Toy Story

Do your kids actually play with toys? I'm starting to get the feeling that there's something terribly wrong with my offspring. At Christmas time it was clear that they were due for some new things. Since both of their birthdays are at Christmas, everything winds up coming at once, and half way through the year I realize that they haven't had anything new for quite a while. So I was just itching for them to open their birthday and Christmas gifts so they would actually play instead of following me around and getting into my stuff. I was wrong, dead wrong. Sure, the new stuff was novel for a couple of weeks, but it wore off all too quickly. Clearly, toys are just too ordinary, they'd rather hide in the closets which inevitably means every shoe is off the rack, and clothes are whisked off their hangers. One major favorite in our house is to take every cushion and throw pillow off of the sectional and stack it on or around the leather ottoman and make some sort of teetering mountain to climb on or jump off of. Or they'd rather play hair salon by getting out every headband I own, every bobby pin, my curling iron, my flat iron... Another favorite is to play grocery store in the pantry. They get out all sorts of canned and dry goods and fill up their little shopping carts and strollers, then head into the front living room to set up shop. Baking is a big hit too, and I often find my mixing bowls, beaters, measuring cups and spoons all over the kitchen floor. The funny thing is they have most of these items, but the kid version, so why the heck can't they play with their own stuff? Now I know what some of you are thinking, "what naughty beasts you have, don't you discipline those creatures?" The problem is I don't know if I have a problem with it. Now of course if I say enough is enough I expect them to obey, but most of the time I don't really mind. So maybe I'll just load up all of their great toys, sell them off and buy myself a great pair of jeans or something.