Name of the Game

In spite of all the lovely gifts the boys received over the holidays, they have spent most of this week playing with an empty jumbo sized Mini Wheats box. This will come as no surprise to all the mothers who have that post-holiday "Why do I even bother shopping?" feeling when they see their perfect, hard sought purchases tossed aside in favor of something ordinary. But I must say I have been quite amused by the ideas the boys have come up with.

One game involving the box was a game called "Recipe" where they dumped all their cars in the box. The goal was to "try to make a cake before Bowser comes to steal the recipe." Apparently sometimes "DK comes, and that's good because he'll give you new things for the recipe." Yes, I wish their games didn't always involve TV or videogame characters, but it's better than just watching them, right? They also invented a few games where they try to roll a ball or drive a car into the box. This proved to be much more difficult than it sounds.

Last night, C & O started yet another game with the Mini Wheats Box while I was making dinner. From the raucous laughter, it seemed like it was a big hit, so I wasn't surprised that they started playing it again today. But I couldn't figure out what they were doing, so I asked C to explain it to me. The games he invents often have very long titles, and this one was no different.

C: "Mom, look at our new game! It's called 'Bounce the ball on the box without tipping it over, and be the first one to get 10 points'."

O pipes up: "And look out for rats!!"

C: "Oh yeah Mom, that's the most important part! Bounce the ball on the box without tipping it over and look out for rats!"

Me: "Rats? What do you mean rats?"

C: "You know...rats! Like a mouse. But stinky."

Me: "But why are there rats?"

C: "Mom...(big sigh)...they're not REAL rats. We are using our brains and our imaginations!"

Oh. Well now it all makes sense...