The kids' first apartment

Well, not really. They have gotten a new idea for a game. They moved everything out of Owen's room that they don't necessarily need all the time and turned Bridget's bedroom into their storage room. They want to make the room as much like a hotel room as possible. They have their heart set on eventually getting their own mini fridge. I'm not hot on the idea of having a large supply of food upstairs. So for now, I am room service. One serving per person at a time. That way I know what's up there and I can frequently take the dirty dishes and trash back downstairs.

Bridget has expanded this room service job to include daily yoga and meditation classes, maid service, concierge services, and of course, limo service. I'm sure they got the idea from Suite Life of Zack and Cody because they have never had room service in a hotel before.

Yesterday, it was great because they insisted on paying me for rent, food and services, so they quickly ran out of change. They decided the best thing to do would be to ask me for work. So I gave them little chores to complete and paid them their money back :-) So I got a clean house essentially for free. I would have done everything else anyway, so if they want to pay me, I'm going to let them. At first they had a little difficulty with me not setting prices. I didn't know how much change they had found, so I didn't know what appropriate prices would be. They worked it out. Today, they have figured out that if they pay me less (and apologize for the lack of tip) that their money will last longer.

I hate to try to find the 'learning' in everything they do, but this game seems to be chock full of real life experience. I read somewhere that children learn self regulation by playing role playing games. Since they set the rules, they are more likely to make themselves follow them. In that way, they teach themselves how to control their bodies even when their first desire is to do something else.

I'm having such fun with this game myself. I smile every time the intercom on the phone rings. I can't wait to hear what they come up with next.