Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Post Christmas Round Up

I haven't been around much in the past few days- we have been sick. Poor Spencer had a couple days of the stomach bug. Isn't it great how he will walk (run?) past two bathrooms just to puke in my bed? Poor little guy. He was aching, feverish, nauseated, head pounding so hard that he couldn't even watch TV. I took him to the doctor and I got the infamous rapid fire speech (as the pediatrician is walking OUT the door) "It's just viral. Give him Tylenol and liquids and call us if he doesn't get better in a few days." Fantastic. After pulling a sick kid 30 minutes away to the doctor in the cold, damp air--then sitting in the waiting room for 55 minutes with screaming kids and horribly impatient parents, paying a co-pay-- I am told to do the same thing I have been doing for two days that hasn't been working. Not that I want them to medicate him needlessly or invent a disease just to rationalize the doctor visit, it is just frustrating that I can't do anything to make him feel better immediately.
My doctor, on the other hand was fabulous, as usual. He knows how once I'm sick, it takes an act of Congress to get well, so he didn't even make me come into the office--he just called in another round of antibiotics.
Glancing at Face book this morning--so many of my friends and/or their kids are sick right now! I guess Spencer and I are just part sick majority. Hopefully within a couple of days, we all will be ready to start the New Year on a healthy note!
Spencer is still enjoying all of his Christmas treasures. The Red Ryder is getting lots of attention. He has been very safe and always wears his goggles. The only "incident" we have had so far is when he elbowed me in the chin while loading BBs....


Bowser had his first play date. My friend Donna brought over her 6 month old puppy (a Welsh Corgi named Salem) and the two pups jumped, chased and played until they literally fell asleep. It was so cute! The best part was that Bowser was VERY protective of Spencer and did NOT let Salem play with his boy. Bowser would get in between Spencer and Salem every time Salem came to Spencer!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas Day 2008

Spencer was a lucky boy this year- Santa left him the official Red Ryder BB gun. He also left 21,000 BBs, targets and.....safety goggles- so he won't shoot his eye out!
Spencer tore through his gifts Christmas morning, oooohed and aaaahed as appropriate, the raced outside to abuse a Diet Pepsi can with a barrage of BBs. Bowser got a stocking of treats and squeaky toys and the cat got a can of salmon. It was a fantastic morning!



Mid morning we went over Nana and Boppa's house for our traditional big country breakfast and then our family Christmas. Spencer and IV were so excited! We all got wonderful gifts and had a great time relaxing, watching the boys, and talking about our new gifts. Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas morning with our boys if there wasn't an all out war with Nerf guns and darts.



Later that evening, we had dinner at Nana and Boppa's house along with some friends and family. Christmas Evening is just a big floating party with friends and family stopping through for dessert, drinks and sometimes leftovers. Bowser came over towards the end of the evening and enjoyed all the extra attention. Julie even made him some gourmet treats--she uses her grandmother's old recipe for dog biscuits made with cheese, beef stock and garlic. The dogs go crazy over them---and the kids, too. ewww. Actually, they tell me that they taste like the little cheese biscuits from Red Lobster with a slight beef taste. It's an acquired taste of cultivated canine palettes.



Spencer and I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in 2009!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas Eve!


Tonight was steeped in tradition for my little man. We dropped off a few presents, went to church service, put on new pajamas, set out cookies and milk for Santa, left apples for the reindeer and then we continued a new tradition started last year: we read our Christmas cards. Since Spencer had read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" at school, we decided last year that on Christmas Eve we would read through all the Christmas cards we received and say something nice or a special memory about the person that sent the card. I think it was the highlight of our evening! Spencer has a keen memory and was reminding me of people, places and events that I had forgotten! For my friends that sent cards (whom Spencer has never met) it was fun to explain to him how I met them, how long I have known them, etc.
Merry Christmas to all my blog readers-- Spencer and I wish all of you happiness, health and an abundance of blessings in the New Year.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Rub a Dub Dub


click on image to enlarge

Spencer took a bubble bath tonight and I didn't crate Bowser. Bowser took off to the bathroom and climbed up to the tub. He saw the toys, a ball, a squeaky duck....and his boy. PLAY! He walked along the rim of the tub, played ball and caught water splashes with his mouth. I took a few pictures....and then mopped up all the water out of the bathroom floor!

I "kid" you not


click on collage to enlarge (and see the goats!)

There were three goats in my yard this morning. Three friendly goats. Spencer made some sort of goat noise (just imagine a whinny and a grunt) and they came barrelling towards us. Spencer asked me to go get them something to eat--so I returned with a loaf of bread and Mr. Salty Pretzels. That's all I could come up with on such short notice.
Spencer decided that the goats were for him, IV and Boppa. I hated to tell the kid that we were NOT keeping the goats. This puppy is enough! He chews up everything, eats all day long and poops everywhere -- I figured it out-he is part goat!
We had to leave for indoor soccer practice and they huddled in front of the car. Using the Honda as a makeshift border collie, I herded them up our l.o.n.g. driveway and to our neighbor's yard. Merry Christmas to them. Ha!Ha!
This evening, I met up with friends for dinner. Two friends had company drop by and couldn't make it tonight. And I totally forgot to call another friend to meet us there (I assumed Mom called her....) That's okay....she doesn't read my blog :-)
Anyway...that left the four of us to meet for dinner and drinks. We had a great time and celebrated Dee's birthday as well. Poor Dee was born on Christmas Day. It's tough to share your birthday with a Saviour. We try to make sure she gets birthday greetings somewhere in all the Christmas celebrations. Instead of birthday cake, Dee got a birthday shot glass of strawberry cheesecake. It was the perfect size for everyone to have "one bite" and not get all blah.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Spencer: My Toothless Wonder


Toothless Wonder...as in he wonders where the tooth went? He thinks he dropped it. He is CERTAIN that it was not swallowed this time. He wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining his predicament for yet a second time in his young life. Flossie (the Tooth Fairy) normally likes to inspect the tooth to make sure it was taken care of before a child is rewarded. Hopefully, she will find the note and understand. Spencer added a "P.S. Merry Christmas" to the note to make sure she knows he is a sweet kid---- with butter fingers.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Poppin' and Lockin'


Spencer and IV had their Christmas party at Hip Hop class this evening. Even with my head cold making me miserable, I still laughed at these little goobers. Usually the parents aren't allowed to watch class, but I found out today that we could get a sneak peak at their routine while setting up for the party. The boys were AWESOME! They are tough and funky! I can't wait until the spring recital!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Gingerbread Crackhouse


This year I was determined to ice the gingerbread in stages/letting it dry so that the walls could support the weight of the decorated roof. Once I had the walls and roof in place (and dry!) I let Spencer decorate it all on his own. I came back in the kitchen a few minutes later and he said he was finished.
Really Spencer? That's how you wanted it to look?
He is especially proud of the green gummy wreath on the front. I guess even crack houses have one redeeming quality. Just when I was thinking that maybe I should mix up some fresh icing and touch it up, IV came over and said, "Wow Spencer! I LOVE your gingerbread house! Can I taste it?"
It works on a little boy level so I guess that's cool.

Look at dem big ol paws


Bowser's paws are getting huge. I think everything he eats goes straight to his feet. Spencer adores this dog-- I'm still wondering if I was insane to agree to adopt this beast. I didn't want a pony!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Christmas Musicale Emerywood Style

Matt's magic touch transformed our little wild boys into a choir of angels tonight. The kids had a great time and the adults were entertained. Even the biggest Scrooge's heart would melt watching our kids produce the Spirit of Christmas with such energy!

I had a great time teaching the craft classes leading up to the production. We made banners, cards, tambourines, spin art plates and the fringed T-shirts. The kids were fantastic!

I can tell Spencer had fun because (1) he didn't want to take off his performance T-shirt, (2) He sang "Go Tell It On The Mountain" about 150 times tonight and (3) as soon as we came home he asked if he could pick out pictures and help me update our blog about the play. These are the pictures he wanted to share:

Still not gonna happen

We tried again for a Christmas picture and it just didn't work. How much are doggie sedatives? Can I go to Costco and purchase them in bulk???

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Reindeer #8


Tonight was the PTSA spaghetti dinner and then the 2nd graders did their Christmas play: Elfvis. It was a hunka hunka good time!

Spencer was reindeer #8. He was shy and giddy, but spoke loudly and with confidence when it was his turn. He was so cute!

You can click on the collage to enlarge. The photos show Spencer eating cotton candy with some friends, the cast of the Christmas play, and my friend Laura (yes, that's Mama Laura!) giving the PTSA report.

If I end up tied up in a ditch somewhere, it's because I photoshopped Go Tar Heels! and UNC #1 onto the shirts of Laura's girls and emailed it to her. (Laura is a Duke alum) << snicker >>

It never works out like I plan...


click on collage to enlarge

I thought I would get a quick photo in front of our Christmas tree to send with my Christmas cards to those lucky folks who don't have to suffer through the ramblings of my blog...
well... Bowser had other plans...like chewing the bows...chewing the limbs.....chewing on Spencer.... << sigh >> My visionary cute picture of Spencer with Bowser wearing his antlers was just NOT gonna happen, I guess...

Sunday, December 07, 2008

How Bazaar How Bazaar



Dee, Mom and I went to a huge craft bazaar in Myrtle Beach this past weekend. Vendors were set-up on all 4 levels of the convention center at Springmaid Beach Resort and the outside area in front of the pier had several more vendors plus all of the traditional Fair type foods.
We stayed at the resort so it was very convenient to sleep late and just take the elevator down to the convention area at our own leisure, shop as we wanted, take our packages back to the room when we wanted, etc. Our balcony overlooked the ocean and the pier - despite the crisp December weather we had a beautiful view.
We shopped at the bazaar then we drove down to the outlets- I got almost all of my Christmas shopping done. The rest of the time, we laid around the room and read. We never even turned the TV on the entire weekend. I had 4 books with me (because I couldn't decide which to take), 3 magazines and a newspaper. A nice cup of coffee, some fresh danish, a great view and something good to read is a perfect morning!
Okay so that was the shopping and relaxing portion of the weekend-- let's not forget the dinners and drinks....Friday night we had seafood, Saturday night we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise (where the drink menu is as good as the food!) and Sunday we had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Carolina Roadhouse- their "big salad" is delish! Plus since it was the "off season" we didn't have to wait anywhere!
The only bad part of the weekend was mid Sunday morning when we were getting ready to checkout. The hotel lost power. Actually, several blocks lost power. They did not have an estimate on when power would be restored so we decided to leave. That meant 6 flights of steps with all of our luggage and everything we had bought! Mom is recovering from knee surgery and Dee is getting ready to have knee surgery so they had to make their way slowly down the steps. I made a couple of trips-- the down wasn't bad but the 6 flights up was a burn. To make it a bit challenging, the stupid resort only had emergency lighting on about every third floor which means some flights of steps were in total darkness, some had barely any light and some had emergency lighting. Mom had a flashlight with her so she was able to see enough to keep from falling. I was loaded up like a pack mule and didn't care about the darkness, I just needed to get to the ground level before I collapsed. We all survived and I jokingly said that it worked off some of the food I indulged in while vacationing! Even with that check-out fiasco, we still had a fantastic time!

The only person I still need to buy for is my brother-- if any of you have any ideas, email me!

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Puppy update


There have been some fierce battles the past couple of days over what I will allow the puppy to eat/chew on and what I will not. I am pretty sure that they do NOT make "cat-turd-stolen-from-the-litter-box" flavored dog treats for a reason. I have had to baby proof the house all over again: Trash can locks/doors closed/toilet lids down, cabinet locks....
He may look adorable but little Bowser is a beast! He has had more baths and mouth washings in the past few days than most dogs get in a lifetime. Bowser was a rescue/re-homed puppy and it always breaks my heart to think of all the pets needing homes; however, today after Bowser had another round of disgusting antics, I totally understand why his little arse was up for adoption. Tell me he will grow out of this phase!

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Happy 8th Birthday Spencer!


click on collage to enlarge

Spencer was on cloud "8" all day. He couldn't wait to go to school and tell everyone it was his birthday...he couldn't wait to come home from school and play with the puppy he got for his birthday...then he couldn't wait to go to the skating rink to meet his friends and family for his birthday party!
We had a Star Wars themed party (big surprise, huh?) and Spencer received several action figures, toys, books, gift cards, clothes, games, etc. He only received one duplicate gift and he wanted to keep both--so he could make them battle each other as clones....whatever. He fell asleep tonight in his new Mario Brothers pajamas clutching an At-AT. He is so cute!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

The boy is a thinker


Spencer asked me, "Mom, will Santa leave me a lump of coal this year? Have I been good or bad?"
I replied with, "Sweetie, I think you have been pretty good. I wouldn't worry about getting coal."
....Spencer thinks about it for a couple of minutes....then says:
"Well just to be sure can you call Santa and tell him that he can't bring me coal because I am pretty sure it would flare up my asthma."

Friday, November 28, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving 2008






Our Thanksgiving was filled with lots of family, friends, food and fun. Bowser enjoyed all the attention. I took a picture of him wearing reindeer antlers...and I emailed it to a few people....that makes me officially weird doesn't it???


Monday, November 24, 2008

Peace on Earth...but not at my house



Check out IV and Spencer's Christmas photo. Don't they look like adorable little angels? Funny how deceiving photos can be-- haha!

Puppy update:

Little Bowser is loving his new home and his very own little boy. He obviously does NOT like my decorating because he has removed every rug and pillow in the entire house. He does not like my shoes--he has hidden all of them. He is a little dog and I have big ol' size 10 Tranny-esque shoes-- no small undertaking for the pup.
He plays really hard for 5 minutes, then sleeps for 20; then plays for 5, then sleeps for 20....Crate-training is NOT going very well. The crate is way too big for him so it is not working for potty training. I had to bathe and blow-dry him at 4:30 this morning because he had a turd party in the crate....YUCK.
Bowser and Spencer have bonded and they light up when they see each other. It is amazing!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Meet Bowser


For an early birthday present, I surprised Spencer with a puppy today. This is the kid equivalent to hitting the lottery. He was shocked, in awe and then totally in love with that little fur baby. It took him about 30 minutes to settle on a name. Kim, Jimmy and I liked the name 'Banjo', IV liked BINGO, Mom liked Butch, but Spencer wanted to name him Bowser. Bowser is one of his favorite players on his Mario Brothers game and is a tough guy.
Originally I was seeking an Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler mix and I wanted a female, but Kim found this one with a guy that rescues and re-homes dogs near Charlotte and was certain that his personality was the right fit for Spencer and convinced me to meet the puppy. It looks like the puppy is a Rottweiler mix. He is calm, loving, and a total snuggle-puff. Just like Spencer. It was a perfect match! We went to PetSmart this evening and got a leash, food, treats, toys, etc. It was so much fun! By the way, why didn't anyone tell me that PetsMart is THE meet and greet for gay guys? Seriously, the dog food aisle was like a gay singles bar!
A big THANK YOU to John and Melissa for letting us borrow their crate, Kim for the doggie delivery and Jimmy for setting up for the puppy. Spencer is the happiest kid in the world tonight! It makes my heart warm!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

That woman ain't right


Warning. I'm getting ready to have an "over share" moment on my blog. Usually it is about Spencer- but this time it is about my Mom. Most of you know that woman is nuttier than squirrel poop....

Last week on the cruise, while I was playing with the monkey in Costa Maya (that's not a euphemism for anything-- really!) Mom went to the restrooms right at the pier. As she was washing her hands to leave, a poor woman rushed into the restroom and ran into the first stall. She had obviously had some of the Mexican water because what happened next can only be described (by my mother) as the loudest, longest fart she has EVER heard come out of a woman. But could my mother politely leave the restroom and let the poor woman be? Oh no. My mother promptly speaks up and says, "Was that the ship's horn? Am I late???"

Yeah. I'm printing this out and saving it for the commitment hearing.

Speaking of Mom, she scanned in all of our (purchased) cruise pictures:
click on collage to enlarge:



If you notice in the collage, Melissa and I had photos done together. The photog was posing us rather closely...until we busted out laughing and informed him that we weren't a couple!! In my previous post, I mentioned that I won the Grand Prize drawing at the Cruise Ship photo shop. (Yay!) This is the picture we decided to get the photo package of: (check out my ghetto 'ho shoes!) We could barely stop giggling long enough to act half way sensible for the photos. Oh well.. Only 7 more months until our next cruise!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Funship Glory

We are back from our (would be) GLORIOUS cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, but Hurricane Paloma had other plans and we were rerouted to the Western Caribbean. This was disappointing since we had just cruised the Western Caribbean this past January-- but a cruise is a cruise so we had fun!

We went down with a tour group (2 chartered motor coaches) last Friday. We spent Friday night in Jacksonville where we met up with Val for dinner and some laughs. Val and I have a fun history of practical jokes; I brought her a lovely jar of pickled pigs feet and she made us SPAM cupcakes. GAG!!!
I managed to start our vacation off with a bang-- somewhere in Georgia, we stopped at a rest stop and I stepped in a mound of fire ants. I had bites on my left foot that were swollen, painful and irritated. Then when we got to the port we were told that we wouldn't be able to go to the itinerary we paid for because of the weather- such a disappointment. Then somehow during embarkation, I lost my camera bag. Oh and I was using my camera bag as a purse so it had my passport, credit card, money, etc. in it. Luckily, I found it at the purser's desk but not before I broke down and cried like a little bitch. But a few deep breaths and a couple of drinks later, I was fine and ready to start my vacation!

The Glory
Muster Drill went by fast, the sail away party was fun, we got settled in our stateroom about as smoothly as possible.
The food, shows and activities were fantastic! We did wine tastings, afternoon tea, went down the big slide, hit the casino just about every night, went to every evening show, dined in the Golden Dining Room every night, relaxed on lido, tried all kinds of new stuff and had a general good time relaxing and goofing off!
On the way back in, we got the see the Space Shuttle Endeavor launch from Cape Canaveral. The launch was glowing red and the shuttle was a jet streak of fire from the rocket. It was really cool looking but my camera wouldn't capture the propulsion images even though the captain turned off the ship lights so we could see the launch better.

1st port of call: Costa Maya
Costa Maya was removed from our last itinerary because the pier was still damaged from the hurricane. It had just opened back up and our ship was the 4th ship to come back to Costa Maya since the hurricane damage. We met up with our tour guide at the pier and climbed into all-terrain open air trucks. If you didn't have a sore neck and hemorrhoids at the beginning of the tour, you were sure to leave with both. That trek through the Mayan jungle was ROUGH. Like Belize, Costa Maya is a beautiful country made ugly by destruction and poverty. It was unbelievable how most of them live. Because of the hurricane damage leaving most of the country was under sea water for so long, all of their livestock and pets were destroyed and there is no farming. The sea water ruined the land and they lost all of their chickens, pigs, goats, etc. in the storm. Most of the jungle we rode through was still heavily damaged. We would see structures nearly crumbling - not even solid enough to call a house and as soon as you would think, "Surely no one can live there" out would pop a couple of kids hanging out the window waving to the tour trucks. It was incredibly sad. We didn't see any exotic birds. Because the vegetation is still damaged, not many birds have returned. I did see a few lizards, crocodile and a monkey in a tree. Speaking of monkeys, the highlight of the trip was when I got to play with a little spider monkey. He was so soft and actually smelled ok!
After the tour, we went to the downtown area for shopping, the vendors were thirsty for tourist dollars so they were very aggressive. And just a note: the dollar margaritas are watered down.....with Mexican water....you don't want to know how I found out. As part of our tour we stopped at a private beach for a while. It was hot but the Coronas were cold. Just after Melissa took the picture of me with the coconut, I turned it up to pretend to drink the milk and like an idiot, I poured sand all in my mouth. I spit and gagged for about 10 minutes. Served me right for acting stupid, huh? There's no pictures of that last part-- Melissa was too busy laughing...



2nd port of call: Cozumel
The last time we went to Cozumel, we went to Chankunaub Park for the Dolphin Swim so we didn't really get to see much of the country. This time we booked a "highlights" tour. It was great. Our tour guide was a short little Mayan man named Ruben who seemed to know everyone in the entire country. We toured a couple of towns, the oldest church, a small Mayan Ruin, markets and a tequila farm. They grow blue agave there that they use to make tequila. We toured the little museum that shows how the plants are made into liquor and then we got to go to the sampling room. Every type of tequila they made (about 15-20 flavors?) was set out with pump dispensers and we were given medicine cups. You were instructed to "sample" each and every one as much as you wanted. Our guide pretty much insisted that everyone have at least 4 shots so that his group could be happy and worry-free. I thought for sure I would like the cherry flavored tequila, but it tasted like cough syrup. The cream, coffee and amaretto flavored ones were delicious. My mom pretty much set up camp at the Blue Margarita sample bottle and people had to just go around her and sample from the other side. She loved that stuff! The guy there said that it was "female Viagra" and was a hit with women shoppers. I lost count at how much we sampled, but everyone was able to walk back to the tour bus just fine so I guess it wasn't too bad. Maybe a bit giggly but we were fine. One of the tour highlights was stopping on the beach at a fresh coconut vendor. He would smack a hole in the top of the fresh coconut (which are large and green there!) and give you a straw. You suck out the milk then hand it back to him. He takes this big-ass machete and chops open the coconut and they scrape out the meat and put it in a baggie for you. I ate mine the way the locals were eating theirs: with a sprinkle of salt, a few dashes of chili powder and a few squeezes of fresh lime. It was fantastic! Melissa and I hiked over some of the deposits/formations at the waterfront- the view was spectacular! We shopped a bit (Mom bought me an awesome pendant!) and Melissa got caught sneaking pictures of a hot guy showering by the pool at the pier--yikes! Even funnier, he ended up working on our ship and we kept running into him! I think he enjoyed it though. We had lunch in Cozumel, too. Last time we ate at the Park and bragged about that meal the entire time. This time none of us could eat our food. Other than the chips and salsa, nothing was remotely digestible. The waiter joked around with me that I ordered an iguana quesadilla and damn, I think that's what the guy served me. Blah!


3rd port of call: Nassau Bahamas
Well, we were back in Nassau for the third time this year. I looked at the tours and everything was "been there, done that" so we just hung out downtown a bit. We ate at Burger King believe it or not. Melissa was jonesing for the BK Lounge as soon as she saw the sign. We shopped a little and went down to the straw market. The market sucked. Big Time. It was hot as all grades of hell, all of the people working there were pretty much hustlers and EVERY vendor had the same crap--knockoff purses, ugly jewelry, straw bags, T-shirts and tote bags. Mom's knee was killing her so we went back to the ship, then later that evening, Melissa and I went back downtown for drinks at Senor Frogs. The food at Senor Frogs is over priced and not that great. The drinks are overpriced but totally delicious!

Days at Sea
We had 4 days at sea- which were my favorite part of the cruise. Sleeping in, relaxing on the deck or our balcony all day, eating delicious foods, getting dressed up, gambling, meeting new people and joining in the activities when we wanted-- it was perfect!
I won the grand prize drawing at the Photo store--a photo package worth about $50.00- I used it to buy our formal night pictures!
Mom fell in total infatuation with our captain. I have to admit-- he was quite handsome. Every time Mom was missing, it was a running joke that she was in the captain's cabin. Our wait staff and "supercharged" maitre D were fantastic-- they kept us laughing every night at dinner! Some nights we laughed until we cried. Our wait staff were from Bali and although their "engrish" was very good, they cracked us up singing "hoppy birfday" to the other passengers. Luckily, they had seen "A Christmas Story" and knew the scene from the Chinese dinner/Christmas carol, so they enjoyed the "No-sing it like this" joke with us.
The sunsets were breathtaking, the view from our balcony was hypnotizing and we were spoiled with lavish food and drinks all week. The shows were wonderful, the late night comedians were fun, and the casino was a ball. Melissa and I made several friends at the Roulette table again this trip! One of the best parts of the cruise is the people watching. By the middle of the week, we were taking pictures of everything that cracked us up, even a "what not to wear" page. Our 'what not to wear' pictures include a ton of fat, hairy guys in Speedos, fat chicks in bikinis and dresses looking like an exploded can of biscuits, butt-ugly vagitarians in trucker hats, crazy drunk people in bath robes, insane German guys throwing money off the interior balcony, show-off bimbos with brand new boobies, crazy hair-dos, etc. It wasn't all crazy people though- we met a bunch of really nice people. Even Santa was on our cruise resting up for the big season. It was awesome!
We bought several of the professional photos from our trip but I haven't scanned them in yet. I'll update again as soon as I have the rest of the photos!



Wednesday, November 05, 2008

History in the Making


Undoubtedly this was the most passionate election in my lifetime- history was made and hopefully many good changes are coming. Spencer has been learning about government at school and had predicted Obama's win last week (much to my Dad's horror--ha!)
He wanted to stay up late and watch the poll results, but since it was a school night he couldn't. I let him stay up until 9:00-- enough to where the first couple of states were called, just so he could see the reds and blues and electoral votes. I tried to explain the electoral college to him, but it sounded archaic. We should get rid of it and go with popular vote.

Hopefully he will remember this day! I had planned on documenting the vote for him but I wussed out. Think of how cool it would be if my Grandma had pictures of the JFK vote. I asked my mom if there was the fervor then that was happening now with getting someone new, young, and fresh in office to make changes--she didn't remember but then again she was only 11 years old.

It was raining when I went so I didn't take pictures of the outside of the church where I vote. I wanted to take a picture from the car of all the campaign lawn signs in front of the poll place, but the car behind me blew their horn at me and I had to move. I took my camera bag in with me to get a picture of the ballot and stations-- but then a cute fireman said hello to me and made me all self conscious. The stupid voting booth was held up by two toothpicks and fairy dust-- I couldn't even set my camera on there for fear the entire thing would tumble over--- so the story is, I didn't get any pictures that I wanted! Oh well-- this newspaper pose will have to suffice!

Monday, November 03, 2008

The Wager


What do you get when the Panthers beat the Saints?

Well if you are me, and you have a small wager with a die hard Saints fan, you get new mascara! Poor guy had to suffer through the crazy, TammyFaye-esque chicks at the MAC counter; but I have to give him props, he did it without any whining. I wish he would have worn a Jake Delhomme jersey to the mall but I think that would be pushing it.

I rarely win these "smack talk" bets so I'm enjoying this new found winner high! With Hansbrough's injury, I have put my Tar Heel smack talk on hold. I swear I just heard my Dookie friend Laura give an evil laugh as I typed that....

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!


We had a great time tonight at the Fall Festival: games, cake walk, hot dog supper, hay rides, and Trunk or Treat! Spencer won a homemade red velvet cake at the cake walk and got more than enough candy and toys. (Shhh! I ate his Bit-O-Honeys and Twizzlers!)
Nana fixed Spencer and IV special treat bags with all their favorite goodies PLUS Bakugans! The boys were lovin' it! Plus they got to hang out with a bunch of their friends at the festival. I think all of us adults had a pretty good time hanging out together as well!

click on collage to enlarge



P.S. The scariest thing this Halloween? Hansbrough out indefinitely:

North Carolina’s preseason No. 1 ranking took a Psycho-T-sized hit Thursday night. Senior forward Tyler Hansbrough, a three-time first team All-America, is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his right shin.

Tell me this is only a nightmare!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Ending soccer on a cold note


Tonight was our last soccer game of the fall season. Spencer had an awesome game- his first words as he came off the field were "I bet I am in the newspaper again this week!"... good and humble I tell ya!
It was SO COLD out there tonight! The fields are wide open and that wind just cuts right through you. I didn't come out from under my coat/blanket to take any pictures until we were celebrating our win at the end of the game, and then I only got a couple of pics of Spencer and IV celebrating with cupcakes and team T-shirts.
Check out the team T-shirts Melissa had made up for the kids. You can click on the picture to make it larger if you need to. I hated to tell her that it looked perverted with that bee humping the soccer ball with his stinger out. Yikes! Thankfully, the kids don't notice stuff like that. Only us adults with 7th grade senses of humor....
We ended the soccer season with 1 loss, 2 ties and the rest wins. Spencer and IV were pretty proud of that record; Melissa was ECSTATIC!

Pumpkin Party



Yesterday was our annual carving party at my brother's house. Jimmy and Melissa got each of us a pumpkin and were nice enough to "gut" each pumpkin and have it ready to carve! Jimmy made his traditional chicken fajitas and Melissa made her witches brew (punch) and graveyard (chocolate & Oreo dirt) cake. Yum!

Our pumpkins turned out pretty good this year! Mom's owl and Spencer's crazy frog has plastic eyes that pop into the design-- they look really cool! The rest of us picked fairly easy designs this year. We wussed out. haha!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Mummy Dearest


For dinner tonight, Spencer and I made Mummy hot dogs! We gave them little mustard eyes...and then, because we know how to party on a Friday night, we slathered up the ketchup and had a bloody mummy hot dog mess. But I will spare you the bloody, decapitated mummy pictures...

And guess who bought their first pomegranate of the season today? Did he save me ANY? Nope.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Headbanger's Ball


I guess Spencer couldn't be outdone by IV-- I got the call today that Spencer had fallen at recess and hit his head. I went straight to the school in time for the nurse to complete the incident report and give me my little man--with a big ol' icepack. Fortunately, his head wasn't nearly as bad as IV's but he does have a pretty good size knot on the back! Just like in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons the knot is just straight up....poor baby! And it is sore, too!

I got him home and was putting ice on his head again and watching him, as the nurse instructed. I was going to put him on the couch to read or watch TV while I finished up a meeting. On the way in, we picked up the mail and my friend Melinda sent Spencer a Halloween gift pack! Is that perfect timing or what? Spencer sat (calmly!) at the table and did his Halloween crafts while I finished up work. And I didn't have to worry about him horsing around and hitting his head again while I was busy!
That Melinda is a little bit of alright .....for a State fan!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Suh-weet!


My grandma used to tell me that I would get worms if I ate cake or cookie batter. I guess because of the raw egg in it. But now that we have excellent over the counter products like Pepto and Imodium, why shouldn't I let Spencer lick the cake batter bowl?

MMMmmmmm. Butter cupcakes with whipped chocolate frosting. They might not be the "prettiest" cupcakes but friends, neighbors and family line up when I make these!

I love to bake and as part of helping Spencer with math, I am encouraging him to help me with the measurements: cups, teaspoons, oven temp and even setting the kitchen timer. He hasn't gotten the hang of doubling fractions yet (ex. 3/4 cup + 3/4 cup) but then again, my Mom still doesn't either; she just measures 3/4 twice!