We had a close to perfect Fourth of July -- swimming in the city pool, halfway watching soccer while cleaning and cooking, grilling dinner with a group of friends, watching the fireworks on the mall from the GW Parkway -- only slightly dampened by the early evening downpour. I got lots of compliments on the grilled salmon, and was slightly embarrassed to admit that it was one of the meals I prepared at Let's Dish (yes, I did go there when one opened nearby -- I should do a post about it someday).
I think the highlight for D may have been the chemical "glow stick" that I gave to each of the boys for the walk back to the metro. I could argue that the sticks helped them be seen by the cyclists going way too fast on the crowded paths, but the truth is that I gave them to the boys mostly to keep them distracted and happy when they're tired and overstimulated. I feel a little guilty about using them, since I'm sure the chemicals in them are terrible for the environment.
On the way home, I was thinking about how much pleasure the boys get out of the cheap plastic crap that is sold by Oriental Trading Company (which is where the glow sticks came from) and given out at fast food restaurants. The conventional wisdom is that these toys are bad because kids play with them for 10 minutes and then forget about them. Not my kids. If the kids forgot about them, they wouldn't be such a pain in the neck. The problem is my boys adore them, play with them, and get hysterical when they break, which they do all the time, or when I try to throw them out to stop us from getting buried alive. On the other hand, it's sort of charming to see the boys in ecstasy over something that cost 95 cents. When it's so easy to make them so happy, it's hard to resist.
Book review tomorrow -- too tired tonight.
I used to get all of my step son's stocking stuffers from Oriental Trading company. He loved the rubber snakes especially. Last month we found a box of some unopened OTC items in the garage and he was so excited. I guess you're never to old or to cool for rubber snakes.
Posted by: CGG | July 05, 2006 at 12:12 AM
Well, if we're going to feel guilty about glow sticks, then I'd better go to the head of the line. We bought two boxes of them for the kids while on vacation last week.
Posted by: Phantom Scribbler | July 05, 2006 at 11:13 AM
Wow, I admit that I have never thought about the environmental ramifications of glow sticks. They are cool to have on a summer night, though!
Posted by: landismom | July 05, 2006 at 08:33 PM