My New Favorite Night Time Ritual

The last few nights in my home have been full of giggles and fun. No matter how the events of the days have unfolded, and the last few have been a royal lump of mess, at least the nights have been lovely. My daughter has discovered the art of playing hide-and-go-seek. It has turned into a really nice family-time activity after dinner and before the night time routine begins.

It usually starts with me hiding. AZ will count to ten, sometimes hitting the teens, which she jumbles into a ball of cuteness. And instead of "Ready or not, here I come," she says, "Twenty nine, here I come." It almost always makes me smile in my hiding spot.

When she finds me, after going room to room yelling, "Mommy, are you in here?" it's her turn to hide. She always turns to Daddy to help her. And no matter how good the hiding spot is, while I'm finding her, she comes out of her spot, or starts laughing. Last night, while finding her, I said, "AZ, stay in your hiding spot until Mommy finds you." She replied, "OK, Mommy," thus giving up her hiding spot.

And WC is getting in on the action, too. He helps AZ find me, and helps me find AZ. And he laughs just as much as the rest of us. I love these moments we're having as a family. And this time is quickly turning into my new favorite night time ritual.