When I was a kid, my cousins used to have marathon sessions where we played board games for hours. We would carefully set my grandmother’s dining room table with the board, pieces, and/or money. We would stack cushions on her wooden chairs so we could be assured a soft spot for the entire afternoon, tossing pillows as we went if it got to be too soft.

We also spent many days outside playing. Entire days. From morning until night, we ran, climbed trees, rode our bikes and had many a snowball fight in the winter.

These days, my kids don’t do much of either of those things.

Gone are the days when kids sat around the kitchen table and played board games all day; there are just too many distractions and kids are too impatient. And, to be honest, it’s not safe to let kids do the type of things that I did when I was young. It’s a different world. They get exercise with organized sports, but sometimes that is more work than fun.

That’s where Wonder Forge games come in. I recently received two of their games to try out and they provided active entertainment for my son. We moved, we didn’t get bored. We played like I was a kid again!

He has long been a fan of Jake and the Never  Land Pirates (he’s literally watching it on the computer as I type this) so I knew he would be excited to try the Never Land Challenge Game, but what I didn’t realize is that he would have fun while getting some gross motor skills! Okay, I did too. When was the last time YOU tried to balance something on your head? How about crab walk? That’s what I thought.

We also tried out the Dr. Seuss Fun Machine Game Tiles, which pair with an app for memory and matching challenges for 1-4 people. I won’t lie. My son had a hard time getting this away from me. I’m 41, but I’m a kid at heart!

Wonder Forge has won more than 100 awards for excellence and has many great games to choose from (I JUST noticed their MythBusters game – my daughter is a HUGE fan – and it has 5 star reviews). Check out their site and see for yourself; they are a great resource for family friendly games.

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My son’s Cub Scout troop went around the neighborhood yesterday afternoon to drop off bags in which people can leave canned goods. Next weekend, the troop will collect the bags from the porches of those who wish to donate and the boys will deliver the items to those in need.

Of course, my 10 year old son proved that no good deed can go without some tomfoolery, because as the first neighbor opened the door, my son asked, “Trick or treat?”

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Last weekend my daughter’s volleyball team played for the league championship. I’m going to be completely honest here and tell you that we were pretty certain they were going to lose. That’s just the kind of parents we are.

Although they had improved a lot during the season, many of them had injuries this year and a lot of them had never played together before. It was quite a ragtag group who had just barely mastered the art of bump, set, spike. Our expectations were so low that my husband actually stayed home (at my request) so our son didn’t have to get up too early.

But, instead of a loss the parents witnessed a win. The championship win, like with a trophy and medals and stuff. Excuse the blurry, enlarged thumbnail photo of my kid, but I had half a team to cut out of this.

I can’t really describe what it was like to watch those girls give it everything they had, despite their reputation. My daughter dove, slid and even bled a little; when all she really had to do was show up, and her teammates did the same.

I don’t frequently learn valuable lessons from teenagers, but I did on Saturday. I can’t tell you how often I feel like I’m trudging along, not making progress, and losing. My weight, the bills, my son’s health and emotional issues, the bills, the bills, the bills, my insomnia, my dirty house, my writing…just everything.

What I realized from that ragtag team is that there is always a chance that I can come out of this on top; that if I dig in and fight hard, everything might turn out in my favor. It’s an uphill battle, but I can’t just give up.

There might just be a trophy waiting for me at the end.

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For the third time in three months, a woman I know has sliced her hand and/or fingers while working in the kitchen. I think this is a sign. You’re welcome, ladies.

First it was my sister with an avocado and a dull knife, then it was a friend with another avocado and another dull knife. She got her tendons involved and ended up with surgery and nice little hospital stay. She’s actually an over-achiever, so this wasn’t a big surprise. Hi, Karen!

Today, my friend Melisa was cutting an apple with a very sharp, very big knife, when she cut off the tip of her finger. After talking to her I decided to revisit this post about when my son did the very same thing. Ironically, Melisa left the first comment on that post, so the finger chopping has come full-circle. Mustafa is pleased.

Even though it was five years ago, my son still remembers his finger-splint, named Tapper, quite well. But I think Melisa may have him beat in the memorable-finger-splint department. Just a hunch.

Bird courtesy of Melisa at Suburban Scrawl

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