Today’s Mantra, “Think twice”</strong>
I’m not sure why, but saying I’m hosting an “adult” games night, sounds vaguely sexual.
According to my brother-in-law and best friend’s husband (who didn’t want to be mentioned, haha), a games night is a nerdy thing to do.
It didn’t stop them from coming.
Either way, it was going to be just a normal, laugh till you cry, board-games night, Charades and then Scattegories. I said for everyone to come after dinner, pajama their kids and put them down upstairs at our place.
My optimism amuses me now.
After about an hour of children tearing through freshly, put away toy-drawers, and screaming with delight at being together, we get them all upstairs. Leo, however, wakes up and won’t go back to sleep.
As we dole out the drinks, pass around food, child-wrangle and chat, there are adults and kids upstairs and down, at all stages of the evening. About 9pm, I look around and head-count – we have all adults accounted for and just the one child, (mine) , downstairs.
Not bad, not bad…maybe we could start. We start opening the games up and I go upstairs to put Leo down, quickly. I come back down and we’re missing adults. There has been an influx of drink requests, pee stops and one poo mishap. Also the quiet, that had caused me false hope, had actually been because two of the kids were locked in the bedroom and couldn’t get out.
Eventually though we get five down – two babies and the sleeping beauties below:
The other two stay down stairs, probably traumatised after the bedroom-locking incident.
We play on, around them and meanwhile a few more friends turn up and jump on a team. Drinks are flowing and it suddenly feels like a games night. Then, in another corner of the room, a poker table is being set up and the boys start to pull away from the crowd.
Uh…no.
I put the chips away, scold the boys and we’re playing charades again.
Two minutes later (11pm), people have to go as they’ve got babysitters, kids still up and pregnant wives, on the way home.
We lose half the crowd but gain one, as my best friend gets home from a hens night. I think there’s about eight of us left. We play a few rounds of scattegories, have a few laughs and get to bed about one.
Next time…start it at five, kids down by 7:30, a lot less people… and maybe it’ll work.
