Guessing Games

Has a kid ever shoved something in your face and gleamed, "I made this for you! Guess what it is!"
Hint! If you get it wrong, it hurts their feelings.
If you have absolutely no idea, go for the funny angle: Uhmmm....monkey vomit? your lower intestines? glittered dog turd? dork detector...beep beep beep!!!
Yeah, Spencer wasn't buying any of that tonight. He actually asked if I needed glasses because I didn't know what his little projects were.
Dude, my eyes are fine. Did he just call me old??
Let's see how well you do: (ignore the world map place mat--that's NOT part of his crafts)

Well??? Did you get them? Need some help?

Left to right:
The blue one is Ramses (The UNC Mascot)
The yellow one is a caterpillar
The feathered one is a flamingo
and the one on the right with the hearts is a love bug......duh!

Girls Gone Mild

This past weekend was another all weekend crop at Mom's house. We cropped from Friday evening until Sunday with plenty of breaks for laughs, dinner and drinks. Oh and crazy pole dancing demos from Jen. (Everyone has at least one hoochie friend, right?) Yes, we all have matching T-shirts for each crop--cause we're goobers that way.
We broke away from the crop Saturday night long enough for the senoritas to have Margaritas at La Hacienda--and then we were back yapping, giggling and scrapbooking until the wee hours....
It was fantastic!

Addicted to the white stuff

We got snow today! North Carolina rarely gets snow so Spencer and IV were in a little bit of winter wonderland.

Yikes!

Check out my little man. I guess I now know why he hasn't felt well all week. He broke out in this horrible rash this morning and within hours it had spread all over his entire body. I took him to the pediatrician and she said it was Fifth Disease(Parvovirus) and just has to run its course with the aid of Advil and Benedryl. He has slept most of the day and in between naps has put together Legos.

Most of you already know, but I am going to post an update for the ones that don't-- Dad is doing fine, but is still in a terrible amount of pain. He fell off the tractor last week (the large International, not the small yard tractor) trying to tuck the muffler so he could get up under the garage or carport or something. It could have been much worse, so he is lucky to only walk away with a broken arm/hand/wrist--he has several breaks and lots of little bone fragments. He has bad swelling right now so they have a soft support brace on it until they can see what will "shift" back into place when the swelling goes down and what will require surgery/pins. The day he fell, he was using the tractor to spread ground asphalt (gravel) along the drive. Once Mom got to him and they were heading to urgent care, my Dad (grimacing in pain) calls my brother and stammers out... "Son, I have fallen....from the tractor....I've broken my arm and hand and maybe a rib..... I ... need...you....to..." (and at this point Jimmy is already out the door and heading to the car because he knows he will be meeting them at the hospital.) But Dad doesn't ask him to meet at the hospital as expected. Dad continues with "....I need...you...to...go... spread that gravel for me." Geez...

But don't worry about Dad, we're taking good care of him, his bandaged arm and his swollen, fat little sausage fingers. Being the loving family we are, Mom is about to amputate the arm for him. If he doesn't stop complaining she might start with his good arm. My brother, the logical one, has offered to bring the pressure washer in the bathroom to create a "redneck bidet." He's helpful like that.

Putting the Eh! in amazing!

Having friends all around the world has many advantages, but when it is a dreary day in NC and a surprise package shows up filled with regional goodness from a friend in another country...wow..that rocks. Patti, you made our day!

I like icewine like a fat man likes a velour sweatsuit.....and Patti sent me a bottle! It is in the fridge chilling right now. I have to decide when I should treat myself....

Patti also sent Spencer a Webkinz, some candy...and oh my goodness, some Ketchup flavored chips that he went ape over. She also sent REAL Canadian Maple syrup, many many many gourmet Canadian candies, a beautiful pin for my collection and lots and lots of craft supplies. Patti-- I just can't say thank you enough! (and I can't wait to see you in the Spring!)

Sweet Tooth

Don't ever tease a puppy with a big, bright lollipop. The puppy will win. And the little boy will lose his lollipop.

Monster Jam (aka the fumes are killing me)

click on collage to enlarge

So... Saturday night was my first time with the boys at a Monster Jam show. We waited in line (while the boys played video games) then we tromped through red clay mud (while the boys ran around getting autographs and pictures with their favorite drivers), then we found our way to our seats (while the boys took us on a detour past the vendors where they got flags and T-shirts) before finally settling down with nachos, roasted nuts, sodas, and Dippin Dots. Have you ever tried Dippin Dots? Being that I'm not a big fan of ice cream (yeah, I know--that's unreal) I had never tried them until last night. Pretty decent!
On the way home, Spencer asked me what my favorite part of Monster Jam was.... now, on the inside I was thinking, probably the Nachos or Dippin Dots since the rest of the evening was devoted to holding my ears, gagging at the fumes or trying REALLY hard not to make judgments about the "whoohooing" batch of rednecks around us....But, I told him when the big truck did a donut and fell over and the wrecker thing had to roll him back over. Spencer grinned and agreed that that was a good part.
Oh,and GraveDigger won if anyone cares.

Shutterbugs

Every now and then Spencer and/or IV takes my camera and runs off about 200 pictures of inane objects and at least 50 pictures of their own faces. Must be a little boy thing.
It is always a bit of a surprise to go through all of their pictures just to see if they captures anything good. Of course, they think every picture is hilarious. Of the 200 or so they took, I kept about 11. Here is a sample of their work. Notice how good the pine cone picture in the bottom left is? Yeah, I had to weed through about 60 nose shots to get to that....

Ms. Ruth

I know I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but Ms. Ruth has been my special buddy on my Mobile Meals route for nearly ten years. She is the sweetest lady and despite being legally blind, she sees beauty and blessings in things most of us overlook.

This past weekend, we took her food and some Christmas gifts. My team did a fundraiser for my entire Mobile Meals route, but I go see Ms. Ruth between deliveries so she got her "gift basket" earlier than the rest of the route. The others will get their New Year baskets in a couple of weeks when I run my route at the normal time.

This weekend, Dee's son Jonathan went with us as part of his High School Civics project. Ms. Ruth enjoyed having us stop by and was still saying "Thank you Thank you Thank you" as I locked up for her and left.

As a side note, we do not live in a "diverse" area. Spencer's preschool, sports teams and our church were made up of white people. Spencer first met Ruth when he was quite young and referred to her as the Chocolate Grandma. You know-- kids say whatever crosses their brains in the most basic way they can describe. I was so embarrassed. Ms. Ruth; however, thought it was hilarious.

Hoppy Gnu Ear!

We welcomed in the New Year with a low-key get together. Just a few friends and family gathered at Mom and Dad's house for apps and drinks as we played video games and watched the Tar Heels whip up on Nevada. Happy New Year!

click on collage to enlarge