The Soup Song

For me there was "Sullivan Street" by the Counting Crows sometime during the summer of '94.  My brother knocked on my bedroom door and begged me to stop playing it.  I'm not sure how many times I'd hit the back button on the CD player to hear the song again, but it was one time too many for Joe.

For Mike I know there was "Layla."  His mom said he played that one over and over and over.

I now sympathize with both my brother and my mother-in-law and suspect that if I have a nervous breakdown someday, you'll find me rocking in a corner singing "Stirring up some soup that's full of ABC's.  Would you like to try some?  First you should say please!  Thank you."

Here's why.



I actually really like this little kitchen, a Christmas gift from Mike's parents.  The kids love the pot and spoon that came with it and will gladly feed you imaginary bites, stirring the pot to get you some heaping pretend scoops.  Its plastic carrots, milk carton, and jar of applesauce fit into cut-outs in the refrigerator door, and shape toys are a big hit with Michael and Sophie these days. 

One great feature is that the songs and sounds don't interrupt each other--once one is playing, it plays to the end.  The little V-Tech Noah's Ark toy I picked up long ago at a mom-to-mom sale doesn't have that feature.  You'll hear a few notes of one song then a lion's half-roar cut off by some banging on the piano keys as the kids explore all the gadgets.  Let that sucker sink.

I guess the best feature of all of these toys is really the off switch.  Mommy's sanity saver!