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The Light Saber Fiasco
As Kira had an appointment with her client Monday afternoon, I had all the kids in my charge. They were in need of an outing, and were in the market for a new beach ball after discovering a hole in one of ours that is essential to a game they recently developed. Ergo, the five of us headed to the Dollar Store nearby in search of a replacement beach ball.
The first problem was that Merritt was in need of a nap in the near future. The second problem was that the other three cared little for his predicament. They sorted through the toy section of the store, finding nary a beach ball. Apparently, the dead of winter is not the season for them. As time wore on, we needed to finish our business and get home for Merritt’s nap. I told the children to make their selections if they had money and coveted any particular item. Avey chose something that caught her fancy, but the boys chose nothing. Then we got in line for the checkout.
It was at this moment that Carver decided he wanted something after all. He claimed to want a knock-off light saber, so we sent Avey to get one. Pressing the little button was supposed to make it light up and make some sound effect, but it did nothing. We sent Avey for another. That one did not work either. I questioned Carver once again about his decision, because he had shown no interest in the toy earlier, and this was a last minute (literally) decision, so perhaps he would rather save his money. He insisted that he would rather die than leave the store without the object, so we arranged to purchase the non-functioning toy and then go find one that worked on their rack.
On the way to the car, Carver waved the sword back and forth, testing out its weight distribution, its feel, and function. Hakan asked to hold it in the car, but Carver refused, seeming never to tolerate parting with it. An argument ensued, but then was settled by the time we arrived home.
I rocked Merritt to sleep for a few minutes, and when he was finally asleep, I came out to see how the older 3 were faring. Carver begged permission to play video games. I declined, pointing out that he had a brand new toy with which to entertain himself. He insisted that he did not want to do anything but play video games. After some more back-and-forth, I made him a bargain: if he chose 10 toys of his to give or throw away, then he could play video games for a few minutes.
I thought myself awfully clever to occupy him with such a task, while getting him to evaluate his decision on different terms. After about 10 full seconds of consideration, he held up the very same toy sword he had just purchased at great emotional and temporal expense, and said, “I can get rid of this!”
I will spare the reader description of my outrage and dismay. Suffice it to say that Carver got a sound lesson in impulse purchasing, the value of a dollar, and why Daddy’s hair is falling out.
One big development this week was Merritt’s attempts to feed himself. He consistently tries to grab spoons we use to transfer food from a container to his mouth, so we’ve tried more finger foods to avoid that. He enjoyed crispy rice cereal, and Kira recently got him started on ground up broccoli and chicken. As one can see from the video footage, that has gone over well, albeit messily.
Hakan has been in his biggest Batman phase ever. Each morning, he wakes and puts on the same uniform: tan pants, a Winnie the Pooh sweater, cowboy boots, and a black and blue cape. Any time I am within earshot, he orders me to “do Batman,” which means I need to talk in a low voice, almost whispering, and conversing with him about whatever is on his mind. Most recently, he has made Batman befriend a spherical plush penguin toy. Although they have little in common, aside from being mostly black, and not really built for flying, they often find things over which to converse, such as whatever food is on Hakan’s plate.
Carver turns 5 this week, which has us all excited and wondering where the time has gone. We can hardly believe that he will be starting kindergarten in the fall!
Avey keeps busy with school and her Star Wars obsession. The franchise sure timed these movies right if they intend to secure our children as lifelong fans. Avey often recruits the boys into her role playing games, so even though they’ve not got a full grasp of the story or the customs of that galaxy, they are already familiar with key terms like “dark side,” and “hyperdrive,” etc. Avey even chose to do her school biography project on George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars.
This week also came with house guests for one night. Kira’s college friend came through with her mother to spend the night and then catch a plane for foreign lands. It was a brief stay, but still something for the kids to enjoy. They are always up for a fresh audience.