These are a Few of My Least Favorite Things.
The Julie Andrews song from Sound of Music keeps running through my head. At just over a year The Bees has amassed a small fortune of toys. We have a downstairs play area (defined by a four foot carpet, but slowly bleeding into the entire living room,) and of course there are toys in her room. There are certain items that just get on my nerves. Some of these are gifts from well-meaning friends (who will probably read this blog) and others for which we can blame no one but ourselves.
The Bunny Express train. At Easter I bought these miniature train sets from the CVS on Macarthur Boulevard, one for The Bees and one for her baby cousin Ellis. You connect the 6 plastic tracks and the little blue engine pulls the little green train round and round. The Bees was mostly interested in breaking up the tracks and shoving them one by one into the stereo system. Then she watches the engine as it careens across the room, crashing into something and spinning its wheels until it redirects itself. Or not.
But this Bunny Express engine also has a mind of its own. It often starts running by itself in the toy bin, which can be disconcerting if you are sitting alone reading in the living room. And worse - it has teeth! One day I was running it up her arm and up her leg just tickling her. And as I ran it up her neck, the engine started and the wheels ran up her hair, got tangled and stuck and there she was, screaming with the Bunny Express train hanging off her head. I turned it off and had to essentially yank it out taking a small snarl of downy wispy strands with it.
The Singing Dog.
A gift for The Bees when she was born, this is a crazy looking dog that can be prodded to sing or say different things depending on where you prod him. Press his hand and he sings "ABC". Press his foot and he sings “If you’re happy and you know it”. Press his stomach and he says "That tickles!”. But the dog won’t stop talking – even after you’ve gone to bed. An eery "You're my friend!" echoes from the front hall. My husband claims to have heard “I love you!” emanate from the toy box.
The Cat.
A birthday present from The Bee's godfather, we thought it was so cool that the animal actually spells out its own name. So the head is shaped like a C, the body like an A and the tail like a T. With magnets the three pieces stick together and look like a cat (sort of). But when The Bees starts playing with it the head falls off, and she's left holding the body. It’s no longer recognizable as a cat so it is thrown aside. Later I find the creepy bug-eyed head lying under the armchair.
Buzzing Bee
The book about a buzzing bee was a gift from her cousin Ellis. The story is engaging - you take a small stuffed bee and you buzz it from the garden into the jungle, into the ocean (as bees often do), and back into the garden again. However The Bees grabs the bee and is obsessed with just pushing it through the window. She won't stop buzzing the bee back and forth through the windows so you can never make any progress with the story. I’ve taken to hiding the thing under a sofa cushion or in a closet so that we can make progress with our books.
Lastly (and now I know I’m going to alienate many of you): Religious toys. The Bees insisted I get this blue bunny at the ice cream store (a mother holding a screeching infant is the perfect target for impulse buys). The bunny sings a sweet song when you press its tummy. I lived with it for three days before my husband pointed out that it’s a song about Jesus loving little children. At any rate, she persists in having me press its tummy over and over again, and I hum the tune while keeping an eye on the horizon for lightening bolts that should strike me down at any moment.
Stay tuned for an article about My Favorite Toys! I will certainly mention Tugooh Toys on Wisconsin Avenue.