You may have heard by now that Lego has come out with a new line designed specifically for girls.

And you know, I’m good with that. I think that even though the concept of Lego is universal, not every girl wants to build police cars and assault vehicles and whatnot.

But this?

This seems just a bit too genderized for me. I don’t have a problem with having things like the tree house or the pet house, but why oh why does everything have to have pink and purple? Could they have not launched the new sets with regular colors?

This is an old advertisement from the 70′s (I think) in which the girl, admittedly a bit tomboy-ish looking, is holding a creation built out of standard Lego bricks.

What happened between then and now?

I had my own Lego sets in the 70′s, and granted, it was a “house” set with a kitchen and living room, but I loved it. It wasn’t pink or purple or glittery, and yet it was one of my favorite toys.

Imagine that!

To be cussed at by a plastic doll.

Yay or nay on the baby cursing? The internets seem to be divided.  One commenter suggested you would only hear what your filthy mind WANTED to hear.  I assure you what I heard was in no way lurking in my subconscious.

I have no clue if “genderizing” is a real word or not, but I’m going to use it because 1) I am lazy and 2) I don’t really care if it is a real word or not.

Professional journalist, I am not.

I was putting together an asked-for list of toys for relatives to purchase for my daughter on the occasion of her birthday and also Christmas.

Dang if almost anything you can think of comes in either blue and green or pink and/or purple and white.

Sometimes the manufacturer will offer the item in primary colors, and thank God for that.  I really tried hard to avoid choosing toys that only came in “girl” colors.

Of course I’d noticed that most girl clothes are highly gendered in particular colors, but up until now, I hadn’t noticed the toys so much.  Baby toys tend to come in primary colors already since they are said to stimulate little brains, so most of her toys were red, blue, yellow, and green with some black and white thrown in for good measure.  Add to that most of her other “older” toys were passed on from her brother, so things such as the Little Tikes truck (that they sadly no longer make, because that thing rocks!) is blue.

It isn’t that I have anything against “girly” colors, I don’t.

But I want pink to be her favorite color because she truly loves it, not because it’s the main color she’s seen her entire life.

I’m also trying to avoid the entire Disney Princesses thing, but I think I’m going to have a much harder time with that because I loves me some Disney movies.  Oh, and we live very close to Disneyland, so I think I’ve pretty much lost the battle already.

Well, it actually has already happened, as the toymaker who concocted the Bebe Gluton is now bringing the concept to American shores.

Introducing Breastmilk Baby!

I’m putting the video after the jump because there are some pictures of actual breastfeeding in the ad, so NSFW…

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My one year old daughter received many, many toys on Christmas. 

Some would say too many.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that, but I do think she got way too many toys that talk to her.

Oh for the good old days when your toys didn’t say phrases at you all the time!  When you could stare at your stuffed dog and you could pretend it said anything you wanted, not one of twenty canned, pre-recorded phrases.

The one I hate the most is a dog made by Fisher Price that will talk and sing when you press it’s ears/paws/tummy.  The songs are fine, I never have anything against a good rendition of the ABC song.

But I think I hate it because the voice is one that is dripping with saccharine.  The actor who performed for the recordings deliberately pitched her voice much too high, and almost emotes too much, if you know what I mean. 

And personally, I feel it is just wrong for inanimate objects to ask to “Be my friend.”  Am I alone on this?

By some particular quirk of fate, the dog we have is apparently possessed, as it will say the phrases while it is lying on the floor and no one has touched it in over ten minutes. I will be sitting there on the couch, and suddenly a disembodied voice will rise up from the floor.  “I loooove you,” the dog will coo in an annoying singsong way.

That dog had better watch it’s back, because if it keeps spontaneously spouting creepy phrases, I just might find myself spontaneously throwing it in the trash.

So my family loves playing games. Or more correctly, we like competing against each other for bragging rights. We have played everything, from Pictionary to Ping Pong to bocce. We play tough, we play hard, we have absolutely no mercy. Too bad if you are having an off day or your back hurts. We will seize every advantage we can, and if you are gonna complain, don’t play.

I’m not sure where our ruthlessness comes from, but I can tell you that I am one heck of a Connect Four player due to the fact my late grandfather would never “let” anyone win, not even a 6 year old. If anyone beat him (which was rarely) it was an honest win. I will admit to proudly continuing that tradition, and I have never let the Munchkin win at anything just to soothe his ego.

We are probably at our worst when playing board/party games. Perhaps it is the proximity to our competitors, being all crammed in around a table. For whatever reason, our Italian heritage comes on full display with waving hand gestures, open-palm slaps to the forehead, and deafening yells of both triumph and defeat. My sister and I are practically unbeatable as Pictionary partners, she once guessed that I drew a dryer when I only drew a box with a circle on top. My dad almost always wins at Trivial Pursuit. My husband and I have the winning record as Scattergories partners. It gets really ugly when we play Uno. I don’t even want to talk about it.  The flashbacks!

A good time is had by all when my family bonds together over games, and that is exactly what we are doing. You really get to know a person when you play a game with them. Whether you discover a short fuse, or get an intimate earful of their highest decibel capability, it is something to remember. Of course, the most fun is winning, then you get to rub it in. At least until the next time.

Now this is one of the funniest things I’ve read in a while…

10. Etch-a-sketch. Your child will spend hours working on a deeply meaningful artistic creation, only to have it wiped away at the slightest jostling. A psychologically devastating reminder of the ubiquity of loss and the ephemeral nature of existence. Also, no building sand castles on the beach.

And even though I’m no psychological expert, I’m going to add that Operation has got to be a major inducer of anxiety, amirite?

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You know, sometimes it isn’t about the latest and the greatest.  Some toys have stood the test of time and are great choices for any year or special occasion.

Classic Choral Top Push it, and it lights up and makes music.  The harder you push, the faster the sounds and lights go.  Much more fun than you would think!

Lincoln Logs Bicentennial Edition I am of the opinion that you can never go wrong with Lincoln Logs.

Foam Building Blocks Oversized blocks=tons of fun.  Hmmm, my daugher just might enjoy these!

Arcade Crane Game A friend of ours has this, and it is a big hit with everyone, young and old alike.

Carrom Game Board Who didn’t play with one of these as a kid?  Indoors or out, you can’t lose with 100+ games, besides being able to make up your own!

Pull-Along Alphabet Blocks Combines alphabet and number blocks along with a pull-toy.  First introduced in 1858.

Savannah Dollhouse  For a little girl, I’m not sure it gets much better than this.

Electronic Snap Circuits 100  This introductory set will definitely get your child thinking.  In a good way.

Special Edition Erector Set  They’ve been around for a long time for good reason.

Gyroscopes Still gravity-defying, still fascinating.