What the Furb am I thinking?

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Ok. So the holidays are quickly approaching, and my kids have one toy on their minds. FURBY BOOM. Last year, the must have toy of the season was the reinvented Hasbro Furby. This year apparently, it’s the upgraded Furby Boom. K-aos was delighted when she received her hot pink Furby for Christmas last year and she instantly fell in love with the little plush robot. She carried it everywhere, tucked it in at night and bawled every time its LED eyes went black, a sign that the batteries were about to die.

We became a “Furby Family” and K-aos even insisted that she have a Furby birthday party. Our little guy loves Furby as well, and there is a constant battle between my two kids over the Furbster. Thank goodness for durability, because he (or is it she?) has hit the floor quite a few times mid battle.

Now, as a parent, we all have to endure toys that get on our nerves. When K-aos received her little Sesame Street piano at age 3, there was lots of times I was thankful when the batteries died. She was also too little to notice when it went missing for days on end. Tickle-me Elmo was another one.

But nothing nags at my sanity like the constant chitter chatter of Furby. Sure, they may look sweet and innocent, but the schizophrenic little “Dr.Jeckyl-Mr.Hyde's", never ever seem to shut up. You know what it’s like, when a tap drips all night when you’re trying to sleep? Or a mosquito flies over you and you hide under your sheets? Well they are that F-urbing annoying! When the kids forget about Furby or we “conveniently” don’t have any more battery replacements … I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Wait. Do you hear that? It’s the sound of silence. F#$* yeah! J Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but our Furby has only acted cute and sweet twice. Ours is Dr.Evil, howling at the moon, more often than not. Furby’s manic behaviour and outbursts are enough to drive anyone to drink. Having a husband who howls every time there’s a full moon is enough to cope with. J

So I posed this question to K-aos, “Why in the world would you need another Furby?”

She looks at me like I’m stupid and replies, “So they can talk to each other and Furby Boom is so much cooler!”

If you haven’t seen the commercial for the new Furby Boom, they have upgraded Furby so that they are more interactive. (Do you remember Nano-pets? For some reason that’s how I conceptualize a virtual Furbling.) Although I haven’t seen one used yet, from what I’ve read, as you play with and care for your FURBY BOOM they will earn colourful virtual eggs that in time will each hatch and become a FURBLING virtual friend. The kids can feed their virtual Furbling, and even watch it go to the bathroom. You will be able to collect over 50 eggs within the FURBY BOOM app and eventually build a FURBY BOOM city. I don’t know what anyone else thinks of this, but the idea of a Furby city scares the crap out of me!

Now, when K-aos’s stepsister came to visit, she showed her how to go on Dad’s phone and upload Furby Boom videos on YouTube. Surprise, surprise, K-aos’s new favorite past time is to go online and watch what these colorful little monsters can do. If you ask Little J if he likes Furby, he points at your phone and says “Boom!”

So, what’s a mom to do? The letters to Santa are complete, and the number one thing is F.B. I will neither confirm nor deny, if Santa will be bringing a Boom for Christmas, the same as I can neither confirm nor deny that I have ever screamed, “Shut that Furby up, or I will shut it up forever!!!”

See my predicament? I am trying to raise grateful children, and we’ve had many discussions about not always being able to have everything we want. I’m sure my kids would be fine if Furby Boom wasn’t under the tree Christmas morning, sure they might be a bit disappointed, but they would get over it. The fact is though, I want my kids to be happy Christmas morning, and it’s the ONE thing they’ve asked for….

Gulp…..what the Furb am I getting myself into?

All I can say is, Santa better be compassionate and bring me a really good set of headphones, or a gift-card for a day trip to the spa, for my moments of Furby-induced insanity.

Good luck to all the parents out there, who will have a Furby/Furbling, or some other obnoxious toy joining their family this holiday.

Season’s Greetings,

Amy :)

A soul searching for a little country….

I’m back! I know it’s been quite the hiatus, but a lot has changed in my life in the last several months since I did my last post. One of the goals of this blog, was to work on my “Happiness Project,” which really required myself to evaluate my life, and the things in it that make me happy and those that don’t. Being able to have an outlet to express my thoughts and evaluating my life on paper, pushed me to figure out exactly what was missing in my life. In July the opportunity arose, for us to move from our townhouse we had been living in for almost 4 years and make the big leap to move to an acreage outside the city. Although, it was a big change and I was skeptical at first (especially when I’m used to being a minute from all amenities, grocery stores, and SHOPPING), I knew it was the right decision.

Growing up a country girl, I often thought about what my children were missing out on, that I really appreciated about my childhood. Being able to run and play, climb trees, make forts, dig in the dirt, go for hikes, have campfires, garden and just get dirty, are things that I want my children to experience every day. In our townhouse, I was constantly worried about the kids whenever they left my sight. I never wanted to take me eyes off them for fear that they’d get hit by a car, or kidnapped or worse. I know I probably shouldn’t have worried as much as I did, but city living sometimes has its draw backs. For me I feel it’s so important to let kids be kids, and I felt like I was failing in this department, when I was being such a “worry wart.”

Being able to offer my children a childhood and environment like I had growing up, means the world to me and brings me so much happiness.

This fall, the kids were outside playing house with old pots and pans, stirring in anything they could find in the yard to make “soup” and I couldn’t help but smile. I can still smell the concoctions, my sisters and I would come up with, when we made “soup” in the old pots in our sandbox. We’d mix in rotten tomatoes, rhubarb seeds, moldy cucumbers, basically anything rotten in mom’s vegetable garden. It was foul smelling, but we’d stay outside for hours making our gourmet specialties. It’s the little things like this that make me so grateful for where I am right now.

When expressing how much happier I am since we moved, my sister said to me, “That’s because country living is good for the soul.” I thought about it and I totally agree. The longer I live here, the happier I seem to get. Did you know that living in the country can add up to 2 years to your life? Not surprising really. It’s funny how mundane chores, are even enjoyable. Mowing the lawn, composting, raking; I appreciate it all after not having any yard for years. Even cutting firewood and hauling wheelbarrow loads in the house, (which drove me nuts as a kid) is enjoyable….nothing beats wood heat! When stacking the rows of wood, I can hear my dad’s voice telling me how to stack it just so, to ensure that the rows will be sturdy.  

I know I’m sounding a little nostalgic and sentimental, but this move for us, is proof that changing one thing in your life, can have a monumental impact on all other areas of your life. I am happier, hubby’s happier, and the kids are happy. I can’t ask for anything more than that. Making changes in your life can be overwhelming, and challenging trying to figure out where to start. But, I am slowly learning that taking baby steps and changing one thing at a time, might just have the most profound results. Although, my happiness project is still a work in progress, it turns out for me, that happiness is wide open spaces and a little dirt under my nails.

Now I’m off to shovel the snow from my driveway, which I’m going to do with a smile on my face! (I don’t know how long I will be saying that for!)

Xo Ames

Let me know if you too have experienced a move that was good for your soul!