coffee container is an ever present part of our lives. And sometimes in the lives of others. Cheese Please would always know we had been around if she spied it in the trash. Sometimes boy toy would purposely not toss it out so she would know he was thinking of her.

Some people can also be  beastly DOOOOSH BAGs if they have no caffeine...just sayin