Three months ago, when I started potty-training L., I filled a giant bowl with “prizes” — to be doled out liberally as rewards for any and every form of potty success. There were small rubber bouncy balls, little blocks, and…well, one other thing.
This “other thing” seemed like a good idea at the time — small items, appealing to boys, and in a variety of designs and colors.
But I was wrong. Because this “other thing” is not particularly appealing to, well, me. And now, months after the potty training has come to an end, I keep encountering these “things.” And I don’t like it one bit.
For example, I might be cleaning up the living room at night, after the boys are in bed and Chad’s out of town, and I come across this:
Or I might be sitting on the couch, reading quietly, when out of the corner of my eye I spot one of these:
Now, I know that they look fake. And I know that if there were real bugs of this size and color in my house, I would have to: a) call the exterminator and b) move (preferably to another state).
But in that very first moment, before my mind has a chance to process the fact that they’re not real… they scare me. I jump. I might even have to stifle a scream. And I most likely have to go get a piece of chocolate to aid in my emotional recovery.
And so, slowly, very slowly, the bugs are getting “lost” (aka, they’re getting dropped in the garbage by yours truly). L. will one day forget about them. And I will never again knowingly bring fake bugs into my house.
Lesson learned.
Thanks for the tip. The potty training here has come to a complete halt for the moment.
But I had to laugh. We were on the way home from church Sunday, and Q said to me, “mommy I want to go to L’s house to his mountain, and I want to buy his bus!” Totally cracked me up. I need to explain to him that he doesn’t go shopping at his friend’s house, and it’s a hill, not a mountain!
Thanks for the laugh!
LOL! Glad I’m not the only one who gives plastic bugs and spiders a second glance. Rubber snakes are outlawed in my house, for this very reason (just don’t tell Hubby and the kids or the house will be over-run with plastic everything creepy, crawly, and slithery.)
Yippee, glad to know the fall reading challenge is just around the corner. My problem? What do I read? Too many books, not enough time.
Heehee, we have a real looking bug that came in a Lego kit…it gets me and dh every time!
You crack me up. You want to know what gets me everytime? My cell phone, set on vibrate sitting on the end table next to me. When it goes off, I always jump thinking it’s a bee right beside me, before my mind kicks in to tell me it’s the silly phone.
Oh, how funny! I had the same experience when the boys got a monster/bug maker that made fake bugs. In the dark, they can seem quite real!
ohmyWORD. i did the same thing when we had this fake mouse toy. it also got lost.
That is funny. I have done the same thing with fake poop.
Are the rewards helping? I give M&Ms right now. Maybe I need to get some fun toys too (not bugs though).
LaVonne´s last post ..Jump Up For New Things!
Ha! We have a few of those around too, and I always do a double-take. There’s a black beetle that’s pretty convincing (although much much too large).
There’s room here in CT if you are looking to relocate.
Jennifer, Snapshot´s last post ..A New Back-to-School Tradition
hehe my mom bought my son some of these and oh my they scare me! The other day I stepped on one!!
Those were the days. It seems so long since my two were potty trained. I remember constantly taking the portable potty every where with us.
Remember the Spiders in VA?
haha! =D (Making mental note of what NOT to treat him with . . .)
Ugh. With three boys, two of whom LOVE practical jokes, I see my share of these critters regularly. And add to that a grandpa who eggs them on and provides MORE ideas whenever he’s with them. Yeah. I get ya.
The Gang’s Momma´s last post ..Wordless Wednesday
Oh, Katrina, I laughed so hard. I’m sorry, but that is hysterical! We have those same bugs here at our house and we’ve used them to torture my daughter. It’s simply hysterical! She would have the same reaction as you: move to another state! That’s the part that killed me!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Ewww, even plastic or fake, I wouldn’t be fond of them either! At least it wasn’t a fake snake, my nephew has one he loves to pull out and put in my path outside! LOL
Bwahahahaha! I used the little Matchbox cars when my boys were small. It was something to head into the local hardware store and have my son loudly ask if he could get a Pee-pee Poo-poo car. I’m so glad I’m finished potty training everyone in my life!
They are everywhere in our house. I believe they are capable of breeding. One of the entirely too real looking spiders also found its way into the swim bag the other day and thanks to it, we pretty much had the baby pool to ourselves.
We have tons of fake bugs. Our son loves them.
Ick! Bugs, even fake bugs, give my the shivers. I see one and feel like they’re crawling all over me. It’s the worst sensation in the world.
LOL My son still loves fake bugs. He likes to buy them at the dollar store and they really creep me out.