Every birthday and Christmas I hunt for appropriate toys for the boys. It can be especially hard for Wil and Timothy. For a while I tried to stay away from the obnoxious, noise making, battery requiring, vibrating, singing, type of toys. Especially those without volume control. Really, we have enough noise in our home. But Wil loves, and I mean loves, toys that make music. So I relented on those. I prefer well made wooden toys. You know, the kind that are made to last. I like the idea that one day the boys can pass them on to their own children should they choose to do so. But it turns out that no matter how well made a toy is it cannot withstand a fall from the second floor hallway onto the hardwood floor below. No matter the quality of a toy it just doesn't hold up when used as a bat against the concrete patio outside or thrown into the toilet bowl or slammed against another well made toy.

Timothy received some age appropriate toys for his Birthday last weekend.

Only problem is he is the master of destruction and is not interested in playing with toys for their intended purpose. He wants to use them as weapons. So I have already put away a few things for another day. But that is fine by him because he has found something he enjoys far more than all the toys he received. And true to character he is using it in a way in which it is not intended.No, there is not hazardous material in our home that requires a hazmat mask (well, maybe the boys bathroom but that is a post for another time). Timothy has taken to some packaging from one of his toys. He can be found wandering the house with this on. Just going about his business, sweeping and what not.Here he has paused to fix the rug which he pulls up and shakes 18 times a day.He loves this distorted view of his surroundings and looks for it as soon as he comes downstairs. He even wears it while having his afternoon banana. I tried to convince him to remove it while eating but he would have nothing of it, demonstrating that he could both wear his hazmat mask and eat his banana. So toys for my boys? I am keeping it simple from now on. And I continue to enjoy seeing the world through my boys eyes, even when they are covered by plastic packaging.