Scavenger Hunt, BlogHer Style

It's Wabbit Season! No, wait...it's really Blogger season!

BlogHer has gathered secrets from the blogging world and put together a fun Scavenger Hunt that will take you traipsing through numerous BlogHer profiles in search of whose secret fact is whose!

Go HERE to begin the hunt!

Have Fun!

**Elmer Fudd & Bugs images courtesy of the World Wide Web.

it's all fun and games

The boy child is obsessed. This is nothing new really as his obsessions change almost as frequently as his underwear. We all know how it goes, first it was Power Rangers, Pokeman, and Yu Gi Oh before he was old enough to progress to guitars, video games, MySpace, texting and cell phones. Now it is Airsoft guns and combat with his friends.

I've never been a parent that said absolutely no "guns" in our house, even toy guns. I thought I would be, peace, love and all that, but then the reality of having a boy kicked me in the face. These impulses are hard-coded in their DNA, I swear. The first time he put his hands on a water pistol it was all over. I try to pick my battles and this one was lost before I started to strategize. It's also really hard to stand firm on the guns are bad moral ground when I've been known to kick his butt in last man standing mode playing Ghost Recon on the playstation. And gloat about it.

Now Ace has graduated to the Airsoft spring loaded plastic BB guns and in complete 13 year old boy obsession mode. He talks about it constantly. It is the first thing on his mind, besides breakfast, when he gets out of bed in the morning and it's what he wants to do when he gets home from school, as he can't wait to get back out with his friends to the home-made battle field they've created in the woods behind his friend's house. He's so completely absorbed in these things that even while dreaming and talking in his sleep last night, he was clearly in full battle mode. It made me laugh really hard to hear his still young boy voice yell out battle tactics in his sleep.

We let him split the cost of a set of Airsoft guns with a friend, but Ace had to use his allowance money to pay for them. Every day after they made the online purchase Ace asked me whether I thought the package would be delivered that day. EVERY DAY, multiple times a day, for almost ten days, he asked me this question, "Think they'll get here today?" Like my answer was going to change from the previous ten times he'd already asked that day. When the package finally arrived I thought he would burst out of his skin from the anticipation of getting his hands on them.

I have to admire the planning and focus he and his friends have put into this endeavor. They researched the type of guns they wanted and costs. They spent HOURS, days even, together creating bunkers out of sticks, bricks and even going so far as to move a doghouse into the woods to create a woodland battle field. They dug shallow foxholes and built small fences to create hiding places and obstacles. They laid out battle plans and created combat teams and game rules. All of this was done BEFORE they got their shipment in hand. If he applied this much attention to his school work, he'd be a straight A student with a full scholarship already. SIGH...... He came home filthy, covered in dirt and newly torn clothes, with the periodic tick crawling on him and over the top pleased with himself and his efforts. Thirteen should be exactly like this. Full of adventure and discovery and I wouldn't see these experiences stifled for anything.

Safety is not overlooked and Ace knows the first time I find out that he's played in the woods without the face mask, he looses the guns for two weeks. No compromise on that rule as it's all fun & games until someone gets shot in the eye with a plastic BB going 250 feet per second. I even made him buy the safety gear himself, 'cause I'm that kind of Mom.

The Ungame Connection

It was a very uneventful 4th of July here in the Catootes household. Our town held the fireworks on the 3rd, to which we made the proper appearance and both kids promptly caught up with friends and left me guarding the blanket.

As the morning got underway, the kids went off to friend's while SuperHubby worked and I baked Chocolate Chip cookies from a box and Sugar Cookies from scratch, both Gluten-Free, of course. The guys headed out to the Mets - Phillies game about 3:00 pm, leaving Miss Giggles and me to occupy ourselves later.

After a few blessed alone hours, in which I did absolutely nothing productive, I headed off to collect the girl child from her play date. We hit the supermarket and decided that Fried Chicken and SuperHero Popsicles were on the menu.

The excitement of my life just makes you catch your breath, doesn't it?

Bear with me, I do have a direction other than what was for dinner.

It was about an hour after all the food was put away and I was sitting and reading, that Miss Giggles came out of her room with her favorite board game. And this is saying a lot as there are only two board games this child will play. She finds the rest boring and will not ever agree to play. EVER. Even if you beg. We've tried.

The game tonight? The Ungame. She loves this game. It's non-competitive, has decks of questions about life, your views, feelings and ideas. There is no pressure, no sending someone back to start, you do not pass go or collect $200. You just get to go around the board until you decide to stop.

There are two decks of cards, one with lighter topic questions and one with deeper content. It can be played with just one or both piles to draw from. Stops on the board ask the player to draw a card or do their own thing, which is ask a question or make a comment. At least our version does, but it dates around 1975, which ensures the marketing photo's are priceless. I haven't seen the updated boards to know if they are the same.




What I like about playing this game with her and the rest of the family? The insight I glean about my kids and what they really think about life and what is going on around them. It's a light hearted setting so they are more inclined to answer honestly. Our kids are pretty open with us, but those deeper thoughts are encouraged by this game and one question sometimes leads to another. There is often silliness and "I don't know" but more often than not, the answer is a reflection of who they are.

One of the questions from tonight's round "describe what makes a happy family"

Giggles response? If a family spends time together, talks to each other and listens, supports each other and just gives love, then they are happy. If they don't have these things, how could they be happy? Now, I may have paraphrased a bit because my heart damn near swelled out of my chest, but that was almost word for word. After she answered I stared at her to lock that memory into my head.

Mostly so I would remember it when she next drives me insane.

This is my 10 year old. This wonderful insightful creative funny girl. Who unfortunately has seen way too much sickness and death in her short life. I like to believe the struggles and losses in the past few years have given her a deeper view of life and what is really important. When she says things like that it seems to be so.

I have to confess that when I asked her to name one thing she likes about her brother, she couldn't quite spit one out.

Oh, the other game she'll play? Life.

Where to get The Ungame: Here or Here or directly from the manufacturer in the link above.