The cow says...

In case it's not already obvious, I spend a lot of time around kids and kids' stuff these days. I don't post much about it because I know how old it can get to hear someone go on and on about every little darling thing their baby genius does when you don't have kids yourself. But every so often, I come across something that is worth mentioning.

Today, I had to take E to the doctor (for what turned out to be just a cold - but that's a whole other story), and while we were waiting in the exam room, we dug through the small bin of crappy toys that they keep around. Normally, I wouldn't really let her play with stuff that's probably got some latent plague germs festering on it, but she was pretty unhappy about being there and honestly, I'm just not that much of a germophobe to where I was willing to put my foot down.

The toy that E seemed to focus on was some kind of old See n' Say. For those of you who aren't around kids much, yes, they still make See n' Says, although they are a little bit different from the ones we had as kids (I had the alphabet one above when I was little). Most of the newfangled ones have a lever to pull now, instead of a string. And they are also a lot smaller. No, really, they are. It doesn't just seem that way because we're bigger. Some of them have a little flap that flips back and forth to change things up, but they are otherwise pretty much the same. The one pictured at right is what we currently have, purchased for a whopping $1 from another mom.

This particular toy that E found today was totally different though from your standard See n' Say. It was shaped like a house and had a series of wide buttons in a circle which I think are supposed to light up when you push them. I have to assume here because there were no batteries in it. So anyways, the odd thing about this toy was what was on the buttons. Some of them were pretty standard: kitten, dog, bird. But then there were four with pictures of kids on them. One was of a little boy in a suit and glasses talking on a cellphone. Heh? Then there was a picture of a little girl, also in some sort of suit, carrying a boombox. What? I'm dying to know what they "say" when you push the button. The other kids were in more "kid-like" clothes and doing things like, licking a lollipop.

I figure that toy's probably been kicking around the doctor's office for years, so I'm sure they don't make it anymore. Still, I did a Google search, hoping to find a picture of it somewhere, but no such luck. I did however find this interesting little article on How See n' Says Work, just in case any of you are curious.