"And you can tell me that you're sorry but I don't believe you baby like I did before/ You're not sorry"

I swear, it's not favoritism but here is a niece MG story. In my defense, she is one I see the most since she is done with Kindergarten at 12 and stays at Gran's house for five hours every Wednesday. Well today was Grandparents' Day at their school so while Gran was off for SD's program, I was babysitting MG. She requested we play Sorry (The Disney version)! Now, the kid might only be six but she has been playing this game for at least two years. She knows what all of the special rules are on the cards and has known them since before she could read. She even understands that if she ever needs to move forward four to get in home, that a four doesn't exists so she has to hope for a combination of 1, 2, 3 cards or move backwards once so she can get a five. She also knows that there is no nine card. There is also a scorecard of how games many each person has won:

MG (age:6): 12

Gran (she's a Grandmother): 3

SD (older sister, age 7): 2

AE (my sister, in her 30s): 2

Myself (age 22): 2.

What I am trying to say is the girl knows what's up. And trust me, we don't let her win. We are pretty merciless in Sorry! Can't raise em to be soft, I say.

So we were playing today and the kid kept getting move backwards 4. She had two of her guys home and the other one was about halfway around the board. She moved about 12 spots with this last piece but kept having to move it backwards four. Well then she started getting "Move forward ten or move backward one" Well little MG decided, hey I am going to try to make it backwards all the way to my safety zone. And boy did she commit. She was getting move forward 12, 11, and 8 but she didn't take advantage of the higher number cards. She just kept waiting for those move backwards 4 and 1 cards. And sure enough the little booger did it. She got her last piece into her safety zone only by moving backwards.

So then we were tied with one piece not in our home and we both needed a Move Forward One to get the win. We were kept taking turns in hopes of the much desired card when MG announced she had to go to the bathroom. I actually had to go as well so we agreed on a time out. So I started to walk out of the room when I noticed MG was still lingering near the cards. I jumped back into the room to see her looking very guilty. So I took the pile of cards and put them up on the bookshelf figuring it would take her longer to get a chair and climb up there than it would for me to go the bathroom (also figuring that she wasn't lying and had to go herself). So I leave and come back a minute later and MG is up on the top bunk that is directly next to the bookshelf that I forgot to factor in as a way for her to reach the top. Luckily, I wasn't born yesterday so I took the cards and hid them in the hallway on my way out of the room the second time so that way she couldn't find a one and place it on top since her turn was next (I'm not calling MG a cheater either. But I think that kid loves the taste of victory and wanted to see another mark next to her name). Busted!

Oh and I ended up winning. You don't mess with Aunt Annie. Now I just have to win nine more times to claim true victory over a six year old.

Oh and a little bonus SD story: Her gift to Gran on her special day was a book where SD filled out what she thought all of Gran's favorite things were. The girl knows her Gran. For favorite TV show, did SD put Survivor or American Idol, two shows she hears her aunts, uncles, parents, and Gran discuss at dinner? Nope. She put the news. And she was correct. The only way it could have gotten better would have been if she put Fox News but in her defense she probably doesn't understand network names. I got a good chuckle. She also knew Gran's age, her favorite sport (the olympics, go figure), and even almost got the state right where Gran was born. Granted she put the state Gran grew up in (Indiana) instead of the state where she was actually born (Illinois) so props to the seven year old (especially since I might even make the same mistake. And they do both start with the letter "I").