Custard and cucumbers

TJ has now reached the age where he often does not want a kids' meal. He thinks it is beneath him. So when we stopped at Burger King on our way up here, he asked me what I thought he would like. 

I suggested a Whopper Jr., since they have tomatoes, which he loves, and they aren't ridiculously huge. So TJ ordered it. For the most part, he liked it. He was disappointed that I forgot to specify that he wanted cheese on it, and he was really grossed out by the mayonnaise. He used a piece of lettuce to help scrape it off. 

A couple nights ago, Bill and I took a friend of ours out to dinner. We fed the kids first. Burger King is the only fast food option up here (other than Subway), so that is what the kids requested for dinner. TJ once again wanted a Whopper Jr., but this time he wanted it done right (with cheese, lose the mayo). 

Bill came back with the food and TJ met him at the door. "Did you get mine with cheese?" Bill assured him that he had. "And did you tell them that I didn't want the...uh...custard?" 

Well, his burger was both mayo and custard free so TJ was happy. 

Tonight is our last night in the Keweenaw until school gets out. We hope to spend a good chunk of the summer up here. Anyway, we went to my favorite restaurant for dinner (I cooked most of the week...we just had a couple fun nights planned). We went to Carmelita's, a really yummy Mexican place in Calumet. As he often does when we are at Mexican restaurants, Bill ordered a frozen margarita. When it arrived, Nolan's face lit up. "Mom! Can I eat Dad's cucumber?" 

I looked over at Bill and saw a slice of lime in his margarita. I laughed and told Nolan that it wasn't a cucumber, it was a lime soaking in alcohol, so I definitely couldn't pass it his way. Nolan was extremely disappointed. 

Sam calls Carmelita's 'the restaurant with the guy in it.' Here's a picture of Nolan's 'cucumber' and Sam with 'the guy'.

All about Bob?

When we arrived at our home in Laurium, we were very surprised to see that the half bath on the main floor had been gutted. We knew Bob, a friend and local handyman, intended to gut it for us so that we could do a complete overhaul of that room, but we thought it would be happening later in the spring. This isn't a problem, it was just a surprise. Nolan can't get over it. He keeps telling people that "Bob blew up our bathroom."  Poor Bob. I hope no one misinterprets that!

Earlier today we got some fresh snow. The boys have been enjoying how deep it is out there. Today they built a snowman (snow woman?), complete with arms and a carrot nose. TJ named her Bertha Oswalt Baron and he calls her Bob for short. 

I hope Bob the handyman doesn't think the snowman (snow woman?) was named after him! And where did TJ come up with Oswalt??

A whole complication

We are up at our U.P. house for spring break. The boys have been doing a great job with not spending too much time on their electronic devices. They've been building elaborate marble runs down the stairs, playing endless rounds of Trouble, working on homework, and playing outside on the mountain of snow that is our front yard. 

But yes, they have also been playing on their iPods. TJ was on a YouTube kick right before dinner and he kept coming in the kitchen and showing me clips while

I was cooking. 

At one point, he stumbled on some really funny cat clips. "Hey Mom, watch this! It's a whole complication of cat videos."

I believe the word he was looking for was 'compilation'. Because everyone knows cat videos aren't complicated at all. 

If you're super bored, look up Nora the cat on YouTube. There's one video after another of her playing (banging on) the piano. Why? I'm not sure. But TJ thought it was awesome. 

Touché

Last Tuesday night, March 31, I was being a bit melodramatic when I tucked Nolan in and kissed him goodnight. He asked why I was sad, and I said it was because it was the last time I would ever kiss my six-year-old good night. I asked him if he would still let me kiss him the next night, when he was a big grownup seven-year-old. He said of course!

So I pushed it further. I asked him if he would still let me kiss him good night when he was seventy. 

Nolan paused for a moment and then looked at me quite seriously. "Mom...I'm pretty sure you'll be dead by then."

Ouch. 

Then I did the math. I'll be 101 when he's 70. I guess he's not very optimistic about me living past the century mark.