Toys for Baby or Toys for Momma?

I've been on a quest for new toys for my six-month-old boy. That six-month-old stage is a new era. There are all manner of toys out there that are six months and up, so as a mom who loves to spend much of the day on the floor playing with him, I'm pumped. It's not just a new toy for the baby; it's a new toy for Mom! He's surrounded by toys in our living room, but only one or two catch his eye---the ball popper being the toy of choice. The rest seem to be "baby" toys to him. He wants the ball popper on constantly. The second it stops, he grunts for it to start again. Well, we went toy shopping the other day, and let me just say, don't rely on a six-month-old's reaction in the store to determine what to buy. For many toys, he just gnawed his fist and ignored everything I presented to him. Meanwhile, I'm setting off every toy in the store. About seven toys are playing music at once because I move on to a new one before cutting off the previous one. I'm sure the other shoppers are loving that! Then we reached the learning toys section and the little puppy caught his eye. He smiled at him, or was it my silly faces? Then the alphabet wheel spinny thingy that plays the alphabet and animal sounds---this he not only interacted with, but grunted as if he wanted to keep playing it. That's it! After an hour of searching, this is the one. Thank you, my sweet one, for making this easy. You can guess the rest. We got home. I spent 10 minutes unwinding the twist ties that had the toy bound to the box harder than lock and key. Exhausted, I place the toy in front of him. He gives it a spin. A new toy. Something different than the same ole same ole. This mom is happy. But after a few whirls, I look at my child's face, and see that he is peering above and beyond the new toy to a familiar sight---yes, the ball popper. Maybe I should give up the search for a new toy and just buy more balls. Right now we have 7 in the thing. It might be pretty exciting to see about 15 or so balls popping away. Of course, until he starts crawling, I'm the one who has to fetch them. I'll not give up, though, on this quest for new, exciting toys. There must be something out there that can rival the ball popper. Momma needs a new toy!

Oh, on a side note, a funny thing happened during one of my toy shopping excursions. I was shopping in a store and the toys and clothes are located near one another. I was pushing the stroller down the clothing aisle. Another lady was on the next aisle over, and I kept hearing what sounded like a cat meowing. I thought it was that lady, so I tried to avoid her the whole time, thinking, "This lady is meowing. I'm steering clear of her." A few minutes later, as I get closer to the toys, I hear the noise loud and clear. Inside a box sits a stuffed kitty meowing away. I had to laugh at myself.

Bring back the nugget!!

Why is it that the best foods ever sold get tossed away, never to be found again? Every food I get attached to (and yes, I do form some strong bonds with food) seems to disappear from stores or restaurants. One day you’re enjoying them and the next they’re gone. I remember fondly the days of the good ole’ Jeno’s Snack Tray Pizzas. These were small, round pizzas on a snack tray that could be popped in the oven. There were 12 little pizzas, one row of cheese, one row of pepperoni, and one row of sausage. I can’t think of my childhood without thinking of the snack tray pizzas. But alas, they cannot be found. Gone! People say, “Try the Bagel Bites. It’s the same thing.” No, my friends, not the same. These little pizzas were not on bagel bread. They were on good crunchy pizza crust. I don’t want a substitute; I want the real deal.

Victim #2 of the food takeaway: Soft Batch Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. On our local shelves, all you can find are the chocolate chip Soft Batch. Was Oatmeal Raisin not popular enough? Could I have done more to save them? These would melt in your mouth---so fresh, so soft. Every now and then, they’d try to tease us and bring them back. Why oh why didn’t I grab hundreds of bags of them and store them?!? The other day I find some oatmeal cookies by the same company, claiming they were soft (but “Soft Batch” was nowhere to be found on the bag). Yes, they were soft, but the recipe was not the same. They put “made with applesauce” on the package and now all I can taste is applesauce! You can’t fool us, cookie maker! We know the difference. Bring back the Soft Batch.

Victim #3: Jack’s Shortbread Cookies with sprinkles. They were a rarity already because they were only sold during the Christmas season. Oh what a lovely combo---these cookies and a tall glass of milk. Over the last few years, nowhere to be found. I even searched the web for these cookies—no luck. I can’t think about them without crying a little.

Victim #4---Popeye’s chicken nuggets. But wait, you say, they do have nuggets at Popeye’s. Yes, I know, and I’ve tried them. They may be pretty tasty, but never in your life have you tasted nuggets as grand as the ones they had back in the mid 90’s. You could see the spice in the white meat. The batter was the real deal. Oh why did they leave us? My mouth waters thinking of them.

My thesis (yes, I’m “announcing” it. LOL): If you find something you like, don’t take it for granted. Cherish every moment with it. Store it up. Soak it up. No substitute will ever match it, so fight to keep it. Save the nugget!!