Do Old Pots and Pans Count?

The theme for this week's Works For Me Wednesday is The Toys Worth Buying Edition. Honestly, this is a tough one for me. You'd think with 4 kids we'd have lots of toys and lots of toy suggestion.

Well, we do have lots of toys.

But we would be hard-pressed to come up with many recommendations. Because truthfully, our kids don't like many toys. Sure they play with them, but if they were gone tomorrow there are very few I think they would miss. I am sure we're not alone in this, right?

Rules are rules though, and I'm all about sticking to the rules. If Shannon rules that we are to write about toys today, well then that's what I shall do!

Here's a breakdown by each child, and it includes their favorites and Eric and my favorites for them also.

Isabelle - 9 years old

• Professor Layton and the Curious Village for Nintendo DS. This is a wonderful game that requires logic, puzzle solving and thinking skills.
  
• IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit Isabelle got this for a present last year and it was a favorite for sure! The kit includes paper for creating your own written and illustrated story, envelopes for mailing, and a certificate for a hard-bound version of your book! So cool!
• Friendship bracelets and any other jewelry making kits. Isabelle loves all things crafty and making jewelry is a favorite for sure.

Alex - 4 years old

• Hot Wheels 10 Car Pack and any other car, train, or truck. Combine those with a city street rug (at Target, Wal-Mart, Ikea, etc.) and he can play for hours, especially if his dad is playing with him.
• Vtech - Nitro Notebook Right now, Alex actually has a much cheaper version of this that we found at Target, which I've written about before, that he just loves. It has been such a fantastic and educational toy though, and I think we might upgrade it this Christmas.
• Ultimate LEGO DUPLO Building Set Alex is the primary Duplo player, but I love them because all of the kids can play with them together.
  

Olivia - 3 years old

• Melissa & Doug Abby & Emma Deluxe Magnetic Dress-Up These magnetic dress-up dolls are fantastic. They're also fun to "dress" the refrigerator with. And really, you can't go wrong with any of the Melissa & Doug products.
• Cabbage Patch Kids CPK 25th Anniversary Doll Brunette Girl Olivia loves all kinds of baby dolls, and this is at the top of her Christmas list for this year, although I think she may have been strongly persuaded by some mama who longingly remembers her own Cabbage Patch doll.
• Deluxe Chef Set for Cooking Fun She loves to don her apron and chef's hat whenever she's helping me in the kitchen, or playing in the toy kitchen.

Gracie - 18 mos. old

• Electronics Metal Keys and Cell phone Combo Actually, the three youngest all still love to play with toy cell phones and spend a lot of time engrossed in imaginary conversations. But Gracie is just starting to really get into it, and she walks around the house holding the toy phone to her ear and "ssshhh-ing" anyone she comes across.
• Playpod This is a huge favorite in our house! It has been passed down the line between all three of the youngest and they have all loved it.
• Russ Berrie Shining Stars Yellow Lab Gracie loves stuffed animals and baby dolls, but stuffed dogs are her favorite. I think part of the reason is because saying "woof, woof, woof, woof" is her favorite thing to do.
  

Head over to Rocks In My Dryer for lots more helpful toy ideas.