Jul. 6: That didn’t take long

The Wii is making me crazy. It’s not really the Wii’s fault for being so fabulous, I know, but the kids are so fa-lippin’ LOUD when they’re playing. And the Wii is set up in our family room, which is also where my office space is because I surrendered my office so the kids could have a playroom because parents who love their children make sacrifices even when their children don’t appreciate the depth said sacrifices can entail and so they just mess up the playroom until it’s no fun to play in anymore.

So why is the Wii not in the kids’ playroom? Excellent question. The TV in the playroom is a little tiny thing, which was perfect when the kids were much smaller and hardly used it anyway. Now, though, I think it would be kind of cruel to move the Wii from a 35” TV to an 11” TV. Moving our family room TV to the playroom is not an option I’m willing to explore because Victor and I often spend our evenings in the family room and that means it’s “our” TV. What a dilemma, huh?

Oh, yeah. This is a big, huge, problem. Whatever will I do.  ← No question mark because that is a statement, not a question. Because I’m being sarcastic. Git it?

I am the queen of turning a tiny little project into a project of epic, earth-moving proportions, and have a knack for making it life-threatening along the way. This one is going to be no exception. After a Manullang Family meeting last night, here’s what we’ve decided to do:

1. Move the Wii to the playroom.
   TO DO: purchase a TV that can be hung on the wall, maybe a 20” screen or so?
   This will eliminate the need for a TV stand, giving us a little more floor space in the playroom. Any parent knows that playroom floor space is premium real estate. The “hooray” result of this effort: Victor and I get to reclaim the family room. Aaaaaaahhhhh…
2. Move Katie from room #2 into room #4 (currently the playroom).
   TO DO: shampoo carpet, paint walls, buy new bedding and curtains. She needs a new dresser too.
   Katie’s been asking to switch her room for quite a while now, and this seems like a good time. Also, besides occasionally rearranging furniture, she hasn’t changed much about her room since we moved her into it just before Jack was born. Over the years I’ve asked if she wants a new wall color or quilt, but she’s never jumped at it before now. Room #4 is an odd shape—it actually has a little more character than the others, though—so she’s going to run into some limitations for placing furniture compared to what she’s used to in #2. Still, I think the one entire wall of shelves in #4 is going to solve a lot of her clutter problems.  
3. Move the playroom from room #4 to room #2 (currently Katie’s).
   TO DO: shampoo carpet, paint walls, sort through toys on playroom shelves and donate what the kids no longer play with and hopefully fit everything else into shelving in the other room ha ha ha ha ha ha that will never happen.
   The armoire Katie has always used as her dresser fits in very few spots in #4, so we’ll keep it in #2 for playroom storage. The #4 closet has always been off-limits to the kids because that’s where I keep my sewing machine cabinet and other miscellaneous things; I think I’m going to have to find a new place for those things because we’ll need the closet space once the playroom is in #2. Grr. One of the good things about the playroom being in #2, though, is that there’s more flexibility in where the play table and Wii can be put.
4. Because Jack doesn’t want to be left out, he’s asked for a change too. He wants his room (#3) de-pirated and Indiana Jones-d.
   TO DO: pull border off the walls, get a new comforter—not too much work or expense, thank goodness.
   Jack had talked about moving into #2 when Katie decided she wanted to go to #4, and my biggest concern was how we would get his loft bed out of #3 without completely dissembling it. When I say “we,” of course, I mean “Victor” because I don’t think it’d be wise for me to go near that big heavy bed with a screwdriver. I was relieved that Jack has decided to stay in #3—if he’d really wanted to move, I would have had to come up with good responses as to why Katie gets to move and he doesn’t, and I don’t think he would’ve liked a single one of them. I also thought he wanted Star Wars decor, but “that was last week,” I was firmly informed. I’m not going to indulge him in changing room decor depending on his favorite *whatever* every few months, though, so Indiana Jones-ing his room is mostly going to be done with posters, I think. IKEA makes inexpensive poster frames—great for kids’ rooms, too, because they have plastic instead of glass—that will keep the posters from getting ripped up (hopefully) and he can change out the posters in another few months when he decides the coolest thing in the world is Terminator or Spongebob or the Jonas Brothers or Megan Fox.

My mother is shaking her head right now at me taking on this huge and quite unnecessary task, I just know it. But I haven’t painted anything for, like, a YEAR. ‘Tis time, people.

And you know I’ll be keeping you up to date on my progress. You can hardly wait, right.  ← No question mark because that is a statement, not a question. Because I’m being sarcastic. Git it?

Jun. 19: A wee Wii question

“Wee Wii” = hee hee.

We surprised Katie and Jack with a Nintendo Wii this week and they instantly decreed we were the best parents EVER. I think our neighbors are possibly the most grateful of all because it means our kids will invade their homes less often and really, who would want Jack around all the time? He’s loud and stinky. We can barely stand him in our own house.

The Wii console comes with Wii Sports, which Victor is enjoying a little bit too much. I’ve seen very little of him after the kids’ bedtime because he finally gets the Wii to himself and doesn’t have to let the kids win every game. Also, he’s getting winded at the Wii bat and I’m worried about his real heart. But I checked, and our life insurance is all paid up so, y’know, whatevs.

We also bought Lego Indiana Jones because Jack is insane for all things Lego and Indiana Jones. Also, he kept asking to go over to some kid’s house for a play date but finally admitted he just wanted some time to play the game. We thought having our own Wii was a better option than calling some parent we don’t know to ask if our kid can spend time at their kid’s house. Jack loves the Wii version of the game (he’s mastered the DS version) and is excited to try out the other Lego Wii games too.

Katie’s first game choice was Wii Play, which is mostly just fun practice for using the Wii remote in all possible ways other games may require. It’s a fun assortment of activities, though—there’s a game similar to air hockey that I love, and I rocked on the fishing one. (Clearly, action games are not my thing. Give me Scrabble any day.)

So, my question is this: what are the big Wii hits at your house, and why? We want to add to our collection of games but would like some variety and are hoping for suggestions from other Wii owners. Please leave your advice in a comment. Thanks!

Jan. 3: Please Monday, don’t be late

Boy, the teachers are gonna have a big job to do come Monday. It’s been three weeks since the kids were last in school and I think Katie and Jack have forgotten how to read. For the last week they’ve been doing this:



This is actually time-lapse photography of six hours; they did not move that whole time.

I’d encourage them to get up and do something else, but it would probably be noisy and that would totally harsh my mellow.

I do not like when my mellow gets harshed.

If it snows tomorrow night I don’t care; I’ll drop the kids off at the school on Monday anyway and tell them if they just stand and wait someone will come by eventually and let them in. Maybe they can huddle with the crowd of all the other kids whose parents will do the same thing (I’m looking at you, Lori Lassen). Three weeks off school is just way too long. Work with me here, Mother Nature.