Mom: The Hypocrite

I am not sure how many hefty bags of stuffed animals I have given away after sorting and cleaning my childrens' bedrooms, but it has been more than a few.  As our family has grown my view of these fluffy and many times adorable creatures has changed.  When our first child was born I could ooh and ah when I found a really precious one, but since that time my feelings have evolved to near hatred.  I am quite certain that these animals are reproducing at night because no matter how big the shelf or bin dedicated to stuffed animals is, I find they won't all fit.  


Since it is Valentine's Day my husband cannot control himself, and he walks toward the display of stuffed bears as if mesmerized.  The voice in his head tells him that he must purchase one for each child, or else.  I've threatened to taser him if he brings one, due to his last Valentine's Day stuffed animal craze.  On this day he brought home a tiger the size of our labrador for our youngest child.  It was so life like that when he left it out on the couch to surprise her in the morning, we found the dog with its hair up and growling and poised to attack.  Every time I clean her room I curse this creature's existence, but the dogs have adjusted and consider it part of the family now, even if they do resent sharing the couch with it.

As I considered my childhood and how we celebrated Valentine's Day I had a tinge of guilt.  Suddenly I realized that although I don't have many of my childhood toys, I do have two stuffed animals, both of which were gifts on this holiday.  My father gave me a well worn puppy dog.  He used to have a tongue that stuck out and he held a heart that read, "I Wuv You!"   At some point that fell off and he now looks like he should check into a retirement home for elderly stuffed bears.  


And this bear with cataracts was given to me in high school by one of my boyfriends.  We only dated for a few weeks, yet I still have it and I have been known to maybe sleep with it from time to time.  This is not because of who gave it to me, as I cannot even recall his name, but rather, due to the fact that he is just so soft and easily stuffed in around me like a pillow.

So now I am a hypocritical stuffed animal hating mother.  Anyone else with me?  Do you have a few special ones of your own tucked away some place, but you snarl when your kids drag another one home?  


On a lighter note here is some stuffed animal trivia, from Stuffed Animal Central.  See how many of them you can get right without searching the internet for the answers.  And please...Be a show off and post your answers in the comment section.


1.  Who is the teddy bear named after?


2.  What is the word for someone who loves teddy bears?


3.  What famous stuffed animal rabbit emerged for the first time in 1922?


4.  What were many of the first teddy bears made of?


5.  What is the traditional event which allows kids to get together with their stuffed animals?



6.  What teddy bear did A.A. Milne create?