Bought today...

"Family and Company"

It will come as no surprise to any of you that I am just a little girl trapped inside a 38-year-old's slightly worn-out frame.

Hey, at least my girlies can relate to me, right?! Maybe that's why we get on so well... It's DEFINITELY why we ate soooo much Chocolate Barr's candy today, and FOR SURE why we were still swinging at the park with ice cream dripping down our chins at a QUARTER TO NINE tonight...

And it's also the reason why, whenever we are in this beautiful town, we always make sure to stop by the most brilliant toystore in the entire world: "Family and Company".

People, they've got it all. And I'm not talking about that Mattel crap that has been recently recalled because the lead in it KILLS PEOPLE.

I am talking about wholesome, hilarious, fun, Fun, FUN. They've got board games and tinker toys and wooden puzzles and magic tricks and dress-up and craft supplies and rubber chickens and... did I MENTION the rubber chickens??! Rubber chickens are my absolute favourite toys. Except for whoopie cushions, of course. Suffice it to say that they've got 'em both, and everything else you can imagine, too. The place is crammed, floor-to-ceiling, chock-a-block, with the most incredible variety of kid-friendly STUFF that I have ever. seen. in. my. entire. life.

The girlies and I always set aside a few hours of time for a trip to Family and Company. We ALWAYS have a blast, and we ALWAYS come out with the most incredible variety of treasures, all packaged up in a big brown bag, tied with a couple of neon-pink-and-orange plastic strings (suitable for making a boondoggle bracelet at a later time...)

Look what I found today!! And this is just one of the things I bought for MYSELF:

The Voice-Changer Megaphone.

This thing is The Bomb. And my kids are NEVER getting their little hands on it, either. At the press of a button, I can change my voice to sound no less than 10 totally different ways!! And a whole heck of a lot LOUDER than my normal voice, too!

If this thing will make my kids sit up and take notice when I say stuff like "Right!! Time for bed!!" or "Hustle out to the car, we're going to be late!!" or "Dirty socks go in the hamper, not on the bedroom floor!!" or even just "AAUUUGH!! STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU LITTLE CHUCKLE-HEAD!!" then I will have gotten my money's worth and more.

And if The Husband, who, let's face it, tuned out the sound of my voice well over fifteen years ago, suddenly begins acknowledging me when I speak, well then, I'm going to have to buy stock in the company. I think I might not use voice number three on him, though-- it is the "Very, Very Low" setting and sounds not unlike the Satan character in a cheap horror flick. Hell, it's probably the one he would recognize as my "PMS Voice", anyway...