Gram and Pap spent the night, so once Pap awoke (around noon -- his normal time) we ate lunch at Eat 'n Park, and then headed to Burlington (Not Coat Factory) to peruse the vast, endless expanse of stuff nobody really needs. Franco found a remote control car on sale, so of course Franco took it home. (Don't look at me. I didn't buy it.) He did tell Gram she would not have any money left over after the weekend because she will have spent all of it on toys. Pretty prophetic, that one.
Sadly, Gram and Pap went home that evening. And Franco fell asleep roughly ten minutes after they pulled out of the driveway. Then, we ordered Nick's Pizza and chilled.
April 18, 2017 -- Day Seventeen:
Effing Tax Day. The greatest adventure had to be one great experiment of how well "someone's" Lexapro worked to combat "someone's" pernicious anxiety. (Verdict: Fair.)
Later in the evening, Franco gave me a tutorial on every one of his remote control cars, new and old. He deemed it necessary as a precursor to our Remote Control Car Race 2017, to take place later in the week. Then, the Penguins lost their playoff game, forcing a Game Five. This day is not going down as the greatest adventure ever.
Effing Tax Day.
April 19, 2017 -- Day Eighteen:
Ice skating and gymnastics day. Franco did really well at each lesson, and he had fun doing so. Afterward, we stopped by Target. Because of course we did. Among the actual items we needed, we found DVD's on sale and came home with Spy Kids 1, 2, and 3 in a multi-pack. (Which means Franco went one entire day without a new item. Good for us.) Then, he watched Spy Kids 1, 2, and 3 and ate a chocolate donut.
Later that night, we commenced Remote Control Car Race 2017 and Franco won six rounds to my three. A rematch is TBA.
April 20, 2017 -- Day Nineteen:
We dodged a nasty downpour to run into and out of the library. We borrowed a new Star Wars Wii game and Despicable Me 2. The rest of the day, Franco waited for his dad to get off work so we could drive to Gram and Pap's for the weekend. To bide his time, he mastered his new game. And asked me when his dad would be home already.
Once at Gram and Pap's, we celebrated the Pens' win and simultaneous clinch of Round One. Whew.
April 21, 2017 -- Day Twenty:
A weekend at Gram and Pap's means a slew of activities. Franco arrives with a mental agenda, and a pox upon us all if he does not meet said agenda. He and Pap played Gabe and Garrett outside in the car (normal) and we taught him new games (normal) and he stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to party (normal.)
April 22, 2017 -- Day Twenty-One:
We all took a sojourn to eat at the awesome restaurant Country Junction in the Amish country of Smicksburg. For dessert, Franco and I tried the most delicious thing ever to be invented: a pumpkin gob. To quote Gram, "Oh, my word." Too delicious.
After stuffing our faces, we walked over to one of the Amish stores to peruse the wares. Much to our surprise, Franco and I found something for which we have searched far and wide for many eons:
(I did mention that not all adventures would be earth-shattering, correct? This might qualify as one such example.)
We returned to watch baseball and enjoy our last night at Gram and Pap's home-away-from-home-which-used-to-actually-be-my-home.
April 23, 2017 -- Day Twenty-Two:
Scott had to drive the mother-bleeping camper to Washington PA to be inspected and who knows what else. We met him there and, once back in the 'Burgh, watched the Buccos on TV.
In the afternoon, Franco and I strolled to the Galleria mall to look around. Then, we took a long walk around the neighborhood. We decided to figure out which house on Ordale Avenue, which runs parallel to Washington Road, shares our yard. We had fun walking the street and peeking through the trees to find our home from its back. (Answer: 95 Ordale Avenue. You can rest easy tonight. You're welcome.) Along our way, we giggled as much as we exercised.
It kind of was the best.
April 24, 2017 -- Day Twenty-Three:
Today, we had the privilege to drive to Washington PA and give our PA license plate to the Mercedes dealer, so the camper could be inspected and who knows what else. Franco looked like this:
On our way home, we stopped by Five Below and TJ Maxx. But, the rain made us lazy, and so we just headed home to goof off the rest of the day.
April 25, 2017 -- Day Twenty-Four:
So, I decided (unilaterally, mind you, and without being prompted by anything other than my insanity) to rearrange Franco's room. I don't know why I do this to myself, but here we are. I roped Franco into helping me lug all his toys out of his room and then cart containers up and down from the basement, until we were both sweaty and messy and sincerely as far away from organization as we could get. Thank heavens Ol' Scotty P. isn't as OCD about coming home to an uncluttered environment as I am because if I had walked into the madness we had created, I would have lost my damn mind.
Anyhow, the project which I thought might take an afternoon had clearly morphed into a week-long adventure. Yippee.
As a bonus, though, we did get to use the extra bedroom (AKA Gram and Pap's room) until we can find Franco's bed again under the immense pile of nonsense....
April 26, 2017 -- Day Twenty-Five:
Skating and gymnastics awesomeness, obviously. Franco had two extremely great, fun lessons, and left both proud of himself and exhausted.
Afterward, we headed to the rec center to buy our pool passes for the summer, which is bittersweet when you used to do this instead:
The Lebo pool does have two waterslides and a rock climbing wall, though, so there is that.
Once done, Franco played on the playground for a while before we went home to lament our still disorganized state of affairs which is Franco's room. Ugh.
April 27, 2017 -- Day Twenty-Six:
Have I mentioned that our house is torn apart? I did? Oh, well, then, I guess you know what we did today!
And then......the Penguins' first game of the second round, against none other than the dreaded Washington Capitals. Uncle Dr. Chad texted Scott beforehand that "Ovechkin is a dirty little bitch" and then added "but Franco probably already told you that." (Touche.)
We all held our collective breath through much of that one. Yikes. But, somehow, Bonino-Bonino-BONINOOOOOOOOOOO came through at the end! It just so happened that I had put a 50-pound Franco on my hip (to quell some anxiety) right before that third goal, and so clearly had to keep him there for the rest of the game. Because logic. We are toying with the logistics of how I can hold him throughout all the rest of the games in the series. We will do what we have to do, believe you me, if that's what it takes.
Scott texted Uncle Dr. Chad to tell him that Franco screamed an absolutely filthy, expletive-laden cheer (which he spelled into the text, but which I will leave to your imagination) about that AWESOME game, to which Chad replied, "Wash that kid's mouth out with soap. My kids are in bed."
Permissive parenting? Check. Penguins' victory? Check. We're all winners.
**To Be Continued....
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