September 3, 2008

Do Chinese folks get English sayings tattooed on their bodies?

Regarding the Sleep is for the Weak giveaway, commenter Mary has won! The drawing was highly scientific - I cut little sheets of papers with names and Arun drew one. Mary, please email me your info (cagey333ATgmailDOTCOM). (Also, do NOT ask Haley if she has received HER giveaway yet. Gulp.)

Regarding the book, Rita and I are doing a Sleep is for the Weak book signing at the Barnes and Noble on the Plaza here in Kansas City. It starts at 6:00pm. Please, oh please come to see us so that we do not look like two assholes wielding a box of Sharpies just hanging out at an empty table. Or something like that. Otherwise, we will have to put all those Sharpies to good use giving each other tramp tats (Although, I should warn Rita, I totally have dibs on The Hungry Little Caterpillar tat. Oh, sister.)

Okay. So...... This is one of those days when I actually wish I was a Power Blogger. But not for what you would think. You see, I am on the hunt for Legos for Arun's birthday. He has already requested a rocket ship and that will soon be ordered. However, I was also thinking he would enjoy some Legos. Lately, I have noticed that the Mega Blocks are maybe not enough and that he really needs something a little more versatile. He is having fun with the Mega Blocks making "chickens", "rockets", "telescopes", "trains" and "cameras". His little imagination is taking off and I would like to encourage that.

So, I began by looking at the Legos website and good gravy. My head exploded. The variety, the choices, the decisions. What the hell are the Duplos? They are supposed to be for Arun's age groups, but what is the difference with them? However, Arun has really good fine motor skills, so I think he could handle the regular ones. I am confused.

Now, if I was a Power Blogger, I could post this question and within a few minutes have over a hundred comments telling me what to buy, where to buy, how to buy and when to buy these damned plastic pieces. So, here I go. Blatant begging. I am a Lego Virgin, I did not really have a set growing up and have little to no experience with Legos. The Lego website sucks and is not very helpful. What, oh what do I buy?

And yes, I am absolutely looking forward to crunching my feet on those little plastic bastards in the middle of the night. Totally.

12 comments:

CPA Mom said...

"Duplo is a version of Lego bricks from the well known Danish toy company, LEGO Group. Duplo bricks are eight times the size in volume, twice the length, height and width of traditional Lego bricks, and are easier to handle for younger children."

That said (well, that COPIED from wikipedia) my kids like Duplos - they are not allowed Legos yet - way too small.

Anonymous said...

Cagey,

Duplos are the younger set's lego because the blocks are bigger, and sets won't contain any pieces that are easy to swallow. Some lego sets have some seriously tiny pieces to them.

You can purchase lego sets that will build a brain staggering array of things, but I'd also advocate for getting a plain set that doesn't create something pre-ordained. Mr. Macaroon's imagination gets a better workout that way.

Dooneybug said...

cpa mom seems to have summed that Duplo question up for you. We only have the Duplo's right now because the Lego's are too small and could be a choking hazard for younger children and babies. I've heard that Duplo's work with Lego's too but do not know the validity of that statement. I guess if you think Arun is ready for the real Lego's, I would just suggest that he work on them in an area or time when Anjali isn't around so she doesn't get a hold of them.

They aren't cheap though. I was very lucky last summer and ran across three buckets of Duplo's at garage sales for a steal. I haven't seen any this year. Maybe if you see some at a sale you can pick them up, even for Anjali if Arun isn't interested in them.

Jaclyn Harr said...

Oh, oh - we had SO many legos at home, so this is something I can help with. :)

As others have said, duplos are the larger version of legos, made with the littler kids in mind, since you can't swallow them. At nearly 3 Arun is the right age for duplos.

That being said, I played with my older brother's legos from a very young age, and never died. I think some younger children are mature enough to not put things in their mouths, and some aren't - and only you can know which kind you have. If he's becoming constrained by the mega blocks it might be time for regular-sized legos.

If you decide to get regular legos, I'd suggest you get both the "plain" buckets with just a mixture of legos (look on eBay for some fantastic deals), and one or two of the "sets" they offer. There are sets (meant to build a specific thing, like a spaceship or a castle) for different interests. My brother was really into the spaceship sets, which included rockets, fighter ships, moon bases, and so forth. I preferred the farm and medieval sets - the farm had things like barns, pasture with lego fences, and lots of lego creatures, and the medieval sets had castles and Robinhood-style forest hideways, along with lego dragons and ghosts.

Looking at the lego products page it seems like they've added on a lot more sets.

Marathon Mom said...

Brendan still likes the Duplos, even though he is really into the regular lego sets. Ask a family member to get them for his birthday. He will have hours of fun, let me tell you.

MLE said...

Everyone else has answered your Duplo vs. Lego question, but I always preferred the duplos, even when I was older. They seemed more versatile and less set-specific - plus, you didn't need as many to make really big pirate ships like I used to do. Duplos and legos do work together, though I think my sister and I rarely combined the sets.

I also don't think the duplos hurt as much when you step on them, but that could be just me. The edges don't seem as sharp, or something.

ML said...

I have no Lego advice to give. Almost any toy I buy the little flutterbunnies is a complete failure - whether they begged for it for 4 months or I decided it would be the one to finally engage them, I've been wrong.

I just wanted to be first in the long line of followers that will eventually qualify you as a Power Blogger. ;~)

Dee said...

Don't have any advice on the Legos, but I did want to let you know that I'm going to try to come out tomorrow night. It all depends on the kids and Hubby, but I'm really hoping to make it!

Anonymous said...

I agree that Duplo is probably a better choice. They are expensive when bought new, but last forever. My older son is 7 and received a hand me down set that went through 4 other children. He still plays with them, and now the baby, at 13 months, is starting to play with them (well, pull them apart and then gives them to me to put back together). You can build on train bases that connect for cool vehicles.
Regular legos 1. take longer to build cool stuff 2. you need more to build cool stuff 3. Are a b*(tch to get apart even for the most nimble fingered adult 4. get lost everywhere 5. hurt to step on

I would look on ebay for the duplos and get a nice large assortment. He'll have a blast and so with Anjali.

Anonymous said...

I don't know anything about Legos. Am just contributing to the power blogger line-up. You now have more comments than I ever do. Ha!

Carissa(GoodnCrazy) said...

They are SOOO expensive!

And your title for this post...

Seriously? I think that too!

MLE said...

Also, while they may not get tattoos of English sayings on their bodies, the Chinese are fond of having random English words/phrases on their packaging and clothing. Or at least they were in 2005. My favorite bit of "engrish" came from a chapstick-like product I bought that says, in part, "Like water pacific cyber to make."