Toy of the Week

As you all know, kids go through phases with toys. This week, the girls have discovered/rediscovered a toy from Christmas. (As is often the case when they get lots of stuff all at once, it takes a while for certain things to be truly noticed.) It is the Polar Set from Animal Planet, a collection of arctic-dwelling figures--penguins, polar bears, killer whale, beluga whale, Eskimo, rescue truck, igloo. You'd think with so many to choose from, arguing would be minimized. But no, if Molly has the penguin baby, Rebecca inevitably wants it immediately. The latest way they handle this is to announce, "Mommy, Molly won't share the baby penguin." After a brief pause, I will sigh and say, "Molly, can you please share? ISn't it nice when other people share with you?" Quiet. "Okay, but you say when to switch." This means I now am entrusted with monitoring how long one child plays with the toy and then I say "SWITCH!" It's both a blessing and a curse to have kids who are old enough to play without me all the time!