…I really wish would stay in Las Vegas!
Before the girls were born, I used to have to travel to Las Vegas twice a year for work. And for me, a little bit of Las Vegas goes a looong way.
Sure, it’s neat and cool and something to see, but the flashing lights, and the smells, and incessant sounds – oh, the sounds! – are enough to cause me to go into sensory overload.
On a related note (just follow me here…), the girls have very few battery-operated toys. My philosophy is that I want them to use their imaginations to develop their own play patterns, and not come to expect every toy to “do” something for their entertainment. (And there may just be a small part of me...ahem...that doesn’t like the noise…)
Over the past several months, though, the girls have “acquired” a couple of battery-operated toys (thanks a lot, Aunt GG!). And of course they LOVE them.
The worst (um, I mean the most colorful) is a cow that has six buttons on its torso, each with a picture of a different farm animal. It alternately makes animal noises and plays songs when the buttons are pushed. The buttons also light up in different colors to the rhythm of the songs.
Remind anyone else of a casino???
And the girls seem to want to hear several songs at once – which isn’t possible, but they sure try! – by pressing multiple buttons at once. It leads to a cacophony of electronic sounds and lights, punctuated by the occasional squeal or cry.
Yep, it transports me right back to a Las Vegas casino…although there aren’t any scantily-clad waitresses offering to bring me something to drink. And some days, when the noise really begins to get to me, I think that might be a welcome offer.
Ticker
8 comments:
Amen! I regularly miss the days when a small, soft, QUIET, plush doll was all it took to make my girls content. And even if I don't buy these crazy noisemakers myself, there are always plenty of family members willing to "help out". I remember one year looking forever trying to find a doll that didn't say anything, or even worse, make a bodily function-type noise (Why??).
You are not kidding about the noisy toys! "Boy" toys are the worst. Just try to find one that's fun but doesn't scream at you. Elliott even has a truck that is sound-activated. When you walk past it, it revs up and yells, "Time to crush some rocks!!!" before taking off across the floor. (It has actually scared the pee out of me more than once.) --Marilyn
So funny! My husband and I had gone to Vegas a few times in our previous life(before kids.) We enjoy ocassionally playing a little black jack. For my birthday this year, my MIL watched the crew and we went to a local casino. I absolutely could not tolerate all the noise!! I needed a break from my crazy days-- not for them last all night, too!
The noise is chipping away at my sanity. I don't just mean crying or whining(though we do have some of that.) Even when they are happy the noise of all of these kids chattering, laughing, screaming, squealing... I told my husband I want to move into the library-- just for the quiet!
Every now and then I take the batteries out of toys. I just can't take it. Then when my nerves are no longer frayed, I'll secretly pop the batteries back in. I'm thinking about hiding our newly acquired Zhu Zhu pets because the noise is driving me bonkers.
That's great that you've been able to hold out on all the "noise-maker" toys. We've had them since forever. Some of them do drive me crazy, but for the most part, I can tolerate them pretty well (Although, the Zhu Zhu pets were AWFUL. An Easter gift from Grammy. Thank goodness they broke pretty quickly.). We also have a ton of toys to spark the imagination, and I find that my kiddos do a good job of going back and forth between the two.
I'm still trying to picture the casino cow. Sounds interesting...
Ah! I know what you mean! I hate the battery toys. The ones we have are all hand me downs, so not by choice. They have a little piano that is very manipulating, if you don't play with it for a while it will automatically sing a little tune to try and lure the kids over. Very annoying!!!
The noise is the thing about parenting that I find the hardest. Truly.
I'm with Quadmama. There are a number of disappearing batteries in our house. In fact, when my coworker's air conditioner conked out last week, Jess suggested he get a new battery.
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