Pictionary or Charades?

Family gatherings at my parents’ house generally go something like this:

My husband:  Hey, let’s get a movie tonight.

Me:  Yeah, that would be great.  I'll help you pick one.

Mom:  Sounds like a good idea.  Let’s get something funny.  With Meg Ryan.

Dad:  Or we could get that new thriller that was just released.  With Daniel Craig.

Brother:  Yeah, I might go out with my friends.

Tension builds

Me:  Or, we could play a game?

Reluctantly, Everyone:  Sure, we could do that.

The games of choice at my parents’ house are homemade Pictionary and homemade Charades, which are basically the same game except in one of them you get to draw.  These sound harmless, I know, but the competitive gene runs deep.  I didn’t just happen to be a kid who loved to win.  I mean, I got it from somewhere.  Therefore, if my 12-year old doesn’t act out “Mission Impossible” with dexterity and finesse, my dad is likely to, um, well, let’s just say he can get a bit peeved. 

And, as you can imagine, my mother does not appreciate the finer points of his competitive spirit.  “He’s a child!” she’s likely to chide.  To which, always, my dad will pretend that he was only trying to help, he wasn’t frustrated, angry, disgusted, or any such thing.  How could we even think that?!  (The nerve.)

My brother hangs out in the background, participating at a low enough level to also text his friends and keep up with the ball game on TV, which my mom didn’t want on in the first place.  The added intrusion of texting adds a lovely patina of thinly veiled anger to the evening.  Throw in an actual call to his cell and things get very interesting.

All this goes round and round, holiday after holiday, year after year, and in our own strange way we look forward to it, games and all.  We consume calories we shouldn’t, laugh for most of it, endure the tension-filled moments, and try to reconnect with people we truly love.  And it should be this way, right?  Because there’s always the possibility it will be different this time.  Like this year, maybe, just maybe, I’ll win at Charades.  And for that I will be very thankful.

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network's blog blast.  This week it's sponsored by Electronic Arts, & they're giving away fun, family-focused video games just in time to ease the tension at the upcoming holiday gatherings.

MckMama's Rebel for A Cause Raffle: Chip in!

If there's one thing you know, it's that I love a prize, right?  And what's better than winning a prize AND helping others?

MckMama over at my charming kids is having just such a contest.  And if you (or I) win, beneath the tree this year you'll (or I'll) find a brand-spankin' new Canon Digital Rebel XSi.  Oh yes she is!  Can you believe it?

The contest has already begun and ends at 11:59 Central Standard Time on 12/14/2008.  Still plenty of time to chip in to help raise money for three terrific charities (String of Pearls, Elison Project, and No Hands But Ours) and for a chance to win her fabulous MckRebel Prize Package.

You can even win if you DON'T have a blog or buy raffle tickets for others for Christmas gifts.  How cool is that?  Click on over to MckMama's blog for all the details.

And good luck to you (or me)!

No, No, I Said "Acorn," not "Akon"

So we headed north to our cottage last weekend, basically to make sure it was still standing.  It is.  That's always a plus, when we come around the corner and, whew!, it's right there, just where we left it.

We turned up the heat, hung some new prints, and relaxed for awhile.  Then we headed to the old basement to drag out some tools.  This is the kind of scary crawl space you'll find in our basement:

But you'll find some other, cooler, things, too.  Like this old newspaper from 1923, used to insulate one of the workroom doors.  Interestingly, the lead article is. "Making Your Money Earn More Money."  This is followed by an ad for "Our Greatest Annual Clearance Sale of Winter."  The more things change...right?   

Or you could find this one lonely acorn, sitting all by itself in the middle of the back workroom floor.  And you might wonder how on earth it got there, and where the animal that dropped it is hiding now.  At least that's what I was wondering.  And, yes, I got out of there as quickly as I could.  I have many attributes, friends, but exploring a scary basement with bravery is not one of them, especially when a critter is likely to jump out and attack me at any moment.

Thankfully, the upstairs appeared to be critter-free.  But why our lab kept sniffing up that chimney is a question I refuse to ponder.

Happy December everyone!

(Please note that all photos were taken with my cell phone.  Hopefully my new phone will arrive today, and I will take some pictures and tell you all about it!)

Winter Has Arrived

Pop on over to Midwest Parents today, where I'm the contributing writer, to see how we're welcoming winter.

And how about you?  What are your favorite and least favorite things about this cold season that's upon us?  Any tried and true tips for keeping kids happy (busy) in the snowy tundra?

I'm off to enjoy the rest of our snow day.  Cheers!

What? Thanksgiving is THIS Week?

Here's what I've been doing:

• frantically putting pages into the family scrapbook from last February, so I don't hit the "year behind" mark in a couple of months
  
• shopping for other families for Christmas
• taking my kids to swim lessons
• taking my kids to piano lessons
• sending my kids outside to play in the snow because they are much to crazy to be inside

Here's what I haven't been doing:

• planning the Thanksgiving meal I'll be making beginning tomorrow
• washing the sheets for my visitors' beds (yep, arriving tomorrow)
• cleaning the house
• cleaning the car
• shopping for my own family for Christmas
• blogging

I'm having nervous withdrawal twitches from being mostly offline for a couple of days.  When your kids have an entire week off for Thanksgiving, it can throw you for a loop, let me tell ya.

Still, I know my mom will want clean sheets.  Better get busy.  Hope she'll be thankful.

Rules for Carpooling with Teens and Tweens

Earlier this week, over at the parenting.com blogs, Mommy Needs Coffee posted "8 simple rules for surviving the carpool:  their version and mine," for parents of teens.  I would argue that this applies to tweens, as well.  It is much funnier than anything I have to offer today.  Number 7 (of hers) is my favorite.

"If I tell you to have a good day and (heaven forbid) tell you I love you when I drop you off and you decide to ignore me, I will most definitely roll down the window and shout, “Make good choices!” I have done it before and will do it every time. You have been warned."

So pop on over and read it for a good laugh.  And be sure to share it with your teen.

Cheers!

Requesting: A Little Help from My Friends

I need a new camera.  I've had this one for a few years, and I've loved it.  The only feature it's missing is that super-fast sports mode.  And since, you know, we're so sporty around here, I'm wondering if my new camera should be able to do this, so not all of my action shots look like this:

On the other hand, although I love taking pictures of my kids, I have no aspirations to be a real photographer.  I can hardly keep up with a blog, much less with a dazzling photography career.  In addition, don’t have any desire to have to learn about different kinds of lenses or to figure out how to focus my own lens for goodness sakes.  Point and shoot, friends, I’m all about it!

But because I dropped it on the pavement for some reason, my camera isn’t working very well right now.  Okay, it’s not really working at all.  First, it took every picture in blurry mode.  (NO, they were not action shots, but thank you for asking.)  Now, the viewfinder is just black.  If you click, however, it will still reward you with a fine, blurry picture.  I’m thinking ahead, here, and I'm just guessing that a Christmas filled with blind, blurry photos isn’t exactly what I’m after.

And, so, the shopping begins.  And I’m stumped.  Do I go for something a little fancier, and get the faster sports-friendly shutter speed?  Or do I stick with what I know, what fits nicely in my purse, and live with a blurry shot in the scrapbook every now & then?  I think both of these cameras are cute, but I'm not sure "cute" is the best criteria for this particular purchase.  Shoes, sure.  Camera, not so much...

                      

So will you help?  Help!  Please offer any and all opinions, so when we look back on Christmas 2008, it won’t be through the blurry lens of my broken Canon Powershot sd550!

Bloggy Bling!

Missy over at Bees and Boos gave me this lovely award yesterday:

And she didn't even know a mi me gusta mucho hablar espanol.  It's so exciting.  Thank you, Missy.  (I know I'm missing some accents and that twirly thing that goes over the "n", but seriously, people, I've just figured out how to get bloggy bling on my blog.  These things take time.)

Here's what the award is for:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

It's my pleasure to pass the award on to these eight bloggers, who make me laugh, or think, or cry, on a regular basis:

Bring the Rain

Ahh..the little things

Cool Zebras

Daily Dose of Motherhood

I'm hungry for something

The mamabird diaries

Mayberry Mom

SusieJ

No I Can't! (Will Barack Obama Give Up His Blackberry?)

It's not a political diatribe, I promise (don't you know me better than that by now?). I'm the contributing writer over at Midwest Parents today, which is where you can find out just what it is that I can't give up.

It's that time of the month again.

No, not THAT time.  It's time for Aimee's greeblepix contest.  To see some excellent photography, check out the other participants here.

As for me, this is my entry, which I love because it is cold and cold and cold outside, but never at the Gardens.  I might move there.  Soon.

Should Kids Read Twilight? Just Not in the Dark!

When my son was in the first grade, he was already an avid reader.  He was zooming through the Magic Tree House series, and the A to Z Mysteries, and loving every minute of it.   Because he was an early reader, we were very aware that there were books he could read, that perhaps he shouldn’t, yet.

Around that time, one of our local bookstores refused to carry the Harry Potter series on the grounds that wizardly is evil.  I hadn’t read a single one, and knew magic was involved, but I didn’t know much else. I did know that before long my little boy would be asking about those books.  I also knew this was a judgment my husband and I would have to make for ourselves, as I certainly wasn’t going to ban a book for my child based on someone else’s review.  So I hit the library and checked out the one that started it all, The Sorcerer’s Stone. 

Not only did I flip through those pages as fast as I could, I found the story quite endearing.  Contrary to what I’d heard, I saw good triumph over evil, children making tough, but wise, choices, and strength of character rarely explored in newer children’s literature.  I was in.  Both of my older boys now own the complete set.  Alas, we went the more inexpensive route and purchased them in paperback, not knowing that these treasures would be read and re-read a million times.  Most of the books are now broken half or thirds, and it’s still not unusual to find one of the boys perusing a tattered, partial copy.  It’s high time to invest in the hardcovers, I know.  Perhaps for Christmas…

Although there are plenty of witches and wizards in Harry Potter, there are no vampires.  But the hot new Stephenie Meyer series aimed at tweens and teens has one front and center.  If you’ve somehow missed this news (where are you living?), the series begins with the book Twilight.  The story centers on a 17-year old girl, Bella who falls madly in love with the amazingly beautiful Edward Cullens.  Naturally, he’s a vampire.  Naturally.

Does the whole vampire thing bother me?  A little, perhaps a bit more than a little, if I’m honest with myself.  But what bothers me more is the sensuality, the underpinning of desire that’s the bedrock of Bella and Edward’s relationship.  No, they don’t have sex.  (At least not yet, anyway.)  But they sure do want to.  And for grown-ups who enjoy this kind of book, I say knock yourselves out.  Read away.  But for 12- and 13- and 14-year olds who are just on the cusp of discovering attraction for the opposite sex, I think this series has the potential to glamorize what is essential hormones and lust.

The Center for Youth/Parent Undertanding posted a link to this thoughtful and prescient article, by Jonathan McKee and David R. Smith.  In it, the authors made several points that bear repeating:

• “…our chief concern gravitated more toward Bella’s emotional vulnerability and the graphic sensuality described in the romantic scenes between she and Edward.”

•  “Today’s young girls will most definitely identify with Bella’s concern for self image and consistent need for validation. In the books Bella is portrayed as very plain. Most girls can relate to this. Seven in ten girls feel they do not measure up in some way, including their looks and in relationships.”

Although I’m not raising girls, I’m raising the boys that three of them will marry.  I’m extremely cognizant of the message about girls portrayed in books and movies and these arguments give me reason for pause.  However, I like the conclusion these authors draw even more.  Rather than reviewing the book and suggesting parents stick their heads in the sand, or draw the proverbial line, they have a better idea:  if you feel like your kids can handle it, and they’re interested, see the movie with them.  Or, if the book is what your kids are after, and you approve it, read it too.  Knowledge has long been a powerful tool, and being able to discuss the heavier parts of the story with your child give you an opportunity you might otherwise miss.

So approve away if you like, just do it with your eyes wide open, not in the dark.

It's a Contest! You Could Win! (Or Me, I Could Win, Too!)

With names like Carmelized Pralines and Christmas Splendor, how could you not want to win one (or two!) of these candles?

As I was checking out the tweets of my peeps earlier today, I saw that my blogging friend Jenny over at Daily Dose of Motherhood was having a contest.

You all know I like to win, so I popped over to see what she had up for grabs.  Turns out, Jenny and her husband own a candle-making company, Harmony Grove, and she's giving a couple away.

I'm planning to win them, of course, but you're welcome to visit Jenny and join the fray.  Just be sure to sign in with my name.

On a completely different note...

My house already smells like cinnamon today, which is why I didn't opt to win the "Cinnamon Bun" scent.  And when I head to the grocery, I'm sure people will suspect I've killed someone this morning, because my fingers may be permanently stained red:

But not to worry.  I promise - no killing was involved.  Just hot hard tack candy, cinnamon oil, red food coloring, and scissors.

Seriously, all day I thought it was Tuesday...

Wordless Wednesday:  A Lovely Respite from the Cold Outside

Jimmy Carter, The Economy, and Report Cards

On a very cold Monday night, in the middle of the country, in the state with reportedly the worst economic problems around, this was the scene in the lobby of Logan's restaurant, where people of all ages milled around for 45 minutes, waiting to be seated...

Can't imagine how long the wait is when there's an economic boom.  Seriously, can someone explain this to me?  The irony was that the TV in the bar was simultaneously running the headline "Obama's biggest problem:  the economy."  

And why were we there?  We endured the wait, surround by more peanuts than Jimmy Carter could imagine, to celebrate three great report cards.  In my book, that's worth dinner and dessert regardless of what's happening on Wall Street.

I'm just sayin'...

Fairly certain that bite wasn't there when I put these into the box...