Kids

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Whether you have raised boys or have ever wondered what it is like to raise boys then you should read this hilarious book by Diane Auten, The Joys of Raising Boys….The Good, the Bad and the Hilarious.

Diane has compiled some of the funniest conversations, comments and questions that her boys have come up with over the years. This book is full of conversation that no mom ever thinks she will have on a daily basis, that is until she actually become the mother of boys.

In between all of the ridiculous and funny stories though, Diane shares some of the sweetest, nicest stories about her boys. She makes you realize that as crazy as things can be with a house full of boys, you are lucky to be their mother and have them as part of your life.

Diane guides you in how to have better communication with your sons all while keeping things lighthearted and funny. I only hope that she continues to write about their teen years.

Besides being a mom and a wonderful writer, Diane Auten is a communication studies professor, consultant, and speaker. You can find her at dianeauten.com.

I want to thank Diane for allowing me to review her book, I feel honored and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

To purchase this book and join in on the fun just click the Amazon link below. I needed a good laugh and you could probably use one too.

Well we are snowed in again. Time to get the deck of cards out. My son loves playing card games and I love how quick and easy they can be. No setting up a board game and all of the pieces. One deck of cards and your instantly playing and entertained. So make sure you own a deck of cards.

I’m going to explain a few quick easy card games that you can play with your kids. You can get started right away and they will love that you slowed down to play a game with them. Have fun!

Crazy Eights:

• Deal five cards to each player.
• The remainder of cards go facedown in the middle. Flip one card over from deck.
• Person going first will need to lay a card of either same suit or number as that card, or an 8 if they have nothing else to play.
• If an 8 is played then the person who played it can decide which suit now has to be played. (So if they call hearts the next player will have to play a heart.)
• If they do not have a card to play then they have to draw from the pile until they get one that they can play.
• Play continues with the next person.
• First person with no cards left wins.

Go Fish:

(Our quick simple version. This is not how most people play.) (Original rules) I was taught wrong when I was a kid, haha, so we just go with it.

• Deal 5 cards to each player.
• The rest of cards go facedown in middle.
• First player asks another player if they have a “5” for example. (They have to have at least one card in their hand of that number if they ask for it.)
• If that person has that card they have to give it to them. (If they have two of them then they give both)
• If that player did not have a card to give the person then they tell them to “go fish” and the person that is fishing draws a card from the pile.
• When you get 3 that match you lay those cards down. If anyone else has or gets a card that matches someone elses that are lying down they can set that card on that pile to get it out of their hand. (So if someone laid down a set with three 5’s and you have a 5 in your hand lay it on their pile)
• Play continues until someone runs out of cards.

War:

• Deal cards until deck is completely dealt.
• Everyone puts their cards face down in a pile in front of them.
• Everyone flips a card from their pile over at the same time so everyone can see it.
• The person with the highest card gets the cards that were turned over.
• If it is a tie, then each person lays 3 cards from their pile face down and everyone then flips their 4th card over for everyone to see.
• Whoever has the highest gets all of those cards.
• Play continues until all cards have been used. Player with the most cards at the end wins.

21 (Blackjack):

• Cards all equal face value, king, queen, jack are worth 10 and aces can be used as 1 or 11.
• Pick a dealer. Dealer will deal one card face down to each player and then one card face up to each player.
• The object is to get as close to 21 without going over.
• Each player can either “stay” or ask dealer to “hit me”, meaning give me another card.
• The dealer would deal that player another card face up.
• Players can also choose to stay. (If they feel like they are close enough to 21 and don’t want to take a chance of going over)
• When everyone has stayed and wants no more cards then everyone will flip all cards over so visible to everyone.
• Person closest to 21 without going over wins that round.

Card Houses:

• If you don’t want to play an actual game then you can always resort to building a house of cards.
• Build your base with 2 cards in shape of tent, one one each side, and one across the top.
• Build on from there. Good luck, get creative, have fun.

Kids love to go on an adventure. My son loves to get a backpack with some water and snacks and head out to check out nature. Well he doesn’t actually like to carry a backpack, he would prefer I take that part on. He would rather concentrate on locating the next spot to take a water break.

We just went on a small hike near our house. We had quite an adventure. We were only gone for about a 1/2 hour but in that time we found a caterpillar, a beetle, lots of birds and a whole pocket full of rocks. What kid isn’t happy with rocks!

Little hikes like this are the best activity ever with your kids. No matter how many times they take the same walk they always seem to find something new. The bonus is that it doesn’t cost you a penny and you actually get a little exercise yourself. It’s a win win for all of you.

You don’t have to pack up and go on some all day hike with your kids. The important part is getting outside and enjoying time with them. If you live someplace that doesn’t have any nature trails that’s ok. Kids have great imaginations. Pack your backpack and go on an adventure in your yard or head to the park. Nature is everywhere! You can live in the city and still find bugs, birds, trees and flowers. Set the scene in your kids mind and they will take it from there.

These are some of my favorite times. It is so nice to just tune out of technology and everyday life for a little while and enjoy your kids. Point is if you can get out in nature with your kids, do. You’ll feel refreshed and your kids will appreciate the family time.  If you can’t get anywhere then bring the adventure to you right at home. Get creative, have a campout in your living room, sit outside and watch the clouds. The important part is to quit worrying about everything else for a little while and focus on your kids. Day to day life goes by quick sometimes and you need to just take a moment to slow down and appreciate the small things in life. Everything else you deal with whether work or those dishes you didn’t want to do earlier will still be there when you get back, I promise.

Fast food play lands are both a god sent and a nightmare. All kids love going to the play land. They just want to get in there, play with other kids, hear their screams echo and make endless trips around and around the same route up to the top and then down the slide. Kids don’t get bored with this, they could stay there all day.

Parents on the other hand like the fact they can sit and actually eat a meal while the car is not in motion and maybe check a few emails or just zone out for a moment in your own head. It’s a moment of peace in the most unpeaceful place on earth. If you can tune out all of those shrieks, the sound of all the little feet running through tunnels and the terrible echo that all of these places have then you are definitely a parent because no sane person could ignore those sounds and find any peace in this chaos.

Now I am really torn sometimes on how much I should worry about germs in these places. You can look at it in two different ways. One, just relax, all kids need to build up their immunity. What a better place to do this. They are potentially exposed to everything from the common cold, to the newest stomach bug, to pink eye or if your really lucky, lice. Second approach is try to keep your kids ingestion of these bugs limited. Sanitize their hands, your table and keep their shoes and jackets with you at all times. Sanitize again as soon as you leave. But if you go this route then don’t forget it does not do any good unless you plan to clean their hands every time they run over to the table to put a fry in there mouth. This also doesn’t cover the fact that while they are in the play land you have no control over how many times they rub their face, put their hand in their mouth or touch their eyes. There are no guarantees that your going home with no bugs.

I guess you just have to relax, let them have fun, enjoy your few minutes of peace and do your best to keep them somewhat clean by washing before they eat and after they are done playing. In reality it’s no worse than your next stop, the grocery store, where you’ll be exposed to a new variety of germs the second you walk in and grab your cart.

Enjoy it while you can though because before you know it you’re going to wish your child was young enough to get that excited about a couple slides, some cheap food and really still appreciate getting a day with mom. Everything is still so exciting. Kids aren’t picky, they just want to spend time with their parents and have their full attention. Appreciate all of the time you have with your kids. It’s easy to get busy and think you’ll make time later but before you know it they’re grown up and you missed it. Go hug your kid and be excited to go to that play land and listen to their laughs.