Board Games

This past weekend our friends, the Merrills, stopped by for a visit. I am always impressed by the Merrills because as a family they love games. All kinds of games: outdoor jousting tournaments, athletic contests, games of wit and strategy, and of course, simple board games. Whenever I spend time with their family I think, we need to play more games.

So, on Sunday afternoon I pulled out Trouble, the board game with the dice that 'pops' in the middle. The object of the game is to get all your pegs around to your "Home" before others get theirs home. Now, in the original game, if someone lands on you, your peg has to start all over. We immediately disregarded this rule because it led to hurt feelings and made the game last forever. So, now for us, this game is just a race to the end.

I played the game several times with Spencer and he loved it. Then I went upstairs to work on my lesson. Chelsea then played the game with Spencer. Now, most parents know that four year olds don't really cheat, they are just sometimes generous in their counting. If Spencer ever added an extra jump when I was playing with him I either intentionally didn't notice or I nicely said, "No honey, I think you are here."

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Chelsea has not yet picked up on these nuances. So everytime Spencer would overcount on his behalf she would get mad. Then he got mad back. Then she accused him of cheating. Then he accused her of being 'the meanest sister ever,' and so forth. Carter came over to intervene and unfortunately only made the situation worse. It was a case of everyone accusing and misunderstanding each other. By the time I went downstairs Spencer was having a full-fledged Donald Duck meltdown. It looked something like this:

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I remember now why our family doesn't play many games. Maybe we just don't have enough practice. Or maybe we just have the wrong personalities. Either way, for our family, Trouble is apparently appropriately named.

Pringles vs. Willpower

Last night I went to the gym for an hour. When I came home, I virtuously grabbed some water and headed in to turn off my computer. Of course, while I was here, in front of the ever-so-inviting monitor, I just had to log in and check the news, the blogs, the vacuous frivolity that is Facebook.

I also noticed that someone had left a half-eaten can of Pringles by my computer. I assure you, it was not me. I do not, in any normal state of being, buy or eat Pringles. However, pregnancy has altered my mental/
emotional/physical status to such a degree that the other day I actually ate a Twinkie. (Okay, I ate two -- but not on the same day!)

I cannot tell you how annoyed I was that someone could be so thoughtless as to not only break the 'no eating by the computer' rule, but then leave the evidence sitting there with such obvious disregard!

I picked up the can, looked for the lid, and noticed that there weren't many chips left. Now, I ask you, my fellow mothers, those of you who eat the crust you just cut off the sandwich for your toddler, and snack on the last few Dinos rather than dump them in the trash, what would you do with a lidless, almost-empty can of Pringles that was sitting open by your computer?

Well, that's exactly what I did. I don't know how many maternal diets have been spoiled by the rationalization, "Well, I can't just throw it away."

Of course, most men would not and do not have this dilemma. If they want Pringles, they buy them and eat them. If they don't want Pringles, they throw the remainder away. I often wonder what it would be like to live life with no guilt. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to go the gym again.

We Have A Heartbeat!

I went to the doctor today for my first OB appointment. We heard a heartbeat - which is always a relief.

But the FNP said I was measuring several weeks larger than my dates indicated. So she recommended we do an impromptu ultrasound with a small, portable device they have in the office -- just to "check for multiples." So, for those few precious moments while they went to retrieve the machine, I got to indulge my twins fantasy (Tyler's twins fantasy, however, is something completely different).

The ultrasound revealed one perfect fetus and one very full bladder. No twins! But I am thrilled all the same. I'm also happy to be feeling a little bit better. I'm not 100% yet, but I can now do laundry and drive -- always helpful!