2020-The Big One

I get it. Life sucks right now.

I'm not even going to try to sugar coat that shit. Between homeschooling, and working from home, most of the time simultaneously. It's not uncommon to be in a meeting with a colleague, and a kiddo runs around naked and/or screaming "MAMA MAMA POOOOOP POOOOOP!!" 2020 sucks THE BIG ONE. There I said it again. SUCKS.S-U-C-K-S. And then as if it can't get any worse, our kids suffer physical contact with friends. No high 5's, no hugs, no playing tag or any contact game/sport.

I don't know about you, but I miss the days when the windows were open and all you could hear were kids laughing and squealing throughout the house. Kids being kids, mischievous kids. Playing tag, red rover, catching fireflies, swinging on the swing set. But then the scales of justice weigh in, and I get it. I get that in order to have a future we all have to sacrifice right now. Put our own personal preferences on the back burner for now, for the greater good. I understand the need for wearing masks when out in oublic or in an indoor event, or outdoor event of a large size. I am not ready to bury any of my babies, nor am I ready to throw in the proverbial towel. I am sick of funerals people.

If you are like any other parent in America and around the world then the phrase "what can I have them do now?" looms over your head like Winnie the Pooh's little black raincloud. I know they find nothing wrong with playing all day everyday, but we know they will turn into a puddle of mush. Even if you put time restrictions on them, you would still only get a puddle of mush.

In our home, which we have a big family 7 kids from 18-8, we love board games and card games, we own a bunch of different ones, and kids always ask for new ones for birthdays and Christmas. Some of our favorite board games are Monopoly (any version), TWISTER, SORRY, checkers, CONNECT 4, UNO as well. The one on one time children get from us while playing a game is priceless and invaluable. Left, right, center is another fav of ours. We like to swap out the chips and play with coins. So much fun with a decent sized group. Who doesn't love a murder mystery? Classic CLUE is a must!! Card games galore!! UNO, Rummy, Go Fish, WAR, SLAP JACK, are just a few popular card games. Sometimes we play for prizes, but most it's just for the thrill of the win. Little kiddos learn so much from perception. The perception of what is and what is going on around them. Their social skills are learned by playtime, I understand we can't go outside and run with our friends, but atleast give them that social interaction.

If your house is anything like mine than the house and the world revolves with gaming. We do not discriminate, we are a family of PlayStation lovers and XBOX ONE lovers. From Call of Duty (any version) to FORTNITE, to a revival of Sonic the Hedgehog. If your 8 year old is anything like mine than you have to surgically remove his grimy sticky hands to shower and eat. And no, they don't shower then eat. They break for the shower and then take another break to eat....... this is where I pull out my hair. Oh my goodness, if he is playing with his 2 older brothers (17 and 12) then the whole house is runneth over. Shawn uses the PS4 in the living room, Damien hooks his PS4 up to TV in their bedroom, and Anthony uses the playroom TV for his XBOX. And then it begins. The shrilling/squealing of excitement. And then comes the shit talking. You think a group of high strung teenagers is bad, you should hear my house while waiting for the game to start: "Shawn you suck!" "Mom!!!!!!!!!!!! Anthony said suck!!!""Damien you are going down," and the almighty "YOU'RE SUCH A NEWB!!" Now let me clarify, we do not condone shit talking amongst our kids, but the occasional "marking of the territory" is quite hilarious. And they are fiercely loyal to one another. Heaven help the soul that tries to take out one of the 3 of them.

How do we keep their school friends present in their lives? Play dates are out, definitely no play grounds. So we rely on what we do have. We have technology at our finger tips. We can set up "ZOOM," Google Hangouts, and SKYPE. We teach our kiddos, both younger and older, to try to find the positive in every situation. No, you can't play outside with Sally, but you can video call her on Facebook Messenger KIDS, or play games on FB KIDS. My kids and I played a virtual game of CLUE with my daughter's friend (18) who was stranded in Ohio when all this Corona started. We worked with what we had. Our kids, any age, look to us for guidance, and example. If we fight the mask, and social distancing requirements what are we teaching them?

I cringe every time my text notification goes off. I am terrified it is from one of their schools informing us of another Covid19 case. My littles go hybrid (3 online 2 in person), my high schoolers go every day. So yes, for all you technical truckers (and by truckers I really mean fuckers) yes, they each get some sort of semblance with seeing their friends 2 days out of the week. Social skills come from being social. So what do we do? How do we make it fair. I want so much more for my kids and I bet you do too.

Times are so much different now than they were last year, let alone 5, 10, 20+ years ago, or when you were being raised. We must adapt to our changing times or you are gonna get ran over.

Here is a list of some of our family favorites to unplug:

*Fort building!! And yes, before you can even dare to ask, lights are a requirement!

*Bake cookies (there is nothing like a fresh out the oven chocolate chipper.

*Make reindeer food (recipe at bottom)

*Have a spa night, do mani/pedis, makeover

*BOARD GAMES

*have an art show at home (display their artwork with frames and on shelving. Everyone can wear something nice and walk around looking at the fabulous artwork.)

*Puppet show

*Family Game Night

*Family movie night

*Make salt dough ornaments or gifts (recipe below)

MAGICAL REINDEER FOOD:

1/2 cup uncooked oats

1/2 tsp. red glitter

1/2 tsp green glitter

Mix all ingredients in a sandwich bag, on Christmas Eve sprinkle in yard for Reindeer to find your house.

SALT DOUGH

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 cup cold water

Mix flour and salt together in a bowl. SLOWLY mix in water a tablespoon at a time, until dough is smooth and easy to handle.

Knead dough for minutes, and let rest for minutes

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

form dough into desired shapes and arrange on baking sheet

Bake in preheated oven until dry and hard. About 2 hours.

Decorate per your desire