Gamers

A while ago, Frank bought a couple of game panels for the kids. They are basically the dashboard part of a standup video game machine like you would find in an arcade.

He hooked them up to the TV and the kids can now play all the old school games ... Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Mario Brothers, Ninja Turtles, etc. It's great fun for them. You can see the concentration on their little faces in the photo:

Rules by Paige

A few months ago in a Girl Scout meeting we talked about setting ground rules. We came up with a list of rules that we will follow in our meetings. (Some examples: One person talks at a time. No stealing snacks from your neighbor. Keep your hands to yourself.)

Paigie loved this idea. She came home and posted a list of rules on her bedroom wall. I finally got around to taking a picture. I'll write a translation below ... she wrote it all by herself and the spelling isn't always obvious..........

1. No running.

2. No messing up the house.

3. No torturing the cats. (I love 'churchuring')

4. No taking stuff off the walls.

5. No turning lights. (off, I guess)

6. No taking stuff when you're not supposed to. (aspsto = supposed to)

That's the rules.

I Saw You in the Hospital

Paige's birthday was a few weeks ago.

On her birthday she decorated her whiteboard with a note to me and Frank:

It's true. We did meet in a hospital. We did say 'Wow!'

...And then I'll Take Over the World...........

I found Truman hanging out in the playroom like this:

He thinks he's a Power Ranger!

Happy ZOLO!!

Has anyone else noticed that 2010 looks like the word Zolo?

Cassette Tapes

When my parents came to visit last week my dad brought me an old cassette to listen to.

The kids were so excited to listen to it ... until we realized that we might not have a cassette player in the house.

Finally, we found that the CD player in Sarah's room has one attached. She grabbed the tape and ran to her room. About ten minutes later, Paigie returned with the cassette in her hand. She said, "We don't know how this works. It doesn't fit. Should we take it out of this box? How is this supposed to work??"

I had to laugh.

Let's take a moment to think about all of the kinds of technology that my kids have never seen.......

They have never lived in a house without Tivo.

They do not know what a VHS tape is.

They, apparently, don't know what a cassette is.

They have never seen a record.

They don't know a world without email, internet, or high-speed wireless connections.

They've never had a car without a DVD player.

They were astonished when I pulled out a corded phone recently.

They've never NOT had a cordless phone.

They don't understand how we didn't have cell phones when I was a kid.

And, how could I forget digital photography????

Happy New Year!

Samantha, Judy & Charles

Did I ever write about the time that I convinced the kids that their real names are Samantha, Judy & Charles?

We were in St. Louis and I can't remember why I did it. I told them that I had to finally tell them the truth and that Daddy and I had been using fake names for them for their entire lives. No one believed me but they started asking lots of questions:

What were their real names? Samantha, Judy, and Charles.

Why have I been calling them Sarah, Paige, and Nate? Those are their middle names.

Why didn't we tell them before? We thought they were too young and that we'd confuse them.

How do we spell our names? I told them. They learned quickly.

It went on and on until, to my surprise, they finally believed me! It was crazy.

I DID eventually tell them the truth (obviously). If I remember correctly, I came clean about it within the hour. But they really love the idea of having different names.

I'd forgotten about the whole name thing until yesterday. Nate asked me what his real name is -- he couldn't remember. I told him that it was Charles. He smiled. Paige piped up that she wished her real name really was Judy. She loves that name. Judy. Judy. Judy.

Samantha, Judy, Charles and I wish you a very happy New Year!