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"Can you play a quick game with me pleeeease?" I asked my husband before bedtime the other night. (I wanted to demonstrate one of the games from the Halloween freebie!) It had been a REALLY long work day for him so, rightfully so, he was a little reluctant but agreed. What a guy! 😍 I closed my eyes, pointed to a random square on the sheet, and landed on a silly family storytelling game: CHALLENGE: Make up a story together, taking turns every few sentences. Use this title to get you started: Gary the Ghost Who Scared Himself Every Time He Said “Boo!” Immediately my son remembered that a previous story we'd made up using my Plot Twist app had been about a Goose named Gary, so we decided this would be a Halloween version about that same goose! As usual, the story quickly dissolved into potty humor (my HUSBAND is the one who started it, but the kids ran with it, of course) and it was just mayhem from there. Yes, the word "goose-arrhea" was invented... I'll let you guess what it means. My husband and I started out on opposite ends of the couch, but within the first two minutes, I found myself snuggled up on his chest, cry-laughing and even scream-cackling at a few points. But if you were to press "rewind" and go back a couple days... You'd see me sobbing in my bedroom, upset about how our busy work schedules have taken over in this season and how disconnected I've been feeling from him. (With an extra heavy dose of emotions about the fact our son is about to turn 5, and it just feels BIG 😭). While we work together to figure out how to navigate work-life-balance, I'm grateful that alongside the big heart-to-hearts, we can also come back to each other through simple silliness like this. And I'm grateful our kids can see us laugh together like this: My invitation for you this week: Get your kids involved and make up your own silly family story based on the title: Gary the Ghost Who Scared Himself Every Time He Said “Boo!” I'd love to hear how yours turns out!! (And if you haven't already downloaded my Halloween Fun freebie... download it right here!) Cheering you on always, More from Playful Heart Parenting:Activate Play Mode brings all of my favorite tools together in one place, including our parent community, private podcast, improv games, and the Silly Moments Bundle, with thousands of playful ideas to make play part of everyday parenting. |
Quick, honest reflections on parenting, playfulness, and finding more joy in everyday family life, each with one simple idea to try. Browse the latest reads below, and subscribe to never miss one in your inbox each Tuesday.
I got a comment on Instagram the other day that got under my skin and I just couldn't shake the frustration... ...even after a magnificent therapy call that just happened to be right after I saw said comment! I was sharing my frustrations and my hurt with my pal Jen (yes the same Jen I always talk about here). She is also a content creator and just GETS it. I vented, she listened, validated, we had the whole convo, but THEN, before moving on with the day, Jen said: "Before you get wrapped up...
“Mom, you’re being a little bit meaner than usual,” said my son, sniffling in the backseat. UGH. He was right. 😮💨 We'd been running late (a stress trigger for me), he was emotional and having a hard time getting ready, I’d been up working since 5 a.m., and, in hindsight, I’d barely eaten anything. Apparently you’re supposed to consume 5 billion grams of protein before drinking coffee. I usually do it the other way around... 5 billion grams of coffee first. Anyway, none of my usual playful...
We were listening to old plot twist recordings in the car the other day (silly stories we made up together in the plot twist app that’s included in the Silly Moments Bundle) and one in particular made me teary-eyed. It was a story about a fox named “Hedge Barnit” (my son comes up with the best character names). The fox constantly knocked things over with his tail, so all the forest creatures would say “Oh, darn it, here comes Hedge Barnit) when they noticed him coming… Aside from laughing at...