Magic Fingers

When I was a kid, my family traveled everywhere by car. Vacations were roadtrips, and the journey was often just as important as the destination. I don't remember staying in big chain hotels on the road--or maybe we did and I don't remember--but I do remember the one night we stayed in a Holiday Inn in a little town, and when we returned from dinner, the marquee outside said something to the effect of "Welcome to the Hutton Family of Dallas!"

In any event, I do have very specific memories of staying in motels back in the 70's and 80's that had that quintessential weary traveler's aid: Magic Fingers. I remember that Laura and I would beg our parents for quarters to plug into the machine for fifteen minutes of "tingling relaxation and ease." So it was with great nostalgia and sadness that I read of the passing this morning of the inventor of Magic Fingers, John Joseph Houghtaling.

Now if only I could convince Cathy that we needed a Magic Fingers for our bed at home...

You'd think we have a boring life...

...if all you knew about us is what we blog. Geez, we've fallen off the blogging wagon. There are so many things we've neglected to address here. For a blog that started out because of our recounting our summer trip last year, you'd think that we would have written about our super Spring Break driving trip...but alas, we havent'. We've ignored getting a new dog (hi Abita!) and the challenges and fun entailed with her, berry picking, the fantastic REACH projects that Annie and Jack did last month, Easter, the grownups' trip to Lexington, and many other fun things from our recent past. Cathy recently commented that May is just as crazy as December, with all of the end of school events, recitals, talent shows, projects, parties, as well as the swimming lessons and other activities that start with summer approaching. It's been kinda nuts--mostly in a good way--and I will do my part to get back on the blogging wagon and get this back and going again. With a vengeance. So sit tight, and we'll get something substantive up soon. Now if only we could get Sarah to start blogging regularly again...

Boys will be boys...

After 4 days in the car with a moody (seriously, is it time for that) and very disgruntled tween, I decided that God knew exactly what he was doing when he gave me 1 girl and 3 boys. Boys are easy. They eat, they sleep, they fight, they move on. Now girls, a completely different story. The drama....my gosh the drama. And the sass!!! And the attitude...and all of this from a 9 year old!!! I mean, we are not even dealing with a teenager yet Lord help me! So boys seem so much easier...unless it is the day after a long road trip and you are tired and they are tired and everyone has a vacation hangover. Then, boys are impossible. The fights turn ugly and tears start to flow. The whining is unbelievable and the pestering intolerable. There is one thing that remains constant, though, no matter the circumstances...and that is that boys will always be...boys. Today for instance, with my patience at an all time low and my frustration at an all time high, Will chooses to make some very bad choices. Namely, he decides to pee in the outdoor toy box. Why, you might ask? I, too, asked that question. Why Will? Why? The answer..."I dunno, because I can. You always let us pee outside." Yes, outside, on the side of the house near the fence if you just can't make it inside...but not in the toy box....gross!!! This just weeks after he decided to pee down the slide...also gross. And all of this during a time when he just can't seem to keep his hands off his privates!!!! I mean really! So on our first day home from vacation, our day of rest and rejuvenation, here is the short list of all that took place... bowling, inappropriate peeing, snake skin discovery, live snake discovery, bike rides, bike crashes, mud pits, spit balls, scooter races, friends over, football games, a picnic lunch, a lost tooth and finally, showers and bedtime. Makes me tired just to type it. So, with all my little monsters now in bed, I am writing this blog to help me recognize the humor in my crazy life, and trying to remember that even though I deny it most of the time..this is indeed what I signed up for, what I hoped for, the kind of life I wanted to live and the kind of mom I wanted to be...sass, snakes, pee and all.

On the road again....

Many of you might not know this but the origins of this blog stem from our last Hutton family road trip. Summer 2008 the six of us headed east…two 30 somethings and 4 kids ranging in age from 8 to 3 (yes, you read that right) left Dallas for the beautiful city of Asheville in a teeny tiny suv with what we thought was a working dvd player..ha ha. It was, to say the least, completely fun, crazy, frustrating, exciting, exhausting and wonderful. Each night after most of us dropped into bed (or sleeping bag or floor or whatever) utterly exhausted, Ames would sit down at the laptop and recap our day's adventures or misadventures, and he would email them home to family and friends. Needless to say, they were hilarious and he was encouraged (thanks Sarah!) to continue chronicalling our vida loca. So, here we are again, except now it is spring break 09 (party on!!...woops, wrong decade) hitting the road on a multistate trip. We will call this one “Reach roadtrip” since technically we are traveling for educational purposes (thanks Mrs. Dyer!). Annie is doing a report on Laura Ingalls Wilder, hence our jaunt to Mansfield, Missouri, and Jack is reporting on Elvis, prompting our pilgrimage to Graceland. Day one has drawn to a close and the children are snuggled in our lovely motel. Coming soon are a few of the sights and sounds from our first day on the road(pictures to follow upon our return)...