I Do Not Like Stuffed Animals

Anyone who knows me at all knows I love, love, LOVE Gymboree clothes. And not because I have to have my kids in the latest kids' fashions but because of their quality. Ever since I learned about Gymbucks a few years ago, I have done my best to buy Reiss and Milla Gymboree clothes at the lowest prices possible. By combining their clearance rack prices, 20-30% off coupons they send me, my Gymboree Visa 5% discount AND Gymbucks, I am usually able to get Gymboree clothes at prices that beat those of KMart and Walmart for children's clothing of lesser quality. Please don't think that makes me a snob - I just love that Gymboree clothes keep going and going and going just like the Energizer bunny.

Gymbucks redemption officially started today but most stores will allow redemption the day before the first official day and so I went last night to redeem mine before all the clearance racks were picked over. With my Gymbucks, I was able to get eighteen pieces of clothing for $82.53 That's an average of $4.59 per piece of clothing. See why I have to laugh when people say they can't afford Gymboree but yet they go and pay twice that amount for something elsewhere that is not as high-quality? Seriously....

So this morning I was rearranging all the Gymbo loot I got last night in Reiss' and Milla's closets and they were helping or rather, playing with all the clothes (a.k.a. unhanging them) on the lower rack faster than I could hang clothes on the top rack. In the far depths of the closet was a forgotten bin of stuffed animals.

I do not like stuffed animals. I repeat, I do not like stuffed animals.

I do not care for stuffed animals because they are little dust factories and safe harbors for all kinds of creepy crawly things and just not my favorite type of toy. Oh, and if they came from Goodwill, eeeuuuwww.....just EEEUUUWWW. If someone gives a Goodwill purchased stuffed critter to my children, those immediately get tossed in the Goodwill pile.

I am not a germaphobe but I know the kinds of things I have given to Goodwill - yes, I have occasionally been guilty of taking off a shirt and throwing it into the Goodwill pile without laundering it - and I also know there are people out there who are not nearly as clean in their daily habits as I am. So if I'll give an unlaundered shirt to Goodwill, what are people of less conscious level than I giving? I can't help but think that maybe someone's dog has peed on some of the stuffed animals before they made it to Goodwill or even more realistically thinking, by how many dirty mouths that stuffed lion or tiger or bear has been bitten or chewed. Oh my!

With the Gymboree loot stored and arranged by size (I have some clothes for Milla all the way up to size 6!), we pulled out the stuffed animals for a romp in the playroom.

Here is Reiss chewing on Uniqua's tag. See what I mean about little mouths chewing on stuffed animals? My own children do it so I know others must do it too.

Milla carefully making her selection.

You should probably be made aware that my camera never seems to snap the photo when I want it to, so anytime you see a photo on here that's actually pretty cool, it's almost always by mistake. I was probably trying to catch a different memorable moment that ended up being another memorable moment by the time the camera decided to act. The photo above is one such instance. I was trying to take a picture of Reiss running from the scene after he had just dumped everything but instead, got a pretty swell photo of Milla looking like she was ever-so-delicately touching the bear's tummy. We will let her believe we don't know the truth about how she gets a little excited and not-so-delicate.

Stuffed critters everywhere! This photo doesn't do justice to the enormity of the mess, as there were many more critters all around my feet from where I was acting as photographer.

Not really related to the stuffed critter play session but seriously, could I not post this photo? She's looking about as devious as a toddler can get. This photo reminds of those "Pi$$ on" window cling things you sometimes see on cars or trucks that have the little character who looks like the comic character, Calvin, doing something that's not-so-nice.

The stuffed critter play session was part of this morning's festivities. Later on, in the early afternoon, we went to a friend's house and played with the kids there and swam in our friend's pool. Our friend has been doing this regularly schedule playdate and swimming for a few weeks now. We love it and they are so generous to share their home with us every week.

Reiss and Milla love the pool, which surprises me a little. Reiss takes awhile to warm up to anything new, no matter how fun it is or how much he likes it later. He loved the pool from almost the get-go....so why won't he play in the sprinkler at home? He loves the pool and he loves to stand in the shower but can't stand when I put the kids' sprinkler on the hose. He's a tough nut to crack, for sure.

After swimming, we came home and had a snack and Milla was so tired she could barely walk. I hate to admit it but I sometimes think it's kinda funny when she gets that tired because she's like a little walking zombie. Don't get me wrong, I would never let her fatigue-induced stupor allow her to fall down or run into a wall....I'm just sayin' it is funny. Bellies satiated with tortilla chips and drinks, off to nap we went.

And that brings us to now. Reiss is snoring like an old man on the couch. Milla is asleep on my lap. She was in the chair but sat up wide awake so I let her nurse a little while and she is back to sleep again. I may have to move her, as now my leg is asleep too.