The best $3 I ever spent

It's amazing what parents spend their money on all in the interest of keeping their children entertained. We set out with the intention of only owning a minimal amount of toys, firm in the belief that too much choice leads to confusion and too many buttons and lights dampens a child's creativity. And while we have a lot less "stuff" than many people out there, it will not come as a surprise to any of you fellow parents that we have somehow accummulated enough toys to keep an entire third-world village happy for years. Some of the toys were well worth the expenditure, such as perinnial favorites like the Thomas trains, Mats' tool box, and the hoppy horse. Some never really had the impact their price tag warrants, such as the race track.

And then there are the big surprises. We went to the Marin County Fair with friends today. There I let Mats play that game where you try and use the sledge hammer to hit the bell because Ottilie had let her sons do it. I know - you are thinking how is a three-year-old going to lift the sledge hammer, let alone make the bell ring, but they had a "children always win" policy. Well, Mats really didn't understand why we had to go through the process of hitting the bell, because as far as he was concerned it was all about getting a prize. He is now the proud owner of a hot-pink, inflatable guitar "just like Seth's" (Seth is his music teacher; yes, he plays guitar, no it's not pink). He has spent hours showing mama, papa and all his stuffed animals how to play it ("no, mama, you move your fingers up and down, like this").


Gives new meaning to the expression "air guitar".