I'm fresh from a game of In A Pickle, and oh, boy, my sides ache from laughing!!

The Husbandly One and I love playing games of In A Pickle with the kids, because not only do we get into hilariously silly word strings, but... our kids learn to think on their feet, they learn to use their skills of persuasion and argument, and they learn to think creatively while justifying their choices.

It's a win-win, because while THO and I are demonstrating the skills we want our kids to learn, we're also getting a glimpse into the way they think. And, disturbingly enough, they're getting a glimpse into how we think!

So, while we started with a cheeseburger eating moose in a bedroom, the Impossible Son added that it was all in fear, and he had to justify that all of that would fit in a fear, and we had a lively (and somewhat hysterical) discussion about irrational fears, and THO wasn't quite convinced that fear of a cheeseburger eating moose was the same as the fear of being watched by a duck. However, the Impertinent Daughter chimed in that she was sure there were many Americans who were afraid of having a moose in their bedroom, and that she, herself, would be very disturbed by a moose in her bedroom, and if it were eating cheeseburgers, that would definitely cause mental scarring for life.

I had pretty much laid my head down on the table at this point, in helpless tears of laughter.

So, once Mr. Impossible, with the help of his sister, had won his case, I decided that all of this was in the mind of a girl, and I got the pickle.

We've had a great deal of fun with this game, probably more than we're supposed to, because with our geeky brains, we probably get a whole hell of a lot more mileage out of the words than most people would. Come on, seriously, how many people would look at the words, "Venus Fly Trap," in their hand and think, "OMG, I know just how to use this!!" and go on a word string that has a Reflection of a Venus Fly Trap in a Mirror on a Submarine in a Parade? Or starts cackling with glee when they see, "Nun," and end up with Ants in a Nun in a Marriage (we didn't say she was a good nun) in a Warehouse in Paris?

Whenever someone goes a little too weird or too far, the rest of us make that game show buzzer noise, "EEEHHHHHH!!!" and "No, no, no, sorry, can't have a blimp in a cat, even if the cat is as big as a house, or a toilet in an elephant, because even if an elephant is bigger than a toilet, how would it get in there? An elephant is big, but has a small mouth!"

I won't even go into the arguments to justify how a toilet can get into an elephant!!

Of course, as the game goes on, we all get more desperate to not lose a turn, and it just gets crazier and wilder until we're all laughing so hard that we can't breathe, and I just ... can't help but find it so awesome that we can all do this, that we all get to do this together. To be as nerdy and silly and just plain goofy and... life is good.

Yeah. Life is good.

And here are the promised photos of the bag I made to carry the Impertinent Daughter's bento!

( Cut for photos, and for length )

The Impertinent Daughter wishes to tell you how to get to the part of Pokemon Diamond (for DS) where the leaf trap shows up, and how to get out of it.  So, without further ado, I give you... the Impertinent One!

Be gentle with her, folks!


All righty then, here I go.  First thing; get to Eterna City by clearing Oreburgh Pokemon gym battle. Second; Find house of underground man and obtain explorer kit.Third; select explorer kit from your bag in the key items section. Once you select it wireless DS communication signals will go out ( will not effect game) and you are now in the Underground.Fourth; When you see golden sparkles anywhere on the map, go to the location and tap with your stylus. If you see a diamond like yellow shine go to that section of wall and hit the A button. I f you see a grayish color on the ground it is a trap. You have to stand in front of it andhit the A button to disable it. Fifth; Complete your first task  ( going to the underground) and hit X button. Select go up button and return to underground man's house. He will reward you with a bubble trap ,leaf trap and some other trap. Sixth; Go back to the Underground and hit X button for the menu. select set trap with the leaf trap. A red symbol will appear on the ground in front of you and you get surrounded by leaves. That is how to get in a leaf trap.

                            P.S. I hope that made sense!


And there you go!  Everyone, a round of applause for the Impertinent Daughter!  (or as she wants to be known, the "IM" i.e. "Impertinent Me.")