Games! Games! Games! (Sing it like Motley Crue's Girls Girls Girls)

Today, I am going to talk about the games we all play. Before you roll your eyes and write this post off, just hear me out. I promise, I am not talking about drama, or manipulation, or anything of the sort. What I am talking about are the games that every parent of small children play. My tiny people love games! Abigail is at the age where the only games she cares about are This Little Piggy, Pat-a-Cake, and Peek-a-Boo. Jude and Gideon, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.

My boys love playing games. Simon Says is played at least four times a week in this house. Don't get me wrong, I love playing with my kids, but there are only so many commands Simon can say before Simon loses it. I thought I came up with a great solution. You see, after hundreds of games of Simon Says, Jude thought he might like a turn at being Simon. I couldn't contain my excitement at thought of not having to come up with commands! Well, things did not go quite as planned. Here is what Jude's first turn at Simon sounded like: "Simon say... be a lego! No Mommy, a lego! Mommy! You're not a lego! No! Like this!"  I didn't realize that be a lego was even something Simon could tell his followers to do, and I am not convinced that Jude knew what he wanted me to do until he saw me do everything he didn't want me to do.

Okay, it was his first try. He just needs a little help coming up with things to shout out, right? Wrong. He had a baker's dozen ideas, but I think he was only happy with the way I performed twice. It's not my fault! Jude wanted me to do the impossible. He expected me to literally fly when he said "be a super hero!" Does that seem fair to you? I don't think so, either. It is much more stressful to do what Simon says than I thought.

Another very popular game in our house is Hide and Seek. This game is enjoyed just as much by me as it is my kids. They are just so awful at it, that I can't help but love every second of us playing together. Gideon never, ever hides on his own. He usually just stands by me and counts along with me when it's my turn to seek, then says "Hey, find me." When I am supposed hide, he just sort of sits near me... completely out in the open... talking and giggling the entire time. It is just so precious. Jude on the other hand, takes hiding very seriously. When it is time for him to hide, he moves quickly and quietly to the exact same hiding spot he has gone to since we moved in to our current house. I can always guarantee that Jude will be hiding on his brother's bed, head covered in his own blue sheet, sitting straight up. It is so cute and dependable.That is, until a couple days ago.

Even before he could walk, Jude loved hiding

We were not even playing hide and seek at this point. I was making lunch, and all the kids were playing in the living room. Lunch was ready, and I walked into the living room to gather up the kiddos to eat, but Jude wasn't there. He wasn't in the bathroom. He wasn't in the play room. He wasn't in his room. The last room to check was my room. I was starting to get worried, so I was really hoping he was in there. I didn't see Jude. "Jude honey,the where are you???" I asked in a voice that seemed too shrill to actually be mine.  I then heard his muffled voice "I'm in your closest, Mommy.I want you to find me for hide and seek!" I just wish I had known we were playing before I started hyperventilating.

There is one other game I want to briefly mention. Candy Land. If you are not familiar with Candy Land, it is basically the easiest board game ever invented. You just draw a card and move to the closest space on the board that matches the card you pulled. Wait, if  you're not familiar with Candy Land, you probably live under a rock.  Anyway, I wanted so badly for the boys to love this game as much as I did when I was little. Gideon really didn't have any interest in sitting down and playing a board game, and Jude was not grasping the concept.

I was so excited to set up the board and have everyone pick out the game piece they wanted to use. Jude, of course, chose the little orange guy and refused to put him down until it was his turn to choose a card. Gideon then chose every other game piece available. I asked if he could just choose one, and his response was "no no no no, Momma. These ALL mine" I tried to explain that he at least needed to give up one, so that I could play, too. Jude informed me that I should just watch. Disappointed, I agreed to just sit and help. It was Jude's turn first. He pulled a red card. "No, I want all orange cards. Please, Mommy!" I started to tell him that he had to take whatever card he had pulled, but Gideon was already on it. "Okay," Gideon said as he pulled out every single orange card from the pile. "Here you go, you win!" I guess Jude won, and it will be a few weeks before we try that game again.

I am in desperate need of some new games to play. Any suggestions?
Chyan