Odyssey of the Mind- Cross your fingers for us!!

So in the meantime, I've been overloaded with normal life, but back in November, I agreed to coach my son's OM team. I volunteered because I figured, "how bad can this be?". Their problem is the first one- a vehicle problem. The last few years, the vehicle problem has always been a smaller scaled vehicle- about the size of a shoebox.

This year, the vehicle needs to be big enough for at least one person to ride/operate. I'm scared. Our regional competition is on the 10th of March. Did I mention I'm scared??

Have you ever heard of OotM? What kind of problems did your childs/class' team work on? Did they make the deadline??? Help show some support!!

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Betty Crocker has nothing on me!

Nothing happens in my life until one week- then EVERYTHING happens, including guests from out of state, a county competition that we won and are now going to state with, another case of lice, and two of my kids birthdays. Insanity. These times are pure insanity.

Anyway, in the days after the Odyssey of the Mind competition, we decided to do a fund raiser- this week. This was officially decided and approved YESTERDAY. The bake sale is on Thursday. Only the teacher, another mom and I are going to be running it which means that tonight I need to try to make my famous cupcakes to see if I can get them to individually wrap without them getting all smushy. If not, I will only be making chocolate chip cookies (with double chocolate chips), and rice krispie treats. The teacher is going to make brownies, and maybe something else, and then be responsible for everything else- change, table, etc.

I was hoping to come up with something more creative, but I'm pretty tapped. Any suggestions or ideas for more baked goods would be great.

You all have been super patient waiting for our winners to be announced for our recent giveaways.. well, I have great news!! Keep on the lookout for winner information to be added to the giveaway posts as well as on the winner list all day today.

Have a happy Monday!

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Odyssey of the Mind- We're going to the State Competition!!

Ten years ago, if you ever told me I would be an overly zealous mom in the bleachers, cheering my brainiac of a son (and his team) on during an Odyssey of the Mind competition, I'd have told you that you had one too many screws loose!

This year was the first year that any of us had ever heard of Odyssey, never mind actually participate in it. The club meetings were after school, and Alex seemed to love it. It gave him something to get all of his creative energy out, creating solutions to mind boggling situations, creating devices to complete a task at hand, and working alongside his peers as a team. The last factor was a huge factor for me, especially with the rough year he had last year. His Odyssey teammates seem to understand him better, and accept him for who he is- quirks and all. Alex fits in well with the group of kids he works with, and absolutely adores his coach.

So today was the day the children were preparing for.. County Competition. They did their "spontaneous" competition (kind of like word association), and then we split up for lunch between the two designated time slots. When we returned, (with Alexzander decked out in his suit, blue tee, and blue plaid boat shoes portraying his character, "Mr. Party", the principal at the 'school' in their skit), we realized just how much our son truly fit in, and how much they accepted him, no matter what.

Their class was absolutely adorable, and the judges LOVED it- and at 2:00, they said it was the best (in that category) they've seen all day! Alex was awarded a pin and a ribbon, and will get a certificate at school. The entire team was thrilled when they announced that our team was chosen to go to the State Competition in April. I'm not sure what the "official" rules are for posting videos, but because we're going to be using the same skit, I'm going to hold off on posting it here .In April, I'll be sure to post the video for you all to enjoy!

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