If there’s one thing we’re absolutely certain of, it’s that the boys don’t have enough toys.  I mean, their toys have filled the family room, dining room, living room, part of the kitchen, the back yard, the entire garage, and the garage attic – which is an obvious indication of our indifference to their happiness.  We’ve been very lucky to have friends with older children, and have had a lot of hand-me-downs passed our way.  Many of those toys are still too old for our boys, so they’re boxed and patiently awaiting their return to the active roster.  It makes life a bit easier, since we can just go grab a new toy periodically.

The bad-parenting-mafia could certainly question the endless stream of toys.  And for that matter, it makes birthdays a little odd – the boys don’t really understand ownership or gifts yet, so the idea of saying “wait for your birthday” seems a bit premature.  Especially (and most importantly), when there’s a new toy that I REALLY WANT THEM TO HAVE (i.e., a toy that I really want to play with).  You have to balance this with the fact that the boys have day-care at our house, and we already change out the furniture at very close to the maximum allowable rate (i.e., any more frequently and Katie might divorce me).  We try to take the boys out of the house as much as possible, but at the end of the day we’re trying to keep them stimulated and happy, so more stuff it is.  We’re trying hard to avoid gratuitous toys – not just more toys for the sake of toys.  No, that’s Daddy’s prerogative - more electronics for the sake of electronics.  We’re trying to get them toys that encourage new activities, or imaginative play.  So we like new games to play, books to read together, outdoor activities that get us running, art & craft supplies., etc.

With how often the boys have been hoping up on their chairs to help us cook, we thought “what a perfect time to get the boys a play kitchen.”  When Grandma Crick and Grandpa Don called a couple of weeks ago asking for suggestions, the play kitchen was number one on our list.  We looked through hundreds online, but finally found one that looked perfect.  It had lots of buttons and took lots of batteries.  It didn’t look godawful.  It fit the space we had for it.  And its design would work well for 2-3 kids playing at it, as opposed to just Nicky standing in the middle and Dexter on the sidelines looking forlorn.

The box arrived last Thursday – we assembled it last night, and unveiled it this morning.

Fits perfectly under the TV, doesn’t it?  And it keeps them playing within sight of Katie cooking in the kitchen.

We probably ought to have waited for their birthday, but setting it up last night meant 1) an opportunity to swear at the minimally acceptable level during assembly as the boys were safely and innocently sleeping, and 2) we got to watch them play with it on Sunday, instead of leaving Malin to that pleasure on Thursday morning.   Maybe we should have kept going with the chairs-at-the-kitchen-counter approach, but see Paragraph 2 for my pre-emption of this intellectually vapid consideration.  Also, it makes it hard to prep meals when the boys have occupied half the counter tops.

This morning the boys awoke to discover the kitchen, and 3 hours of non-stop cooking ensued.

They’re still learning all the ins-and-outs, but so far no animals have been put in the microwave, no one has gotten burned, and no one’s been knocked unconscious with a frying pan.  Here’s a quick video of their early-morning play:

From Movies

The little chefs

Oh, and Katie had it completely wrong – no, it isn’t her kitchen, but she still had to clean it up once the boys ran off, and 33 utensils and accessories littered the family room.