Feel Good Friday - All Things Fresh and New

A great blogger, The Girl Next Door Grows Up, used to do a Feel Good Friday link up every week, back when she had time to keep up her blog.  I miss it.  Her friend Lia Sophia Tomgirl kept it up for awhile, too, but it seems to have fizzled out.  It really made me think of the positives in my life, and I need to be encouraged to do that more often.  So I'm going to do it on my own this week (I tried to finish it up this morning but just couldn't quite wrap it up before I had to leave).  If you want to join in, just leave a comment with your link - I don't know how to do linky things and I don't have time to figure it out right this minute....

Here's five things that happened, or that I did, or that I saw, this week that qualify as "feel good" things.

1.  I started a new job, in food service at the local alternative high school.  It's where all the kids who "can't, for one reason or another, go to the regular high school" go.  That's how it was described to me.  It's a few kids with special needs and a lot of kids with shall we say, behavior problems.  It's never going to be boring.  I'll never have to go to work during a day the kids have off.  I'll never have to be there before or after school. 

This week was a little hectic and stressful, but I think we're just working through some first-week-of-school kinks.  And, I get paid.  I'm not just a volunteer, anymore.  Whee!

2.  The boys had a great first week of school, for the most part. There are a couple of new kids in their class and after a few hours of staring nervously at them, AJ actually requested to do an activity with them.  That's my boy! 

Zack is eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day (yay, he's eating something that regular kids eat....), and AJ is working on that.  He has to eat cereal right now for lunch, he can't manage the sandwich yet.  It's only the first week though, we'll work on that. 

Otherwise the notes from their teacher say that AJ has been testing, and "defiant."  That doesn't surprise me.  He's got a naughty streak, and will test boundaries every which way he can.  He's my little rebel, I guess.

3.  Aliza had a great week, too.  She is starting her 5th year in this elementary school (K thru 6th, and she just started 4th) and she knew her teacher a little beforehand, and she knows most of the kids in the class.  Made for the easiest first day of school ever.

Those aren't Christmas lights still strung around the deck.  They are.... first-day-of-school celebration lights.  Yep, that's it.

4.  I'm excited for Aliza's dancing year.  She's in a new group and will be having classes four times a week.  It'll be a total of seven and a half hours of dance instruction per week.  She is pumped for it. Today she wore her dance jacket to school, and reviewed for me all the competitions she's been in, which is where all the pins on the collar are from.  She won't have much time left over for basketball or any other sport, but she loves dance so for now, we'll keep it up, because I think it's very beneficial to her self esteem.

5.  The infamous pink shirt?  It's back.  Some things never change.

My, How Times Have Changed

Forts have gotten really high tech since I was a kid.

None of my forts when I was growing up ever had a lock, much less a keypad entry.  I wonder what the code is.

Feel Good Friday - created by The Girl Next Door Grows up

currently maintained by Lia Sophia Tomgirl

Go on, do it - everyone should feel good on Friday!

Things to Look Forward to

1.  I'm working on a new design for this blog.  I know I change the background and header every few days, it seems like, but I'm going to do something a little more permanent and fitting that goes with my theme.  No idea how long it's going to take me (depends on whether I actually learn the HTML or fake it with a blogger template), so it'll have to be a surprise, but I love what I have so far.  It's fun, funky, and Fragile X-y.

2.  Tomorrow morning the five of us are heading back to Madison for another study at the Waisman Center.  AJ and I went last November and had a great experience there.  This time both boys are going to participate in a word learning study so the whole family is heading out and treating it like a mini-vacation.  I foresee lots of swimming and McDonalds in our near future.  And lots of coffee.

3.  We are going to see The Wiggles in August!  They added an afternoon show, so we are going to check it out.  It'll be the five of us and Grandma & Grandpa, so we'll have plenty of adults along in case one or both of the boys have problems.  I think the week before, I'm going to call the theater and see if I can bring the kids out there to walk around the auditorium just a little bit, and see the place.  It might make the day of the concert just a little less anxious for the boys if they are at least a little familiar with the theater.  Other suggestions are welcome.  I'm hoping to make this a successful excursion.

That's all!  Have to run and get kids ready for the day and start organizing and packing for the trip.

Feel Good Friday was created by The Girl Next Door Grows Up and is current being maintained by Lia Sophia Tomgirl.  Go write your own "things to feel good about" (or whatever - I don't always follow that rule, sometimes I just post whatever I have that day, and call it Food Good material) and link up!

Totally Off Topic: Going to the Movies by Yourself

(Feel Good Friday was created by The Girl Next Door Grows Up and is currently being hosted by Lia Sophia Tomgirl.)

A good movie is such a great escape.  For a couple of hours my whole life can consist of just a big screen, great actors, an engaging story, some very unhealthy popcorn, a diet Coke.  No kids, laundry, phone calls, family therapy, forms, diapers, screaming, cereal, lawn mowing, dishes, appointments, Wiggles, toys, ............

When Mark was laid off during the last couple of years, I went to movies by myself sometimes, on the days he was home too, and there was just no need for us both to be here all day.   I knew that eventually he'd have a job and I'd have to take over the home and kid duties 100% once again, so I took advantage of being able to get out of the house during the day once in awhile.  Shopping was a bad (expensive) idea, but a matinee can be quite affordable with coupons and frequent viewer cards.  Two hours all by myself.  It was quite heavenly.

Now when I go to the movies with someone else I'm like, wait, you mean I have to wait for you? I have to consider what movie YOU might want to watch?  And sit maybe where you want to sit? And share my popcorn?  Oh, man....

Around 10 years ago someone emailed this list to me and I saved it because I thought it was brilliant.  Remember back when we were all forwarding each other little jokes, stories, quotes, lists, pictures, and inspirational things?  And every email would have about 100,000 >>>>s before each line of text?  Has anyone ever been able to explain why that happened?

Anyway here I removed all the >>>>>s for your viewing ease.  You're welcome.

I have no idea who wrote this, or I'd credit them appropriately.

Oh and before you read this list, you should know that one of my favorite movies is Flash Gordon (1980).

If I ever become an Evil Overlord:

1. My legions of terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.

2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.

3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.

4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.

5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box.

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

7. When the rebel leader challenges me to fight one-on-one and asks, "Or are you afraid without your armies to back you up?" My reply will be, "No, just sensible."

8. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?"  I'll say, "Nope" and shoot him.

9. After I kidnap the beautiful princess (or perhaps, prince), we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.

10. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labeled "Danger: Do Not Push".

11. I will not order my trusted lieutenant to kill the infant who is destined to overthrow me -- I'll do it myself.

12. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum-- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.

13. I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.

14. I will not waste time making my enemy's death look like an accident: I'm not accountable to anyone and my other enemies wouldn't believe it.

15. I will make it clear that I do know the meaning of the word "mercy"; I simply choose not show them any.

16. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before its implementation.

17. All slain enemies will be cremated, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.

18. My undercover agents will not have tattoos identifying them as members of my organization, nor will they be required to wear military boots or adhere to any other dress codes.

19. The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request.

20. I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.

21. I will design all doomsday machines myself. If I must hire a mad scientist to assist me, I will make sure that he is sufficiently twisted to never regret his evil ways and seek to undo the damage he's caused.

22. I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."

23. When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.

Feel Good Friday: Spring Explosion

I have bene wanting to sit here and get a post ready for Feel Good Friday all day, but haven't had a chance to sit at the laptop and do it until now.  I volunteered at the boys' school this morning which was fun as always, and I met another one of the team that works with the boys.  Then I ran home, the boys got home from school and ate all their chicken for lunch (score 1 for Arby's).  Then the therapists arrived, and we have been working on FST (Family Service Training) for the past couple of hours.

But it's still Friday, right?  It's not like I'm too late.

Spring has finally exploded all across our backyard.  It's actually not the most colorful spring I've ever seen, but I'll take it.

Part of me wanted to smart off at it and say "took you long enough," but I feared retribution in the form of more clouds and rain.  So I kept my trap shut and got out the camera.

Zack and AJ played back there this week after school with a few of the neighbor kids.

Did you know there was a time when I thought I would never be able to say that sentence?

*Smile*  We are so typical.

I mean, they jumped in the trampoline, played on the swings and slide, and in the playhouse with their sister and two other kids.  At one point, a little girl actually got AJ to agree to sit down in a little lawn chair so she could play "school" with him.

AJ PLAYED "SCHOOL!"  Only for a few minutes.  But STILL!

We are so, so lucky to live in this neighborhood full of children ready to take on whatever challenges the boys might present, and find a way to play with them.  That little girl didn't care that AJ didn't cooperate too much as her "student."  She just played as much as he was able to.

Aliza swung herself across the monkey bars and AJ wanted to do it too (learning from imitation, at its finest, right here in my backyard) so she held him up and helped him across.

Well, Zack thought that looked pretty fun and wanted a turn, too (imitation, over and over, loving it!) but Aliza wasn't done with AJ yet, so she told Zack to get down and wait for his turn.  He screamed and looked like he was going to cry.  You see, he's not much for hearing "no."  It kind of feels like a slap in the face for him.  So Aliza ran right over and gave him a hug, and he hugged her back, and then we all clapped, and it was amazing!

How come those kind of interactions didn't happen inside, all winter?  What is it about the outdoors that makes magic like that happen?

Anyway, life is good.

Look at these cute tulips the boys made for me at school!  A couple of years ago I would get things from the school and I didn't really believe the boys had a hand in making them.  Picking up a bottle of glue and squirting it out onto construction paper was just not something they could even be bribed to do.  But now, I took these out of their backpack, held them up, and said "did you make these?  They are so pretty, I love them!"  And they smiled shyly.  Oh yes, those were handmade by a couple of little boys.....

It's a very feel-good Friday!  Check out the other Feel Good Friday entries over at Lia Sophia Tomgirl!  Sometime soon the originator of Feel Good Friday, The Girl Next Door Grows Up, will be back and online, but until then, many thanks to Lia Sophia Tomgirl for keeping it going!

Feel Good Friday - Better Late than Never

Finding stuff to feel good about, more or less....

1.  This past week we recognized the anniversary of our D-Day.  The day we got the Fragile X diagnosis.  It was Tuesday.  We talked about it a little, and I did not cry.

2.  I saved my crying for Wednesday, when the lead psychiatrist lady told me it'll be nice when my boys are able to say "I want to call mom" to the staff at their group home where they'll live when they are grown.  What's so ironic to me is the fact that of all the phrases she could have used as an example, she chose that one.  My guys will want to call their mom from the group home.  Well isn't that nice.  Hey, I'm seeing the humor in it now.  (On a more serious note, I am thinking about whether or not to say anything to her about how hurtful and inappropriate and just plain wrong it was for her to say that.  I've gotten so much awesome support and love from you about this and I am so grateful for everyone who emailed, called, commented, or even just read this and thought or prayed for us.  It's like she deflated my balloon, and you guys came right over and pumped it back up!)

3.  This weekend Mark and I are headed to the Dakota County Parent Retreat.  It's a weekend gathering for parents of children with special needs, ages birth to 5, who live in Dakota County and are receiving services from the school districts' ECSE (you've heard of ESFE - Early Childhood Family Education - did you know there's also an ECSE - Early Childhood Special Education?  I didn't know either, a few years ago.).  Our kids have graduated from the ECSE program but we still go to the retreat, because I joined the committee to plan it.  It's a terrific day and a half of learning, commiserating, relaxing, bonding, and sharing.  We will be facilitating a parent networking group in the morning and then sitting on a panel of special needs parents in the afternoon.  Then we get a fancy dinner (read: without children) and a stay over night in a nice hotel!  I think we are going to go see a movie after dinner!  I am perusing Fandango to see what's playing.

4.  Tuesday night was our Mothers of Multiples meeting and it was a spa night -- a night for total relaxation and conversation.  It was so much fun, I do love my MOMs!  I talked to a few MOMs about our Special Kids, Special Needs subgroup and we have decided to have our own dinner, to meet and share stories and keep each other afloat.

5.  No one has thrown up in this house in a whole week now.  Well, almost a week.  Almost counts.

Feel Good Friday is currently being hosted by Lia Sophia Girl, so if you feel inspired, write down some things you have to feel good about and get on over there to link up.

And to The Girl Next Door Grows Up, the originator of Feel Good Friday, if you are reading this, I miss you and I'm eagerly anticipating your return!

Stylish and Feelin' Good on Friday

Killing two proverbial blog stones today, with one post:  Stylish Blogger and Feel Good Friday!

First off, I was recently honored with a blogging award -- the Stylish Blogger Award:

I am twice blessed because I was awarded this from two bloggers!  A wonderful Fragile X mom-blogger who writes at My Journey Through Motherhood sent it to me first, and before I could finish this post, I got a second - from Michelle at Let's Make a Difference.  Thanks to you both, and right back at ya - your blogs are quite stylish as well!  Check them both out!

There are a few steps to take, in accepting this award:
1.  Thank and link back to the person that has given you this award.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself
3.  Award 10-15 blogs you feel deserve the award
4.  Contact these bloggers and let then know about the award.

So, #1 is done. 

I feel like all I do is share things about myself here, but I'll try to come up with 7 originals:

1. I'm thinking about starting a completely anonymous blog and not telling a single soul about it, and see if I can get followers and be "found" just on the merits of the words I write.  I might try it later this spring or this summer, if I can find time to put it together.

2. I am pretty sure I think I'm funnier than anyone else thinks.

3.  I recently started using a new facial moisturizer and this morning I decided my skin is worse for it.  I have a couple of zits and a couple of itchy spots.  I'm switching back to what I was using before.  I won't name the stuff I'm quitting, but the stuff I'm going back to is Dove Energy Glow medium tone tanning lotion -- it's not even specifically for the face.  But it's been working for me.

4.  This week I had a conference with the boys' teachers.  It was just a formality really, because it happens to be parent-teacher conference time.  We did all our the talking and planning we needed to do at the IEP meeting but it was still nice to get together with them and talk about the boys.  Both boys are getting along well with the kids in their class.  Zack spontaneously hugged a kid this week.  Hugged!  Their teacher said it was so awesome to see him have contact with another kid that didn't involve biting or pinching!  I think it freaked out the other kid a little, it was a tiny little guy (and Zack is a taller than some 2nd graders), but it came out fine.

5.  I read a lot.  That's probably not news.  Another blog I'd like to start is a reading blog, but there are only so many hours in the day, and I have 3 kids, so snowballs in hell stand a better shot at making it through the day than does that idea.

6.  Tomorrow is the Used Clothing & Equipment Sale that our club, MVMOM, has been working toward for the last 6 months.  MVMOM has held these sales twice yearly since 1975 and it's has grown almost every year.  I've talked about it and posted pictures here before so this may all ring some bells for you.  Click on the link at the top of the right hand bar to find out more about it.  Check out this link to see an article about our club in the local Sun Current news!  We also hope to make the 10:00 PM news tonight on local station WCCO!  It's been an exciting year so for for MVMOM!

7.  6 is going to have to do for now.  I have to get the car packed up and head over to the gym to set up for the big sale tomorrow!

So, on to my Stylish Blogs.  I was curious as to what I should be looking for exactly, so I looked up the definition of stylish.

styl·ish

[stahy-lish]

–adjective

characterized by or conforming to style or the fashionable standard; fashionably elegant; smart or chic: She wore a very stylish gown to the inaugural ball.

 
So I am looking for blogs that not only are interesting and fun to read, but pretty!  Here's my list.  It's up to them whether they accept and continue the giving.
 
And the Stylish Blogger Award goes to....  
 
Our Life
... is a great Fragile X family blog.  I think she already got the Stylish Blogger Award from someone but I second that.  She is funny and sweet and cute and tells the Fragile X story so well.

Basically FX
... is another awesome Fragile X family blog.  The author promotes a lot of Fragile X awareness and is hilarious to boot.

Salt in Surburbia
... is a relatively new blog by a mom of twins that I know.  Her twins also have autism and her perspective is honest and unique and real.

The Girl Next Door Grows Up
... is my favorite, I think, partially because not long ago I met The Girl in person, and she's so fun and smart and witty.  Her posts are never dull.  She's on hiatus right now while she revamps her blog, but keep her bookmarked, because when she's back, she's going to be better than ever!

Twin Engines
...a twin mom I know who travels with her twins regularly.  Lots of great tips on flying with little ones and cute pictures!

Wendorff Bunch
...yet another twin mom.  This mom should be The President, because she gets more done in one day than I do in a month.  She has 4 children, one of them an infant, she attends school full time and has served on the Mothers of Multiples board for 2 years.  She could eliminate world hunger in her spare time.

Big Teeth and Clouds
... is a blog by a mom of a child with hearing loss.  I love lots of blogs by special needs parents, and I'm not sure I could tell you why this one strikes a chord with me so much.  Our children's needs are so different, and yet I relate to so much of what she writes about.

Lilium's Realm
... she does book reviews, and she's dark and goth -- you have to love her!

The Scoop on Poop
... funny and pretty -- not how you'd expect poop to look.  And you might recall from this post that I'm a little obsessed with discussions on bodily functions.

Humble Ambitions
... if there were a specific award for designing a blog to look like what your theme is, this one should win it.  She's thoughtful and interesting.  They are raising rabbits to eat.  I'm cringing a little at that, but following along to see how that goes.

Everything I Like Causes Cancer
... I'd like to award this one the "Best Blog Title" award.  The name sucked me in, and the content does not disappoint.

That's all I got for now.  I'm spreading blog love all over the world today, and I think that is a pretty good "Feel Good Friday" post if I ever had one!

Feel Good Friday comes from The Girl Next Door Grows Up, and is currently being maintained by Lia Sophia Girl.  Check that one out too, her blog is bright and shiny and fun!

Feeling Good on Friday!

Feel Good Friday is usually run by The Girl Next Door Grows Up - she is currently on hiatus and so Lia Sophia Tomgirl is keeping Feel Good Friday going for the rest of us.  Thanks to you both!

I like Feel Good Friday because it reminds me to remember the great things, and to see the good in the things that might not have felt so great at the time.

Jeans Day Fundraiser!

Where Mark works, they have a jeans day on Friday -- just like a lot of places do.

You can also wear jeans on Mondays, on the condition that you make a donation to the designated charity of the month.  Donations for the month of March are going to the National Fragile X Foundation.  Mark is on the committee that helps decide what charity to donate to each month and he pushed for Fragile X.....we are so excited and proud of him!

Home Health Nurse
Last week the home health nurse came out to evaluate the boys and see if they still have Fragile X, I guess.  They do, and we still qualify for funding from the state, which is a very good thing to feel good about.  Not that they still have delays and still qualify as disabled -- I prefer to think of it as, it's great that we still qualify for funding that we desperately need!

Laptop Issues
On AJ's laptop, te "h" no longer works, and I'm going to use that as a reason to feel good on Friday because a) all the other letters still work, and b), you don't even need an "h" to spell Feel Good Friday!

Homework
This week I made a dinosaur diorama and two science fair projects - wait, I mean ALIZA did a dinosaur diorama and two science fair projects.  I am feeling good about all that because it's DONE.  And it's definitely "feel good" material because last night at dinner she actually thanked me for all my help.  What a sweetheart she is.  We are doing something right with that girl!

MVMOM Sale
The MVMOM Used Clothing & Equipment Sale is in two weeks and I haven't done a thing to get ready for it.  I have a ton of things to sell and none of them are entered into the system yet, much less hung on hangers and labeled.  This is something to feel good about because... well because I still have almost two weeks to work on it, and now that the science fair is over, maybe I'll fit it in somewhere!

Field Trip
One enormous feel good opportunity we had this week was of course, the field trip the boys took to the Children's Museum!  I was pretty nervous.  We have had some difficult outings with these guys lately, but this one was a good one!

Doctor Visit
AJ and Zack also had a successful trip to their doctor this week and they not only tolerated the exam very well but they both left with a clean bill of health!

Cute!
AJ said the cutest new things this week.  1) Yesterday when I told him to find his Big Sister Dora book so we could read it, he went over to the table, bent down to look underneath, and said "Big Sis Dora, where ahhh you?"  Another time I told him I was going to look in the backpack for their sandwich, and he looked down in the backpack with me and said "sandwich, where ahhh you?"  2) And earlier this week he climbed into my lap and curled up and I said "oh, are you my baby?"  He looked me square in the eye and said "big kid."

Book Club
Tonight my book club gets together to discuss Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon.  I love my book club people, I love the cafe/wine bar where we are meeting, and I loved that book.  It's a guaranteed good time!

Next Week
... is a much more "normal" week of school and therapy.  We should get to stick to our routine a bit more, which will be nice for all of us.  We had a fun week, but I think we're all a little frazzled!

Thin Mints and the Volunteer Queen

The idea of Feel Good Friday (hosted this week by LiaSophiaTomgirl) is to mention five things that made you feel good this past week.  It's a good idea for all of us to be reminded to remember the good.  So here I go.  Feel free to join in on Feel Good Friday, or just check out the other entries!

Things to feel good about today:

1.  Is it just me and my sweet tooth, or are Thin Mints even better than they have been in years past?  What are they putting in those things, anyway?  Why can't I stop eating them?

Is part of the attraction the fact that they are only available for about one month out of the year?

Would it be wrong of me to buy like 500 boxes of Thin Mints and then wait until late summer, and resell them for about $2 more a box?  Would it still be wrong if I did that as a fundraiser for the National Fragile X Foundation?  Come on, who wouldn't love a box of Thin Mints in the middle of August?  I bet I could make a fortune off Ebay.  To send to the NFXF, of course.

2.  I am a volunteer queen lately.  I just can't say no.  Yesterday I volunteered as a judge at the 3rd through 6th grade science fair.  Twice a week I'm at the school libraries doing a variety of things.  Today I decorated a bulletin board to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss.  Who wouldn't love doing that?!

All this volunteering keeps me busier than I like to be, but today at the library at the boys' school I got to see Zack.  He has speech therapy in a room that's right by the library and I had occasion to walk by there a couple of times.  He didn't see me but I snuck a couple of glances in there.  He was doing so great; sitting, paying attention, answering questions, trying to pronounce the words she asked him to.

He was so cute, sitting at that table,working.  I don't know how she could sit next to him and not just wrap him up in a big squeezy hug.  I swear my kids are more adorable when I'm not around them.

3.  This kid who rides the boys' bus, Tyler, who I mentioned in this post -- this week, for the first time all year, he waved at me and said hi, two times.  I've been saying "hi" to that kid daily since September and finally he said "hi" back.  He's not even my kid, and it warms my heart so much that he's finally responding to me!

Well, that's all I got for now.  Three feel good things is going to have to suffice for today.  Because with all this volunteering and Thin Mint eating, I have neglected housekeeping duties all week.  When you've been pulling clean clothes from laundry baskets instead of closets and drawers for three days straight, and dinner dishes are still sitting in the sink, it's time to stop searching online for pictures of Thing 1 and Thing 2 and get cracking.

I might have to take this show on the road

  Get more Feel Good Friday at The Girl Next Door Grows Up.


Are you familiar with the children's game "Hedbanz?"    Each player wears a headband with a card stuck in it, that all other players can see.  Then players take turns asking questions in order to figure out what they are.

It comes with a list of suggested, logical questions:

Do I have legs?
Could I be a pet?
Can I swim?
Do I make noise?
Can I fly?
Am I a vegetable?

But when you are eight years old, you don't need suggestions.  I sat in the living room last night, listening to Aliza and the little neighbor girl playing Hedbanz, and they went back and forth asking questions.  They started out right away with specifics.

Am I scissors?
Am I a basketball?
Am I dice?
Am I a spoon?

Then they got the hang of it -- general questions will offer clues to your identity.  So they began with:

Can I be chewed?
Am I slippery?
Am I boring?
Am I invisible?

And then it started to go in an odd direction.

Do I have wood on me?

and then....

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~
~
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~
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Can I be rubbed against the wall?

And I couldn't take anymore.  I fell on the floor laughing.  And immediately got up to start writing it down.

People, I could not make this stuff up.  I wish I could.