Dinner conversations on the Addams Family

Before a four hour "wear the kids out" stint at the zoo, I woke the kids up early for their last day of Christmas Break, fed them and let them watch The Addams Family. Yesterday I introduced G to this show and it was received in such a successful way, I couldn't wait for the others to try it out. My oldest was a bit skeptical. Being the middle schooler, she had to at least put on the front as the jaded preteen reluctantly indulging her crazy mother's request. But mom knows stuff sometimes....and I knew they would love it. And they did. The funny thing is, even though I love the television show and have always had more than a bit of a soft spot for John Astin, I love the cartoon drawings of the family even more. Charles Addams must have been one twisted guy, but that is why I love him so much. I can't speak for him as a person, his character, any of that stuff. But the man could make a picture say more than a thousand words. Weird twisted words. I have shared this cartoon before, I think, but I never get tired of it:



The kids laughed and laughed, wanting to visit the Addams museum house and loving how Gomez always blew his trains up on purpose. We dicussed how our families were the same and different. We talked about how the Addams family members accepted everybody, loved each other and were happy with who they wereee. We also talked about how we needed to look beyond people's quirks and look at their hearts instead. Who knew deep conversations could come from a 1960's television show? I'll take whatever chance I get to have conversations with my kids. Ahhhh, cara mia.....
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Impending doom....

School is going to start on Tuesday and I feel that something not positive awaits them upon their return. What a way to start the New Year, right? With looming concerns about one child's learning differences to navigating the many vipers and traps of middle school or female friend relationships to simply learning to read as well as their friends, these kids have a lot on them and I can see the physical burden they carry. My prayer and hope for 2013 is that my worries are not realized....or not realized to the degree I fear. Yep, Debbie Downer at the bluetooth keyboard today.

On a light and unrelated note, I have introduced G to The Addams Family today. She was mesmerized. Gomez was always one of my favorite TV characters and I was so glad she enjoyed it. Her looming question was "What is Lurch's deal?". For this, I had no answer to give. He is just super cool. The hub went to church and Sunday School for the first time today since his surgery. He is completely worn down, but he went. This is a victory.

I hope that I will be able to bring mirth back into my posts soon. Right now, I have no mirth...but it will return. Tomorrow. Maybe.


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Things I've learned over the holidays

Today, as I mentally cracked on the children after walking on Legos with bare feet, I realized that there are many things to be learned from the time spent with one's family on holiday hiatus. Many of these things are simply relearned, while others are totally new and added to my list of knowledge. I thought about these a lot as we were cleaning the house and preventing future Lego related injuries.

1. While Lego Indiana Jones sounds like an experiment in fun, fun, fun, it is in fact a vomit inducing activity for the likes of me. The ultimate buzzkill? Your mom having to lay down on the floor with a trashcan and a cool washcloth after fighting the Nazis for a mere 10 minutes.

2. Crumbs are invisible to children. Whole wheat toast, laying on top of a white paper towel on top of a cream colored countertop...apparently eaten by the Tasmanian Devil. Virtually invisible to the under 12 crowd. This is maddening.

3. Old school cartoons still rule. I don't care what Disney or Nickelodeon can do with special effects and computer animation. Give me Jonny Quest, The Superfriends and The Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Show on Netflix, and I'll show you children mesmerized by the excellence that they are viewing. "Overture, curtains, lights. This is it....".

4. My children will risk life and limb for a piece of candy. Any candy received at our house is checked and placed in a plastic container on the top shelf of our makeshift pantry(a shelving unit until the remodel is done). I have walked in on acrobatic acts that would make the Flying Wallendas shake with fear...and all for a Hershey kiss. Yuck. At least go for something good like a Reese Cup or something. And as much as they go through to obtain the candy, they go through as much or more to hide the evidence. Why not just throw it in the trash instead of stuffing it inside a kleenex, which is stuffed inside a sock, which is stuffed down in the couch cushions.

7. Trying a new bread pudding recipe in the crock pot is exciting. Especially when it smells so good and actually tastes better than you thought. But what stinks is transferring it from the crock pot "crock" to the "transportable to the Youth Confirmation Parents Breakfast" casserole dish and the end result looks like the aftermath of what my stomach feels like after playing Lego Indiana Jones. Yeah. They're getting mini muffins now...thanks to the hub and Kroger.

6. As much as my children want to be grown up and be trusted with big kids privileges, they knock each other over to be held and snuggled. It is my greatest joy to hold a lapfull of kid and feel all the stress and tension drain out of their body. I know we lock horns now and then, but knowing that as parents we can still provide protection and comfort to them even when they think they are too big...Heaven on Earth.

School starts Tuesday and I dread it. Not because of getting up early, well that's part of it, but because I genuinely enjoy my children. I love the closeness, the quality, the absolutely nothing on the schedule schedule. Well, it'll just make the weekends that much sweeter. But only if I stay away from the xbox.

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Sadly winding down...

It is Friday and the kids return to school on Tuesday. It makes me sad. Very sad actually because not only are they going back, but the hub has started back to all day working. Not only will I miss his companionship, but I will honestly miss having a warm body at the house. I could drop the elementary schoolers off with him for some special time while I ran to go get the middle schooler. They enjoyed that time with him and I enjoyed the tiny bit of peace and quiet waiting to pickup S. Everything is working out as it should, I just had a nice thing going for a while.

The family went to see the movie, "Parental Guidance" today. It was not my choice, but the kids loved it and it turned out to be a pretty funny-tug-at-the heartstrings kind of movie. I wiped a few tears away. I'll admit it. After running some errands and doing some things around the house, the boy and I snuggled up to watch some episodes of:



I ate that time up. When the kids actually want to snuggle up, I'll take it every chance I can.

I wish there was a more exciting story for my day. It would be much more fun to read and write. But days like this, snuggling with my children and listening to them belly laugh, are few and far between. We can have weird experiences at Pizza Inn any time. Just hopefully not for a while.
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Feelin' the love

After the oldest had her sleepover, I took them to work with me for a little bit to send some emails. After taking her friend home, I received a call inviting us to one of the seven layers of hell also known as "Skatetown". The kids enjoy themselves, for the most part, but they are so exhausted and foul by the time they leave. The rest of the day is kind of shot all to Hades and I spend the rest of the evening washing the deep fried paint smell out of their clothes. This was the boy's first attempt to skate without my arms turning to jelly and my ankles getting ripped up. He was a wall hugger for 2.5 hours, often looking like Kilroy as he pulled himself up from a painful looking fall:



I vividly remember my first skating experience. We lived in Columbia, MO at the time and I went to a schoolmate's skating party. I fell so many times that, by the time it was over, my dad had to carry me out of the place, my mom had to lift me in and out of the tub and they had to help me into bed. I will not be at all surprised if he has trouble getting out of bed tomorrow. They all had a good time but were clearly done by the time we left. It was then stright home, into the shower and into pj's to start the relaxing part of the day. After dinner was over, the kids went to watch a show and I finished folding laundry. I had gotten a Netflix delivery of my favorite childhood cartoon, Jonny Quest, so I felt I was off the hook to work for a few minutes. Upon entering the family room after doing laundry, this is what I found...if looks could kill:



And yes, they were rockin' a vintage Wiggles sleeping bag...cause we are cool like that. They are going to hate me for this picture one day, but I love it right now. We could give this photo the caption of "Skatetown: The Aftermath". An update will come tomorrow when I see how hard it is for the boy to get out of bed. Have a lovely evening...bedtime is a comin' soon.
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Another convert....I'm so proud

My oldest has a friend spending the night tonight. I must admit that I have failed my children in this department. With an older house that is in various stages of remodeling, I am self conscious about having kids and people over who may think we are messy instead of "Under Construction". Kids don't care, I know, but it is just something I need to get past. So I asked the girls what they wanted to do. They chose to eat at Zaxby's, have some ice cream and watch a movie. Instead of getting a Redbox or ordering one from Pay per view, we chose to watch one from our personal collection. I asked her friend if she had seen a particular movie, which she hadn't, so we popped it in. Her life will never be the same:



When I saw it for the first time in middle school, my mind was blown. Tim Burton is such a genius. I love everything about it. And yes, I got to have Mr. T cereal myself many long years ago. They sit transfixed now, trying to figure out what in the world is wrong with this man. I have always loved Burton's way of using strange and unusual people in his films. Paul Reubens had his troubles, but he was a champion for the strange and had a children's television show that had no rival...except for maybe the Weird Al Show.

Well, goodnight all. Pee Wee is dancing to "Tequila". No more needs to be said.
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It's 2013 and Twilight Zone time

My favorite New Year's Day tradition as of late is enjoying the Twilight Zone marathon on the SyFy channel. Not the revamped episodes of the 80's and 90's, but the original Rod Serling and big name stars of the 60's and before. I recorded one of my favorites and watched it today, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". William Shatner has always been one of my favorites and his battle with a breakdown and a fuzzy gremlin on an airplane still gets me every time. What I delight in with these episodes is that my children, children of the computer animation and ipods and special effects galore age, are absolutely entralled by this show. Are they scary? Some of them are, but the ones I deem too scary are not allowed. Most of them deal with odd and creepy people or situations. Some have good messages about being happy with oneself or making the right choices. S was talking with her friend E about their favorite "Talking Tina Doll" episode with Telly Savalas. Eat your heart out, Bieber. Burgess Meredith, Savalas, Shatner...they're where it's at, kiddies. I will admit that 2013 has started off in a lazy way as it has been a rainy, yucky day. i did get the kitchen back in shape anddid some general straightening, but otherwise snuggling with children on the couch while Rod Serling talked to us was at the top of the list.

I will say again that in lieu of resolutions this year, I am just going to work on making me a better me. A better wife, mother, daughter, niece, sister, Christian, friend, employee, vessel for a soul to reside, all those things plus a million others. I want to be the best example I can be. For tonight, however, I reside in that 5th dimension..."the middle ground between light and shadow, it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."


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