If it’s one thing I don’t understand it’s all those mail boxes I see around town with ‘No Junk Mail’ stickers on them. I love my junk mail. I get excited when my letter box is full of catalogues.
And it seems my kids are taking after their old man.
“My turn! My turn! My turn!” screamed Miss3.
Master21 walked into the kitchen to police the dispute and found Miss6 holding the latest Big W Giant Toy Spectacular catalogue above her head with one hand and clutching four coloured felt pens in the other. Miss3 was beside Miss6 going ape, jumping up and down, trying to snatch the catalogue out of her sister’s hands.
“I haven’t finished yet!” yelled Miss6.
Toy catalogues are big news in this house. The kids all take turns going through them with a felt pen, circling the stuff they can’t live without and putting their initial beside it. Tracey and I do the same sort of thing with more adults orientated catalogues (get your minds out of the gutter, people. I mean like from Ikea).
Usually the process is quite civilized, with Master8 and Miss9 often flicking through the pages together. The trouble with this catalogue, however, is there’s 132 pages. It’s huge!
“Give it here,” said Master21, and Miss6 reluctantly handed it over. “You’ve been at it for ages. How far have you got?” he asked as he flicked a few pages, trying to work out by the initials where Miss6 was up to.
“I’m nearly finished,” said Miss6.
“Well, we’ll set you up at the dinning table and meanwhile you can give your sister one of your colouring pens to draw with,” said Master21.
“Hers is the pink one,” said Miss6. “But I haven’t finished with it yet.”
“Just give her the pen,” said Master21. “You only need the yellow one anyway.”
Problem resolved, Master21 was opening the catalogue on the table when something a little odd caught his eye.
“What on Earth?” He took a closer look at the page and then called out to his young brother. “What do you want a Mickey Mouse Doll’s Potty for?”
Master8 appeared behind him. “I don’t,” he said, sounding quite affronted by the very suggestion. “That’s girly stuff.”
Master21 showed him the offending page (page 104). “It’s circled in blue with your initial beside it.”
“Well, I didn’t…” he trailed off.
And they both turned as a snicker came from the other end of the table where Miss6 was sitting, trying hard not to laugh and looking very pleased with herself.
She’d not only been going through the catalogue picking out stuff she liked for herself, she’d also been assigning stuff she liked to her siblings. She figured she’d get more stuff she wanted to play with every time someone had a birthday.
She’s crafty, this one, and not in a scrap-booking/quilt-making sort of way. Let’s be honest, if she’d pulled this little number off, like the catalogue says, it really would have been a spectacular achievement.
On a related note, when’s the next Dick Smith catalogue due out? I think Tracey wants to circle some new wireless headphones for when I mow the lawn.
Sadly, this is not a sponsored post.
When not typing away over here and checking his stats every two minutes Bruce Devereaux hangs out at his ‘BIG FAMILY little income’  Facebook Page.
 ’raising a family on little more than laughs’
Ha ha that is classic, so wished I had have thought of that when I was young
Me too, Mandy. These kids are smarty than I was. Or maybe just cheekier 😉
Reading, dreaming and making choices is something we should encourage children to do. Good to see things haven’t changed in some households and that junk mail has its place.
Garage sales, lost pets and street parties aren’t events to miss in many neighbourhoods….. A must to keep the community spirit alive!
Whoever bought in the mail at our place would announce the latest news/gossip when we all sat down to dinner together .
An newsletter/ reporter for our family…..have find memories
Should read that we have fond memories of those gatherings around the table