Thursday, July 09, 2009

The game that might drive me to.....cheat

Last week, due to the mild case of chicken pox that Savannah came down with, we were cooped up inside the house. All week, every. single. day.

And because my hubby was gone the majority of last week as well, I was her sole entertainment.

I dearly, dearly love her, but can I just admit that I was ready to throw Chutes and Ladders in the trash?

Now Candyland, I can take. Candyland doesn't take forever. You can romp your little plastic figure across the red and purple and yellow squares in no time. There are, like, maybe 5 cards that you can draw that will send you backwards.

But not so with Chutes and Ladders. I can't tell you how tempted I was to cheat...."A 6? That will send me down the very longest slide and back into the oblivion of the bottom half of the board? I didn't spin a 6....surely it was a 5...."

I didn't do it. I just thought about it really hard. But y'all, that truly is the game that never ends.

So Daddy came home on Thursday night, and her spots had all but disappeared by then, so all was right in my world.

The next day Ricardo was moving some cardboard boxes out of our walk-in closet where we had been storing some things. I will spare you the details, but to sum it up in one word....dun dun dun...

Termites.

I have never been so grossed out in my life. Ricardo, on the other hand, felt the need to turn this catastrophe into something fun, so he took a box crawling with the despicable things out to the yard, and watched some ants pounce on them. That really seemed to brighten up the situation for him.

Boys. I guess they'll always be boys.

The 4th was wonderful, relaxing, full of grilled foods and fireworks. Just the way it should be.







This second set of pictures is going back a few weeks, when Savannah was still in swimming lessons. On the day of her last lesson, we came outside, and a young girl, maybe 18, came up to us and told me that she had backed into my truck with her very long Community Center van.

The damage looked pretty minimal to me, but Ricardo took it for an estimate this week. The most expensive estimate was $1800 and the cheapest was $1200.

I was blown away...$1200? Really??? Unbelieveable. Fortunately it will all be taken care of, and I even get a rental while it's getting fixed. So it could be fun after all.

And I can guarantee you that Savananh will just LOVE the rental car and be "so, so sad, Mama" when we have to return it.

My little drama queen.

20 comments:

Mozi Esme said...

Glad the chicken pox episode is over!

I loved your comment on the apple pie photo - that sounds like an Esme thing. Though lately she is into rubbing the whipped cream all over herself like lotion...

Unknown said...

Had to comment because did you know we call that game Snakes and Ladders here in UK/Ire;and, and yes - I loathe it too!

Anonymous said...

Note to self: Do not buy Chutes and Ladders for Avalon! :)

Wendi@EveryDayMiracles said...

HA! I have been there a time or two... :) Sometimes you just want to slip one past them and do your own thing. :)

Love your pictures, as always. I don't know if I have ever told you that I think you look really cute in glasses. :)

H-Mama said...

Oh yes, that crazy game! Now, Monopoly Jr, we save for Granny when she comes for a visit. I think it could go on ALL day! Ugh.

Termites? Ew! So sorry!

Love the pictures. I'm glad your baby girl is doing much better. It's always hard to see our babies uncomfortable.

The Fritz Facts said...

Chutes and Ladder's just makes me GROAN...so glad Boo is past that game now. lol

So glad she is feeling better!! Termites...yuck!!

Unknown said...

Glad to hear that Savannah is doing better.

Sorry you were tortured with Chutes and Ladders (I couldn't agree more with you on this one).

EWWW! Termites! I hope it is something that can be taken care of easily.
We have small little sugar ants in the house this year. Out whole back yard seems to be full of them. I am on a mission to rid the little beasts from existence!

Carpool Queen said...

I loved Chutes and Ladders. It's the only game I like to play with them. And it doesn't take as long as Monopoly.

Amanda said...

so with you on chutes and ladders...although, i still kinda like it for the first hour or so! :) and oh my, responding to your comment...i definitely didn't fry up that turkey on my own...left the frying to the menfolk...i'd probably singe my eyebrows off! :)

Amber said...

Oh...the horror of Chutes and Ladders. We mysteriously "lost" all our peices and HAD to throw the game out. So sad. So very sad.

Ick. Termites. But you are so right about the boys. Boys and their bugs. Geesh.

Unknown said...

Not a fan of chutes and ladders here, either. And we discard the special cards in candyland after they've been used once. Not going back to the blueberry guy or whoever he is, no way...

Your pics are great! Love the fireworks!

Rachel said...

Your waiting for fireworks picture is so cute!

Thankfully I have more than one child so if Chutes & Ladders comes out I simply explain to my children that I have to clean the toilet or scrub the sink or mop the floor, but they are more than welcome to play together!

Do you have a plan to deal with the termites? YUCK!!!

Have fun in your rental!

ttm said...

Crazy Community Center van drivers!:)

Carrie said...

Oh, bummer on the chicken pox! You are a good mom to play honestly! I can admit that I've cheated at some games to get it over with! Glad she's all better...and Chutes & Ladders didn't end up in the garbage!

Great pics! The kids love when we get rental cars, too. They're so much cleaner than ours! haha!

Gretchen said...

i have a short attention span when it comes to playing games with my kids--sorry--I just admitted that on the WWW. BUT, I still want to play when I can.

Our solution for the 3-6 year old girl? Pretty Pretty Princess. She'll have so much fun if you play and might laugh even harder if Ricardo plays. And the best part? You've fulfilled your playing obligation in 20 minutes!

Okay...I guess Mother of the Year will have to go to someone else.

Seriously, though...PPP. It's a good one.

Mamajil said...

oh gosh chicken pox are no fun!!! My older kids and I all got them when I was pregnant with Millie (our 5th) Not So Fun!!! My younger kids got them a mild case but still not fun at all!!

Glad to hear its all over now!!

Termites.......YIKES!


I love reading your blog and I must tell you I hate chutes and ladders too!!!! My little guys asked me one day why we don't have that game..Josh and Megan (our older two) started to laugh Josh said I use to have that game but mom took it to good will.....yep there you have it......Chutes and Ladders is NOT fun!!

Anonymous said...

As usual, I love all your pics!!!

I wish we lived closer. I think Savannah & Princess would make great friends!

Unknown said...

Oh! you did much better than I did when playing Chutes and Ladders! I unashamedly cheated...and would hide the game in the back of the closet so the kids would forget it was there!

Lizz @ Yes, and So is My Heart said...

I never ever, never ever, never ever suggest Chutes and Ladders. I totally get that!

Becca~CapturingSimpleJoys said...

I had to laugh at your chutes and ladders story! I've been there!

beautiful pics of the 4th and I hope your vehicle has been fixed~ouch on the price!