My 2 oldest children, Zman and DramaQueen are in search of pen pals. They have been asking me for awhile now to help them each get one. So, this….this is me helping.

I had multiple pen pals when I was their age and loved it. It was a great way for me to learn about other people and for me to hone my awesome letter writing skills not to mention improve my penmanship.
Not just fun, but educational too!!

I am wondering if any of my fellow bloggy friends have children who would be interested in corresponding with my kids via snail mail because seriously, getting mail when you’re a kid, it’s wicked awesome!

Zman is 12, in 7th grade and enjoys all things sports. He’s a die hard Green Bay Packer fan, who loves football, baseball, Nascar, WWE and hockey. He loves to read, skateboard, ride his bike, play video games and go hunting with his Pa (grandpa).

DramaQueen is 11, in 6th grade and is just as her name states—-Dramatic. She loves to act, be creative, draw, paint–you name it. She also LOVES music, swimming, soccer, movies and is in her second year of German and is obsessed!

So, if you have a child in your house that you think would be a great pen pal for one of my kidlets, please use the form below!

In my post on Monday, I briefly mentioned that my New Year didn’t exactly start off as I had planned and there are a variety of reasons for that.

You see, I rang in the New Year heavily medicated thanks to my good friends Percocet and Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release.
Did I mention that I was very, very, heavily medicated due to the fact that I was in excruciating pain?
Because I totally was.

We spent New Year’s Eve with the kids, my good friend and 2 of her children and enjoyed some deep fried foods for the last time.
That night went great and honestly, so was New Year’s Day (with the exception of the Wisconsin Badger’s losing the Rose Bowl—that was depressing. –Did I mention it was even more depressing because my cousin Mike is the Badgers starting linebacker?—Yeah, completely depressing!)

Moving on….the following day, Sunday, was even good because well…the Green Bay Packer’s kicked some Chicago Bear butt!

On Monday, Zman and Drama Queen returned to school and I went to see the ENT for the 3rd time….you know after having already been in the ER three times between Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas in addition to that trip to my family doctor.

After my visit with the ENT, things began to look up.
That was Monday.
Tuesday came and went and everything went great.
And then…..then Wednesday arrived.
Wednesday evening, I found myself back in the ER.
This time, the Hardworking Hubby was the patient.
What happened you ask?
Well…..he managed to slice the tip of his right ring finger off while chopping apples for that night’s dinner.

The Hardworking Hubby before the Physician's Assistant (that we LOVE from a past experience) came in to check things out.

The Hardworking Hubby all bandaged up with a finger filled with Lidocaine to numb it and a prescription for some Vicodin!

So, here I was, finally feeling better and now I had to take care of the Hardworking Hubby.
What I’m really saying is that I drugged him HEAVILY and sent his happy ass to bed!
I even let him sleep in the following morning until he was ready to get up.
I know……I’m such a nice wife!

This brings us to Thursday.
On Thursday, I had a great day.
I had a chance to hang out with both Tatertot and the Hardworking Hubby which is a rarity since he works 3rd shift.
I picked my pseudo niece and nephew up from school after scooping the Drama Queen from the bus stop and came home to get some work done, help prepare dinner and then head back to the school to pickup Zman from wrestling practice at 5:30.
At 5:13 PM, as I was getting ready to head to the school, I got a phone call from Zman’s wrestling coach.
The boy was hurt.
Something went awry during practice and he had been basically crushed between a kid 25lbs heavier than him and the mat…on his side.
Soooo…I went and got him, brought him home and saw the amount of pain he was in as the tears streamed down his face.
I packed the diaper bag, called my dad, loaded the family in the van, dropped Tatertot and the Drama Queen off by my dad and Zman, Hardworking Hubby and I headed to the ER…..again.

Yes….

For the 5th time within a 2 week time frame.
The 2nd time in less than 24 hours.

Headed down to x-ray to make sure nothing is broken

Thankfully the x-ray is clear! No breaks!!!!

After sitting in the ER for almost 2 hours, the boy was diagnosed with a muscle spasm in his trapezius muscle with orders to follow up with our family doctor on Monday.

From Thursday night until Monday morning, Zman was heavily medicated to help with the pain and inflammation.
I took him to see our family doctor for a recheck on everything.
New x-rays came back clear.
New diagnosis…..muscle spasm of the trapezius muscle, shoulder strain and chest wall contusion.

So, after 5 trips to the ER, 2 visits with our family doctor and 3 visits with the ENT Specialist, I think we should get some kind of group discount or at least given the option to enroll in a frequent visitor program with rewards!

Christmas 2010 was another hectic one for The Megalomaniac Family and we are happy that we survived!
This year I felt like we were on the go nonstop and it didn’t help that during all of it I was really sick with duel outer ear infections.
Our Christmas started on the morning of Christmas Eve with a gift opening at my in-laws house.
Since I was in a drugged haze for most of the holiday, I’m thankful that I managed to snap a few pics here and there.

Zman and Drama Queen on Christmas Eve---Being nice to one another! A VERY rare moment!

Tatertot (with his Bumpa) opening his first present.....Toy Story 3 Color Wonder markers & coloring pad.

Zman with his new Hot Wheels MiniBike thingamajig he got from Grandma & Bumpa (This toy has now been taken over by Tatertot.)

Drama Queen and her new ornament from Grandma & Bumpa. Each of the kids received one with their name on it.

The Tatertot snuggling with his Auntie A. He sure missed her while she was away at school!

After we were done opening gifts at the in-laws, we made our way north to the Hardworking Hubby’s grandma’s house for lunch.
Going to Grandma’s is one of our favorite parts about Christmas because it is the one time of the year she makes her amazing meat pie!

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures from our time at Grandma’s because, well to be honest, I ate lunch and then fell asleep since I wasn’t feeling well.

Once we were done at Grandma’s we made the 30 minute drive back home and then discovered that I had left my camera up north and the hubby had left his cell phone behind.

Needless to say the next hour of my life was spent in the van making the drive back up to Grandma’s and then back home.

Then I drugged myself and went to sleep.

After my little nap, we loaded back into the van and headed back to the in-laws house for Christmas Eve with my mother-in-laws side of the family.

I was in pain throughout most of the night.

I took a few pictures.

Enjoy!

Drama Queen opening her Paper Jamz ensemble. (My house will never be quiet again!)

Zman showing off the awesome new Greg Jennings jersey he received. GO PACK GO!

Tatertot and his awesome little farm set he got as a gift. (I keep stepping on the darn pieces!)

The Hardworking Hubby and I opened gifts to, but it is really just a blur to me.
A few hours later he dropped me off at the ER to have my ears checked out but I already wrote all about that in another post.

After the ER, I went to bed, slept, woke up and the kids opened their gifts from Santa.
I somehow managed to capture a few pics in my drugged haze.

Drama Queen showing off her new movie, Shrek Forever After that Santa brought her.

Tatertot and his new computer from Santa. He was just a little excited!

Zman and Drama Queen and their mystery gifts from Santa.

Now, the mystery gifts Zman and Drama Queen received from Santa were their BIG gifts. Each year they receive something that they have been asking for over and over and over and over but this year, this year Santa really threw them for a loop with a HUGE surprise!
Thankfully the Hardworking Hubby captured it on video because their reaction was priceless!

I’m glad they were really excited about their big gifts because after that I went back to bed and slept through most of the day.

I hope you had a great Christmas too!