I wonder how it is for those other "normal" families...

You know those families. The ones you see who look like they all get along. The ones where the kids hold the parents hands and they kids are clean and dressed properly. They wear their underwear on the inside of their clothes. The kids' hair is combed. Sigh.

We're not one of those families. Our experience last night was just one example.

Our oldest daughter's French Immersion class was meeting up at the ski hill for an evening of tubing under the lights, hot chocolate, hot dogs, maple syrup in the snow, etc. A great family event. And we've been up the ski hill many times for skiing, so being dressed properly wasn't a problem. We had all the right snow gear. However on the 45 minute drive from our house, things started to go awry.

Our middle (FASD/ADHD) daughter's class had been given a talk that day at school on winter safety and each kid was given a whistle to attach to their winter coat in case they were ever lost. Who's brilliant idea was this?! Can you possibly guess what little miss FASD/ADHD decided to do during the car ride up the mountain? Yup, that is one loud whistle when you're trapped in a Honda Civic with 3 kids and a stressed out husband who would much rather be home watching the hockey game. And when I insisted she hand over the whistle, FASD/ADHD daughter insisted it wasn't her fault she blew it. I believe her exact words were "I didn't mean to!" Yeah, that whistle just jumped into your mouth.

The event itself was fun and despite having to constantly supervise near the maple syrup/snow station to make sure my son didn't have multiple servings, the evening went quite well. They all had fun, we got to visit with adults, and I didn't have to cook dinner.

So when it was time to leave, no one really complained. We headed to the car to get out of our snow gear and head home. My feet were frozen and I just wanted to get home to a hot bath. The meds had obviously worn off for ADHD son, and FASD/ADHD daughter. (Not a good sign - remember this is a 45 min. drive home.) My son is tangled in the overall straps of his snowpants and insisting his sister (who is already in the car) is giving him a wedgie. FASD/ADHD daughter has just noticed her socks are soaking wet, so I tell her to take her boots off when she gets in the car. And despite the multiple hot dogs they consumed, they're starving. Fortunately I packed lots of extra snacks, so after the usual battle of who has to sit in the middle is settled (rock/paper/scissors) we start heading down the hill.

FASD/ADHD daughter can't stop talking. Either that or humming to a completely different tune that what is playing on the radio. ADHD son is trying to play a game on his DS but FASD/ADHD daughter (who is in the middle) keeps "accidentally" bumping his arm with her bare feet. Meanwhile typical daughter is disgusted with both of them and every second sentance out of her mouth includes the word "stupid" or "dummy".

Then, FASD/ADHD daughter decides that her wet socks are things she should throw around the back seat hitting her siblings in the face. Repeatedly.

Typical daughter and FASD/ADHD daughter then get into a long argument about the lyrics to the latest song by Madonna, or was it Britney Spears? Who knows? Who cares?

By the time we pull into our driveway, I have had more than I can take. But does it end there? Of course not. It's then that I discover that the reason FASD/ADHD daughter has wet socks, is because she left her boots in the trunk of the car while she was getting out of her snow gear, and was walking around the car at the ski hill in her socks. No shoes, no boots.

ADHD son flips out because I ask him to bring his wet snow pants into the house, and because he needs two hands to carry all his stuff, that means he has to close his DS and he's in the middle of a game.

And all I can think of at this point is, get them to bed, and thank God for melatonin.