FamilyBed®, The Game

Sometime last week, Lena and I happened upon all three kids, happily playing together all by themselves. To say that this is a rare occurrence these days would be an understatement. Generally speaking, Zeben can play well with either of his big brothers, one-on-one, Luke and Jaz can play well with each other, but when all three of them are trying to play the same game, it usually ends in tears pretty quickly. Zeben's tears, to be more specific. He just can't help but "wreck things" when Luke and Jaz are trying to play something more sophisticated, and his wrecking usually results in him getting locked out of the room, or at the very least shoved aside and yelled at.

So, when Lena and I realized that the kids had been playing alone together for 20 minutes or so, and we hadn't heard Zeben crying, we thought we better check on things. Had they locked him in a closet? Thrown him out the window? Thankfully, no. The scene that awaited us on the third floor was just pure sweetness.

The kids were playing "Family Bed." They had built a bed out of their big blocks, and outfitted it with pillows and blankets, and they were all snuggled up together in it.

If only reality was some sort of reflection on the game version of Family Bed, and the kids actually snuggled each other in our bed, then Lena and I might even get to sleep next to each other. In our real family bed, the kids never snuggle each other (at least not on purpose), and each one requires the proximity of a mom (so it goes kid, mom, kid, mom, kid). But maybe this new game will inspire them to try something new one of these nights . . .

Speaking of trying something new, we're off for a little two-night vacation to Maine, where Lena's parents have rented a cottage on a lake for the week. We will definitely be figuring out some creative sleeping situations, and we're bringing a tent just in case that ends up being the easiest solution. Though, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe we should have just packed some of the kids' big blocks instead.