hippos are our friends

I hate clutter.

I admit it - I will even throw out or give away some of Amara's things just to make sure my dear packrat hubby doesn't get to it first. I just can't take a messy house.

So when my girlfriend asked if I wanted some of her son's old games, I cringed, but I gracefully accepted all of them. Don't Break the Ice, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Perfection, and some other game I've never heard of.

So not only do I despise the thought of more toys in my house three weeks before Christmas, but I cannot stand the thought of all those germs entering into our family room three weeks before Christmas.

Amara was in some mood the last 24 hours. And the only thing that would get us through the evening was the promise of a family game before bedtime. And she chose Hungry Hungry Hippos.

She loves it!

She begged her daddy to come upstairs to play a few rounds with us because she loves it so much. And leave it to mom2amara to try to make something out of this ordinary, run of the mill, children's game -- I tell my 3 year old that she must count out the number of marbles her hippo eats before she can play another set. Yeah, she may go from 15 to 18 and skip a few numbers, but I was highly impressed she even knew the number 20 let alone be able to count to it.

So as much as the zoo scares me (I think 'Animal Farm' and think the creatures are conspiring to get us.), this weekend has proved that hippos are truly our friends.