The Front Porch Swing

[bruceha2000]

There are a couple of card games that are really fun...skipbo and uno. You could teach her how to play spades, solitare, umm I know there are others, but I can't think of any more. oh yea, War! You can order Skipbo online at Amazon...it is a really fun game!

My girls play War! I find it boring and annoying.

But it IS a 2 person game.
Try Kings in the Corner, at least this one takes some thought, uses a standard deck of playing cards and you can play with 2 or more people.
I just found this site with rules for hundreds of card games: http://www.pagat.com/ You could spend some time just looking at them to see which are potentially of interest!

Uno, Parcheesi, Sorry! Lots of old standards you might already have at home.

Dad has Bananagrams.

Some are good only for more than 2

Risk! Clue (and Harry Potter Clue)

Bruce

 

[Blooie]

That's how Evan was the first time he went into the Butterfly House - screamed like that gal in the horror movies who always trips while running away from the bad guy. (You know her - she's always wearing a white, flowy nightgown in the dark woods, turning her ankle, falling down, then looking up as the monster is coming instead of getting up and hitting the road again.) Anyway, Austin (Evan's brother) was really bad...an ant sent him crawling up my pant leg in tears. Until the day he died he hated any kind of bugs. Evan isn't as bad. The butterflies freaked him out. He'd pull his arms in tight to his body and kinda do this run-in-place thing, shuddering the whole time. Well, Grampa Paul always walks around with Lily on his shoulder, and after an initial hissy fit Evan got used to that, then Grampa just took it slow. Last year Evan held Lily just long enough for a quick, blurry photo, and now look at him this year! He asked if he could hold Lily. Then I guess he sat on the bench and just talked to her. Grampa Paul told me that Evan really enjoyed the gasps and shudders that came from visitors to the House when they'd see Evan holding her too.

I'm so glad that Tammy's ex, his new wife, and his parents are still active members of a united family. There is no absent parent bashing here from us, and none from Dan and his family when he's back there. Earlier in the year Evan was really acting up in school. Tam had tried several things to correct it, but Evan would slide back into that bad behavior every couple of days. So Tam spoke to Dan, they set up a Facetime, and Evan was presented both parents at one time, united and firm in addressing what was going on, letting him know they loved him but would not tolerate this, setting the consequences together, and it worked. They lovingly parent together despite the divorce. Grampa Paul, Gramma Jan, and Ken and I are all friends so there's no "grandparent competition", just "grandparent unity". Dan's new wife is really good with him too, and she and Tam have openly talked about what her role is so she knows there are boundaries she must respect, which she does. I know so often kids end up as pawns in an ugly tug-of-war, but I'm proud to say that that doesn't happen in Evan's life. I got a call last night from Gramma Jan asking what the latest news was on Kendra, and letting me know that she'd put Kendra's name on the prayer list at her church. So we don't worry when Evan goes back to South Dakota for the summer. He's well cared for, happy, respected, and because the rules are similar in both places he's not confused when he comes back. It can be done.....but both parents have to love the child more than they are angry with each other.

A little news on Kendra. The MRI they ordered was what they call "Shunt Specific". Now I ain't no medical expert, although I've had to learn more than I ever thought I would, but that tells me that they are looking at shunt placement to treat Kendra's Chiari. When I said that to her, Jenny cautioned me this morning that everything rests on the results and not to get set on it. So I'll back off for now but if they can relieve the Chiari by removing some internal brain pressures that would be what I'd like to see done. Tam and I are still going on our cruise - orders from Jen, Kenny, Ken, and my friends here.

I was getting ready to go to my meeting last night and Katie gave me a letter to take with me. I read it to the town council at our meeting last night. She's still pretty mad that the tornado was handled the way it was, and she let them (us) know about it! There is a video online of the tornado, and it's a full 5 minutes before the sirens went off. So she told council that I have "evidence on the computer". I also told her that it could be another 50 years before a tornado ever hits Cowley again, and for some reason she heard "15 years", so she told the council that they have 15 years to get a plan. That led to a 15 minute discussion, a committee being appointed to put a disaster plan in place by the next meeting, and Gramma busting her buttons. It isn't what she wrote, but the fact that she's learned that she has a right and an obligation to contact her government with her concerns that made me so proud. I've always said that we elect people to do a job, and then we go about our lives and don't supervise those we hired. Katie just got proof of that. I got home and she was still up with Grampa. I told her what the council was doing about her worries, and she absolutely beamed. "Well," she said, "I guess I told them!" Yes, you did, Katie!

 

[Blooie]

 

[lovingmyhens]

Backgammon

 

[Beekissed]

They think they are all that because they can get up top now!! They are so funny-they fly and they fly down and they fly up and well you get the picture.

 

[rrrmamma]

Today Madi is helping me scrub carpets. She does do chores but I also feel she is entitled to some fun things. She likes music and so does my husband, so while we were gone yesterday she downloaded a bunch of music to his computer that can be loaded to his phone. (Both of us are just barely electronic literate.) We watch movies together. She wants to go fishing so we will try that when her sister is here. I am enrolling her in driver's ed so she feels competent to take her driving test. It has only been a few weeks and most of that time her Mom has been here stirring the pot.. She is so much happier without her Mom. I guess I can understand that. Madi is very calm and her mom is very hyper and a drama queen. She may not leave with her parents at the end of the summer. That is her choice. She will always be welcome here. We are usually exhausted by the end of the day so we hardly ever play cards. Maybe I will haul out the Yahtzee etc and see if that will work. Thanks for all the good advice. It has been a long time since I have been around young people.

Blooie,, enjoy your cruise. We will be praying for a good outcome for Kendra. You know the power of the" Ladies of the Porch" when it comes to prayers.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Today Madi is helping me scrub carpets. She does do chores but I also feel she is entitled to some fun things. She likes music and so does my husband, so while we were gone yesterday she downloaded a bunch of music to his computer that can be loaded to his phone. (Both of us are just barely electronic literate.) We watch movies together. She wants to go fishing so we will try that when her sister is here. I am enrolling her in driver's ed so she feels competent to take her driving test. It has only been a few weeks and most of that time her Mom has been here stirring the pot.. She is so much happier without her Mom. I guess I can understand that. Madi is very calm and her mom is very hyper and a drama queen. She may not leave with her parents at the end of the summer. That is her choice. She will always be welcome here. We are usually exhausted by the end of the day so we hardly ever play cards. Maybe I will haul out the Yahtzee etc and see if that will work. Thanks for all the good advice. It has been a long time since I have been around young people.

Blooie,, enjoy your cruise. We will be praying for a good outcome for Kendra. You know the power of the" Ladies of the Porch" when it comes to prayers.

Ladies and Gents of the Porch.

 

[perchie.girl]

I love that last sentince.... driving it home...

"Before 15 years ends you need to figure out who will unlock the doors" PRICELESS.

There is nothing so pure as the world seen through child eyes....

deb

 

[tntchix]

Because Everyone deserves to be heard. Good for you, Katie!

 

[Triple Willow]

***Okay, don't kick me off the porch but here's an update on the funky eggs I thought my broody laid. There is a possibility that those eggs were moved from a nest across the pen. Now how they might have done that I don't know, but some eggs from that nest are missing too. They are similar enough to the eggs that the hen lays that I could have been dead wrong ...it is possible. So what goes on in a chicken coop when I'm not looking, I probably don't want to know! But just wanted you guy to know that those eggs could have come from a nest that another hen was sitting on.