Don't Break the Ice

We finished dinner early last night and decided to break out the old school games that Craig and I used to play as kids. We found them at Wal-Mart for $5 and couldn't pass them up! We actually purchased them 3 years ago, but our kids are just now getting to the point where they are of age and can play them together. Do you remember Don't Spill the Beans, Ants in the Pants, Cootie, and Don't Break the Ice? Classics!! So we settled on playing Don't Break the Ice. If you've never played it before, the idea of the game is to NOT make the ice skater fall. You don't want to knock him down. If you do - you lose! We let Clark in on the game. He's below the age suggestion on the side of the box, but how hard is it to hit ice blocks with a little plastic mallet? He loved it! The problem was we couldn't get him to give the mallet up after his turn. Seriously, the only way we could get the mallet out of his hands was to rip it out. He refused to let go otherwise. As you'll see in the video, Chase became somewhat aggressive about getting the mallet away from Clark. But, this was the only way anyone else got a turn! This was a little bit of an emotional game for Clark. I kind of felt bad that he just cried when it's not his turn. But he had so much fun when it was his turn!! He also thought the coolest thing was to smash the ice in as hard as he could. Of course he's too young to understand that he's not supposed to knock the ice skater down, so he had the most fun just banging and smashing! When the box says ages 3 and up, they mean it. Poor Clark can't handle taking turns yet!

In this first video, Clark gets upset everytime the mallet is not in his hands! He cries and reaches for it when Chase and Mallory take their turns. When it's his turn again he has to position the little ice table just right. He also likes to talk to the little ice skater man. It's like he's buttering him up a little bit before he wacks him off the ice!


In this video after Clark takes his turn and it's time to pass the mallet to Chase he takes off into the kitchen with the mallet!


In this video - after Chase takes his turn, watch Clark's face. It's really Mallory's turn, but Clark makes a grab for the mallet and his face is classic!

Plunge

We're here! Sorry for the lack of posting this summer. We've been either vacationing or extremely busy. And when we haven't been doing either of those . . . . we've just been lazy or recuperating (however you want to look at it!). Anyway, I will be posting soon on our two recent summer vacations. So check back soon!

Last week, I was reading upstairs about 8:30pm. We had already put Clark and Mallory to bed. Chase gets to stay up a half hour later until Clark falls asleep so they don't stay up giggling. Craig and Chase usually play the Wii or watch a cool Discovery show together. It's their male bonding time. I had heard Chase tell Craig that he had to take a break and go to the bathroom. So Chase was going to the bathroom . . . . takin' care of his business. He had been in there awhile when I hear from upstairs:

Chase: Uh, Dad? I think there's a problem. A bad problem.

My ears were perked and I could hear Craig getting up off the couch to go see what the issue was.

Then I hear:

Craig: Ah, Chase! (And then a chuckle.)

I'm thinking: So is there a problem or is something funny? Craig sounded tense and then he laughed.

Then all I could hear from upstairs was a bunch of fast chatter from Chase, Craig said a few things back, a flushing toilet, the water running in the sink. I couldn't make out their conversation, but I hear Craig tell Chase to go upstairs and tell me what happened.

Chase gets to me and proceeds to tell me. . . . .

Chase: Mom, I was going potty and there was this bug crawling on the floor and he was scary, but I was going potty and I didn't want that bug to get me. So I just grabbed that plunger and I doot doot (hands fisted on top of each other thrusting downwards). And I plunged that bug. Then I picked up the plunger and that bug was still crawling. So I put the plunger back on him and I plunged and I plunged and I plunged that bug. Then I moved it to see if he was moving. And he was moving so I plunged him again and I just ripped up the floor with the plunger. But not the whole floor, just a little bit of the floor like this (he traced a square in the air with his index finger). Sorry Mom, but I got that bug.

Me (trying not to laugh hysterically): So the bug is dead?

Chase: Yeah, he's dead. I just plunged him.

Me (making sure I had the story straight): But you ripped up the floor. . . . with the plunger?

Chase: Yeah, sorry mom, but it was only a little bit of the floor. Not all of it.

Me (still trying not to laugh): That's ok. Daddy can fix. I'm just glad that bug didn't get you.

He kissed me goodnight and went to bed after that.

I went downstairs and Craig and I had a good laugh! What else was a 5-year old boy going to use to kill a bug while dangling his bum over the potty at the same time? I checked out the damage to the bathroom floor. He had just plunged up one tile. Nothing a little glue can't fix :)

If you're thinking about replacing your flooring. . . . . . don't break the bank paying someone to rip up the old flooring for you. A $3 plunger from Target and a little plunging action should do the trick!

I took these pics later. It's something we'll want to remember :)