Medford Star News

So we got a Wii for the family during Christmas. This fantastic gaming system has become the epicenter for family fun - and also knock down, drag out temper tantrums of the variety I only imagined happened on television.

We’ve noticed that our son’s competitive spirit is sparked by almost everything Wii. From wanting to win every hole of miniature golf to screaming at the tv when he gets a gutter ball bowling (”the Wii is cheating, Mom, it is cheating!), I’m starting to get a feeling for how much everything, well, feels to him.

So when I received an invitation via Mommy Track’d (you know how much I love that site and newsletter) to join up with Pepperidge Farm’s “Fishful Thinking” Brand Ambassador program, I jumped at the chance. Ok, I really just opened a new browser and spent a few minutes signing up (but I did do it during work, if that tells you how excited I was).

Brand Ambassadors - like me - help spread the word about the site, and share their creative ideas about how to instill optimism in our kids.

And it turns our the Fishful Thinking site has all sorts of resources for me and my little “Tiger Woods/Walter Sobchak” to help us cope together with growing up. I’m still exploring everything, but I did take the Resiliance Test the other day, and I think we’re going to make it. Kai has flashes of anger, but he also has a nice mix of compassion and a certain sense of self-soothing that lets him bounce back most days.

But the next time he throws down his Wii-mote after his sister gets a hole-in-one on the crazy lava tube hole, I’m taking five minutes to read the How to Be a Happier Mom article.

So we’re out walking around on Saturday in Satellite Beach looking at Christmas light displays. The kids are loving it, calling out “Snowmen” and “da Gurinch” (the Grinch in Daphne speak) as they see all of the decorations, when we come across an outdoor inflatable nativity set like this:

I turned to my 4-year-old and asked, “Do you know who the baby is?” To which I received this prompt reply:

“That’s baby Santa!”

Oops! Guess those many, many years of Catholic school, Catholic mass, and Catholic guilt haven’t really rubbed off on him yet. Time to pull out some world religion story books.

And have no fear, my Catholic guilt is kicking in overtime on this one.

While I earn my right to own a rosary back, here’s a photo of the kids enjoying the lights.

Christmas, I’m told, is right around the corner. What? When did it become December?

Anyway, we hopped on the Holiday Train today by hanging out at my work’s family holiday party. Decorate your own cookie. Face painting. Crafts. Not too shabby. Here’s a pic of my kids getting their sprinkles on: