The End is Near... THANK GOD!!!

It has been a rough 6 weeks at our house.
Or rather I should say for TeenBoy and SIX.

First SIX breaks his arm in the second to the last play of the last game of the year... 3 days after his 12th birthday.

Then TeenBoy puts his hand through his bedroom window because he missed the lamp shade he was trying to kill...
And then he fell through the attic to the second floor hall- taking out a light fixture and the smoke detector along the way... just missing the stairwell... Thank God - seriously Thanks, he could have been killed!

And then?

Silly us. HeMan Hubby and I went to a Christmas Open House. Or so we thought.
About an hour and half into the party the cell phone rang.

It was SmartGirl.
SIX and TeenBoy were horsing around in the house so she yelled at them.

Did they stop?
Heck No.

They took it outside.
Into the snow.
In t-shirts and shorts.
Without any shoes on.

SIX slipped on a patch of black ice running across the driveway.
He couldn't catch himself... broken hand - remember?
Cracked his chin, took out a hunk of skin to the bone.

The call came in at 9:12pm.We were in the car by 9:26pm for the 45 minute ride home.
He was at the ER by 10:45pm. We left the ER at 1am with 5 sutures in his chin leaving behind a basin full of the asphalt they took out of it.

Do you know what SmartGirl and ManBoy said?

We took too long to get home... what? Found our coats, said goodbye, dislodged the vehicle from the parking mess then drove home, changed clothes, gathered SIX into the car, drove to the ER and checked in a mere hour and a half later???

When they are parents I hope they each have 4 boys... all a year apart... and really good health insurance.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours....

May the New Year find all your dreams coming true!

St Jude Gund Collectors Bears

Don't forget to support St Jude's Children's Hospital by purchasing a St Jude's stuffed animal at your local 7-11!

Inside Looking Out

I read a book today.




There were presents to wrap, dishes to wash, dinner to cook, floors to clean, pies and cookies to bake...
did I mention there were presents, for the kids, that had to be wrapped before they got home from school?

Yeah, I was just gonna read for a bit with my morning coffee.
In the book, the boy has Aspergers Syndrome.
Like TeenBoy... only different.

I kept reading until lunch time when I suddenly found myself sitting, staring at the page.

Eyes burning, throat raw, sore from the tears I was swallowing.

No -I think to myself- TeenBoy is much milder, he doesn't do all those things like in the kid in the book
Yes- he does I whisper back... wiggling fingers, endless pacing, needing to stand in class or get out into the hall for a while, reading a book to be able to focus on the teacher's lecture, the holes in the wall, the closet door, the bedroom window, growing his bangs out to use them as his screen from eye contact, difficulty making friends.

In the book the author explains having Aspergers in a way that really made sense...
Imagine you are on one side of a plastic membrane and the world is on the other. Sometimes you can hear and see what is going on but just not enough to understand and you can't ever break through the barrier- always trapped inside with no way out and no way to make anyone hear you.

I finished the book today.
I only meant to read a bit when the kids left for school, something to enjoy my morning coffee by.
I ate my lunch and skipped dinner with it.

Then I closed the cover and went to bed wondering if I am as good a mother as the one in the book
Then I realize I want to be like a fictional character ...

But it could be worse I think to myself...
I could want to be like Martha Stewart... again.


The book?--- House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Been There Done That ...So Don't Want To Go There Again!

The kids always open up in the car. 

When there is no where to run, to hide,  THAT is when they choose to drop little nuggets of their lives on me without warning.

SmartGirl needed candy canes. 

Somehow she, BratChild and I ended at the grocery store.

Yes, on the 3rd shopping day left before Christmas I was at a store. 

That I had to drive to.

On the roads.

With all the last minute shoppers gone crazy.

And then, she did it. BratChild just came out with a doozie.

"My friend at school is pregnant."

SmartGirl says- maybe you shouldn't be her friend.

I think the same thing, for just a split second, then my head kicks in and I say something like...

it's going to be hard for her...

I know how lame was I?

But in my defense I was appalled that I even thought for a nanosecond that BratChild should stop being her friend.

Her friend at school?

She is me 30 years ago.

I was the 8th grade girl scared and worried and not sure what was going to happen.

I was the one whose friends stopped calling.

Stopped sitting with her at lunch.

Stopped hanging out at the locker between classes.

The one who was alone.

Pointed at.

Laughed at.

Then ignored.

I told BratChild to tell her friend I was her age when I had GoodMom.

I told her that if she ever wanted to talk I would.

Her mom laughed when she told her. She thought it was a joke. 

Then she screamed and ran out of the house to get some air.

Then she came in, sat down and hugged her. 

Told her they would figure it all out together.

It was different for me. Very different.

I think she'll be okay.

She has BratChild for her friend and that makes her really lucky.

And BratChild? 

She has me... been there -done that- wish K wasn't going to go through it too...

She knows she can tell me anything, anything at all and I'll be there 
for whoever needs me

Support Our Troops

There is nothing I need to say....



Just Do It...

It's The Right Thing To Do!

In Honor of Charlie Cartwright and Kurt Shea....
The Few, The Proud, The Marines... OORah!

A week until it's almost almost Christmas!

Yes. Today is the day that I start the count down to Christmas.

It goes something like this...
There are 18 days to Christmas which is really only 14 since after the 21st really, who wants to be anywhere near a store or mall?
And once the 14th gets here in a week there is really just that one week left until Christmas and only one weekend left to hit the mall like a madman, woman, er, person.

And with Christmas on a Saturday and only 2 more of those until it gets here, it really is almost almost Christmas.
A party on the 11th... HeMan Hubby's co-worker.
A party in the 18th... fellow DeMolay advisors
A party on the 19th... the Holiday Party for needy kids that our DeMolay chapter hosts every year... this is year 59!

Then Wham! It's the week of Christmas and baking and wrapping of presents and cleaning and packing of clothes for the holiday trip to visit relatives down south commences.

Yes.
Today marks the beginning of the end of the
Holiday Season.
The culmination of the weeks, months, days of anticipation created by Cable TV programming and the Retail Establishments and a Greeting Card company.

Happy 15th 

Oh, and today is TeenBoy's birthday.
He's 15.
He's lucky.
He almost didn't make it this far.
(ceiling, stitches... read back a few posts & you'll see why)

And...
Today is the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Just wanted to make you sure you don't  forget that very important fact on your way to the Christmas rush...

TeenBoy Trivia: He was named for a WWII vet and arrived nearly 3 weeks early to be born on this day ...

Wii Party Gets the Party started Right!

A month or so ago I received an email from someone who said someone had given my name as a person with a family who might enjoy having a party with pizza and the New Wii Party game.

Well, I checked into it and someone really did say that stuff about my family and they were right about it so...

I answered the questions about our Wii system.
Yes- we do indeed have one.
Yes- we do have controllers... 2. I have been holding out for Christmas hoping to get 2 new motion plus ones
Yes- my family enjoys both pizza and parties
Yes- we would be thrilled to try this game and have some pizza
Yes- I would definitely let them know how it went... and I might even blog about it...

Guess you can tell I decided to blog about it, right?

So yes, we did get the Wii Party Pizza Party kit in the mail. It actually arrived a day early and SURPRISE! In the box was a 25.00 Gift Card to Dominoes Pizza and the Wii Party game AND a Motion Plus Controller.... and it's PINK!

Wii Motion Plus in Pink available HERE!

Yeah, I hate pink, but the kids can tell which one is MINE now which is nice.

Did I mention there was a box with a big pink bow on it and some Mii Masks in there too?
No, the kids weren't crazy about the masks, but everything else, You Betcha!

We decided to wait until Thanksgiving break to have the party.
There were 7 kids in attendance and 2 adults,
Or 5 kids and 4 adults, it depends on who you ask.

There was a variety of games to play. Some were long- an hour or more.
Others were 30 minutes.
Then there were the quickie games.

Our group played a couple of the 30 minute games then opted for the shorter games.

First came the challenge where a series of games would be played and the first player to win 5 of the challenge games won. This took some time with 4 players. The challenges were random.
Some were more fun than others.
Some were easier to understand than others.

But this led to the kids exploring the mini-game options and going on to play about 10 of these.

L liked the water games. There were only a few but he liked those the best. He's 3 and his mother helped him when needed. Okay she helped him a lot!

E liked the racing ones. The spaceships. The racing through sheep. Ski jump racing. Anything that looked like a race he wanted to play. He's 9. He could work the controller all by himself. Except when it was a steering wheel. That was a bit awkward. It was a steering wheel a lot. But that's okay because he finally got the hang of it, mostly.

BratChild looked on with distain. She's 13 so... but she did not leave the room and she even slipped up a few times and cheered for L. I think if her friends had been able to come she would have been more into it. Or if I wasn't anywhere in the universe. I did say she's 13.

TeenBoy was into it. After a slow start that is. He expected it to be 'Baby Games' and was pleasantly surprised at the skill level and the fun that was had with every game. Even the 'baby game' that L actually won.  TeenBoy said yeah, he would definitely play again and he was sincere.

SIX, with a broken hand, was the most reluctant to play, and/or like the Wii Party. The best part for him was the pizza, or so he said. Until the games began. Even with one hand in a brace and fingers he couldn't really manipulate well, he was able to steer a car, jump hurdles, dodge sheep and race a spaceship through the sky. He even won several times. And he was cheering and having a great time in almost no time at all.

SmartGirl and ManBoy watched and commented and gave advice. They both thought the games looked fun, some more so than others. They also said they would rather play with people at their own skill level or age than with the little kids like L and E since it would give them the option to play one of the longer games like the board game or trivia.  But they agreed it was fun to play all ages together for a family fun nite.

Honestly, all of the kids, and the adult-like people too, had a good time. Pizza and soda to start off was perfect. Got everyone into a fun and games mood while we got the games set up. They all had fun and they each won several games along the way.

The general consensus was that they all had fun and will play again.
Except me, I won't play again, I will finally get to play, and use my very own PINK controller with the  motion plus.
I can hardly wait.

We've got a challenge for New Year's Eve with some out of town friends...
And Team BusyFamily plays to win!
And eat pizza .

A day in the Life of BusyMom...

We went to Pennsylvania yesterday, my sister-in-law and I.
We left when I got home from work, she drove.
We went for the Christmas Gift and Craft Fair in Harrisburg.

This is the second year that we've done this.
This year her sister met us there and we spent the day browsing, shopping and having a good time.

I had to get some new links in a bracelet I got there last year.
The vendor wasn't there, but I found another one who, after I bought a replacement bracelet, decided they could add a few links to the original after all.
Now I have 2. I guess I'll give SmartGirl the new one too.

I got some glue. Really, serious glue- " The Last Glue You'll Ever Need" glue.
Really, that's what the guy called it and if it fixes the shoes the dog chewed then I will be sold on it for life.
I'll let you know how it goes.

I got a hanging planter.
It's made of copper wire and stained glass with a bud vase suspended in the center..
I'm going to put it in the kitchen window.
I'll let you know if that works too.

I got some shirts for the guys... I think they'll get a kick out of them.
Their ego's definitely will!

We ran out of time. The place is huge and I would have loved to spend more time but...

Back to real life.
The life of BusyMom.

I got home in time to get SIX and HeMan Hubby into the car and out the door to SIX's football banquet.
He got a trophy for his team being a finalist in the Division Championship....
The game his hand got shattered in.

Then he got another trophy.
MVP for Defense.
For making his presence known in that game, and every game of the season..
The coach said, " No matter what the score was the other team ALWAYS knew we were on the field with (SIX) taking them down"
Every one clapped. Everyone cheered. The defensive coach grabbed SIX in a bear hug and said...
"I asked you to give your all and you always did, offense, defense, special teams... you even gave up your hand, but you never gave up the points... You are THE MAN ! You are an awesome kid"

I worry that I make too many mistakes with the kids.
I worry that I'm not doing my job.
I worry that they will not become the wonderful people that I know they are...

Then someone else steps in, or several someones.
They teach my children, they praise my children, they make my kids feel good about themselves and...

I know that HeMan Hubby and I are not doing this alone.
It takes a Village to raise a child is what I've heard.

But I think that maybe what it really takes
 is a Football Team...