It's ok, it's a vacuum

Ami is fascinated by vacuums. We came across a vacuum infomercial one Sunday morning and she was captivated for 30 minutes. She constantly looks in the cleaning closet for my Dyson so I have to keep it in the living room. I vacuum the house every Monday but she wishes it were daily. She treasures the glossy store ads featuring the sucking machines. Everyday she asks to go bye-bye and see the vacuums (at Fred Meyer). I rented The Brave Little Toaster (featuring Kirby) for her and she watched it twice a day for a week. But here's the odd part: Ami is terrified of them. When I use it at home, she stands on the table or hides behind chairs. Even when they're turned off, she won't go near them. She begs to see them at the grocery store but then hides in the cart and keeps telling herself, "it's ok, it's a vacuum."


Calvin has no fear and chases me around the house while I vacuum, getting tangled in the cord. He touches the store models while his sister panics. Yes, she has her own toy vacuum that was donated to me by Amber after she heard of my daughter's odd obsession. It took Ami almost a week to play with it. She puts it away in the cleaning closet, next to my Dyson saying, "bye-bye vacuums" before quickly shutting the door.


And of course, Ami really likes Legos. She has recently moved on from Mega-Blocs to Duplos. I got the table for her off Craig's List for five bucks. I bought her a 33 piece starter pack but that doesn't go very far. Used Duplo blocks don't appear much on CL locally and I hate buying brand new toys, seems like such a waste. Does any of my family have old Duplo blocks your kids have outgrown? I could provide them a great home.



Calvin likes 'em, too. When Ami lets him play.