Monthly Archives: December 2008

Pictionary or Charades?

December 7, 2008blog blast, christmas, familyKirsetin

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!

December 3, 2008contestsKirsetin

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"

December 2, 2008cottage, natureKirsetin

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!)