Heroclix

They say that great things come in small packages. That's proven true in my dad's life. Heroclix are small statuettes of comic book heroes. You play these pieces on a large map, which is a bird's eye view of a business building, or a street and so on. It's rather complicated, too. There are special abilities for the different characters based on their story. You can't just hop over a table, you have to calculate how many rolls you need to walk up to the table, jump onto the table, and so on. It's a game I never had the patience to figure out such a darn complicated game.

My dad, who has breathed comic books since he was six years old, owns several hundred of the game pieces and maybe a dozen maps. Well, my dad is going through his stash in the garage. Now my kids have about a hundred of these pieces. Sometimes they're being used in place of dolls. Sometimes they're used as army men. Today, however, they actually "played" the game. Kaeley lined up all the females on her side. Nathan had all the males, monsters, and aliens. Kaeley told me it was "handy to have ghosts on your team", because if you shot at them they could fly up. I think this a self-made rule. She and Nathan were very content today rolling the dice and dictating how many points to take off what character. Kaeley said she couldn't fight the orange blob monster, which she said was made of fire, with the woman that was holding fire, because fighting fire with fire only makes fire bigger.

Another use of these lovely tiny little toys that seem to reproduce like rabbits is keeping Mommies awake. Those two little stinkers convinced me they could have "quiet time" together. This is usually my hour to eat dessert, read a book, and take a nap. The youngers will take a nap and Kaeley will do something in my bedroom. This time is such a precious time to me. However, who of you can say no to a puppy dog face of a three year old being caressed by the older sister who is trying to convince me of the benefits of letting them stay up together. Well, I gave in. Just when I had decided to close my tired eyes I hear peals of laughter coming from my bedroom. I walked in and very grumpily told them to be quiet and play their game quietly! It never did work out. I never got a nap, I had to force myself not to hold a grudge on those two little... STINKERS! Need I say they will be taking separate quiet times tomorrow.