90 days of games {day 3}

I love that my kids are super committed to this, because, even though I was not in the mood at all to play a game, they reminded me!  And Hayden reminded me the most, because it was her day to pick the game, and the game she picked, and always picks is Clue.

I actually LOVE Clue, but Elliott HATES it.  Immediately he starts throwing a fit and having a bad attitude.  I tell him if he plays the game with a bad attitude we will play it 4 times in a row.  (When did threatening to play MORE games become a thing….well it worked)

So we played clue and it went PRETTY well.  I have to say, I am proud of the kids, glad we made it through the entire game with no major episodes, and happy that Elliott didn’t freak out when he didn’t win.

I will call today a win.

 

 

90 days of games {day 2}

Saturday!!  In many homes this is such a nice day of the week, I imagine children sleeping in, watching cartoons, doing their chores with a smile on their face, and a family spending time together, happily.

I KNOW I am living in fantasy land…but there has to be something better than the experience I am living in right now.  It’s non-stop fighting.  bickering. whining. ugh.

But today will be different!  Today we are on day 2 of playing games together.

So, today was a little more challenging to get our game squeezed in. There was snow to shovel off the roof, and basketball games to go to, and a baby to play with all day (ok that isn’t new)…

I decided to split the kids up today.  As soon as Jack went down for a nap I had Hayden pick out a game while Elliott went out to shovel with his dad.  It was really really fun.  Playing the game with Hayden made me realize, she is NOT the problem.  We played many rounds of Sorry, and it was great.  No fighting, no bad attitude, no whining…

Then came Elliott’s turn.  Sorry is his FAVORITE game, so he wanted to play that also.  Until, of course, I’m in the lead…then it’s no longer fun, and he starts making excuses, and trying to manipulate the game, and arguing about different plays.

I look at my son, that I love and adore SO MUCH.  He is my mini-me.  I cannot even describe at all how deeply I love him.  and I am SO FRUSTRATED, and I want to scream at him.  But I tell him, “Elliott.  You are making this game NOT FUN.”  “You are making it so that I want to throw this board in the garbage.  I just played with Hayden for an hour with no issues at all.  You are the reason we need to be playing games more.  You HAVE to work on your attitude.”

I couldn’t take anymore, so we were done for the day, but I am super glad I took the time to play with them individually to see where the real problem was.

90 days of games {day 1}

This morning I woke up and I told my kids the plan.  We would be playing games together everyday for 90 days.  The point?  To work on skills our family needs.  Communication, sharing, encouraging each other, laughing together, having fun together.

They were excited, I mean, who doesn’t want their mom to just play games every day with them, of COURSE they were excited.

So, school got out, I picked them up, and they started asking to play on the PS4, Ipad, etc.

“Don’t forget guys, we are starting our family experiment today!”

So, I got out Rummikub, which was one of my favorite games as a kid, made some popcorn and got ready for not a fun time.  I know, that sounds like a bad attitude, but I am not doing this challenge for nothing.  Our family does not play games well together.  Ok, I am kidding, I had a positive outlook.

The games weren’t great.  I am not gonna lie.  It totally sucked.

I can tell that it is mainly my son who needs this lesson.  He messes with the tiles, plays games with them when it isn’t his turn, has to constantly be reminded that it is his turn, and really, Really, REALLY drives me bonkers.

Is is bad that I had to THREATEN the kids that we WOULD NOT STOP PLAYING unless they stopped fighting??  Well, I did.  and we played 2 rounds. and my husband came home from work and said, “ummmm…this does not look like fun…”

Yes, I rubbed p&c all over everyone. 

But I am not giving up.  This was only day 1.

Driving {with kids}

Alright guys! I officially suck at blogging.

I cannot get my head wrapped around being consistent. at all.

But, I did just get home from a 6-day road trip with my kids, and, well, I have some tips for you. Yes, road trips can be fun and they can also be totally crap. I promise I am not sitting here with my perfect body, and perfect hair, and perfect kids about to tell you that I have found the magic secret to 10 hours in the car. Because, I have not.

I hope my 10 little tips will maybe…. MAYBE make your trip a little more fun and memorable. But, if you decide that you’d rather fly, I truly DO NOT BLAME YOU.

1. FOOD–yep. Pack lots of food. And dum-dums (the suckers). I wish I could tell you that I don’t have to bribe my kids with suckers to be good, but that is just not the truth.

2. AUDIBLE–I am a big fan of books on cd, but I am also a huge fan of the audible.com app!!! We don’t have TVs in the car, and I really don’t like to have the kids on the Ipads non-stop, so I downloaded a really engaging novel that the whole family really enjoyed listening to. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids getting involved in the story!

3. SPLIT UP THE KIDS–Now, I learned this the hard way…and we have just a small sedan, so no 3rd row…but the first half of the trip the baby was no the drivers side, and well, the 2nd half of the trip the baby was in the middle. You can come to your own conclusions of why that change was made.

4. POTTY BREAKS–Ok, my husband is from the mind-set of “Just get there” which is great, but when you are traveling with kids you have to stop. Get some ice cream, stretch the legs, and let them run around, you will be so glad you did. Stop and enjoy the scenery, check out cheesy touristy things. The whole point of this road trip is to allow your family to have a good time together.
5. GARBAGE CONTROL–gosh, it seems like the second you get in the car it is total tornado, right?? Garbage everywhere INSTANTLY…. oh…. that’s just me???? I would love to hear how you have taught your children to not have that reaction in the car, in the meantime, bring lots of target bags to use as garbage bags and empty out the car of junk at every gas station.

6. PLAN A HALFWAY STOP–We had a 10-hour drive, so we booked a hotel (WITH A POOL) halfway between home and our destination. I feel like this would have been better without a baby…because sleeping in hotels with babies sucks, but it was nice for the big kids to get a break and swim.

7. TAKE LOTS OF PICS–Make it fun! Don’t be afraid to be silly and look like a big dork! Stop and every state sign and take a family selfie! Document the trip; those moments are really fun for kids!

8. PRAY–I am not even kidding you, I prayed 800 times, out loud with my family the first day…every time they started fighting, we just prayed. I didn’t even care that it started feeling silly. I was not about to let this trip get ruined with dumb fights!

9. RELAX–I am really not great at relaxing and being silly with my family. Isn’t that just the way it is??? We can relax and have fun with everyone, but the expectations we put on our family is just RIDICULOUS???? RIGHT? Take deep breaths of frankincense and lavender and CHILL OUT. The boy driving you crazy with questions and bad jokes? Just smile and answer them. Then rub vetiver all over his feet.

10. ENJOY THE HUBBY–If you’re like me, you’re sitt
ing in the passenger seat while your guy takes your family on vaca. Don’t forget to reach over and squeeze his hand or his shoulder occasionally, and make him feel glad you guys are having a family road trip together!

What are your must have tips for road trips? PLEASE SHARE! ❤