this will be the last story that I ever tell.
It all started a couple of weeks ago. I had promised to meet two friends at The Wish Collection to do some shopping. I was excited, because I hadn’t been back since my original score (and had been hearing about the beautiful finds that many of you had bought.)
I pondered getting a babysitter, but I decided against it. After all, we were only going one place, I only have two kids, and I’d take entertaining electronic devices – how bad could it be?
I arrived a few minutes early, but the warehouse seemed closed.
I walked around the corner and pounded on the door.
The office looked dark.
With a bit more research while sitting in the parking lot in the most abandoned part of downtown, I finally had to call it: the warehouse was no longer there.
{So ignore my advice and don’t go there.}
It had indeed been the sale of a lifetime – and I wouldn’t be getting any more of that goodness.
(Unless by some miracle they return. That’s what I’m hoping.)
My friends arrived just as I was discovering the sudden departure of our shopping destination, so I had to tell them the sad, sad news.
They sat and pondered for a minute, then suggested we drive out to The Shops of Grand River.
Perfect!
My kids love the outlet mall, I love the outlet mall.
However, after the hour detour downtown, Noah was in no mood to shop.
He was in the mood to fuss, complain, to hysterically run in circles around the stores, and to lick. Everything.
He licked the mirror. The wall. The floor. His sister. Me. My friends. The other mirror. The other wall. Thank goodness the sales clerk never walked by too closely.
As I pondered how I could create a makeshift tongue tourniquet, I apologized to my friends.
“I have NO idea what is wrong with him! He has been completely orally fixated lately. Everything goes in his mouth or gets licked. You should have seen The Black Spot he licked a few weeks ago – on the tile floor of the Downtown Library.”
My friend who doesn’t have kids yet said, “Maybe he’s teething?”
“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
I checked, (getting thoroughly bitten in the process,) and sure enough, a new molar was poking through his germ-infested gums like a needle in a hazardous waste bucket.
And that’s why you need friends who haven’t had kids yet. They come up with the simple answers.
So as an apology to Noah for dragging him on a detoured girl’s trip while he was in pain (and Ali for having to put up with it,) I took them next door to the toy store and offered to buy them each something small.
They took my direction quite literally – they chose Squinkies.
Squinkies are tiny, pleasingly tactile rubber toys. And when I say tiny, I mean size-of-Craisin tiny.
In fact, Sally and Ramone had to be saved from the back of Noah’s newly-toothed jaws when he unknowingly picked them up with a handful of said Craisins.
(I got bitten for that one too.)
So Ali got random girly Squinkies, and Noah got Cars Squinkies.
I didn’t really care about Ali’s, because they were tiny creepy unicorns.
But the Cars ones – I was obsessed. They were adorable, detailed, and full of personality.
Within two minutes of depackaging all twenty-four Squinkies, one was missing.
And he knew which one.
“Where’s Sarge?? WHERE’S SARGE??”
I searched and searched to no avail. I promised him that it hurt me more than it hurt him. After all, not having a full set of something (including, and sometimes especially, my kid’s toys) is nearly more painful to my psyche than a lack of continuity.
I tried to enforce supervised-Squinkie-play-only to prevent any further loss of life, but that only lasted for 72 hours.
And on the third day, Noah found the bag of Squinkies for private play.
And at the end of the third day, there were only six Squinkies remaining.
It was as if someone ripped 18 rubber-car-shaped holes out of my heart. I languished in their loss, missing their tiny presence in our home with great sorrow.
I tried to let it go.
I tried to remind myself that they were just toys that were destined to get lost.
But I needed 24 Squinkies.
For three days and three nights I tried to forget.
On the sixth evening, I was talking with Chris. I looked past his shoulder and spotted a mirage on the end table.
No. It couldn’t be.
I interrupted his deep and lengthy thought with a squeal.
“Is that…is that SARGE?!?!?”
“Yeah. I found him between the couch cushions.”
“He’s been missing for a week!!! He was the first casualty!!”
The next morning, with hope and passion overflowing from my heart, I declared it to be Squinkie Search Day.
We started under the coffee table.
1 rescued.
Under the couch.
3 more.
On the train table.
2 more.
With each tiny rubber discovery, my soul burst with joy and victory.
We made it up to sixteen with scouring searches, but I needed those last eight.
And those last eight needed me.
I spotted a tiny shape slipping down to the bottom of Noah’s car basket.
I yelled to Ali with the urgency of a war mission.
“The Squinkies!! They’re in here!! I just saw Finn McMissile! AND THERE’S SALLY!!!!”
I began throwing Hot Wheels into my lap like I was digging a hole to escape a Chinese Prison.
Ali stared at me for a moment, then disappeared – and returned with my phone to take a picture.
Every time I found one, I squealed with excitement and threw it in a bucket, not daring to let Noah near it.
Ali changed her angle to show the burgeoning state of my lap. And a tiny glimpse of the deranged state of my face.
I put her to work counting and recounting tirelessly, giving me the new quantity every two minutes.
And after every surface was cleared, every basket was declared Squinkie-free, and every inch of floor was investigated, we took a final count.
Although it was beautiful to see so many happy Squinkies in one place, It felt like failure.
Where was the last Squinkie? And who was missing??
I thought of one place it could be – and considered giving Noah some Miralax to get it back.
But as I was distracted, Noah decided that it was time for his inspection.
Within seconds, the count had mysteriously decreased.
Did I mention that they bounce? With a very wide arc? And a very unpredictable trajectory?
I began grieving to the bottom of my toes.
I couldn’t handle another battle.
I couldn’t stomach another mission.
So I did what any logical person would do:
I logged onto Amazon and ordered 24 more.
These babies are mint in package. And no one knows about them but me.
And no one need know about them but me. Got it?
The fact that I know I have them, all twenty-four of them, safely in my care, means that I can now leave Noah and his set alone.
Live and let lose, that’s my motto.
Oh – someone’s knocking on the door. I think it’s the nice men with the straightjacket.
My girls LOVE squinkies! They easily have over 100 each and they can still tell which one is missing when they get lost. They have created many fun games and had a lot of laughs with them. And some tears….My youngest almost ripped the head off on one she’ named Chi-Chi. She came to me sobbing to glue it back on. I wasn’t able to so we had a funeral for him. 5 minutes later, more sobbing and Mommy is digging Chi-Chi out of the garbage to try to fix him again. Thankfully we were finally able to reattach his head but a chunk is missing from his face. I suggested changing his name to ScarFace but she didn’t go for it
Poor Chi-Chi! They DO seem like they would be very gluable creatures, though…
The best thing about having kids is getting to play with their toys and read their books, I think. I LOVE beautifully illustrated versions of children’s classics like Peter Pan and Wind in the Willows. And there are masses of stunning modern picture books. I will always love play dough and paints and glitter and pipe cleaners etc. There’s just something deeply satifying about it.
You’re right – kids get such prettier books than adults do! Why is that? We need to petition for beautiful books!
My boys (6 & 9) have ignored squinkies (for now). But I understand your obsession for the complete set. As a kid, I was obsessed with G.I. Joe figures. I knew what figures I had, what weapons each one had, and if any little gun or backback went missing…
***Pause as we remember the left ski that Snow Job lost in the summer of 1984. =( ***
So when my sons got to an age where they enjoyed action figures, I was a little giddy. I was prepared to help them sort and learn about each one and their accessories. But before I knew what had happened pieces were missing or broken.
Sadness
Then to add to my dismay, they would just throw all the figures into the toy box with every thing else. HOW IN THE WORLD WILL SNAKE EYES EVER FIND HIS SWORD IN THIS THING!!!!
The answer: He won’t.
I’ve had to just give up. I guess it’s part of being a grown man.
We had to give up our OCD tendencies with Lego :(
You know, I was never OCD with their legos. But I think it’s because I NEVER had a full set of legos as a kid – in fact, I didn’t really comprehend the “instructions” and “kits” until after I met Chris. Ours were always just a bucket of colored bricks – “use your imaginations, kids.” Perhaps that’s why I stink at them so badly.
I feel a compelling need to start searching eBay for “Snow Job complete with Left Ski” right now.
…just a little sad that you didn’t post pics of Ali’s Squinkies…
She hid them all in her backpack and I never saw them again. Not that I missed them. Because they were creepy.
Haha!! You are awesome. Pre-kid I would have helped to put you in that straight jacket. Now, I have so many different bins for specific toys. It is fustrating to help them clean up and they use all the bins for all the things. No regard to my perfect system. :) I may be joining you in a straight jacket!
It’s amazing how kids changes your definition of insanity, isn’t it? And yes, we have the same system – for a while, then I just throw everything together. Then I get anal again and separate it out and try and keep it that way.
Oh my goodness, I’m psychotic about having all of the pieces of toys, too! My mom and mother-in-law now know that if they get my girls something with pieces, it had better come with a storage container or bag :)
Or better yet, GPS tracking devices built in.
Oh I have a complete set of Beauty and the Beast ones that nobody dares touch. And I almost got the Little Mermaid ones just to have tiny Ursula.
I am SO glad I’m not the only one.
But I kinda want a tiny Ursula, now.
Lol, that is so funny that you bought your own set! My girls discovered these at the store shortly after Peanut was born, but I wasn’t about to allow them to start a new collection of tiny things with a new baby in the house! We already have teeny tiny princess shoes and all manner of microscopic accessories. After hearing how they bounce I’m even more glad I didn’t go for it!
I know what I’m sending your girls for Christmas!!
Wait… Squinkies are real? When I saw your tweet (?) about toys the size of cranberries, I somehow thought they were like the miniature giraffe you posted about a while ago.
They sound like a horrible toy that would get lost in the walls within about ten seconds here…
Ha! Yes, they’re quite real. Perhaps Canada is smart enough to outlaw them?
I feel the same way about Legos. It about go insane when a piece is missing…partly because of the fact one is missing and partly because my son will only build by the directions and accepts no substitutes, our respective crazies feed on one another. Why don’t they make little toys magnetic so you could just have a large magnet to “sweep” the house, under the couch, etc??
I felt like a complete idiot when I bought Noah a lego tractor set. We built him the tractor (because he’s TWO) and he has done nothing but lose pieces, whine, and have me find pieces ever since.
Oh Rachel, Rachel…you would not make it one hour at my house….
I promise I’m not like this about everything.
Just cute things.
You have done it again, made me laugh out loud and just made my day. I have personally searched a large backyard to find an action figure accessory…..and I have held onto the micro machine and teeny ninja turtle sets my boys had as children. I love that you purchased your own squinkies…..they are so cute. Thank you for your wonderful stories!
Aw, thanks! It makes my day that I made you laugh out loud. It’s my goal in life to get people to actually do this, not just type the acronym. :-)
Too funny. Thanks for the laugh this morning.
That is exactly the way I feel about my growing My Little Pony FiM collection.
you ARE crazy! hahaha. that is too funny. i’ll at least agree that it’s annoying to lose new toys, but you sure take it to new levels. too funny. my 2 year old would love some of those… i’d feel your pain of loss if we got him some i’m sure.
I thought I was the only one! I’m seriously OCD and only recently have come to terms with the fact that things get lost, things get broken…..Jack is 8…..