It's true that H may be a little spoiled. He's basically an only child. He gets to have his Mommy all to himself 75% of the time. He has numerous clothes and toys (all be it at this point they are mostly used and do not have all the parts but we don't care we can still mix and match - toys and clothes). As parents, we have been willing to by little things like miniature story characters or matchbox type cars.
Since moving to NE TX where there isn't a whole lot of things to do for a 2GO3 or a full time working part-time single parent, I have taken to going to Tar*get, B_g Lots, or Ross at times to just wander around. In the early stages it was about looking at all the balls. Now, it is about looking at the toys. H tells me at times he NEEDS to go to the Red Store (aka Tar*get) to get sumthin'. However, he has come to realize that the toys do not change very often. The stores here do not carry much stock. He is basically bored with what he sees when we go. I will let him look at anything he wants, try it out, make the sounds, "read" the box, and then he has to put it back. At times we will purchase other little items such a some new stickers on clearance. One time H insisted on getting napkins with Cars characters. He was a little confused when Lighting McQueen was NOT on the napkins but we eventually used them up just the same.
Last week we went to KM---t. I was actually looking for an accessory to go with his train set we got (on clearance) that was on clearance online but when I found it in the store it was full price. Bummer. Anyhow, this KM--t is not a particularly nice store and the stock is always low. In usual custom, we perused the toy aisle and not finding much to keep our interest we moved on. We found the movie rack and there were some early reader books along with them. We have a number of books at this point and I really try to censor what we get to make sure it's going to be read for a while. H discovered a Chugginton book with dinosaurs in it. I wasn't sure why there was a dinosaur in a train book but then I'm not sure why this series has a flying train either. Side note - H loves Chuggington and I am willing to watch it umpteen times so it's not bad. If you ever go online for the TV show version, you will find the voices and sayings have been altered for sale here to be Americanized. The voices are actually better with a real British accent. I digress.
H looked at the books. Took them out, laid a few on the floor "I still lookin' Mom." is a frequent reply these days. Finally, he finds one he thinks he cannot live without. It's a Mater book where Mater makes believe he is something other than a tow truck. It has lift flaps and the story is a bit lame but I try to work with whatever we can in those situations. Anyhow, not being impressed with the book and not really wanting to fork over the $5 it costs ($1-$3 is usually my spending max per impulse toy) I tell H he needs to put it back and we are not going to get it. H doesn't throw a fit when I tell him this. He usually talks himself out of wanting something anyway and I can tell if he's just wanting to want and not really into the toy so I let him work through it. He wasn't budging on the book. I told him I needed to go look at the curtains. H carried the book along.
"H, we are not going to get that book."
"Why?"
"We don't need the book."
"Mom, it's good for me!"
After trying not to laugh out loud, we got the book. True to H's obsession we have read it every single time we had a chance, took it bed, and carried it in the car even the short trips around here. He's emulated the story, talked endlessly about the characters, and asked a gazillion questions about fire, fire trucks, ambulances, etc.
We have certainly gotten our $5 worth of time out of it so maybe he was right. It is good for him.
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