Apparently I Hate Toys

Cooper had a great Christmas, he got lots of toys and flashing lights but he rediscovered a toy that won't let me forget it.  I took this video when my sanity was leaving me, I had a headache, I was feeling overwhelmed after the holiday season and then my loving son decided he wanted to play with a toy that loves to repeat itself.

I think toys are as cool as the next Youth Pastor, there is a remote controlled Big Foot that wants me to buy it every time I walk past in Wal Mart.  But some toys just get absolutely ridiculous, with the amount of lights and sounds that get put on them, this fire truck is a great example, but there are a few others I would like to call attention to and more specifically would like to let the toy making companies of know how much I hate the power they hold over me.

1. Wiggle and Giggle Guitar - First off, we don't watch the Wiggles, Cooper is into Leap Frog, Super Why, Handy Manny and Yo Gabba Gabba!  I think that means his profession will be a construction worker who enjoys dancing while reading Shakespeare; what can I say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  But I digress, this toy is the bane of my existence, when you press the buttons on some toys they repeat the sound, not this one, this plays the sounds on top of each other.  Which wouldn't be so bad if there were 3 sounds, but it has like 57 different sounds and when they are all playing at the same time sounds like a migraine for Daddy.  I beat this toy once, I took out the batteries and Cooper was still happy with it, however his uncle wanted to be the favorite and put the batteries back in and then taught Cooper how to turn it on.  Thanks Uncle Phil.

2. Sound Puzzles- I was never that into puzzles, it took too much time and concentration for me to finish them, plus you never know if you have all of the pieces until you spend 4 days of your life trying to complete the God forsaken thing only to realize you are missing two pieces.  Oh well, better luck on your next 5,000 piece puzzle of jellybeans and grass.  But my disdain for puzzles escalated when a puzzle that was rejected my my brother and sister-in-law made its way to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  It is a animal sound puzzle made so when you put the piece into the right spot it makes the respective animal sound, sounds cute right?  I am now almost convinced this puzzle is possessed as it meows at it's leisure and moos any time the light gets turned on or off.  It has been banished to the play room but the boy still finds it sometimes and chases me through the house with it.

3. Sticky Hands- This is my wrong doing and I am sorry Mom and Dad, being a parent I see the error of my ways.  Sticky hands are the only good things to come out of the 25 cent machines ever.  The best part about them was there ability to be slung at someone and return right back to you.  I distinctly remember a car ride home from the mall where I dropped 50 cents to get a bigger sticky hand with a real plastic handle.  I was sitting behind my mom in the car and the back of her head became my target for the 15 minute car ride.  I never understood why she got so mad at me until my son played the fireman remix on his fire truck the other night.

Toys can be a great tool in parenting, but are of the bells and whistles really necessary?  My favorite toys growing up were a baseball and a stuffed animal named spike, thank you toy companies for making me sound like an old man.

Any annoying toys that you can recall receiving or getting, if not, I have plenty more I can share.