Acceptable Toys & Other Gifts for the Girls

Before buying toys and other gifts for our children, please consult us. We would really like for our children to play with them for more than 5 minutes and I would like them to be toys and activities that I don't want to throw away as soon as I see it. I've compiled a list of acceptable and unacceptable toys below:

Acceptable
-puzzles, preferably made of wood or foam. Cardboard puzzles get lost, chewed, destroyed, and even eaten.
-mega-bloks- they love to build. You can never have too many legos.
-foam blocks - see above. If they are made of wood they will be thrown to cause bodily injury.
-role playing accessories/toys - we love to pretend. A LOT. Pirates, princesses, doctors and carpenters, just to name a few. This includes tea parties, picnics, and beauty salons.
-educational video games -they have a V-Smile, and a Leapster2. We also own a Wii and a Playstation2 if you find something educational or for physical movement.
-Movies
-board games (we already have memory, candyland, monopoly, jr, and scrabble, jr)
-BOOKS - this includes workbooks (currently preK-1st), books in Spanish or French, science and history topics, Level 1 and 2 stage readers, and books for the LeapPad.
-arts & crafts supplies- tempera paints and brushes, Popsicle sticks, STICKERS ;)

Unacceptable
-Dolls - they play with them once and move on. They really aren't interested unless it's a "baby" and they already have one of those.
-Toys that make too much noise---this is actually for my sanity. J and I can only take so much before taking the batteries out and or hiding the toy in a closet.
-LittlePeople(tm) - They don't actually *play* with them. They all end up shoved in a bag and hidden under the couch.
-Toys with itty bitty pieces. My children have an oral fixation. It WILL end up in their mouths.
-viewMaster: they had three, and all the view discs were used as Frisbees.
- anything that can be eaten or mauled by the dog or cats.
-Candy- they are only given candy as a treat; they get it about once a month.

This list is incomplete, but it should be a good example/guideline of what is "allowed" in the house. If all else fails, it never hurts to ask. :)

2.19.10- totally political

her thoughts on the economy.

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