bedtime blues

I love each of my girls dearly. My intent is to do as much as I can with them, as often as I can. They grow up so quickly. I already feel as if time is slipping away. My memories of my Mom spending time with me are few and far between, she worked a lot. When she wasn't working, she was sleeping, especially the older I got. I do remember that she would take us and drop us off at the ballpark, the skating rink and even the YMCA for gymnastics. She would do other things while we were there and then come to pick us up when she was done.

There were many weekend nights that I remember playing games together as a family. We used to play card games like UNO and SKIP-BO as well as board games, like Monopoly, LIFE and Clue. The thing is, they would always "go" the same way. She would make chex mix or have some kind of snacks and sodas. Inevitably, someone would always spill their drink. That would then be the end of the game. No kidding. My Mom would go into some huge rage and just dump everything off the table and put it in the boxes and that was that. And don't you dare think about crying.....lol.

I have vowed to do it differently with my girls. We have an entire cupboard full of nothing but games. Board games, puzzles, card games, silly games like (ants in the pants & don't spill the beans). You get the idea. We havent' even begun to play them all. I like to play the ones where they can all participate. My younger two are not quite old enough to understand the concept of some games yet. Although the board game companies have gotten smart and invented "young" versions of adult favorites, which we did purchase monoploly jr. That is hilarious to play!!

Anyhow, one of my neighbor's brought over two board games Saturday. One is LIFE and the other is SORRY. We played SORRY right away. OH, my! lol....that was fun, but I think the next time it will just be the older two girls. We waited to play LIFE until yesterday. Yesterday was Martin Luther King day, and although public school was not in session, we still kept our regular school schedule. When we were done for the day, we played LIFE. Carson ended up winning. I am so glad I didn't play, I was only the banker. Do you know I actually had to keep track of things on a seperate peice of paper??? They have changed things with that game since I was a kid. It does make things more interesting.....this is definately one of those games when you want to follow the age limit on the box. SEVEN years old and up!!

So, I was frustrated to say the least. But somehow we managed. It totally blew my mind, too, that whoever had originally purchased this game had never even used it. How do I know? All the peices were still intact on the little plastic bars and the cards and such were still sealed in their little bags. Who would do such a thing when the game sells for like $35 at the store.

Enough said. My kids were tired. Between an entire school day, playing a game AND running around the playground for about an hour. I figured they would all but pass out when I tucked them in. They did the normal routine. About ten minutes after "tuck in" they all, one by one, miraculously have to "potty" one more time. Next comes the round of dehydration - you know, just one more drink. After chasing them all back to bed for what feels like the millionth time, my five year old sneaks back out to the sofa to sit beside me. Fighting back the urge to yell at her, I decide to ignore her and see what she does. She crawls right up under my left arm and snuggles with me. I stroke her hair, gently, and ask her why she isn't sleeping yet. Do you know what her response is?

"Mommy. I am not tired. Yep, how can I be tired?? I haven't yawned once all day!" Kids!!