I haven’t been blogging for quite a while and have left this page forlorn in the wo0ds. I am determined to start blogging again and post things going on with our family.
Strange, random assortment of movies we’ve watched this summer with the kids (ages 7 through 12). Money is tight, so we can’t go to new movies (although, an exception WILL BE MADE for Harry Potter this week! We don’t need to eat dinner EVERY day, right?). We’ve been hitting the Netflix hard and, since we’ve seen most of the newer family-friendly movies, I decided we would watch some movies I (or hubby) loved as a kid. My standards are so much looser for the younger kids than they were for the older ones, that it opens up many more (bad-word-spouting) movies than before. Results and interest levels have varied but been successful for the most part. Here’s a list of what we’ve seen so far:
The entire Star Wars series beginning with the old ones and going through all the new ones (don’t even get me started on the numbering system of those movies — the first one will ALWAYS be the one that left us all breathless in the theaters in 1977!). The kids were into it. The last one is gruesome but, of course, it bothered me more than them.
Hello Dolly — yes, I made them watch it. They were actually into some parts and forgot to groan and be bored through much of it. Their dad was worse than any of the kids at making fun of it. Boy, did that “Hello Dolly” number always go on so long? It was one of my favorite movie moments of my childhood but I must’ve had more patience then. Overall, enjoyable.
Ghost town — not so appropriate for the little ones, but funny until it turned into a tearjerker. Quite a few gratuitous swear words that didn’t really add anything to the story or characters. And, a seemingly endless and juvenile “mummy penis” segment that I gritted my teeth through. I enjoyed parts and so did the kids. I still think Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest people on the planet.
Hook — fabulous as it was when it came out. The kids really liked it.
Yes Man — I won’t let the kids watch this one, although many of their friends have. Their dad and I watched it and, for the most part liked it.
Soylent Green — One of my favorite movies as a kid. Went over surprisingly well. Our 12 year old, who usually figures out movies in the first half, didn’t figure out this one til near the end, which was cool. Nice shock value without being too gruesome. The young women called “furniture” made me horribly uncomfortable. Thought-provoking, scary, fabulous settings, good Charlton Heston classic– overall, very successful.
Planet of the Apes — Went over great with the kids. I tried not to giggle and ruin the mood through much of it. Scared me when I was a kid, but Charlton Heston on the beach at the end still made me cry.
Monsters vs. Aliens — at the dollar theater. Eh. It was just ok for me, dog. Even the kids found it pretty much just ok. Maybe we were in bad moods or something.
Inkheart — also at the dollar theater. My oldest and I have read the excellent Cornelia Funke books, so our expectations for the movie were low. What a fabulous surprise! Visually beautiful, stunning settings, well-made movie. One complaint is: who could possibly have cast Brendon Fraser as Mo?! No one who ever read the books, that’s for sure! It is a shame, but it still didn’t ruin an enjoyable movie. Pretty scary in parts for the 7-year-olds, but they handled it and enjoyed it. I just hope they make the next books into movies too.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind — Big hit with the kids. A little too scary for our sensitive 7 year-old, but everyone liked it. We watched the final, director’s cut version (there are many versions!) so it was slightly different from the original I saw in the 70′s (better I think). I didn’t remember a disturbing scene where Richard Dreyfuss basically has a breakdown in the shower and argues with Terri Gar. His wife then takes the kids and leaves. My kids were somewhat distressed by him leaving his family and going with the aliens.
Next up: My Fair Lady. I’ll let you know how it goes.
And Could Bring Only What Would Fit Easily In The Kids Backpacks, What Would You Bring?
Help me. This is actually happening to us in a few days. We are flying from Phoenix to Boston — with all 4 of our kids. I’m scared — very, very scared.
What are the most important items to bring with us – especially on the flying torture box of terror airplane? I’m panicking, can’t think straight, acckkkk!
Ok, we need things that are small, lightweight, not very valuable (for when they get lost or broken), quiet, not messy, preferably not of the electronic heroin, aka Gameboy, genre, and are actually entertaining. What to do?
First of all, we’re definitely bringing some junky treats. I know, I know, it’s terrible to reward your kids with food (has whoever made up that rule ever traveled with a child?). I will keep tight a grip on said sugary and empty carb treats, doling them out with, unabashed bribery, coercion, and/or threats to try and control influence my brood’s behavior.
Second, I will give temporarily admit defeat in my life and death battle with my 11 year old son and let him be tranquilized into submission with stupid video games. I will do this in the interest of all the passengers on the plane and with the hope of actually making it to our destination without having to throttle him, or having the pilot eject him from the plane somewhere over Kansas. The boy can be challenging.
Third, I will have the kids pack their bags with an activity/coloring book, 3 crayons (that’s all you need, right?), a pencil, and a notebook for making a travel journal.
Then I will pack my bag with sedatives and hope to wake up with us already there. No, of course not, I’ll enjoy every minute with my darlings (well, maybe a few of the minutes).
What am I forgetting?
Our 4 kids range from 6 to 11 years old. It has always been a challenge to find games that could be enjoyed by everyone (without boring the grown-ups to death!) due to vastly differing skill levels. We are finally to the point where the younger kids can read a little and understand more; and, the older ones are a bit more tolerant (well, sometimes). The best games we’ve played are team games where the adults try hard to include everyone. Sometimes it can be very challenging to find activities or tasks that the youngest can do. Here are the games that have been most successful in our family.
Cranium Family Fun: these Cranium games are so imaginative and fun! Since it is played in teams it doesn’t matter that some of the tasks are quite hard (try balancing 6 cubes on your elbow!). But, some are very manageable for even the youngest kids in our family (act out building a sand castle). The most coveted activities include drawing on the top of your head, sculpting out of clay (like Pictionary, but with playdough). We all have different favorites which makes the game more likely to please lots of different people.
Apples to Apples Jr: wonderful, flexible game. The players take turns being “The Decider” (sorry, couldn’t resist). They get to be the judge and decide, by whatever criteria they choose, which answer to a question is the best one. For example, if the played card (green – adjective) says “scary” then each player might play (red card – noun); care bears, cupcakes, vampires, butterflies. The winner is decided at the sole discretion of the judge. They may decide to pick the funniest, silliest, most accurate, most opposite, or whatever other answer they choose (scary cupcakes, anyone?). The other players are allowed to argue their cases which sometimes leads to getting stuck on the arguing part (especially for our oldest who is a dedicated debater and very competitive). The kids all tend to enjoy the rotating power of judging and the game is fast-paced enough to keep everyone interested.
Memory (or Concentration): this is a game that levels the playing field somewhat because some of us have given away all of our brain cells to our children and don’t have any left for remembering things like “now where was that other …?”. How well you do at memory, is largely based on how well you pay attention. You can buy a Memory game like this or just use a deck of cards.
And Could Only Bring 3 Items To Entertain Your Kids, What Would They Be?
Let’s assume we have an endless supply of said entertainment items and that, due to a serious lack of electricity, we can’t bring the PS2 or Wii.
I would bring:
Legos – they would remind me of home when I stepped on them in the sand and began hopping and swearing all over the island.
Playdough – who doesn’t love it? But I guess it might get too sandy, hmmm, maybe that’s an idea. . .
Crayons and paper – Very versatile. Use for writing letters for bottles, drawing treasure maps, etc.
Balloons – hmmm, maybe we could lash them together and make a raft to float to the next island.
Ok, some of you may notice I picked 4 items. Oh well, I guess I made the rules so I can break them.
What would you bring?
I’m Not Making This Up.
The other morning, I was upstairs trying to get some work done when blood-curdling screams erupted from downstairs. “Oh uh, that sounds bad,” I say to myself. Then came wailing that could wake the dead. I stormed downstairs to find out what the big problem was. My eldest bundle of joy and my youngest girl bundle were engaged in ferocious battle. My son had a potato-sized rock in his hand. This looked serious – intervention definitely required.
Here’s the “Conversation” that followed with my oldest son:
“WHAT’S GOING ON!”
“She stole my rock! So I took it back from her!” (Keep in mind this is an 11 year-old and a 6 year-old)
“Your WHAT?”
“My rock.”
(Me – dumbfounded) “Do you mean to tell me you are fighting over a rock?”
“Yes.”
“Like from outside?”
(Big 11 year-old boy – almost crying) “Yes, she broke her rock and she didn’t want it anymore and so I took it and fixed it and she tried to take it away from me.”
“The rock was broken?”
“Yes.”
“And you fixed the rock?”
“Yes.”
“How do you fix a rock?”
“I epoxied it back together.”
(still dumbfounded) “You epoxied the rock back together?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get the epoxy?”
“From the craft supplies.”
“You mean MY craft supplies that you’re not supposed to touch?”
“Yes.”
“Just give me the rock.”
The rock and I stormed back upstairs to try and get some work done.
A little while later, the doorbell rings. I start down the stairs to answer. I notice my 3 younger children playing with great concentration with a long cardboard tube in the living room. I’m impressed with how beautifully these 3 kids are playing together. As I begin heading back to work, I, curiously, ask what they’re playing with. Turns out, I really did not want the answer to that question. Here’s a hint: it crawls, it’s disgusting, it really creeps me out, uh, I mean it’s a beautiful part of the natural world? Yes, that’s right it’s a cockroach. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww. “Squish it!” “NO, he’s our pet!” “Ewwwwww, then put your friend outside.” My youngest son is ready to cry as he scoops it up and puts it outside. Ewwwwwww.
I give up on the idea of work and go watch Hannah Montana with the kids.
Yesterday, I was looking through our (relatively small) dvd collection to find some movies we haven’t watched in a while. We’re in Arizona and the temperature has soared past 100, probably for the rest of the long hot summer. So, we need all the good movies we can find! I’m not a big believer in buying lots of dvds. We use Netflix (continuously!) and only buy movies that we really love and enjoy watching more than once. Following are some of those favorite movies that I was reminded of. These are enjoyable by the grown-ups as well as the kids. I’ll be adding more when I get time.
Shrek (all of them)
Ella Enchanted (I think I love this one even more than the kids!)
Monsters, Inc. (great movie – how come they only made one?)
Because it’s summer, we’ve been watching lots of movies. The best one we’ve seen recently, that appealed to the entire family (4 kids from 9-11 & parents), was Enchanted. Even Dad liked it! You have to stick through the beginning for a while but then it gets wonderful. This updated fairytale references lots of classic Disney films while poking gentle fun at itself. It manages to be funny, touching, and toward the end, quite scary. (Susan Sarandon is delightfully terrifying as the evil stepmother.)
Our 8 yr old daughter, CC, picked the following book series’ to recommend this month. She enjoyed all of the books in these series. They all feature spunky, sometimes moody, usually funny girls her age . . .
–The Clementine books series by Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee. CC liked that Clementine named her new cat “Mosturizer.” Awesome name!
–judy moody books by Megan Mcdonald and Peter H. Reynolds. Judy Moody always says “same same.”
–Ivy + Bean series by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall. CC says, “they’re the youngest paleotologists ever.”
The kids are home. We’re trying to work. Every day is challenging. They are watching too much tv, eating too much junk, fighting too much, making huge messes and generally being kids. We all need a project for the summer as well as some structure. So, we’re starting this family blog. We plan to discuss all the various projects we’re involved in and give each kid a chance to talk about what they want to. We are going to test some recipes, do some crafts, report on movies seen, books read, games played, and whatever else we can think of.
Some of us (ehem) are fat. Some really fat. We’re sick of it. We are trying to get healthier as a family. We’ll report on those efforts too. We’re trying to live frugally and generally simplify our lifestyles and will pass along useful tips and discoveries for that as well.
So, let’s see . . . our goals for the summer are . . .
1. Lose weight, get healthier
2. Live frugally and more simply
3. Entertain the kids with lots of fun and interesting activities while spending little to no money
4. Get the kids organized, pulling their weight, and doing constructive activities
5. Clean the blasted house
6. Redecorate the house
7. Oh yea, work and try to earn a living too
Sure, that sounds doable. I’ll keep you posted : )
