A Fun-Filled Afternoon

Schererville Golf & Fun Center is closing next week Sunday. I had never been mini-golfing with my kids before, and we had tokens to use up, so off we went. Uncle Brandon declined the offer to babysit the baby, but agreed to join all of us instead.

The boys had a blast mini-golfing on the "Castle" course. Grandma & Grandpa Docter took them on the North course a couple months ago. So, they were thrilled to go on the other one! It took us all of 20 minutes to mini-golf. We kept no score; the boys did not wait for everyone. Highlights of the event were Adam throwing his ball out onto Route 41 at traffic and I got two holes in one. So fun!

And then the fun did not stop. It kept on going! We headed inside to use up our tokens, plus the $20 Uncle Brandon pitched in! What a waste of money, but oh such a joy to watch them spend these coins so frivolously! They cashed in their tickets for junk - candy and bouncie balls and little dinosaurs. Junk to us is pure treasure to them.

And then, after I tried to steer them away from it, these conniving little fellows convinced Uncle Brandon to go in the playland with them. I can't believe that old boy would crawl up and around in those tubes and such. I don't know how he fit down that slide. The boys loved it though.

And then we capped off the evening with Red Robin. "Can we get a balloon?" That is the highlight of the restaurant, and the fact they can untie their balloon and make it do farting noises. Oh, such joy!

I'm glad I didn't have girls. (They would end up in therapy because of me.) Even though I sometimes wish me and the boys could just sit and color for more than 5 minutes.

This Old House

We should not have bought a brand new house. We are not able to care for it like we should. For example...

Adam got mad one day at started slamming his door around. Thus, we will need a dry waller.

Another day, I believe it was yesterday, this happened...


Thanks to wonderful Happy Meal toys (a colored pencil thingee) and Adam, we now have deemed the hallway our working canvas.

This is Gise getting in on the action...

He loves to climb into the drawer and hang out. It will break one of these days, I'm sure. (The child safety latches are in Dave's pile waiting to be installed. I can only do so much!)

And we now have this wonderful, lush green grass growing in our yard. Yet, the boys have taking up the hobby of golfing. Divot city.

So, should we really have bought this brand-spanking new house? Would this have happened in any other "used" home? Probably, but I wouldn't feel so bad about everything.

By the way, on a side note, I got into the golfing hobby this afternoon also. The boys and I were hitting golf balls in the "no-houses-yet" subdivision behind ours. This is what I did to Adam...

No, I didn't draw marker on his face. He did that himself. (He said it made him look "all-school pro" or "old school pro", whichever one or whatever that is.)

He was so excited to go chasing after the ball I had hit, that he ran right into my back swing. (Yes, I know I am a bad mom. Please don't call DCFS.) Grandma/Nurse Betts came over to assess the "damage", but she butterflied him right up. Thank God no trip to the ER. (Adam was just glad he didn't have to go through the "trauma" of the experience an ER visit would entail. "What's 'trauma' Mom?") It doesn't look like much, but when the gash is gushing blood all down his face, you think the worst. I don't think he'll ever be a model with the scars he has and will accumulate over the years. And it looks like he'll even get a shiner out of this all. I've always wanted one myself. I'll tell him how cool it looks. Maybe I won't feel so bad then.

A Dark, Hurting Child??

We went to the library the other day - Adam, Will, Gise and I. The boys picked out a few movies and books, as well as myself. But as I scanned over the lot of them, I noticed Will had chosen normal, kiddy books and all the books Adam chose had dark, dreary covers and titles. Does this mean something? Is my child feeling dark and blue inside? Is he one of those kids who is going to wear black clothes in high school with a chain hooked to his wallet?

Or were there just an abundance of Halloween books out there in this fall season? Maybe the way he chooses his books by the cover is just different than the ones I would pick out. I usually pick the bright, newer books with a cool design or picture on the front. That little man just may be drawn to the dark hues.

Oh, who knows. I don't really care, but it was just a bit peculiar. Hmmm.

My Fantasy Team

This is a picture of some men hard at work, hard at work choosing their fantasy football teams for the season. A group of about a dozen or so guys have been doing this draft for almost 10 years, I believe. They all sit in a room with their lists and computers on their laps. They hardly speak, except to say who their pick is for about 6 hours!

Well, this year I joined a league. Not a fantasy football league, but a "Star" League. It's Fantasy Football meets celebrity gossip. At the beginning of the "season", you pick your top people and they have a draft and your team is chosen. Each week you go up against one of the other 8 teams in your league. For each of the celebrities you have, you get points on how they are "showing" in the media and such. More points for a cover or video, fewer points for print.

But I have to tell you, I started out with David Beckham in the beginning of the season, scoring some big points for him at the time he arrived in America and started playing soccer here. I picked up Owen Wilson just as news of his attempted suicide hit the web. (I have to give credit to perezhilton.com for much of his right-on scoops.) And when OJ Simpson got busted in Vegas, I dropped Kate Walsh and picked him up. He's got me about 100 points just today!

But curse the person who drafted Lindsay Lohan and the other who drafted Britney Spears. Whoever has her will win the season. Right now, I'm 3-1, in second place. Pretty darn good.

Yet, oh, so sad. Sad that I get excited over this celebrity-ness. With running around after 4 kids all day, wiping butts and cleaning floors, I indulge myself a bit by living the fantasy life! Fun, fun!