Snippets of ME!: Do kids really NEED new toys?

I guess I'm not really asking the question, because I know they don't. At least Kelsey doesn't! She is constantly turning the most unique, dull items into fascinating characters that Dreamworks only wishes they could come up with.

Despite all the "toys" she has... sticks, rocks, washrags and door stoppers are magically transformed into witches, kings, princesses and mermaids right before my eyes each and every day.

And yet each time Christmas or a birthday rolls around, I find myself faced with the dilemma of whether or not I should buy her a real, legitimate toy. I always wonder... will she actually play with this item or will purchasing it become the equivalent of throwing my money into a trash can? Inevitably I always give in and fork over some cash for the latest craze.

This year Vance and I had planned to find some rocks, paint cute faces on them and wrap them up for her to open on Christmas morning. But of course we ran out of time, and that didn't happen. Alas... I surrendering to Amazon.com, crossing my fingers that she would actually play with my purchase for more than 5 minutes.

Well, the purchase was a success! Kelsey is now the very proud owner of a miniature Barbie castle and more importantly eight mini Disney princess characters. Here they are in all their glory:

So far this purchase has topped anything I've ever bought her. For the past four days she has not let them out of her sight. Sleeping Beauty and Ariel even eat, bathe, and sleep with her (simply because she's only permitted to have two with her on those occasions).

The best part about this gift is that I think Vance is enjoying the princesses as much as Kelsey. Since the day she was born, he has consistently played make believe with her. But ever since these princesses have arrived in our home, I don't think I've witnessed more than a couple hours of reality, lol.

Lately if he's around she begs him to join her and the princesses in play. And 90% of the time he does! I'm not nearly as animated as Vance, so most of the time I just sit back in awe and watch the dramatic presentations unfold... and take snap shots of course ;)

Here's proof that Kelsey plays with Vance A LOT. Tonight, while her dad was at work, I witnessed the princesses being attacked by a vicious spider (it's her left hand, for all you uncreative people out there, lol).

They all screamed in unison as the deadly spider approached. One by one the princesses pleaded with Cinderella to save them from the attack.

A little side note: Earlier today Cinderella (a.k.a. Vance) had apparently proven her bravery by fighting off a ferocious tiger...

Cinderella rose to the challenge and stomped on the giant spider, destroying it and in turn saved the princesses from an inevitably gruesome death.

But... just when they thought they were safe, the spider magically came back to life stronger than ever! How will the princesses survive this time? To Be Continued....