Fun Family Shorts

Now that 2010 has closed, I thought I would write some snippets about what fun we've been having together as a family of four over the last year, especially recently. My daughter is 3.75 years old, and my son is 18 months old. Londo and I are really enjoying these ages--despite the frustrations of Three and the whining of 18 Months. We are a fun, silly family and that's what's making life so good right now.

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The other day, the Pumpkin told me that she and her brother were having pretend names. The Pookie was "Midnight," and she was "Kookie." She asked what my name was going to be, and then named me "Boopie." Unfortunately, when she said it, it sounded either like boobie or poopie, so I told her I wanted to be "Strawberry."

Then she asked Londo what his pretend name was. He said, "You may call me... Tim." I got a good chuckle out of that.

And then the game began. "Tim" sat on the couch, and any time one of us would get close, he would grab us and hold us. We would call for the others to come save us. It was so funny to hear my daughter call out, "Strawberry, we've got to save Midnight!" And save him we did.

And this game? We pretty much play many variations of it all the time.

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We were down at my inlaws for Christmas. We had a great time, and got to spend a lot of time with each other and my husband's family.

One day as we were all playing in the game room, the Pumpkin said we were going to go to a bird show. So we gave tickets and pretended to learn about and feed the birds. Then for some reason, Londo said he was a penguin. So he started walking around in a penguin waddle with his arms down at his side but his hands sticking out. If you've seen the Diego where he shows how to waddle like a penguin, you know what I'm talking about.

So then, the Pumpkin started waddling like a penguin, and they were both waddling around saying "waddle, waddle, waddle" and pretending to eat fish and giving penguin hugs.

Of course I jumped into the new game, and started waddling. The Pookie had been watching and laughing, but he is always quick to join in, too. So he did his best to imitate the waddling, and we all walked around in circles as a penguin family. It was really cute.

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When I was a kid, my family used to play a game we called "Stack 'Em Up." My dad would lie on the ground and call out "stack 'em up!" My brother, the oldest kid, would lie down on my dad. Then my sister, the middle child, would lie down on my brother. And then I, the youngest, would climb on and lie down on the top. My mom would watch (and I now suspect she also tried to make sure no one got hurt) and laugh. We'd all laugh. Though simple, it was a really fun game.

So of course I've started the same game at my house! Before the Pookie could play, Londo would lie down, I would lie on him and the Pumpkin would climb on top of me. Now, either Londo or I lie down, then the Pumpkin and then the Pookie climbs on top (while the other parent makes sure the Pookie doesn't fall). I can foresee the time when the Pookie is able that we will all be part of the stack!

We've got variations, too. Although it's supposed to go from largest on the bottom to smallest on the top for obvious reasons, occasionally we mix it up a bit, being very careful of smaller people below us. Also sometimes just the Pumpkin and the Pookie will play, and that's really cute.

I recently told my siblings and parents that we've carried on the tradition of playing this game, and my SIL said that my brother's family plays a similar game but they call it making a sandwich!

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One of the games the Pumpkin got for Christmas is called Elefun. It's this toy elephant with a very long tube of a nose. You put "butterflies" in the elephant, turn it on and it blows them out the nose. You use nets to catch the butterflies as they are shot out the nose, which is taller than me (but I am short)!

So the other morning, the Pumpkin wanted to play for the first time while the Pookie was around. I thought it was safe enough, so I got it out, handed both kids a net, and started it up. As we were laughing and cheering for each other, Londo joined in too!

I was so excited and happy to have the whole family play what is basically a game in the board game category! I have always wanted to have a Family Game Night once a week or every other week. We are close to being able to have that now, and that makes me happy.

A family that plays together, stays together, right?

Question of the Week - Something New

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year and New Year's Eve. Londo was not feeling well New Year's Eve, so I took the kids up to my sister's by myself, and we celebrated the Parisian New Year with her, my BIL and their kids. Why the Parisian New Year? Because it was 6:00 our time, so the kids were up and just starting dinner and we all got to say happy new year together! My almost-4-year-old daughter and almost-5-year-old niece had sparkling cider and the adults had champange. It was fun, especially since this was the first year my daughter had a clue as to what was going on. And we have fun hanging out with my sis and her family.

I'm working on some New Year's Resolutions, but I'm not ready to really write them down yet. Except for one: This year, I will do something I've always wanted to do but haven't yet done.

In fact, I think that every year I'm going to do one thing I've always wanted to, whether it's read a book or see a movie I've meant to read/see for years or go someplace I've never been before or do something I've never done before.

This week's Question of the Week is:

What is something that you've always wanted to do but haven't done yet?

Feel free to pick something you want to do this year, too!

I actually haven't completely decided yet. Maybe I'll do all of the things on my list, or maybe I'll just say I'll do one of the following:

- Go camping with my hubby and kids. (I've been with Londo before, but that was prior to kids, which will add a whole other dimension.)
- Read Jane Eyre. (I have seriously been meaning to read this book since high school. I can't believe I STILL haven't read it.)
- See the movie Sliding Doors. (I often think about the concept of this movie, yet never have actually seen the movie and have been meaning to since it came out in the theaters.)
- Get my PMP certification. (It's a project management certification for work. I've been talking about getting it for years, and now that I'm out of the baby-fog, I feel I really can get it done.)

What about you? Do you have things you've always wanted to do but never done? Any big adventures you want to plan? Any books covered with dust that you are dying to read? Do you think you'll do something this year that you've always wanted to do?