Bingo

photo credit: Treble Clef

MeeMom: So, we have this game we play as a family while we drive. Whoever spies a Volkswagon bug or a yellow car, they shout BINGO and then the person next to them gets slammed with the fist. When Mezzo sits next to me my arm is about ready to fall off because he doesn't quite figure out that I AM NOT A PUNCHING BAG. And I'm the driver!! So I decided to put my foot down yesterday (with the Bingo game, not the gas pedal) and let the kiddies know that while they are more than welcome to shout "Bingo" as many times as they want, there is no. more. punching. BTW, I can't believe how many yellow cars there are out there on the interstate. Honestly, who would choose to drive a yellow car that's not a school bus or a taxi?

Bass Clef: The game B.I.N.G.O is very, very fun to play. Hitting my brothers and sister is just so fun to do. But when I hit them, I know it is fun for them while they are getting hit. For the past couple of days I have found so many yellow cars. Buses are the easiest to find while driving home from school. It is fun to hit my brothers very, very hard so there arm hurts like it's jello.

Staccato: Yeah, I like Bingo. It's fun. Hey, can I play bingo before I go to bed?

MeeMom: Umm, Staccato, it's not that Bingo. It's the one we play as a family when we drive in the van and see a yellow car.

Staccato: Oh yeah. That one. Can I have a cookie before I go to sleep?

Middle C: I love B.I.N.G.O! Sometimes we all think gold or orange cars are yellow, so we purposefully hit our neighbor (seating partner, that is) ten times! Around school time, school buses are very simple to find. MeeMom said that you just yell Bingo on Volkswagon bugs. What she should have said was that it can be any yellow cars. And, if we see an old, yellow convertible Volkswagon with its hood down, we get to hit 5 times. And Bass Clef, when you punch me it doesn't make my arm feel like Jell-o!!

Mezzo: My friends, not my brothers, punch me so hard that I get bruised really bad because they have been playing Bingo their whole life. Sorry Bass Clef.  When we were coming home from Scout Camp, exhausted from getting four merit badges including the painful Shotgun Merit Badge, we played Bingo and it was 2 to 1. By the time I got home, my left arm was one giant bruise. It is a really fun game. SOME FRIENDS!

Treble Clef: Bingo! This is such a great game to play. We drive 10 miles to and from school so it's a perfect time to get out my energy by hitting my brothers. I think Fermata does not enjoy playing the game. Whenever you hit him he hits you back because he hates the game! Poor, poor Fermata does not love to have an enjoyable time with his brothers and sister in the car. Whenever I get in the van I sure do enjoy the fact that we are hitting each other. Whoa Middle C, your arm probably does feel like jello, your just to tough to admit it.

Fermata: I don't agree with Treble Clef. Okay, so it's true that I used to hate playing Bingo because my older brothers would punch me like I was their pillow and I would get these HUGE bruises. But I have had a change of heart and now I like it because when they punch me I punch them harder. Also I find lots of yellow Beetle bugs, and other yellow cars. Treble Clef always asks me "Does that goldish yellow car count?" Then I say "no" because it is not fully yellow.

Allegro: I like playing Bingo. I sit in the very back, so most of the time my brothers forget I am there because they are too busy punching each other.  Does every family who drives in cars play this same game?

B Sharp: My favorite part about Bingo is getting to hit someone.

DooDad: I am pretty much King of Bingo, but without the punching. Really. Ask MeeMom. I give her sweet, little love taps when we ride along and I find the yellow cars. One time I had 8 Bingos to her zero. Woop, woop, I am King of Bingo.

MeeMom: Ahem, now you know why I had to put my foot down!

First Day of School 2011 - Chaos in a Can

MeeMom:  I did it. I mean, we did it. Got seven kids off to the First Day of School - all in uniforms mind you - by 7:35 this morning (SEVEN.THIRTY.FIVE.A.M.) all after family scripture study, showers and a wholesome, USDA approved breakfast of chocolate muffins.  Of course we started at 6:00, which has not been a part of our schedule - let alone our thinking - since we got out of school in early June.

Middle C: Today was my first day at a new school and it is the best school ever!!!  I was so tired when I had to wake up at 6.00 am to start getting ready for school, and it is such a long drive to school.  At school I was so tired! At school I played "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" on the smart board, for those who don't know . Those chocolate muffins that MeeMom mentioned were so good. When I was waiting for the carpool to come (aka our 15-passenger van), it felt weird because at my old school I usually went right out of the door and walked home.

Treble Clef: So, waking up at 6:00 in the morning got my day starting out tired. When I got to school, I went to my locker ( Man, I feel so proud that I have my very own locker. YES!). It was my first day in 7th grade and I had to go to eight classes to meet eight teachers to know what is happening. My first period class was English, and I was told by Big Brother, Mezzo, that the English teacher was REALLY REALLY MEAN! Right when I got to class, two classmates darted in like a bullet (that fast!) and sure enough, the teacher yelled at them like they were her kids! So the rest of the day I read my silly-buses, because the teachers told us to. And that is how my First Day Of School went. Pretty Awkward!

Mezzo: Today I started EIGHTH grade. It was a great time seeing my friends again. The teachers were really nice and they were very helpful. My friends were great and my favorite classes are Geometery and Honors Science.

Staccato: Well, my 2nd grade teacher was nice and I got Elephant Bucks. And, hey Middle C, I just saw a horse fly fly by.

Allegro: I tapped my teacher before school let out and told her that I didn't know the name of my carpool.  I was really nervous about it but then they called just our last name and I wasn't nervous anymore.

B Sharp: It was so much fun staying home ALL day without my brothers and sister to bug me.  I worked on my math skills and colored while MeeMom tried to figure out this blog and sew pants into shorts for the boys. I'm so excited go to kindergarten in SEVEN more days!

Bass Clef: The first day was okay I guess. I can tell 7th grade is going to be a very long year! Hope school goes by very, very fast but filled with fun stuff.

Fermata: The first day was fun, but very slow. My teacher is very nice and awesome. We were lucky to be able to get lockers in sixth grade because last year, hee hee, Bass and Treble didn't get lockers AT ALL, hee hee.

MeeMom: So tonight we gathered around the table to figure out what our family carpool name should be for this year.  Who wants to go by just their last name?  Especially if their last name is common like Jones or Smith or Marinoniolla?  Last year our 15-passenger van went by the name "Hey guys, we're going home."  So we tossed around some names like "1 Sister and 7 Misters" and "Uncle Rico's here to get you."  Like usual, it caused a hot debate.

DooDad: And because of the hot debate that was brewing, I finally had to put in my two cents worth because three boys were trying to climb over my chair and two others were having a very loud discussion about naming or not naming this year's carpool "Snow White and the Seven Dorks," all while I was feeding  Baby Coda and the dog was barking out of control because he hadn't been walked since this morning.  So I threw out the name "Chaos in a Can" and there was a heavenly moment of silence before everyone broke out in hysterics.  The dog even stopped barking.  I think that's going to be our family carpool name this year.  Watch out!  Because it is true! We are Chaos in a Can.