2003-06-25-2:02 p.m.
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over trains - that our lives had become unmanageable.

Ro baby loves Thomas the Tank Engine in a way that's becomes almost problematic at times. He's a train addict. Are there any 12-step programs for toddlers? Sometimes, I want to hide all his trains so he'll play with something else once in awhile.

The train fixation is mostly funny but it does cause problems here and there. For example, we got Ro baby a new Thomas video recently and he loved it so much that he burst into tears when it was over. He cried and cried while we cursed our VCR for being so slow at rewinding the video. Then, he watched it two more times in a row. That's nearly three hours of straight TV - ouch. I told you he was an addict

Trains can also interfere with other activities. A few nights ago, we took him to the playground and he tried to play on the equipment but couldn't because he had a train in each hand preventing him from grasping anything. So, he was frustrated with not being able to climb, yet he refused to give up the trains. I finally just took them away and he cried -- but eventually realized he could play properly and ended up having lots of fun. Whew. I was relieved he had fun because I don't like making my little boy cry.

Trains also make Ro baby a little greedy or something. He likes making piles of trains but then seeing so many at once seems to drive him a bit nutty -- and he gets super protective and upset if you touch them. He also tries to carry them all at once, which frequently reduces him to tears because his tiny hands just can't carry 10 trains. My mother got him to start carrying them in a sand bucket and that's helping his frustration levels a lot. Now, we take a bucket of trains where ever we go. The bucket also made him realize he could pack up the trains at grandmas and bring them home to combine with his trains here. Now, we have lots of trains.

We're also enablers to Ro baby's train addiction because we take him to Toys R Us and Zany Brainy to let him play with the Thomas train tables. Lately, he's started breaking away from the train table because he realizes there's other Thomas merchandise to look at such as Thomas books. He runs and grabs a book and then runs to the little table and chairs and sits down with it -- and just gobbles up the pictures and then he runs and gets another one, usually the same one or a whole stack of the same ones. Then, he does it over and over and over until he gets over stimulated by the whole experience and freaks out. It's tricky to figure out when to intervene without spoiling his fun but before the freak out point.

Ro baby also gets a little odd if his trains get either dirty or wet, which is ironic since he loves sticking them in dirt and puddles. He has this strange expectation that tthey should come out unscathed and perfectly clean. If a train gets too dirty, he hands it off to me or my mom and expects us to clean it on the spot. When we give it back to him, he really checks it over carefully to make sure we got it clean enough for him to play with again. If we didn't get it clean enough, he gives back and then cries til we get it right. This story makes it sound like he's going to be a crazed neatnik but the trains are the only thing he gets fussy about like this, so I don't think so.

The Thomas trains are a good toy. I'm not trying to totally knock them. I just find his obsession to be both cute -- and a little freaky at times. The Thomas videos leave me feeling a bit sarcastic too because most of trains personalities consist rather highly of being rude/stupid/or arrogant.

One thing that's funny to me though is that the ultimate compliment a train can get is "You're a really useful engine", which leaves the engine positively simpering with glee. I've started using it at home now too. When Husband makes me tea, I say " You're a really useful husband." It doesn't have the same effect on him though. I usually get a withering stare rather than any simpering out of him. Heh heh

Harry!
I got Harry Potter delivered to my door on Saturday afternoon and I finished it Monday night. It probably took her a year to write it and I zipped through it in less than three days. I hope I don't have to wait another three years for the next one. I should probably only read a chapter a day -- but that would be difficult for me to do.

Anyhow, I liked Order of the Phoenix better than book 4, but still not as much as book 3 -- but that's mostly because I adore Lupin. The more Lupin in the book, the better as far as I'm concerned. Although, this book finally answered one of my burning Potter questions, which is -- why do some of the wizards become ghosts, such as Nearly Headless Nick, while other wizards, such as Harry's parents didn't? That's finally answered. It's a decent answer too.

The Harry Potter series is really the perfect light reading book. Because of it, we're going to try Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy soon. I've read it's good kids series as well. British kids gave it a higher rating than Harry Potter. I also want to read Artemis Fowl.

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