Yup, Kids Toys Suck

So, my daughter and I spent about half an hour trying to stick bits of rolled up paper to a sticky mold that is supposed to be some sort of animal with giant plastic tweezers the other day. This toy is called Paperoni. Every time you stick one little paper on, two fall off. We might get it done by Christmas.

Kids Toys Suck

I was thinking back to when I was a kid and the kinds of toys I played with. I played with things like Barbie dolls, Play Doh, Lite Brite, and My Little Ponies. You would think that kids toys in the year 2010, almost 30 years later, would be so far advanced that they would blow your mind. You would think. All we have around here is crap though! My daughter was going crazy over the wonder toy, "Aqua Sand" after she saw some commercials for it on TV last Christmas. She did not get any until recently because she failed to tell Santa about it until about 2 days before Christmas. Santa is not a mind-reader, man, he needs it in writing! Anyway, she finally got the Aqua Sand and it is basically a plastic bin that you fill with water and pink sand. The pink sand does not mix with the water, so it sits on the bottom of the container in little blobs. It is darn near impossible to get the sand back out of the container and is a huge mess. It is like handing your kid a bucket of sand and water in your house and saying "have fun"! What a mess.

kids and staplers

In my classroom I have a bin to hold my staplers. I teach my students where it is on the first day of school. Every single day, all year long, at least one kid will come up to me during the day and ask me where the stapler is. I am a very patient person, but about halfway through the year, I begin to loose my patience- I mean, they are in the bin, where they have been all year! Then I always have that one kid who gets his hands on the stapler, and clicks all the staples out of it, or better yet, staples his textbook, pencil, finger, etc... I guess you have to be a kid to understand the fascination of a stapler. I just don't get it!

raft races, toilet seats and last place

Today my daughter and I went to the 28th annual Homosassa River Raft Race. My dad and his friend just found out about this contest last weekend. I thought it was pretty weird that this thing has been going on for 28 years and this is the first time we have heard about it, but anyway they decided to give it their all. They made their raft a plumber's boat and build it from PVC pipe, plastic wrap, duct tape and toilet seats. It was truly a sight to behold. They tested it out in the neighbor's pool to be sure it would float.

Then they made their final improvements and headed up to the race. Well, they came in pretty much dead last, way behind the other "non mechanical" rafts. But they kept on racing and finished the course. When my daughter said "why don't they just stop because they lost", I explained that just because you come in last sometimes, doesn't mean that you don't keep trying. It just wouldn't be the same experience if they didn't finish what they came to do, whether coming in first place or last place. Besides, they lost the race to Batman and Robin. Come on kid, they have superpowers!

middle school boys and the bathroom

What is it with middle school boys and the bathroom?! What is wrong with them that they can't just go in there, pee and come out? But noOoOo! They feel the need to wad up wet paper towels and throw them up to get stuck on the ceiling when they are in there. Or have a mosh-pit/fight club. Or make strange noises. Or best yet- make "water balloons" in the sinks. And no, if you must know, they were not water balloons. UGH, BOYS!

Lines, People, and the Happiest Place on Earth

As frequent visitors to Disney, the happiest place on Earth, we find ourselves standing in lots of long lines- go figure. In our time standing in Disney lines, I have noticed that there always seem to be the same types of people standing there with us. Below I have a description of my top 5 favorites. Enjoy!


The "Get A Hotel Room" Couple- they can't keep their hands off each other and put a lot of effort grossing out the entire line. Excuse me, can you stop kissing and move forward?!


The "3 Hours Past My Naptime" Child- this poor child was awakened at the break of dawn to drive/fly to Disney and has been dragged around in the hot Florida sun all day. They have lost interest in the rides an hour ago and are letting their parents know it.


The "Sibling Slappery" Kids- he hits her, she hits him back. This goes on and on with them occasionally accidentally slapping you too and the parents never seem to notice it at all.


The "Too Close For Comfort Creepy Caveman"- he stands practically touching you as if he has never heard of a thing called "personal space", even stepping on the back of your shoes from time to time. Bonus points if he forgot his deodorant.


The Locals- these people are great to be behind. They share their tips on the best place to stay, eat and any other Disney secrets they know.

fish fish and fish!

I must confess, I think I have a bit of addiction to fish. I know that it is a strange pet to have, some people would not even consider them to be pets at all. It all began with my next door neighbor standing on my doorstep with a fish tank in her hands and begging me to please take her fish since she was getting a divorce and moving. I guess no one wanted custody of the fish. It was a big yellow one that I thought would be boring but turned out to be pretty cool and would move the rocks all around the tank with his mouth. After awhile he would look at me with his big sad fishy eyes and made me feel sorry for him in there all alone. And if I were to get him a friend, of course I would need a bigger tank! Which of course would require a new stand to put it on. And some fishy artwork to hang on the wall behind the new tank. Which leaves me with a 35 gallon tank containing 9! cichlid fish that are the focal point of my living room. Sometimes I even notice my daughter watching the tank instead of Nickelodeon!

play dates and the dress-up drawer

What is it that inspires my daughter and her friends to dress up like it is Halloween when they get together? They run upstairs giggling in their cute little outfits from Justice and come back down in witch costumes, cheerleading outfits, princess dresses and anything else they can put on. I get such a kick out of seeing what they will dress up as next!