Monday, you and your sister were off from school for Martin Luther King Day, so Mommy took the day off too.
While I was at work, the three of you had a fun breakfast at Daylight Donuts; a place you and your sister ask to every time we pass it on the way back from church.
But the big event was that Mommy took you both to Target to spend some gift cards you got at Christmas.
When I got home from work, you both showed me the toys you bought. You were both so excited.
With Thanksgiving just a few days away, my wife suggested we pick up the classic board game Monopoly for when we visit my side of the family in Alabama. That gave me the green light to carry out my own related agenda: to also buy the classic game Crossfire, from my own childhood.
Speaking of agendas, my son had one of his own, as well. He still had a few bucks leftover from his birthday, on a gift card to Target that he was eager to spend.
So he and I hopped in the 2019 Chevy Traverse that our family still has from our trip to Destin, FL. (More on that in the days to come…) Exactly 3.8 miles later, we had arrived.
I couldn’t have known this, but it just so happened that Target had just started a special 20% sale on family board games.
I feel really good about this. My wife’s idea was spot on.
Classic board games are a great way to unplug for the holidays while the family is together.
It’s easy to forget how great it is to break out some board games after the meal and have some mandatory fun.
My son ended going with a Squish-Dee-Lish. It’s funny how big he is into those “don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve opened it” toys.
I think it ended up being a sleep-deprived alien jet pilot?
Once we got home, I admit it took my longer than it should have to assemble Crossfire while my wife finished preparing dinner.
To my surprise, my daughter actually seemed more into the game than my son.
Good call, though. Stock up on board games for Thanksgiving, especially while they’re on sale this week at Target!
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon in Spring Hill, Tennessee when Nick Shell, 36, drove his family in a 2017 Toyota 4Runner to the local “weigh and pay” frozen yogurt shop, Sweet Cece’s; after his wife suggested it would be fun.
Joined by his parents who were visiting for the weekend, he carried in his 1 year-old daughter as his 6 and a half year-old son ran ahead. As the Shell family walked to the back of the shop, deciding which flavor they each were in the mood for, Nick noticed that unlike any other time he had ever been to Sweet Cece’s, the dairy-free option was temporarily unavailable.
He kept this information to himself, though his wife soon took notice, asking him, “Oh no, are they out of the watermelon sorbet for you?”
Allowing his entire family to get their own frozen treats, he waited until after everyone was settled in at the table before he whispered to his wife, “I’ll be right back. I’ll just go pick up something at Super Target across the street.”
He pulled open the hatch door of the 4Runner, where he had been keeping his skateboard for just an event such as this. Within minutes, he found himself at the Super Target entrance.
His family, back at Sweet Cece’s, were not even halfway through their treats, when he returned with a bottle of Bolthouse Farms 100% carrot juice in hand.
“My name in Greek means victorious. I find a way to be victorious in everything I do. I will not allow myself to be a victim. So when I saw that Sweet Cece’s was temporarily out of my vegan option, it did not affect me emotionally. Instead, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to use my skateboard and catch up on some Vitamin A from carrot juice. Some might even refer to me as a hero, but I refuse to see myself that way. I’m just a regular guy who did what any decent manly vegan would do in that instance,” Shell strangely explained.
After clarifying to him that no one was referring to him as a hero, Nick Shell then continued to speak about the incident, but I had to sort of tune him out. He kept referring to himself as “the manliest vegan on the Internet,” even though in the same breath, he admitted no one has ever questioned him on that title.
If you see him in public, it’s best you just smile and nod, while slowly walking away, backwards.
Otherwise, he may offer to let you take a selfie with him for your Instagram account, as he pressures you into tagging it:
We ended up with some money still left on our baby registry for you at Target, so this weekend Mommy and I took you and your brother to figure out what exactly to spend the money on; as we knew we would like some sort of device to keep you occupied each night while we eat dinner at the big table.
It didn’t take long at all before Mommy and I found exactly what you needed: The Animal Party Bouncer by Fisher Price. At about $30, the price was right on budget, by the time we also accounted for the $7.50 for the required size D battery; which I couldn’t find in anything less than a 4-pack.
(Though once we got home, we realized we already that size battery upstairs in the supply closet.)
I assembled your new bouncer while Mommy made lunch. By the time our vegan quesadillas were ready, I had finished putting it all together.
And yes, it was a success!
Mommy and I were able to actually eat lunch without having to get up. You were entertained by the “fun bouncy action and removable toy bar” as well as the “gentle calming vibrations”. I like how your own body movements cause the bouncer to softly bounce.
Though we haven’t had the Animal Party Bouncer long enough to try this part out, it apparently is also “soft and comfy for soothing and snoozing”. I look forward to you being able to fall asleep in it easily while in your bouncer, which would seem to be an easier and more natural way for your to nap instead of Mommy or me picking you up and going through all the motions of getting to fall asleep for naps.
And since the Animal Party Bouncer can hold up to 25 pounds, I know you’ll be able to use it for a while before you outgrow it. (You’re still in the 25th percentile for your weight; yet the 82nd percentile for your height.)
I’m not sure who’s going to like your new seat more: you and your parents.
This week while perusing through Target during my lunch break, because apparently that’s what I do for fun, I discovered a curious thing:
The action figures for the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot movie are already on 30% clearance, even though the movie doesn’t come out for another 2 weeks, on July 15th.
(This took place at the Franklin, TN, location.)
It presents a theory about the free market:
Could it be that boys aren’t interested in buying action figures
in which females are the protagonists?
I invite you to watch the video I shot, on the scene, which clearly shows that the Ghostbusters reboot movie is clearly being marketed to boys, as these toys are in the same isle as Star Wars and Ninja Turtles, which primarily consist of male characters.
Even though the new Ninja Turtles movie has been out for a month already, none of those toys are on clearance, which implies boys are still asking their parents for them.
Obviously, there has been a lot of skepticism about the upcoming movie by Ghostbusters fans; especially to make the four Ghostbusters female; as opposed to male, which is the gender they been identified as since 1984.
Sure, I admit: If they couldn’t get the original cast to do an actual sequel (especially since Harold Ramis passed away two years ago in 2014), I would have at least liked to have seen brand-new characters to carry on the torch, in the likeness of the original cast:
Maybe Paul Rudd, Steve Carrel, Seth Rogen, and Donald Glover. I think that would have been awesome to see!
In that version of reality, I could imagine that much more action figures would have been sold and prevented this 30% clearance situation at Target. Not to mention, I think fans would be much more excited about going out and seeing the new movie.
Again, these toys are purposely placed in the boys’ aisle, not with Barbies. The Ghostbusters toys are clearly intended to be purchased mainly by boys, not girls; which is why they are stocked on the shelves the way they are.
Yet boys aren’t buying them.
This is the free market at work; in which politically correctness is evidently being ignored by very young consumers.
With all that being said, I will be seeing the Ghostbusters reboot movie in a few weeks and will be doing a movie review on it; comparing it to the original, from a family friendly perspective.
So if you if this post has entertained you, check back in a few weeks for more on the Ghostbusters reboot.
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