For the past several weeks I’ve wasted more time than I’d like to admit playing monopoly. Not the board game, but the grocery store game.
It started one Sunday after work when the very friendly clerk (who had been making conversation as she scanned my items) asked if I was playing monopoly. Typically I would have spit out a quick no, but for some unknown reason (perhaps the kind conversation) I paused and said, “Should I be?” And with that, I made the spontaneous decision to waste at least an hour of my week, every week, for the foreseeable future. At first I would rip the pieces apart and search for them on my board while Arabella played in her toy bin, but as weeks went by she started to become more interested in what I was doing. Not wanting to risk her destroying the game pieces that are (obviously) going to win me a vacation home, a pair of jet skis and free groceries for a year… I gave her the scrap pieces. In other words, I gave her the garbage. And she loved it. The kid has every toy an 11-month old could possibly want and on this day, she spent at least an hour playing with monopoly piece scraps.
Seeming that the only material items I’ve won so far are a bottle of water, box of foil and a few free donuts… the entertainment factor may have made it all worth my while.
Which brings us to last week— when I was sitting at the hair salon browsing Amazon for Easter basket and birthday ideas for Arabella. As I looked through all the toys, it occurred to me that I should probably just buy small ones given that she probably won’t play with them anyway. Lately, she only wants to play with things that are most definitely not toys.
So then I started looking for toys that mocked real items— like a Kleenex box filled with cloth tissues. Guess what? Amazon had one… for $45!!! Do you know how many real Kleenex boxes she could go through for that price? Literally enough for her to have moved on from her fascination with Kleenex.
So I scrapped that idea and entered the deep dark rabbit hole that is Pinterest. In case there is any doubt, let me clarify— I am NOT a Pinterest mom. I am not a Pinterest wife. I am not a Pinterest anything. But for whatever reason, perhaps the same temporary insanity that got me to start playing monopoly, I logged in.
I won’t bore you with the details of my time on Pinterest, but I will share a photo of Arabella’s newest toy. It’s homemade.
Specifically, it’s made from ribbon and a box I had around the house. According to Pinterest, it’s a sensory box. I have no idea if Arabella will ever play with it again, but at least I can say I tried. And I can now also feel justified in keeping the ribbons from baby gifts and the box from a recent set of Nespresso mugs we got as a free gift claiming it was all “too nice to throw away.” And guess what? The vindication only cost me an hour of my day. I guess that means this week’s monopoly pieces will have to wait until next week— I only have so many hours to waste.
What are your favorite toys for a one year old? Any homemade stuff that your kids love? Leave me a comment… the countdown to baby’s first Easter and baby’s first birthday is on… and I’m floundering!
Trina Orlando 