Wednesday, November 17, 2010

a Zingo Monday

Every now and then the day ends and I have the very satisfying feeling that I have succeeded. Generally, at the end of the day, a list of all the things I didn't do, finish or say bombards me, not to mention snapshots of the day I wish I had handled better. But Monday...Monday was my day.

I will preface this and say it might be due in large part to the eight hours of sleep I got the night before. This is particularly noteworthy since I still woke up at 5:30 am. But this time I was ready for it, sliding easily from my warm covers as opposed to the usual feeling of peeling myself off my mattress.

But there I was, skipping out to Sylvia's car just before 6am, home an hour and a half later, breakfast cooked, kids out the door, laundry washed, a Costco trip (churros!), home again for lunch and then volunteering in Donovan's class for a couple hours. Then, while dinner cooked I reorganized my closet and finished the laundry.

After dinner, with it being our Monday "Family Night" I declared it was time for games. Usually Gemma takes a passive role, scooping up whatever discarded tiles/cards/miscellanea we aren't using. But Monday was her night. After our first round of Zingo (a must-have game for the under 8 set), I realized she might actually be able to play. So I quizzed her on the pictures and turned her loose.

I also need to give Ainsleigh and Donovan major props. They are so dang fantastic with Gemma. They love seeing her succeed and win even more than winning themselves (well, most of the time). A part of me wonders if we're setting Gemma up for disappointment later on in life when she realizes the world does not, in fact, revolve around her. But we'll worry about that when we get there, I guess.

So there we were, playing Zingo, Gemma going berserk as she would shout out the pictures she recognized. Joel took a video that maybe only grandparents and some family will find particularly entertaining. But if you've ever happened to meet Gemma, this will be a nice contrast to her usual reserved nature. I hope it's big enough that you can actually see the pictures I'm pointing to (Joel edited it to remove a bunch of my "what's that").


It was just one of those days that, at the end, I thought, "Not too shabby, Mrs. Hill. Not too shabby."

8 comments:

PaloAltoCougar said...

Clearly, Santa needs to bring Zingo to this house so that Gemma can teach me how to play. Very cute.

laura said...

omg I want to squeeze her so bad! I love the frantic hand flaps.

Charlotte said...

Wow! As the head of education here at ThinkFun (maker of Zingo!), it's a thrill to see this family game in arm-flapping, squealing action... and what a lively competition it was! The first portion of your video is just fantastic, showing your daughter's incredible image and text recognition!

Love the celebratory singing, such great family fun. A Zingo! victory well-earned, nicely done, Gemma!

Lisa said...

Oh my gosh, that was the cutest thing I have EVER seen!!!! At the beginning, though, I felt like I was watching an old SNL skit. Daaaaaa... bulls. Daaaa... bears.

Annie said...

Cute. I love how you all sang at the end.

Anne said...

unbelievable. want to eat her.

dawnanne said...

darling! i can't believe how much this makes me miss you and all of colorado, actually! (wanted to see more of donovan in the video though) hang on tight to those wonderful memories of near perfect days--they are sustaining!

Charlotte said...

Sarah,

Just wondering whether you'd be interested in sharing your story as a Featured Family on the new ThinkFun Parent's page? www.thinkfun.com/parents

Email me at cfixler@thinkfun.com if you'd like more details!

Best, Charlotte