GONE WITH THE WIND...THE TALE OF THE MISSING NINTENDO

It's a sad day in Feldman-ville. My five year old son, who has been addicted to his Nintendo the last two months and can show his friends how to maneuver through eight levels on Super Mario Bros., and even has a blister on his index finger from playing the darn thing so much, has officially lost his prized possession. He had it before we went out to dinner with our friends and their kids tonight but after he got the chance to ride home with them in their car, he jumped out without his Nintendo and then when he attempted to find it, it was gone.

Into thin air - his favorite toy has just completely disappeared. I can't imagine how no one has been able to find it. I made sure to check the table at the restaurant and even the floor and even called the maitre'd but there was no sign of the Nintendo.

And so, my little boy went to bed in tears tonight - his favorite toy in the whole wide world is gone. Gone with the wind. I bet Rhett and Scarlett never thought their romance would be reduced to a story about a missing Nintendo but such is life when your world revolves around technology. And now, my dilemma is do I buy him a new DS with 4 new games or let him mope around the house until his next birthday?

I know I should teach him a lesson and make him appreciate his toys by showing him what can happen when you lose them, but when he flashes those puppy dog eyes at me and the tears start flowing down his precious cheeks, I just melt. Something tells me I'll be hitting Target tomorrow for a black Nintendo with a handy dandy Sponge Bob carrying case. And this time around - like an episode of the Brady Bunch we're instituting a new rule pronto...Mom always said - don't bring the Nintendos outside the house!

Wii for Me!

My family has officially migrated over to the technological dark side. While we are pretty antiquated when it comes to embracing advances in new technology - like buying an HDTV or getting the kids Nintendo DS's three years after they were actually popular, we have finally entered the 21st century and are the proud owners of a Wii.

It's not because my husband and I camped out at Target at 8am to purchase said product, but luckily for us, my in-laws did instead. When I received a call at 8:20am this morning from my mother-in-law who informed us they had just snagged one of the last Wii's in the store, I have to admit, I was giddy with excitement. What is it about the Wii that has eveyone going wild?

We picked up the Wii tonight and after spending an hour hooking the thing up (not the Wii's fault, my new HDTV is totally not cooperating), my kids started to play baseball and I was amazed. You literally feel as if you are pitching and hit the ball! Now I have to tell those folks at Nintendo, they should give the players on the field legs, but other than looking like odd weeble wobbles with goatees and menacing looks, the games are pretty freakin' fun.

Granted, I haven't had a chance to play the game just yet. I am actually waiting for the kids to go to sleep (it's currently 10:38 pm) so that I can try my hand at tennis. Considering I've blown off the retirement league these last few weeks, maybe I can get my game up before I head back into the yenta tennis fray.

So here's to the Wii - I am officially part of the club, and I'm pretty psyched. Now if only my kids would go to sleep so we (my husband and I) can play a round of golf, tennis and bowling without ever getting off the couch. I'm going to have the most toned arms in Westchester - my butt and thighs are a whole different story but maybe next year's version will come with a stationery bike.

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