toys

Baby Tenderlove

Posted on June 2, 2015 Written by Tonya

I wish I remember the story of how I got my Mattel Newborn Baby Tenderlove dolls.

I must have been two or three and I think my parents bought me one and my grandparents sent me the other, probably for a birthday, but it might’ve been Christmas.

My mother announced that I had twins! What fun, two of the exact same dolls.

I named them Susie & Sally.

They have been given horrific haircuts, chewed and written on. All signs of true love.

When I pulled them out of a box buried deep in our garage, I cleaned them up with a Clorox wipe, washed their hair and clothes. My mother made the dresses they are wearing. One of them was still in a diaper made out of Kleenex and when I removed it, it practically disintegrated.

These dolls are over 40 years old.

I don’t know what ever possessed me to save them, but I’m glad I did because Lola is now their loving caretaker.

She won’t get in her crib without them.

My little Muffet sleeping off an awful cold with Susie and Sally at her side.

Pink Tutus

Posted on March 4, 2015 Written by Tonya

I never thought I’d be a mother to a girl.

I like to be pampered just as much as the next woman, I get my nails done every three weeks or so and enjoy looking pretty and getting made up, but my style is simple and classic (some would say boring) and there is very little pink, frills or lace in my closet. There are five steps to my make-up routine and I have never owned, worn or coveted a tutu. I never took ballet as a child, which probably is why I am such a klutz in my cardio barre class, which is heavily ballet based.

I also had (for lack of a better word) a complete crap relationship with my own mother so relating to women in many ways has been challenging for me. The thought of having a daughter of my own, raising a daughter terrifies me.

I have been pleasantly surprised by my daughter, Lola. Granted we’re only 13 months in but she’s amazing and so very very different than her brother. I don’t know that that is a boy/girl thing or just the simple fact that they are different people.

Obviously she’s not showing feminine or masculine tendencies at this point because I dress her and she has very little hair, wears a lot of her older brother’s hand-me-downs and plays with his now neglected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thomas the Tank trains and Matchbox cars. I’m fully expecting this all to change and in a big way but hopefully I’ll have a say in her attire for a little while longer.

When Lola was born, my friend Wendi gave us a size 12 month Hello Kitty tutu and a stern warning to, “get ready, this is what you have to look forward to”. Having a daughter of her own she presumably knows what I am up against.

She could be right.

When I was going through Lola’s closet recently I found the tutu and slipped it around her middle.

My heart almost exploded, first at the hilarity of it and then at how utterly adorable she looked. She started swinging her hips as if she was born to wear it. How on earth would she know to do that? The joy on her face was pure. She loved it and knew she looked cute. Perhaps all babies are delicious in tutus but this is one piece of clothing I never thought under any circumstances would I ever buy for my daughter.

As I watched Lola twirl around my bathroom, all of a sudden I saw a very bright hot pink hue of a future flash before my eyes and I know without a doubt there will be many more tutus.

Lego

Posted on January 12, 2015 Written by Tonya

Okay, so it Lego or Legos?

I have always said Lego singular but my husband always says Legos plural and it drives me nuts.

It is quite possible that he adds the s just to irk me.

Whatever you call them, I hate them! They are murderous when stepped on and so difficult to keep away from baby’s tiny fingers.

Lucas and his dad spend hours together with the interlocking pieces of genius that foster fun and creativity and he is completely obsessed, as demonstrated by the number of places I find the delightful and colorful plastic bricks throughout our house. And I’m not just talking about in between the couch cushions, although we do find them there.

I’m referring to all the other the random places! These photos were taken over the course of ONE WEEK.

I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried.

If you have a child who plays with Lego, where is the oddest place you’ve found them?

Obsessions

Posted on February 20, 2014 Written by Tonya

Lucas goes through phases when all he wants to talk about are planets or dinosaurs, pirates or sea life, Legos and most recently learning and belting out every last word of the Frozen soundtrack, but every now and then he gets a true obsession for something and it becomes all consuming.

The first and thankfully shortest lived obsession was with Elmo. Now he won’t give Sesame Street the time of day. While there was no annoying red squeaky voiced monster when I was growing up, I loved watching Sesame Street and the Muppets and learned a lot from those shows, but there far too many [better] options nowadays.

Next came his Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends obsession. We have tracks of all shapes and sizes and dozens of trains, we memorized the theme song, spent a Day Out With Thomas and have logged countless hours around the train table.

Still going strong is his passion for Cars and Cars 2. Lucas has at least 100 die cast cars from the movies and has expanded his collection to include Microdrifters, Squinkies and Mighty Beans. He owns half a dozen track sets and loves lining up cars by color, gender, bad guy vs. good guy, first movie vs. second, World Grand Prix racers, Radiator Springs friends, etc., etc. It’s exhausting but a passion that both my husband and I encourage and enthusiastically contribute to.

Lucas’s dad sells cars for a living so I’m sure he’ll always have a love for them too, he even talks about being a race car driver when he grows up (God help me and my poor heart if in fact that happens). One of my favorite things he has ever said is, “I wish Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater were real so they could teach me how to be a race car driver”.

Lucas’s latest obsession is with Angry Birds and more specifically, Star Wars Angry Birds. This started with the original app/game, which I still refuse to play or download on my phone but his dad has. It soon became a favorite and then graduated to more apps/games, books, light sabers, stuffed animals, underwear, Telepods, dishes, Angry Bird GO! carts, Star Wars Angry Birds Jenga game sets and to date as a family, we have watched four of the six Star Wars movies [SIDE NOTE: can you believe the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977??] and are constantly being quizzed about all the characters, their strengths and weaknesses, weapons of choice, home planets, alliances, etc. We don’t leave the house without his Star Wars Angry Birds Character Encyclopedia.

Recently Lucas lost one of his tiny Telepods (C3P-YOLK) in the car and days after Todd tore the thing apart trying to find it, it rolled out from underneath the passenger seat. Look how happy he was to be reunited. Notice the shirt.

This current passion is cute, but exhausting. I suppose real strategy and vivid imagination are being used to play these games and act out different scenarios, so he’s benefiting in that way and I’m quite sure another obsession is ~~waiting~~ lurking just around the corner…

What is your child’s current obsession?

Character Driven

Posted on October 17, 2013 Written by Tonya

From the toys Lucas lusts after, the food he’ll tolerate, the books he begs to be read over and over and even his toothpaste, it’s all character driven…

Just to name a few in our house:

Sponge Bob Squarepants yogurt sticks
Clifford the Big Red Dog juice boxes
Monsters University Cheez-Its
Star Wars Angry Birds water bottle, board game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle clothing, dishes, Band-Aids
Cars bedding, clothing, macaroni & cheese, soup, fruit chews, cutlery, dishes, napkins, tissues, Band-Aids, (clearly his favorite, but Ill take Lightening over Elmo any day!)
Thomas the Train toothpaste
Dora the Explorer hand soap

And I know I’m missing at least a dozen other items.

Every show Lucas enjoys watching, there’s a toy or other product available. I get it, it’s marketing, brand recognition, merchandising, cross promotion, product tie-ins, etc. but it’s too much.

I know I’m partly to blame because I buy the crap for him, but whenever possible, I do try to steer him towards the classics or something unknown, when it comes to books and everyday products and screen time (TV watching, iPhone or iPad play) is very limited in our house. 1-2 hours per day and sometimes none at all.

My own weakness aside, I blame television commercials. I read recently that advertisers spend more than $12 billion annually to gear commercials to children. The average American child watches more than 40,000 television commercials per year, and their ability to recall commercials is extremely strong. Studies show that children only need to see a commercial one time to develop a preference for the particular product, and that preference is strengthened with repeated exposure.

TV commercials also create something called the “nag factor,” when a child will cry, complain and nag his or her parent to buy a particular product seen on TV. The nagging continues until the ~~sucker~~ parent purchases the product. According to research, 2- to 12-year-olds indirectly impacted another $320 billion in household purchases. Over the past five years, children have had a bigger influence on the purchase of durable goods due to the nag factor.

When I four, I knew about Holly Hobbie, Mickey Mouse, the Sesame Street crew and Raggedy Ann and Andy. There were only four channels on TV, my parents couldn’t afford to take me to the latest kid movie the minute it came out, I wore mostly hand-me-downs and there was zero screen time except for a few precious hours on Saturday mornings. There was too much fun to be had outside! It was a simpler time. How do we get back there?

Is your house full of TV driven products? How do you limit your kids screen time?

20 Questions, 22 Months Later – Update

Posted on September 24, 2013 Written by Tonya

I seemed to have forgotten/put off/overlooked a follow up questionnaire to my 20 Questions post from November 2011, which I had wanted to do every year, so here it is, Lucas at 4 years, 3 months.

See if you notice a theme…

1. What is your favorite color? Red

2. What is your favorite toy? Cars movie cars and Planes

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

4. What is your favorite TV show? Paw Patrol

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? PB&J

6. What is your favorite outfit? My red Cars movie shirt, light brown shorts and red rubbers

7. What is your favorite game? Sorry!

8. What is your favorite snack? Cereal bars

9. What is your favorite animal? Zebras

10. What is your favorite song? 22 by Taylor Swift

11. What is your favorite book? Once Upon A Time…The End

12. Who is your best friend? Wyatt, Jackson, Mommy and Daddy

13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit Loops

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Scooter, skateboard and play soccer

15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Lovey

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Breakfast

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A race car driver

While I’m not thrilled by my decreasing best friend ranking, I loved this exercise and how much Lucas’ tastes have both changed and stayed the same.

Questionnaire originally found on Pinterest.

Back To Basics – Update

Posted on April 16, 2013 Written by Tonya

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the explosions in Boston yesterday. It is heartbreaking that these events happen here and around the world.

We are half way through Project: Back To Basics, in which I vowed to go on a one month buying strike and refrain from buying Lucas any toys, games, Matchbox cars, Micro Drifters, sweets, books, or other unnecessary junk. Progress has been so-so and I’ve been keeping daily notes….

April 1: No incident

April 2: FedEx store – Lucas had a full melt down over markers and a package of Angry Birds flash drives. We walked out without anything and he was kicking and screaming.

April 3: Daddy brought home a Superman Pez dispenser from his trip. I wasn’t happy about it, but let it slide.

April 4: Lucas asked to borrowed a friend’s Monster Truck Cars after a play date.

April 5: Lakeshore Learning – Lucas had a crying fit over sponge dinosaurs, which he already has. I didn’t buy them and he pouted and fussed all the way home.

April 6: No incident and began telling me throughout the day that April is “no buy month”. Progress!!

April 7: Found a car at the park but still pleaded for Cars book, Angry Birds game and fishing pole with fish at Barnes & Noble. He didn’t get anything.

April 8: No incident – Spent two hours at the library and checked out 10 books, he acted like it was Christmas.

April 9: No incident

April 10: No incident

April 11: Lucas asked to borrow a friend’s stuffed turtle after play date.

April 12: Day 1 of Lucas’ Spring Break. We went to the Long Beach Aquarium and he begged me for an aquarium truck, which I bought. I know, I know. I felt like a total loser, but I did explain that he wasn’t going to get anything at Knott’s Berry Farm or Legoland, which we are planning to visit later in the week. SIDE NOTE: We have yearly passes to each amusement park. Lucas thanked me the rest of the day for the truck and played with it everyday.

April 13: Aaron Brothers – Lucas asked to “just look” at children’s section, had designs on a box of markers, but was able to leave them on the shelf and there was no fit or mention of them again.

April 14: No incident

April 15: Knott’s Berry Farm – Lucas was able to walk through the gift shop without asking for anything and he reminded me of the deal we made at the aquarium. More progress!!

April 16: Lucas and I spent two hours going through and organizing all of Lucas’ toys and made a small pile of items to donate. I could not be happier. There are still 14 days left in the month. I must stay strong!!

It’s really hard to say no your child, especially when they have big crocodile tears streaming down their face and they are causing a scene in a public place, but I’m learning slowly but surely to say no. No, not today, add it to your birthday list, let’s go home and play a game instead, what if we go to the park, etc. etc. etc.

Barbie World

Posted on February 13, 2013 Written by Tonya

Earlier this week I wrote about Lucas’ obsession with cars and it got me thinking about my obsessions as a child.

When I was a little girl I used to love playing with Barbies.

My first Barbie was Malibu Skipper (Barbie’s kid sister) and I probably got her for my seventh birthday. It was all downhill from there… I was hooked!

I would spend HOURS making up elaborate story lines for my Barbies based on episodes of Dynasty and Knots Landing. I would fully stage sleep overs, dates, weddings, cat fights and court room dramas.

I would painstakingly handcraft Barbie-sized letters, money, magazines, books and invitations to Barbie and Ken’s elaborate parties.

I’d give each of my Barbie her own unique personality and characteristics, complete with flaws. All important parts of fostering any young girl’s imagination, socialization and development.

My mom and I were always on the hunt for everyday household items that could be used in my Barbie world; toilet paper rolls could be pushed inward and become high chairs for Barbie’s babies, shoe boxes become cars or beds, an empty Morton’s salt container can be transformed into a chair and a jacks box could be used as a suitcase.

At one point I had close to 30 Barbie dolls, including Peaches ‘N Cream Barbie, Loving You Barbie and Day To Night Barbie.

I also had the Barbie 3-story Townhouse with elevator, Sleep ‘n Keep case, which I took everywhere (see below), the camper van, a bubble bath that made real bubbles, Dallas, Barbie’s horse and tons of accessories and clothes. My mother also made a lot of my doll clothes.

Like most of my friends, not quite as Barbie-obsessed as I was, we all lusted after the coveted Barbie Dream House, which for the record, I never got!

My aunt Gail likes to kid me to this day about my relentless begging of her to “play Barbies with me” whenever we visited.

I kept the Sleep ‘N Keep Case and it is filled with all my favorite Barbies, clothes and accessories. I remember my mother telling me how much she wished she had kept her Barbies for me.

Sadly, the case wreaks to high heaven and the dolls hair is matted and the clothes have stiffened and yellowed, but it was fun to show Lucas and relive a very happy part of my childhood until he vehemently asked me to put it all away so that we could go back to parking with his cars. O_o

One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for young women, but I also hope that she inspires them. Pretend play is a beautiful thing and Barbie can be and do anything and does it with the utmost grace, not to mention fantastic shoes.

Hard to believe that Barbie made her debut 54 years ago. In fact, on this day, February 13, in 1959 the first Barbie doll went on sale.

Were you as obsessed with Barbies as I was and if you have a daughter, do they play with them?

This Is Three

Posted on February 11, 2013 Written by Tonya

There was a time when I was cursing the terrible threes, when I was at wits end, confused and frustrated and wondered what had happened to my sweet little boy.

We do still have days like that, when even with his vast vocabulary, he doesn’t have the words to express his anger or disappointment, but those days are few and far between.

Thank goodness!

3 1/2.

Where does the time go?

We have turned a corner and this is really a great age.

Lucas is as curious as ever, insightful and astute, funny, polite and kind. He charms everyone from grocery store clerks and waitresses to his teachers and his father’s colleagues at work.

Like most three year olds, he loves playing games, especially Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Go Fish, Connect Four and Buckaroo. He also likes to win!

Lucas loves puzzles and is a master Lego builder.

If the house is quiet, he can often be found curled up in his bean bag with a book (be still my heart). His favorites right now are Do Not Open This Book, Ira Sleeps Over and Pirates Go To School.

He loves watching The Fresh Beat Band, Octonaunts, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Scooby Doo and Sofia the First.

But his greatest OBSESSION right now and for the two years has been with “Car movie cars”! It isn’t quiet out of hand, but close…

He has Cars Micro Drifters, Squinkies, Die-Cast models, tracks, carrying cases, magnets, puzzles, sheets, dominoes, towels, clothes and of course both movies.

Do you know how many Cars characters there are? He does!

Sadly, so do his dad and I.

What is your child(ren) current obsession?

Things Overheard At A Toy Store

Posted on January 29, 2012 Written by Tonya

One of my least favorite places to go with Lucas is a toy store, for obvious reasons (especially when having to buy a gift for another child).

1. Okay, we’ll go in for a minute, but I’m not buying you anything today.

2. I’m not buying you that.

3. No, you don’t need it.

4. You have a lot of these at home already.

5. Maybe Santa* will bring it to you for Christmas.

6. Please put it back.

7. Do not open it, we’re only looking today.

8. Yes, it’s very cool, but I’m not buying it.

9. Crap, where did he go? Crash!

10. How about a catalog, would you like to take home a catalog?

The good news is I’m getting better at deterring, distracting and saying no.

The bad news? Our catalog collection is growing.

*The Santa card works all year long, doesn’t it?

This post was inspired by Stasha’s Monday Listicles, a linky right up my alley, because I LOVE lists!

Baby Tenderlove

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