We've been Smurfed!

After yesterday’s post, and BFF Molly informed me it was “a bit cerebral”, I promised I would be back to my old self.  So, here we go . . .

Today Ego and I decided that for her “camp time” we’d go to the park and play Frisbee and catch with a wiffle ball.  Ego also managed to somehow talk me into going to McDonald’s for lunch because they had Smurf toys in the Happy Meals.  I’m not sure whether it was nostalgia for a childhood classic or what, but I actually took my children to McDonald’s for the first time EVER (my husband’s taken them plenty of times, but mommy couldn’t bring herself to do it)

Here’s what I learned about going “old school” with a Frisbee, a Wiffle ball and the Smurfs (oh, and a quick theater performance thrown in):

1)      When deciding what the end point of the Frisbee game with your 7 year-old will be, it would be wise not to make it the first time you catch the Frisbee 10 times in a row.  What I thought would take 10 minutes lasted 30, and we were really, really trying to catch that thing!!  10 times with a wiffle ball, piece of cake; 10 times with a small flying disk subject to the whims of the changing wind, not so much.

2)      When taking your children to see their sibling’s theater production, you might want to check the face painting schedule of the Boys & Girls Clubs.  We were in such a hurry after picking up Ego and Id that I didn’t have time to wash Ego’s face before her sister’s performance.  I’m sure people thought she was just part of the show!!

3)      You will pay more to go to the movies with your 3 children than you will to purchase 6 weeks worth of movies from Redbox even if you rented them once a day for that time period.  3 kids, 1 adult and 2 boxes of candy = $43 – how do these people sleep at night in their gold plated, 4 poster, Beverly Hills beds?! (again, I’m hoping my husband doesn’t notice this charge on the credit card – I have REALLY got to start carrying cash)!

4)      When deciding to take your children to the 7:45pm show that gets out at 9:45pm, you need to be prepared for them to fall asleep on the 10 minute drive home, and when you wake them up from that sleep, it will be like waking up drunken college students – they will slur their words, fall all over the place and tell you that they “smurfing hate you!”

Recommendations from today:

Though the Smurf movie was highly cheesy and predictable, it will take Gen Xers back to their childhood and will be fun entertainment for the kids.

Pull out some of those old school toys such as a Frisbee and Wiffle Ball, it’s amazing the feeling of accomplishment when you finally do catch that thing 10 times in a row!

Before I go, a Bonus tip – if you have a meeting and need to drop your kids off at the Boys & Girls Club, but they really don’t want to go, just pull out a dollar for each of them and the whining will stop.  It was like being in a Vegas show . . . I pulled out a dollar for each of them, put it into their shorts pocket, and off they went on their merry way.  I’m thinking I’m going to include that in my mother of the year application!!

And now, mommy’s Smurfing tired!