Two words, sounds like......

There are days when living with two young children feels akin to being trapped in a perpetual nightmare of the longest game of charades known to mankind. You're sitting there under the glare of the fluorescent lighting in the bingo hall and all of a sudden you realise that no one else playing the game can actually speak English, in fact the odds are fairly high that if you could manage to get out of the bingo hall you would find yourself in a small village on the outskirts of Russia. I'm not the only one who's had this nightmare right ?

Anyway, we're now working on a new and improved system which involves guessing, charades and award winning mime and dramatic interpretation. I have to say, although I may be a tad biased, I do believe that Le Artise and Petal could be destined for Tinsletown domination, once they finish topping the class at NIDA.

Le Artise in particular goes for an entire body performance when attempting to relay a story. The words begin, and are repeated, and repeated and repeated, then he huffs and puffs (but no, does not blow the house down) and his eyes widen and his arms start gesticulating wildly. By this point I am pulling random words out of the air and throwing them at him....... School ? Boy ? Girl ? Today ? Xylography 101 ? Who says you can't have fun with the English language ?

It's quite an exhausting process for all involved but can be very rewarding when we finally unravel the plot, oh yes, high-fives all round before mummy nips off to gulp down a couple of pain killers before her head explodes.

Petal doesn't get caught out in the eternal repeat cycle which loses Le Artise, oh no, she just keeps on talking. Random words ? Who could possibly know ? The expression on her face says 'Look here, I'm telling you this fabulously entertaining story and yet you look completely perplexed. What gives Kimosabe ?' But even I struggle to keep up when a conversation starts with the flavour of grey clouds (for the record, they're smokey) and concludes with mistaking a log for a cow and would a unicorn eat fairy bread ?

I must admit, some days it can all just become a bit too hard and I allow the game to continue on it's merry way whilst I just nod and add the odd "Yes, hmm mmm, sure," But I just know that the day will come when I will get caught out in spectacular fashion, like the afternoon that Le Artise pipes up with,
"Mum, I'm going to begin work on a thesis examining existential philosophy and whether it truly is the 'explicit conceptual manifestation of an existential attitude.' You seem to be constantly confused and disorientated, do you consider the world meaningless ?"
To which I will cleverly answer " Hmmm mmmm, Ben10 is awsome sweetheart."

Charades, do you love it ? I'll just bet that you do. It's a game that the whole family can enjoy over and over and over.....