Let's Play Some Games

A recent obsession around here: games.

Meg got several for both Christmas and her 3rd birthday, and all at once they have become all the rage. We know our way around a "Candy Land" board, and the real estate on "The Ladybug Game" is also very familiar terrain around here. I find "Chutes and Ladders" to have a board that is much too confusing for Meg, we love to play "Memory", "The Tea Party Game" is always a hit, and there are even some educational games we bust out now and again. Oh, and "Uno". Can't forget our kids version of "Uno" with Winnie the Pooh characters on the cards . . . a game we affectionately now call "Pooh-no" at our house.

Those of you with younger children: beware of this phase. It's wonderful fun most of the time . . . but sometimes you just cannot imagine yourself spinning the "Chutes and Ladders" spinner even once more. It can be difficult because the games do require your undivided attention for spans that even you (the adult) might fine very looong. And you often have to fight off younger siblings that want nothing more than to walk through your game or to grab hold of your cards and fling them skyward. That part can be trying, as well.

But it always pays off in the end. Seeing Meg smile when she wins -- and teaching her to be a gracious loser at times when her luck runs out -- is totally worth it. I would play "Pooh-no" a thousand times over just her hear her shout: "I winned, Mommy!"