New Year's Eve Extravaganza!

So here we are homeboys and homegirls - almost at the end of another year.  You all know what that means, right?  Time for the Manteau Legend...(wait for it)...ary New Year's Eve Party!  If you are a kid between the ages of 8 and 18 in the town of Pittsfield, you know what I'm talking about.  Every New Year's Eve, we let the kids have a major blow out of a party.  They all get to invite as many friends as they want to ring in the New Year with us.  Last year we had about 50 kids there, and I think there will be more this year.  It's a blast!  They all play games (video and otherwise) watch movies, and generally cause a ruckus in the house (anyone up for a game of manhunt in the house in the dark? - word of advice - Eileen is famous for squeezing her little body under the upstairs bathroom sink and just hanging out - she could stay there for hours!) - and then crash for the night (all, that is, except the teenage girls - NO SLEEPING OVER FOR TEENAGE GIRLS!).  Then, the next morning, the boys' friend Max (whose the only early riser among them) helps us cook up an insane amount of eggs and pounds and pounds of potatoes and we have a great big crazy free-for-all breakfast.  The entire event is a total fiasco ..... and we wouldn't have it any other way.  It's the best!  We love it!  We are so looking forward to ringing in the New Year with sparkling cider toasts, surrounded by smiling faces and good friends.  So, if  you are looking for something to do this New Year's Eve, drop me a line. I'll send you some directions and you are more than welcome to join in the merriment.  The only rule is - bring a dish to share with everyone.  By all pitching in together, we make this thing happen. 

My wish to you all is to have a very safe and an abundantly happy 2011!  Hasta la vista, baby!

The Family that Laughs Together ....

What's shakin' bacon?  So, I think one of the best things about our family is that we love, love, love to laugh together!  We do crazy things to turn mundane situations into a good time.  For example, we have had some really great Manhunt games while grocery shopping in Wal-Mart.  We've even added to it by calling each other's cell phones with cryptic rhyming clues to where we are hiding - it's great!  (Steve's not a big fan - I think we embarrass him sometimes when we're out in public sometimes, but oh well - he loves us anyway!).  Then there was that time Sebastian and I felt the need to do a random chest bump while in the store check out line - the cashier just about fell over!  I mean, come on...it's not every day that two customers (especially a mother and son) jump up into the air and just about knock each other over with a mega chest bump in line! 

We also have a lot of family faves when it comes to funny stuff - here are a few:

Favorite comedians: Jeff Dunham (I keel you!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZUVDjBCT3o\

and Brian Regan (The big yellow one is the sun!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMNOAeYy2wg

Favorite funny movie: hands down, no question at all - The Hangover (What DO tigers dream of??)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48aFJVMh_8Q

Favorite funny tv show: Raising Hope (We are pretty sure we are somehow related to these people!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ81uDSWjGc&feature=related

Favorite stupid YouTube clips that make no sense but make us laugh so hard we pee our pants: My Spoon is Too Big (I am a banana!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrStENrKZa8

I guess the moral of the story is to make sure you always take time to laugh together...regardless of how silly it makes you look!  After all, you know what they say - the family that laughs together gets committed together (or someting like that)! Laugh on, peeps!

Yes, It is Summer and Yes, That is a Penguin...But He's Part of our Family!

What's happenin' hot stuff?  So, you heard we have a pet penguin?  Well, it's true...sort of.  His name is Carlos, and he is more than just a pet - he's a part of the family.  Here's how the story goes.... 

Last year, at Christmas time, Steve bought me this super cute stuffed penguin decoration.  He stands about three feet tall, has a few little friends around him, and is anxiously waiting by an open mailbox for Santa to send him a letter from the North Pole (where, coincidentally, I believe lots of penguins live).  Well, we just loved him and immediately decided that his name would be Carlos because he's a Mexican penguin (we love to speak Spanish around our house whenever we can, so it just seemed natural for him to be from Mexico!).   So, there Carlos stood, in the living room next to the couch, proudly celebrating Christmas with our family.  But, low and behold, the Christmas season came to a close, and we were faced with the heartbreak of putting Carlos down in the basement for the rest of the year, never to be seen again (or, at least, not until the next Christmas).  None of us could bear to part with him.  So, we decided to leave him out for a little while longer.  We figured - he's a penguin, he lives in the cold, so we can keep him out for the winter, right?  Well, Winter turned to Spring and Spring turned to Summer, and Carlos was still there, happily taking part in our family celebrations: on Valentine's Day we wrapped him in some heart garland; on Easter he wore bunny ears and stole some of the kids Easter eggs; and on the Fourth of July he was, of course, proudly waving an American flag ... well, holding one, at least.  Now, Carlos is a fixture in our house - we could never bear to ban him to the basement!  Steve is not so sure he's a member of the Carlos fan club, but I think we may have won him over.  It was either this summer when we realized Carlos was a HUGE Boston Red Sox Fan - he stole Sebastian's Red Sox hat and refused to give it back - I think he wore that thing for about a month straight!  Or, it may have been on Halloween when Carlos was sporting a super fun Halloween costume (a pumpkin headband with a mysterious masquerade ball type mask - he really fooled us all - we weren't sure who he was for a minute or two!).  Now, we find ourselves celebrating the Christmas season again, and Carlos fits right in.  For the next few weeks, there will be no more stunned utterings of "Um...do you know there's a penguin in your living room?" from our guests.  But, come January, the Christmas season will end, but Carlos will live on....standing by the couch in our living room!  After all, would you ban your Mexican penguin family member to the basement for 11 months of the year?  I think not!

Check Out Your Timeshare? We'd Love To!

What's crackalackin, peeps?  You know, when you have a big family like mine, you have to get creative when seeking out afforable, fun things to do.  Price is everything, and if it's free, we'll find it and we'll do it!  That's why we LOVE timeshare resorts - they are the best for getting free stuff! 

Last summer, when we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, the kids were dying to go to Medieval Times (okay, okay ... maybe I was just a little bit dying to go, too!), but the tickets were like $50 a person.  Do the math - that's $350 for the whole fam to go.  An awful lot of dough for a chicken dinner!  So, we had to cross it off the "To Do" list and put it on the "Wish We Could Do" list.  Then, as we were on our way to Margaritaville (seriously - we were really on our way to Margaritaville - it's a restaurant, people!) we saw a sign that said "Free Tickets to Medieval Times" so, of course, we had to stop and check it out.  Well, all we had to do to get 5 free tickets was spend 2-3 hours checking out some timeshare unit that we had no intention of purchasing.  I don't know about you, but I'll take $250 for 2-3 hours of my time - no problemo there!  Now, just so you don't think we are total losers, we did tell the guy when we signed up for the tour of the resort that we had no intention of buying anything and were just in it for the free stuff, and he didn't care.   So, everything was on the up and up.  So, we went on our tour (at which we told the salesperson from the get go that we were just in it for the free stuff - again, he was totally okay with it and even cut the tour short so we were out of there in about an hour and a half) and, when the tour was over.....SCORE!  Five free tix to Medieval Times.  That evening, we were digging into whole chickens with our bare hands, cheering for the red knight, and throwing back some good ole' medieval libations! We had such a great time...and Eileen even got a flower from our handsome red knight in shining armor!  It was amazing - arguably one of the highlights of our entire vacation....and all made possible by our friends at the timeshare resort.


The Kids of the Court!

Enjoying some
Medieval libations!

 

Since then, we have toured other timeshares and gotten other free deals - we even spent Columbus Day weekend away for free at one of them.  Still haven't purchased anything; still continue to tell them upfront that we have no intention of purchasing anything; still no one cares.  It's a good deal!


Human Hat Toss

Yo, yo home skillets – so you want to know about human hat toss? Human hat toss is a game that came into existence one rainy Saturday afternoon about a year ago. Steve had picked up Connor’s baseball cap and tossed it to him so he could put it away. Connor bent down and tried to catch the hat on his head. He missed it and told Steve to try again and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, human hat toss is a beloved game in our family; in fact, we have spent many an hour chucking hats at our kids’ heads. We’ve tried different kinds of hats - beach hats and fishing hats are both too floppy to work well - but the primary hat of choice has remained the baseball cap. It’s got just enough structure to it that it can stand up to being thrown across the room yet soft enough that it can be comfortably caught on a child’s head. Of course, you have to be careful of the hard brim – if that catches someone in the eye, it could be painful (and we all know that it’s all fun and games until someone losses and eye!) but other than that, it’s a fairly safe game.

Of course, because my family is better than cable tv, we can’t just stop at hats. This past summer on a particularly fun camping trip, the game went through several evolutions. Here’s how it happened: we were relaxing along the banks of the Baker River after having just spent some time tubing down it when Connor (again it’s Connor – I need to keep an eye on that kid!) grabbed one of the tubes, gave it to Sebastian and said, "Throw the tube at me – I’ll see if I can catch it!" The next thing I knew, human hat toss had become human ring toss. Tubes (and people!) were flying through the air!  However, it didn’t stop there – no, not with my family. You see, it was only natural that, once we were fully covered in tubes and looking like the Michelin Man, we should tackle each other into the water and see what happens! Thankfully a few of us had the presence of mind to grab the video camera and document the craziness for posterity!

Welcome to the Family!

Hola amigos and welcome to the craziness that is my family.  I've created this blog to share with you some of the fun things that my family does together.  But, before the share-fest begins, I should introduce you to the players.  First, me - Nikki - the matriarch of the family.  I am the grease that keeps the wheels of our family turnin'.  And, the man behind the woman is my amazing husband Steve.  He's the man with the plan who keeps us all grounded and on track.  Then, we get to the monsters.  First there's Sebastian, my 16-year old son.  He just recently got his license, so watch out when you're on the road and make sure you buckle up!  Next is Aaron, my 15-year old son.  Aaron is just counting down the days until he graduates high school so he can fulfill his life long dream of joining the military.  Then we come to Noah, my 12-year old son.  Noah is the brains of the operation around here.  Next in line is my 9-year old son Connor who may quite honestly be the most talented athlete I've ever met.  Lastly, we have the princess, Miss Eileen, my 8-year old daughter.  Eileen is, as you could probably guess, the cutest little girl who could kick your butt from here to China (it's the influence of all those big brothers, you know!).  

So, those are the players, and now, stay tuned for the stories...