A while ago, I was motivated to write a post on my other blog about how we as parents changed from “parents” to “entertainment directors”. And how annoyed I am by it. If you want, click on over & read it. It’s okay. I’ll wait till you come back. Go ahead.

Now that you’ve got the background, I want to expound on that a little bit. I’ve been thinking more about it and had a couple things spark even more thought. The first thing was my husband. He recently has made a career change – from an attorney to a high school teacher. He talks a lot about the kids he’s been teaching. He’s absolutely blown away by today’s kids’ lack of critical/independent thought.  Somehow, we’ve moved from teachers actually TEACHING about a subject, to teachers spoon-feeding the kids exactly & only what’s going to be on the test. They aren’t requiring the kids to actually READ the textbook – instead, the teacher does it and hands out his/her notes to the students. With every concept or fact, all the kids want to know is “will this be on the test?” They have no desire or understanding of a need for learning for the sake of knowing something. That, maybe, you need to have knowledge beyond the multiple choice questions on the test in 2 weeks. And, when it comes time for the test, they expect to be told EXACTLY what will be on it. That’s how they view a review day. Not just quickly going over concepts and stuff, but being told only the things that will appear on the test. And, God forbid they should have to write an essay question’s answer.

When did this happen? When did we become like birds? That we, the adults, are just supposed to do all the chewing and then just spit it all into their mouths? When did we stop requiring, or even encouraging, THOUGHT. Making kids use their brains to figure things out, work through a problem and think for themselves?? No wonder we’re such a lemming-like culture. We turn on CNN or FOXNews or whatever and just let someone else tell us what to think. We don’t research anything ourselves or try to learn anything ourselves. We just take what we’re told as truth and memorize it.

I think I know when this started happening. Around the time that parents started scheduling every free moment of our childrens’ time. They don’t PLAY anymore, they go from scheduled activity to scheduled activity with time for homework and eating. And what are the scheduled activities made up of? Very planned events/practices. Whether it’s soccer or band or dance or whatever it is; you go, you warm-up, you do one planned exercise and then another and then work on a planned routine/scrimmage and then you’re done. And you never think independently or use your imagination. When you go home, if you have “free time”, you play PS3 or watch TV. And what do these do? Take you through pre-programmed games/activities/programs that do all the thinking for you.

When do we learn to THINK? Kids don’t use their imaginations anymore which, when you think about it, is what develops into critical thought and independent thinking. If you don’t know HOW to think, how do you think?

This actually really concerns me. Even my own kids have less imaginative play than I did as a child, and they have quite a bit. They get bored and expect me to think of activities for them because they haven’t developed imagination enough. I know a lot of that is grown out of, but I think we need to be really returning to more free play that doesn’t involve a controller or a digital signal.

I don’t know – what do you think? I know this is a problem, I don’t know if I’ve nailed it down right. I really want my kids to be excellent at thinking for themselves. Being critical and not taking things at face value. Developing their own opinions based not on what they’re TOLD but on what they THINK. Because how can we as a society/culture hope to find the “new” and the solution to problems if we don’t know how to think? How to back up from a problem and find a new way in? There is more in life than the “right answer” to get an A on a test. Y’know?

Because I’m tired of using the word “random” (even though that’s what it is), I thesaurused it up and chose “arbitrary” instead. So here we go.

First I found some pictures I’ve meant to share, but haven’t for whatever reason. This first one is from this cool Special Night for Special Kids event we went to a couple weeks ago. It was the night before a local town had their Riverfest and it was free rides & food for kids with special needs & their families. We decided to give it a whirl and Henry got to ride his first carnival rides which was a big, big hit. As I looked around, I noticed this mural on one of the rides – can’t remember what it was. I burst out laughing because, to me, it looks just like Emma Thompson dressed as a drag queen. Do ya think?

And here’s Henry totally enjoying the dragon ride with Maggie

I thought this was a hummingbird. I’ve never actually seen a hummingbird in real life, so I wasn’t sure. However, the antennae looked off to me. After looking it up, I found out it’s a hummingbird moth. Cool, huh?

And – WOO-HOO!!! Our patio is done! It is so beautiful and I cannot believe it’s attached to my house. So. Totally. Thrilled!

The garage sale? Oh, yeah, that’s over! It went amazingly. AMAZINGLY. It was worth all the work, for sure. It was the highest grossing garage sale I’ve ever been a part of or even heard about. We made over $1,100. Can you believe it? I’ve never made that much at a garage sale and the closest I’ve heard of was my parents’ who once made just over $1000. So whoop to the whoop-whoop.

We ended up not going to Six Flags and I have to give major props to my kids. When I broke the news, instead of freaking out, they both just said, “Okay”. I think my jaw shattered when it hit the floor.

Okay – gotta go to bed. I spent today attempting to reclaim my home after all the garage sale mess. So, nighty-night.

I am so tired I want to die. Literally. My eyes are burning, my head hurts, I feel weak  & loopy. I think if I could get a full night’s sleep like a normal person, I’d be better, but it just ain’t happening. Even when I go to bed at a reasonable hour, I’m awakened every couple hours by Whiny William. Last night I think I got 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep – the rest of the night he woke me up every hour or less. So I begin to panic that I’LL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN, OH MY GOD. There are a lot of things I can handle as a mom. Vomit, exploding diapers, colds with drippy noses, rudeness – it’s all good.  I can handle it all with a minimum of fuss. But lack of sleep is my kryptonite. I will holler “surrender” very, very quickly on that one. So you add up the work preparing for this garage sale, the lifting, hauling, planning, pricing & all that and I’m already super tired. Then add lack of sleep and I get snipey, snappish, nasty, impatient, homicidal & very, very punchy. Which is how I feel today. It all really peeves me because we are supposed to go to Six Flags tomorrow for the Special Olympics Young Athletes demonstration day so Henry can participate. We got free tickets & everything. However, right now I cannot think of anything I’d rather do less. The thought of driving there makes my eyes itch. The thought of walking through all those people makes me wicked punchy. Even the thought of riding rides makes me want to throw myself on the floor and have a tantrum. On the other hand, I promised Maggie & Steven we were going. So I’ll have to deal with the hate, attitude, disappointment and whining if we don’t go. Plus Steven melting down and telling me that I PROMISED and it’s not fair and I LIED TO HIM. It’s all so, so wrong. And not fair to Mommy. Maybe I’ll die of tired and then it will all end. You think?

On a different note, I read that Will Forte is leaving SNL. And I am upset.

Digression: Dear Garage Shopper Lady. Just because you’re out garage saleing doesn’t mean the rules of the road no longer apply. You cannot just randomly leave your car willy-nilly in the street to get out & shop. And do not park in front of my driveway. Thank you.

Anyway. Will Forte. I am really upset that he’s leaving. He is the only person on that show who consistently makes me laugh. The little songs he does on Update, the super-odd characters he does (like Hamilton) – it all totally makes me crack up. I mean, go to this link, look at this & tell me it’s not totally pee-your-pants hysterical.
http://vodpod.com/watch/3511692-peyton-manning-dancing-with-will-forte-on-snl-marktastic

If you don’t think that’s hysterical, I don’t want to know you. Seriously. And while I’m tired of Kristen Wiig, the music series they do as Clancey T. Bachleratt & Jackie Snad with horrifying songs about toddlers, spaceships, Model T cars & jars of beer is absolutely brilliant. I’m going to miss him & unless Jason Isaacs joins the SNL cast, I’m probably not going to be watching much. Except when Jane Lynch hosts. Because she’s awesome.

OMG. Jame Gumb is at my sale. I am absolutely terrified & if he says anything about lotion or a basket, I’m screaming. I’m just sayin’. Okay. He bought a cassette tape, a hat & some shelves & then told me about how he has to save that $3.00 for gas cuz he can only put premium in the tank of his junky car since it has a supercharger & he likes to go fast, plus it gives him another 5 miles/gallon and eliminates the knocking noise. Wow. At least his wife will like the shelves. I tell ya, you meet all sorts of creepy people when you host a garage sale. Yesterday, I think there were two separate women who could be on Hoarders. Both of their cars were all junky & you could see the crap piled high inside. I mean, PILED HOLY CRAP HIGH. And they both came in and bought stuff that to 90% of the public would be considered garbage. It was as if something was under 25¢, they needed it. That kind of stuff makes me sad. What makes me happy is when someone comes with little kids who see that we have some Thomas trains and they just LIGHT UP because they can get one or two because they’re only $1 instead of $12-15. A family came this morning with two little ones who each got pick out some stuff. The little man loaded up with a big T. Rex, 2 Thomas trains & a Thomas bridge. The girl got a pink stuffed poodle and a stuffed pig and they were both happy as clams. That kind of thing makes me very happy. Or families who obviously don’t have a lot of money and because we’re offering some really great things, they’re able to get stuff they wouldn’t normally be able to have. That rocks.

Yesterday, I had a woman from a local counseling & advocacy group who works through the county with domestic violence victims & other traumatic family events. She bought a couple things and then told me that they can take almost everything we have left for donation to their 501C(3) charity and it first goes to their clients if they want it or they have their own rummage sale to benefit the charity. I think everything that doesn’t sell is going to them. They even come & pick it up, so I don’t have to figure out how to pack it all up & drop it off somewhere. Plus, who can more use maternity clothes, baby clothes & women’s clothes (many of them totally new) than people in this situation? I will totally feel great about that. Maybe one little girl will even get an American Girl doll that hasn’t sold.

Okay. Lunchtime. 3 more hours & this garage sale is history. (Or herstory. See what I did there?)

I’m sitting outside, sweating, waiting for people to come and buy our junk. And buy they are! I’m actually pretty surprised how well this sale is going so far! The entire edge of the garage is lined with racks of clothes. Steven has 2 shoeboxes full of Thomas trains, a table full of Thomas bridges & buildings, a big box full of tracks. I am wicked exhausted. But so far, all the tracks, all but 2 of the buildings, half the trains, 3 of Maggie’s American Girl dolls and a boatload of clothes have gone out the door. Steven’s already made over $100! And it’s hot. But not as hot as it could be, so I won’t complain….too much.

Henry started back to school and is doing remarkably well. His teachers say he’s awesome – actually sitting down and doing work like a typical 1st grader. He’s sitting at the table with the big kids and behaving appropriately. Every day I get a good report, which is blowing my mind. I’m so proud of him!

Steven & Maggie don’t start till next Wednesday and I am SO READY for them to start. Steven especially. His literalism and stubbornness are driving me insane. Where most kids will take the hint when you say, “Oh, my GOD, be quiet!!”, Steven does not. He just keeps talking. And talking. And talking. And insisting he’s right, which he’s not. Makes for an excellent recipe for driving Mom insane.

You know what’s funny about garage sales? The useless crap people will buy. My dad brought over a whole boatload of rusty metal stuff that’s pretty much indeciperable and, of course, that’s some of the first stuff to go. Well, that and all my gorgeous Gymboree baby clothes. That stuff is flying out of the garage.

Have you ever gotten to the point where your brain just stops functioning? Where you can’t form a coherent sentence or grab hold of any idea? Yeah, that’s where I m today. I catch just a little wispy thread of an idea and before I can pull it in, it’s gone. So I’m going to pack it in for now., Maybe later I’ll be able to entertain y’all with pithy & interesting insights. Or not. We’ll see.

Mommy tired. Very tired.

William’s atypical night has not repeated itself, praise God, but I’ve been wicked busy. We are having this garage sale on the 27th & 28th, so I’m really digging in to get things done. I knew we had a lot of clothes, but I really had NO IDEA. I spent about 5 hours on Friday and another 4 hours today sorting, pricing & preparing clothes and I’m only about halfway done. I still have to finish going through the basement for toys & other items, get the rest of the stored stuff out and sorted, go through the boys’ room, my books & some random places to make sure I’ve cleared out everything I don’t want. And I am CLEARING OUT. I went through my whole closet that was stuffed full and decided to keep less than a dozen things. It looks like I’m moving out. It will be very good to get rid of all this stuff, so I’m cool with it. Plus, make a little money.

Changing the subject now. I’ve read two more really, really good books. I very much enjoy young adult fiction because it’s easy to read, not too overdone and I find it interesting. My problem with YA fiction today is that probably 90% of it is about either witchcraft or having sex. Even the books that aren’t about that feature it way too prominently. I don’t know when it became necessary for every teen book to talk about how often the lead character pleasures himself or thinks about sex. Can’t we just have an interesting story featuring a young person who isn’t completely focused on sex? Sheesh.
Anyway, the first book I read was called Hate List. I actually ran across a list of some of today’s highest rated young adult fiction. This one was highly recommended, so I got it from the library. The premise is provocative. A boy has shot up his high school, killing many kids, shooting his girlfriend in the leg as she attempts to save a classmate and committing suicide. The story follows the girlfriend as she deals with the aftermath of the event. Some people see her as bad as her boyfriend. Some see her as a hero, as she stepped in front of a bullet for someone. Most just don’t want to deal with her. We follow her as she returns to school the following fall and how she fights to reclaim her life and her instincts to just run away. I very much enjoyed the honesty in this story. In reality, this situation would be hugely volatile. It wasn’t quite as volatile as I would expect it to be in the book, but there is a lot to see inside the head of the main character. Watching her fight within herself to reconcile the boyfriend she knew with the guy who shot up her school is difficult, but very truthful.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is that while it lives in the world of high school relationships, there isn’t a bunch of gratuitous sex to distract from the actual story going on. We see their relationship and the feelings they had for one another without getting all graphic about it. I thought this book was quite good. Well-written, doesn’t talk down to its audience, interesting and compelling story & characters.

The next book is amazing. Yes, it’s another zombie book. Yes, I do have a problem, thank you very much. This one is very unique, though. Brains is actually written by a zombie. Um, no, that’s not what I meant. The actual AUTHOR isn’t a zombie. The protagonist is a zombie. In this universe, there are a few zombies who are sentient. They can think. They can reason. The main character, Jack, was a university professor before he was bitten. One of those intellectual better-than-you guys who smoke a pipe, wear jackets with leather patches, don’t watch TV and constantly quote books you’ve never even heard of. After he “rises”, he realizes he can think. He has cognizant thought, can reason, can plan and can even control his lust for brains. He decides to travel to Chicago (I’m sorry…shuffle slowly to Chicago) to find the guy responsible for the virus and explain his superpowers. Along the way, he meets other zombies who have superpowers of their own. Joan can use her nurse skills to “maintain” the zombies. Guts can move really fast. Annie has sniper rifle skills. Ros can TALK. They band together as a family, traveling to save themselves.

With the glut of zombie books out there, it’s cool to read one from the perspective of the zombies. The idea that some of them could actually retain some of their humanness is wild, clever & a bit creepy. SUCH a good book. Humorous & touching both, I really recommend it. Plus, it’s short enough to get through in a day or so. Oh, this one would make a wicked awesome movie, too. It would be totally fun to watch a movie where you’re rooting for the zombies.

Okay. That’s it for today. Sleep awaits for 6:30 will be here before I know it. Bleaugh.

I must have said that 30 times last night. Thirty times that William decided to wake up crying. Thirty times he wouldn’t be consoled. Thirty times he seemed to have to poop & couldn’t, but didn’t respond to any palpation, nursing or cuddling. Thirty times that I said, “I’ve only got 5 more hours to sleep!” or “I’ve only got 4 more hours to sleep!!” or “YOU ARE TRYING TO KILL ME, CHILD!”

Of course it’s the day before Henry’s 1st day, when I have to get up at 6:30 and coherently prepare his backpack & lunch, get him dressed appropriately, make sure he has all his supplies (including diapers, wipes, baby food & toothbrushes), get a 1st day of school picture where he’s actually LOOKING at me and get him to school by 7:30. Needless to say, he was late. And I literally had to pry my eyelids apart. But he’s at school. And wicked happy about it. He was a bit confused that his familiar teachers weren’t there to greet him and his familiar friends weren’t in the room. This is going to be a interesting transition for him. All his classmates (4 girls & one boy) were sitting quietly at the table waiting for the day to begin. Henry, on the other hand, runs in shouting BOOK! and exploring the room, looking for toys to play with and refusing to sit like the girls were. They have a special desk set up for him away from the others, with his name on it to help facilitate the transition to focused learning rather than being free in the classroom.

This is going to be interesting. I know he’ll get it eventually, but I’ll be curious to see how he gets it and how long it takes.

Our new patio is coming along nicely. They’ve almost got the steps done and then the actual patio stone will go more quickly. Here’s a peek.

Can’t wait to see it finished. It’s going to be gorgeous and I’m so happy about it.

I’m also trying to get off my tail and prepare for this garage sale we’re supposed to have next weekend. There is SO MUCH to go through. Steven & I did about 25% of the basement today and he decided he wanted to get rid of all his Thomas stuff. That blew my mind. He has so much of it and I always thought that would be something he’d want to hang on to. But, the bin is full up of trains, tracks, bridges, buildings and the much-coveted roundhouse. Now to figure out how to price these things. Plus I have to go get a permit (a PERMIT?!? Really??) which is annoying & stupid, in my opinion. I wonder what happens if you don’t get one. I KNOW that more than half of the sales I see signs for every weekend can’t possibly have received a permit. Such a hassle. But I’d better do it. Going to have to finish the basement tonight or tomorrow so I can get a jump on my clothes and go through all the stuff I’ve crammed into the storage room waiting for this day. Probably 20 garbage bags and half a dozen boxes. I hate being productive. I just wanna sleep and play the Sims.

So, hey, if you’re praying, pray that William will SLEEP THROUGH THE %&^*$(% NIGHT. So I don’t go postal or crash into a tree or something.

Where did the time go? All of a sudden, like a week has gone by. Yeek.

We are at T minus 9 hours until Henry goes back to school. I tell us, these past two weeks have been rough. Since his NISRA camp ended, he’s had nothing to do and, boy, has it shown. He’s been a terror around the house, throwing absolutely EVERYTHING he can get his grubby little mitts on. Which, of course, has led to more broken things, more huge divots in the walls & shouts of “incoming” every couple minutes. Plus, he just walks up to Will, who’s minding his own business & playing quietly, and either climbs on him and vibrates or just pushes him in the face until he falls over. Will’s just like, “What the blazes…?” It’s totally unfair. He’s gonna be thrilled to have less Henry in his day.
We went today to meet Henry’s new teacher & see his new room. He’s a big 1st grader now and is in the older life skills class. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a while (if ever at all) until Henry’s in any sort of mainstreamed classroom. I have to admit, it’s pretty difficult to accept. I have high hopes for my son-as all parents do – but it’s tough to swallow the pill of reality when it’s placed in front of you. The good news, however, is that he’s going to be happy no matter what the future holds & won’t miss what he can’t do much, if at all. Anyway, his new teacher seems to be quite excited about having Henry in her class. He has a new one-on-one aide who is also excited (and extremely energetic!) about him. He was happy to see his school, a bit confused as to why we were going in the “wrong room”, happy to say hello to his old teacher & associates, very interested in the books found in the classroom & thrilled to see his art teacher, Mr. Jones. Or just “Jones”, if you’re Henry. The bad news? School starts at 7:30 am this year. Which may actually kill me. We’ll see.

We are in the midst of having a new patio put in, so we’re enjoying the melodic sound of circular saws and pounding every morning. It’s quite conducive to sleep. But I’ll put up with it. It’s going to be gorgeous when it’s finished. We’ll finally have a place to put the grill and let the boys play outside without worrying about pulling splinters out of their feet.

We’re also planning to have a garage sale next week. I have done 100% of nothing to prepare for it and have SO MUCH to go through to choose things for the sale and then figure out prices & stuff. I’m not terribly excited to do this, but the kids are. And as we all know, kids being excited about something means more work for mom. :sigh:

I’d better get to bed. So tired.

I just finished reading this book, and all I can say is, “wow”. This is one that Steve got & read & then decided I had to read. Often, I’ll just nod & smile when he insists I read something, but I’ve got a soft spot for zombie literature, so I picked it up.

Whoa. This is an awesome book. Mira Grant, the author, created a very realistic future universe where biotechnology, in its attempt to create cures for the common cold & cancer, created 2 strains that combine to reanimate a freshly dead person. No one gets colds or cancer anymore, but everyone has the Kellis-Amberlee virus lying dormant, just waiting for either death of the host which disrupts the nervous system, triggering the virus to go live; or being infected with live virus through contact with “the infected”.

The main characters are Georgia & Shaun – a sister & brother team of bloggers who write about the news out there in the world (Georgia) & their over-the-top encounters with zombies (Shaun). In this universe, the blogosphere has taken off as a reliable & equal part of the media – actually becoming more trustworthy than the mainstream media outlets. The story follows Georgia, Shaun & their partners/associates with their site as they’re chosen to follow a presidential candidate in his campaign while navigating this unpredictably dangerous landscape & keeping their web followers up to date & knowledgeable of the truth. Of course, unexpected and mysterious circumstances abound, but it’s all presented really awesomely.

I love the use of today’s culture in this future world. Here, the names “George” and “Georgia” and their counterparts have become the “Jason” and “Emma” of today. Why? Because of George Romero, of course. His movies unintentionally provided information the populace needed to know in order to survive the zombie attack, so he became very popular. Georgia’s brother, Shaun, HAS to be a nod to Shaun of the Dead. Their tech geek (and fiction writer), Georgette, has given herself the moniker “Buffy” (yes, after her) to make herself more unique in a world of Romero-homages. Even the titles of the different blogger assignments are a wink & a nod to today. Georgia’s a “Newsie”, which makes sense. Shaun, the one who runs around “poking at dead things” is an “Irwin”. What better title for someone who doesn’t hesitate to stick their arm into an unknown hole?

I really, really enjoyed this book. I cannot wait for the next one (it’s a SERIES!!), but it doesn’t come out till next year. Have I mentioned how much I stink at waiting?

BTW – I think this would be an amazing movie. Lots of action, zombies, political thrills, espionage, & blogging. Hollywood needs to snap this one up right now.

In the world of blogging, there’s a lot of talk about niche. What’s your niche? Are you a food blogger, a parenting blogger, a photo blogger, a humor blogger, a tech blogger…the list goes on & on. Me? I feel nicheless. I really have no specific focus for my blog. I talk about so many things and I think I like it that way. I’m not the type to have different blogs for different ideas. I know I jump around a lot, but I don’t know how else to do it.

For example, I was remembering some stuff I’d written a while ago back when I was running my digital scrapbooking business. I had a forum where occasionally I’d find a quote and then expound on it – especially relating it to creativity or scrapbooking. I wanted to share some of that here, because I don’t have enough different topics running loose in this here big top.

“Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of something different”

This quote I just found wasn’t attributed to anyone, but I liked it & wanted to share it just the same. True creativity takes previously uncombined elements and finds a way to make them work together. We’ve all got this in our scrapbooking. We’re all presented with the same thing over & over – photos of the same events, papers, ribbons, elements and we try to make some unique and fresh each time out. Or at least we should.

There’s always been talk  in the scrapping world about what is and isn’t “good” scrapping. What’s cool, what’s hot, what’s popular, who’s rocking & stuff. To be perfectly h0nest, that kind of stuff drives me completely loopy. There’s this narrow box of what is considered awesome and only a small number of people are allowed in. What the heck is that? Who is this judging panel & where do they get off? Because that isn’t what it’s about, is it? Why do we do whatever it is that’s creative? For me, it’s scrapping. For you it might be something different like writing or painting or art journals or whatever. Do we do it because we want to have 47 creative team blinkies in our siggies and be the “big name scrappers”? I hope not. We scrap because we want to share our memories – record what was important to us so that others will know. We want to create something of beauty that will leave a record. Leave a record that we were HERE. We had hopes and dreams and foibles and troubles and regrets and love. That’s what we’re doing here.

I’m going to apply my thoughts to scrapbooking since that’s what I do, but it also can apply to other creative avenues. So…back to the quote. How can we do this? It does seem like there’s a lot of “you can’t do this” in scrapbooking. My answer to that is, “says who????” Who says you can’t use 14 pictures in a LO? Who says you can’t use flowers in a boy’s LO? Who says you have to even HAVE a picture to make a LO?

Think about this. We all are seeing the same things, but how can we see them differently? It isn’t about being perfect or amazing. It’s about being real, being interesting and being inspired. Being honest – with yourself and with your art. If your art is writing on your blog, don’t worry so much about being a “perfect writer”. Instead – use your voice. Be real when you blog. I think that most people don’t want to come back again and again to read about how perfect your life is & how amazing your kids are & all the beautiful stuff you get to buy & how your excrement smells like hibiscus potpourri. People want to read stuff they can relate to. They want honesty, real-ness and YOUR perspective, story or insight. I’m not saying that you have to put all your dirty laundry out there, but try being real. Try being different in your approach to your art. I think that’s a fantastic place to start, anyway.

What would you like to see differently? Whether it’s in your blog or your art or your hobby or whatever – how can you look at it differently in order to spark your creativity? I would totally love to help each other make it work here!

Image credits: creativity by klcris

Thumbnail courtesy of Cyanide & Happiness

Remember this game? My kids became interested in it after seeing the new VW ads where they’re playing Punch Buggy (and, inevitably, an elderly person gets punched in the hip/thigh by a child) and they started playing in the car. Of course, Steve & I had to join in. Now our family car rides have become a competitive and violent endeavor. At first, Steven couldn’t figure out what a VW was and would start punching his sister when he saw a Mini  Cooper or a PT Cruiser or, really, any smaller car in a bright color. We had to teach him what a Bug is, what other VWs look like and the proper way to play the game. For us, Bugs get 2 points, all other VWs get one point. And if you call a punch-buggy and it isn’t? The other person gets to punch you back. It has become SO. INCREDIBLY. COMPETITIVE. in our vehicle now. Steven has now memorized everywhere in town that has a VW normally parked in the driveway or, if it’s a place of business, in the parking lot. He starts calling them before they’re even in view. Had to warn him that he’d better make sure the car is there before he calls it! Now I can’t even see a VW without calling it. Steve & I went and saw a movie today and we found ourselves childless in the car, still calling out “silver one!” and punching each other. He even called one during the movie. He was beating me the whole way home until, less than a block from home, I called a punch-buggy blue and a black Jetta in a driveway down the street. It was awesome & quite hysterical. Thank you, marketing executives, for giving 0ur family a fun car game in which we can beat the tar out of one another.

This game also got us reminiscing about high school and playing games in the car. We were racking our brains trying to remember the game where you’d call out cars with a headlight out by shouting “Padiddle” and hitting the roof. I had completely forgotten about that game, but as soon as it hit my brain, I remember it completely consumed us on our nights out. There was something that happened after we called the padiddle, but I cannot, with 100% certainty, remember what it was. I think I remember, but I’m not sure, so I don’t want to make myself look any stupider than I already do. What I do know is that it sure as heck wasn’t what padiddle has transformed into, which is that the loser of each padiddle has to remove an article of clothing. SERIOUSLY?!? What the heck? Why does everything have to go to these ridiculous extremes with the youth of today. (cue old-timey music and grandpa’s pipe tobacco)

What about y’all? What car games did you play? What car games does your family play now? Do you have different rules for punch-buggy or padiddle because you grew up somewhere else? And to my buddies from high school: what was the consequence for losing a padiddle? Or the reward for winning one? Refresh me, my peeps.