Sunday, March 2, 2008

OH. MY. WORD.

Are we in for it.

Yesterday, I took the kids to our local Hallmark store, because Bug and Nans had some Christmas/birthday money burning holes in their pockets. Both of them LOVE Webkinz, and the store near our house usually has a pretty good selection of them.

So, we go into the store, and the girls gravitate over to the Webkinz display. Puckey, of course, follows her sisters and starts picking up the assorted Webkinz and showing them to me. "Look, Mama, a hippo! Hi hippo!" "Look, Mama, a HORSE! Hi horsey!" "Look, Mama, a kitty! Kitty says, 'MEOW!'" With each one, Puckey would pick it up, hug it, tell me what it was (and sometimes what it says), and when I would tell her to put it down, she would. No biggie, right?

WRONG.

By this point, the older girls have their new pets in hand, and are headed towards the register. Puckey is holding a black lab Webkinz (you can see what it looks like by clicking here). I tell her that she needs to put the puppy down, because we have to go. Puckey looks at me, lip almost trembling, and says in a quiet voice, "I can't." I ask her again to put the puppy down, and again she almost whispers, "I can't" I ask her why. And she looks at me, cradling this little puppy, her dark chocolate eyes starting to get a little moist....
"I can't, I LOVE him."

OH. MY. WORD.

The women working in the store just about died. It's a good thing we weren't at Starbucks, where Puckey once scored a free Walrus just because she was so cute holding it. What a spoiled girl! So Puckey continues to cradle the puppy, petting him and rubbing her little cheeks on his....I swear, I nearly CRIED because she was SO STINKIN' CUTE! We finally got her to put the puppy back, and left the store without so much as one tear on her precious little cheek.

Yes, that's right, I was able to resist the power of the Puckey. Ande was pretty impressed, since he pretty much folds like a cheap lawn chair when Puckey says she wants something. At one point last summer, she almost had him talked into a REAL puppy, because she got so excited over our neighbor's dog. For those of you who don't know Ande - that's HUGE, because Ande doesn't really like animals all that much. I put the kibosh on that one, though, because I knew who would end up cleaning up after the puppy. I have enough people to clean up after, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Okay, in all honesty, I didn't QUITE resist the power of the Puckey. I just ordered the black lab Webkinz online. I DID get it for 1/2 of the cost they charge at the Hallmark Store, though. I thought it would be cute for Puckey's Easter basket. I love to buy the kids stuff, but I like to make it for an "occasion", not just because they want it.

7 comments:

mj said...

Hi Julie!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment, again.

I too hate to give in everytime the kids want something. If we always give them what they want, then they will never learn how to work hard for anything. To set goals and then work to obtain them. That is important for them to learn.

I secretly keep a stash of Webkinz in my closet just for those special occasions when a reward is in order. My 2 little guys love Webkinz.

I love the way you write about your family. I especially like the comment about your husband folding like a lawn chair. That just cracked me up! Men are so easy aren't they? But honestly, you had to have been pretty strong to resist the power of Puckey. LOL

Mary~

amanda said...

too funny! I don't even know what these webkinz are...and feel like maybe I should just stay clueless...our house is almost run over with toys anyway.

Delayed gratification, good lesson to learn at any age! Good for you for staying strong in the face of utter cuteness!

12-arrows said...

I am so shocked you didn't cave. I sure would have, especially looking into puppy dog eyes. Den is the stronger one there in our family. I guess I can't resist because I know what its like to go without, more so than him. But now, well, we just don't shop! LOL

So glad you found that little thing 1/2 off. She will adore probably even more when she finds it hiding in the grass in her Easter Basket!

Jacqueline and Colson are on the webkinz sight on line all the time. Its cute to see the two of them with their heads together playing and chatting.

What a great idea whoever thought of it is a genius!

Destini said...

I am so with you on that. I had a similar experience last week at Bass Pro Shops. She fell in love with a Scooby Doo fishing pole. It came in a cute back pack with sunglasses...we did cave and buy it for her. We are sooo weak. You are my hero!

Jenny said...

I am totally weak... I would have purchased it.

Luckily, Bryant doesn't ask me for much... so when he does I usually know he REALLY likes it and thus buy it.

However, if he starts asking for stuff all the time I would probably be a little more "strict" with him.

Devin said...

Julie,

I am proud of you, both for NOT caving in and buying the toy in the store and also FOR buying the toy online, for a nice Easter surprise--both great lessons to teach Puckey! :-)

Devin
p.s. Nice jab on Ande, that was a funny one!

AlaneM said...

Oh I wish I could have seen that - precious!