I found a great photo blog here http://stevebarru.com/photoblog/index.php?x=about
I must have too much time on my hands during a quite Friday before a three-day weekend. I miss China. I spoke to the Husband just now and told him I wish our trip were sooner. We have six more years to save for another global adventure (minus the adoption).
Friday, October 5, 2007
Toy Stores Aren't for Us
We did a family trip to the toy store last night because M has been invited to not one but two birthday parties. Ah, the social life of an almost 5-year-old.
Granted, my kids were wiped out from their day and our after dinner time is usually our mellow, hang out time. Damn, did those children get totally overstimulated at Toys R Us. Here's the thing about toys. I like them, I just don't love them. Both M and L go to daycares that are pretty much Montessori and they love to interact with other kids. I was very concerned when M wasn't great at pretending, but she's really come a long way when she's playing pretend cooking or camping or whatever. I'm not going to give her a power drill to play with, but then again, I don't want her to fall in love with the Bratz computer gizmo that's all flashy lights.
I was totally overstimulated by TRU. Since L's adoption, we've pretty much stayed away from the big box stores. We can't afford it, and for a while now, I've questioned why we want to afford it. I may buy a few toys on-line. The kids get new toys for Christmas and birthdays, but M and L play with lots of hand-me-downs from their cousins and yard sale finds. In fact, I have to clean out the heap 'o toys before this Christmas rolls around.
M really held it together well in the store. She almost came unglued when she saw all the plastic horses and she was wild about the $200 ATV. She has her OWN ride on Jeep (thanks to Santa last year) and an ATV (thanks to a good yard sale find this year). L just started carrying on.
The Husband and I had a Parental Talk in the car. He's the one who loves to buy, even though he's cut back in the past few years. We already have some gifts set aside for the girls and he has a running list of things for their birthdays and Christmas. I've asked him to please work out what he wants to get for the kids, let me see what I can buy on line and then we can get all our shopping done by Dec. 1, without visiting the Big Box Store of Overstimulation again.
Granted, my kids were wiped out from their day and our after dinner time is usually our mellow, hang out time. Damn, did those children get totally overstimulated at Toys R Us. Here's the thing about toys. I like them, I just don't love them. Both M and L go to daycares that are pretty much Montessori and they love to interact with other kids. I was very concerned when M wasn't great at pretending, but she's really come a long way when she's playing pretend cooking or camping or whatever. I'm not going to give her a power drill to play with, but then again, I don't want her to fall in love with the Bratz computer gizmo that's all flashy lights.
I was totally overstimulated by TRU. Since L's adoption, we've pretty much stayed away from the big box stores. We can't afford it, and for a while now, I've questioned why we want to afford it. I may buy a few toys on-line. The kids get new toys for Christmas and birthdays, but M and L play with lots of hand-me-downs from their cousins and yard sale finds. In fact, I have to clean out the heap 'o toys before this Christmas rolls around.
M really held it together well in the store. She almost came unglued when she saw all the plastic horses and she was wild about the $200 ATV. She has her OWN ride on Jeep (thanks to Santa last year) and an ATV (thanks to a good yard sale find this year). L just started carrying on.
The Husband and I had a Parental Talk in the car. He's the one who loves to buy, even though he's cut back in the past few years. We already have some gifts set aside for the girls and he has a running list of things for their birthdays and Christmas. I've asked him to please work out what he wants to get for the kids, let me see what I can buy on line and then we can get all our shopping done by Dec. 1, without visiting the Big Box Store of Overstimulation again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)