This is us.
Married almost 11 years. 2 children under 6. Living in the land of the great depression (i.e. Connecticut). One of us has developed a ridiculous board and table top game fetish. The other one has developed the obsessive desire for no brain activity after 7:30pm. Together we make up the parental unit of possibly the the most energetic two children to ever walk the planet. When they smile it's like sunbeams come out their faces. Random people stop and bask in the glow of that sunshine.
But what random people don't know is, those little rays of sunshine tire us out.
We find ourselves increasingly dissatisfied with the family dynamic. I want more exercise, down time and quality family time. He wants more games, boobs, games, quiet time, sunshine, and games. So you see the conundrum.
It hit me today, that a lot of parenting is strategy. The worst days are when we're just stumbling around with no strategy or plan. There's a reason why America runs on Dunkin, it probably started when they first had kids waking up at 5am with more questions then the average adult will ask in a day. Sometimes I can keep the peace by turning things into a game....that's how I got my five year old to vacuum today and got his sister to stop teasing him, (Mom 2: Kids 35,379) Sometimes there is no peace and the strategy becomes focusing on the positive as bad things come at us. For two tired and anxious parents, we need a strategy....so I came up with this game.
Here are the rules:
1. Once a week, Joel picks one game from his collection to play with me.
2. We play the game (without whining, backpedaling or a bad attitude).
3. I give an honest review of the game, Top 3 things I liked about it, ease of learning and playing the game, artwork, strategy, etc.
4. Joel is happy.
5. Once a week, Elena picks one family activity for the French family to do together.
6. We do the activity (without huffing, non-participation or negativity).
7. Joel gives an honest review of the outing/event, Top 3 things he liked about the place, highlights from the time spent, etc
8. Elena is happy.
As Joel gets those games off the shelf and onto the playing table, he will develop warm fuzzies that I care enough to play with him and share his interest. (The fact that I will give a review will actually help this Type A nut job pay attention, stop yawning and have a goal besides just "play") As I, Elena, see Joel engaging in family fun time and then communicating his highlight reel....warm fuzzies galore. Who knows maybe we will even start liking each other's hobbies. Or children. Or life.
So what do you say Joel? You game?
Married almost 11 years. 2 children under 6. Living in the land of the great depression (i.e. Connecticut). One of us has developed a ridiculous board and table top game fetish. The other one has developed the obsessive desire for no brain activity after 7:30pm. Together we make up the parental unit of possibly the the most energetic two children to ever walk the planet. When they smile it's like sunbeams come out their faces. Random people stop and bask in the glow of that sunshine.
But what random people don't know is, those little rays of sunshine tire us out.
We find ourselves increasingly dissatisfied with the family dynamic. I want more exercise, down time and quality family time. He wants more games, boobs, games, quiet time, sunshine, and games. So you see the conundrum.
It hit me today, that a lot of parenting is strategy. The worst days are when we're just stumbling around with no strategy or plan. There's a reason why America runs on Dunkin, it probably started when they first had kids waking up at 5am with more questions then the average adult will ask in a day. Sometimes I can keep the peace by turning things into a game....that's how I got my five year old to vacuum today and got his sister to stop teasing him, (Mom 2: Kids 35,379) Sometimes there is no peace and the strategy becomes focusing on the positive as bad things come at us. For two tired and anxious parents, we need a strategy....so I came up with this game.
Here are the rules:
1. Once a week, Joel picks one game from his collection to play with me.
2. We play the game (without whining, backpedaling or a bad attitude).
3. I give an honest review of the game, Top 3 things I liked about it, ease of learning and playing the game, artwork, strategy, etc.
4. Joel is happy.
5. Once a week, Elena picks one family activity for the French family to do together.
6. We do the activity (without huffing, non-participation or negativity).
7. Joel gives an honest review of the outing/event, Top 3 things he liked about the place, highlights from the time spent, etc
8. Elena is happy.
As Joel gets those games off the shelf and onto the playing table, he will develop warm fuzzies that I care enough to play with him and share his interest. (The fact that I will give a review will actually help this Type A nut job pay attention, stop yawning and have a goal besides just "play") As I, Elena, see Joel engaging in family fun time and then communicating his highlight reel....warm fuzzies galore. Who knows maybe we will even start liking each other's hobbies. Or children. Or life.
So what do you say Joel? You game?
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