Christmas Vacation

Well, Christmas is over and we're enjoying the After-Rush peace. We got gobs of movies for Christmas - I gave Don two, he gave me about 6, including a 3-CD set of the BBC's production of three of the Chronicles of Narnia movies. Deanna got a Star Wars boxed set, both the boys got SuperMan, etc., so we have lots to watch.

The children are really enjoying their presents. They've spent many an hour just playing peacefully - at least it was peaceful until today.

Our mistake was taking them to an ice hockey game last night. A friend of ours works for a company that purchased season tickets to our local semi-pro ice hockey team games and he made them available to anyone who wanted them. There were 4 seats to each home game, so we asked for the ones to last night's game. Don and our friend, Ken, were going to take the two older children and Daelyn and I were going to spend the evening quietly at home. But Ken couldn't go, so Don decided to try and take the baby along.

The game started at 7:05, so they left at 6:30. We packed a backpack with drinks, popcorn and cookies for the kids so they wouldn't pester Don to spend money on concessions. Once they were out the door, I had a good, long phone visit with my sister and then settled into scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees with a Brillo pad. I got a good section done, then scrubbed the 1/2 bath floor with Pine-Sol before cleaning up and sitting down with a bowl of pecans to crack and a movie to watch.

I put on SpiderMan, which Don had given to me, thinking that it needed to be previewed before the children could see it. They'd been pestering me since Christmas to watch it, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity. There are a couple of rough spots that are just a little too graphic and ucky for the kids, but most of it is passable (lots of violence, but no sex and very few bad words).

They got home about 10:00, carrying the game puck and with Deanna wearing a team T-shirt. I knew Don hadn't purchased it, so I asked how she had acquired it. Apparently, this team has quite a half-time show (if you call it that in Hockey). During each of the breaks between periods, they came out and threw t-shirts to the crowd. The kids had lots of stories to tell and really had a great time, as did I in the house by myself. After the game, Deanna was itching to touch the ice, so Don took the kids down to the floor (the seats were in the 5th row - not too shabby for free tickets). A man was standing on the ice in front of them and gave them the game puck. Boy, were they stoked. They can't wait to go again now.

I got most of the tough cleaning done that needed to be done with the children gone and watched a movie, to boot. A good time was had by all until Daelyn tried out some of the moves he saw at the game last night on his brother today - the only apparent disadvantage to hockey games.

Today, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Some of you may not know, but I'm the Chuck E. Cheese Guru. I've learned all the ropes and know most of the employees (at least the long-term ones), and the equipment repair manager and I have become good friends. On quiet days, he'll walk around the store with me and give me tips on how to win the games. I've played them enough that I know which ones give you the most tickets and which ones are money traps. I always check with the person at the door to find out what the latest promotion is, and we always take our most-recent report cards with us. (Chuck E. Cheese gives 15 tokens per report card.)

I learned some time ago that you can buy their cups and take them back with you every visit for free drinks. And I always clip their coupons. Right now, their promotion involves them giving each child a peel-away card when they enter the store. The peel-off is good for a number of free tokens, ranging from 5 to 20. Deanna got 20 and both the boys got 5 each, totalling 30 tokens. In addition, I took both Deanna and Dane's report cards for another 30 tokens. A friend of mine and I split the cost of a large pizza with a coupon I had which gave us 30 tokens, a large pizza, and 4 drinks (which I wouldn't have needed if I had remembered my drink cups this visit) for $21.00 (split, this means $10.50 plus tax for each of us). This added another 15 tokens to our total, now running at 75. In addition, I had a coupon I had cut off of something that gave me 10 extra tokens. So, for $11.47, we got 85 tokens, half a large pepperoni pizza and two refillable drinks to split. Not too slouchy.

We always combine all the tickets we win off the games (I usually win the most, which I add to the count), and then divide them up amongst the children and pick out toys on the way out from the display case. The kids love this part and it always turns out to be a fun day.

So, they've been to a hockey game and Chuck E. Cheese. Tomorrow, we are expecting a visit from a friend in the morning, then the children have doctor's appointments. We'll be joining my niece, who works at our pediatrician's office, for lunch. Then, Friday, Don and I are trying to take the kids to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the morning. If we can pull the whole thing off, I think the children will have enjoyed a wonderful school vacation, and Don and I, as well.

For the most part, it's been a peaceful vacation, too, except for the hockey moves. And, earlier this week, Daelyn decided to make it snow in the kitchen with pecans. He began throwing them into the air and yelling, "It's snowing." It wasn't very funny when one hit me in the head. I told him not to do it again, so Dane tried it. I threatened them both with spankings if they did it again. Daelyn picked up a handful and turned to look at me.

"Don't do it," I warned. While looking me dead in the eye, he dropped them, yelling, "It's snowing." At least he didn't throw them up into the air, but he was still disobedient.

I sent him to his bedroom and told him he was getting a spanking. He walked off, crying. A few minutes later, he came back into the kitchen and said, "Mama, you can't spank me, cause you're not the boss of me. Daddy's the boss of our family."

The mini-lawyer. He can always find an angle. I told Don who said, "Fine. Then Daddy'll spank you."

Poor little guy. He tried so hard to argue his way out of it, only to find out that he made matters worse.

Just a small incident in an otherwise wonderful week. Hope yours is as good.