It's a Little People Ghost Town!

[brubeck]

Okay, I admit it, I'm a little obsessive about our Little People. I had my own set as a kid so perhaps that's some of the reason.

Regardless, we have a bunch of sets that all connect together with those fences. For Christmas I got one of those play mat rugs that look like roads and towns so the kids could use it with the LPs. I set it up in the playroom and arranged all of the LP sets around it, culminating with the airport at one end. It looks super cool.

The kids love it. They love to play with it . They rip the fences apart, throw the people around, but I don't really care. What drives me nuts is the LP migration.

Both kids, but Amy in particular, love to 'collect' the LPs. They will end up inside a bag, or a box, or a backpack, or even (as I discovered yesterday) inside an empty snail shape sorter. I will come up to the playroom to find the Little People Ghost Town. Everything is ready and waiting but nary a LP in sight!

Then a couple of hours later I will find some item tucked away in the house full of the LP population. I'm not sure what they're doing in there. Maybe this is how LPs reproduce, I don't know. But they just seem so crowded and begging for the space that their custom made town has to offer. I engage in LP relocation at least twice a day.

Alright, I've had my mini-rant. I know, I'm nuts for letting this make me nuts, right? :P

[Kimberly H]

Mia is now the proud owner of the new style castle. Every night DH and/or I set it up. Every night, the dragon is nowhere to be found. Last night, the dragon and 2 unicorns were missing. We, like you, never know where we're going to find them.

I kept mine in my baby sister's old diaper bag where they still live to this day, even the wooden ones. Too bad I can't get my mom to give them to me ;P

[mamahill]

LOL! Maybe they're all going on a field trip and then having a party afterward. I obsess about the LP a little too much too, so I just bought a bin that all the small stuff goes into and that way I don't actually make sure that BOTH cows are there. I used to do the hands/knees couch/chair/desk search daily. Now, I don't worry so much. But I do find LP in the strangest places (the refrigerator?).

[Karenn]

I've got the same thing going on here! Somehow they all end up hidden in one particular toy. Last week I found them all in Noah's Ark. I'm waiting for them to show up in the diaper genie.

Colin's gotten particularly attached to two little people which we call "the boy" and "the girl." Last month, the boy and girl were missing for weeks and we couldn't find them anywhere. Finally, they turned up in the pockets of a clean pair of jeans. Clearly, the boy and the girl had taken a field trip through the washer and the dryer. Amazingly, they were no worse for the wear!

[brubeck]

Ah but which boy and girl are they? Eddie or Michael? Sonia Lee, Sarah or Maggie? Or ancillary characters?

[Karenn]

Well, there's my confession! They're actually LP knock-offs by Shellcore but they look similar enough to real LP that we just lump them in with the rest. :) Apparently though, Colin can really tell the difference because he's latched on to them in a way that he hasn't with Eddie, Sonia Lee or any of the rest of the true LP. He often requests that the boy and girl accompany him for baths and bedtime. Fortunatly, so far, I've been able to convince him that B & G will be happier if they can simply watch him take a bath and wait for him on the counter until he wakes up in the morning but I'm sure they'll turn up in his crib one of these days.

[AngelaS]

I'm another who's obsessed with Little People! :D I had tons of sets and had to keep from shedding tears last year when I sold them on eBay. (I figured I might as well, since I wasn't going to let the girls play with them! LOL)

We have SO many sets that I like to keep together too. I tried showing my oldest how we can set up the farm next to the house, across the room from the town and the amusement park and the circus and then let the house people and farm people go to town to do errands or see the circus.... but she's more interested in seeing how many horses she can make fit into the barn stalls (tossing the pig and cows and sheep aside..). And THEN, she wants the LP to RIDE her other horses and they just don't fit so they CAN'T ride horses that aren't LP horses....

It was stressful. I guess I should just play LP by myself!

[pamela mom of 3]

Well we also have tons of them and to be honest i have given up hope of trying to keep them in their proper homes so i bought a rubbermaid bucket and tossed them altogether }(

These little people can certainly get around, on a further note tho has anyone else noticed that the stores seem quite empty on the LP stuff lately?? i'm still trying to hunt down the carriage to our castle ;)



~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

[Sarah1]

We got the LP bus several weeks ago (which Audrey looooooooves) and we've already lost our little wheelchair. Now we have wheelchair access but no wheelchair :)

[brubeck]

If you get Melody the Minivan it includes a baby stroller that looks suspiciously like a low wheelchair... :)

[Kimberly H]

Pamela, that's the piece I (I mean, Mia) is missing too! I knew I should've gotten it at Wal-Mart when I saw it a month ago, darn it all...

[MelissaTC]

You ladies crack me up. At least I am not alone in the LP obsession. I am trying to figure out a way to justify the castle purchase. I, err, Matthew, really really wants it. I have the airport, zoo train and one of the worksites in the garage, waiting to be opened. My sister has the actual town train for him in NY so he will get that next weekend when we head up there. Ahhh...I love the LP! I mean, Matthew loves the LP!!

[raynjen]

Helen,

Have you ever thought about writing a book? Really, you have such a way with words! I can see a whole series of books about the LP migrations through this world...

I am completely in tune with all of you guys. I sometimes have to force myself to stop playing with my daughter because I'M being too controlling. I am very much a Monica (Friends) style of person (though not QUITE as bad).

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

[brubeck]

LOL, I actually AM trying to write a 'book' right now but it has nothing to do with LPs. Perhaps I could work them in somehow. Let's see, where would LP migration go? :)

[trumansmom]

Okay, I'm intrigued. What kind of book are you writing?

You know all you have to do is post it in the lounge and it will hit the NYT bestseller list overnight!!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and EDD 4/23/04!

[brubeck]

I doubt it! I'm writing a handbook on financial accounting. Not likely to make any bestseller lists but if my students like it then its served its purpose. :)

[trumansmom]

Um. I guess you're right. Not even this group can be THAT supportive!!! :P

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and EDD 4/23/04!

[raynjen]

Little People go to the Bank? Pluses and Minuses with Little People? Okay, maybe college students wouldn't appreciate a little mom humor...

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

[heidis2girls]

I'm glad that my girls aren't the only ones who hide the LP! My eldest (4 1/2) in particular loves to put them all together in strange places, i.e. the microwave of their kitchen, socks, shoes in the entryway, etc. I found the baby from the first house we bought a year later way in the back of a cabinet in the pantry! And I swear I had looked there before...

I used to make sure all of the LP were in their proper places, with their proper furniture/accessories before I went to bed. Now I just throw them all together in a bin, too. There are just too many!

I am very happy that I found all 5 of the pieces to the new castle this week at Walmart! It was the third Walmart I'd looked at, the others only had the castle. I snatched them all up, even though I don't plan on giving it to my youngest until her birthday in August.

Heidi
Mom to Hannah and Sarah

[raynjen]

I'm intrigued, what is this castle you guys keep talking about? I can't seem to find it either on Toys'R'Us, or the Fisher Price webpage...

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/2)

[Kimberly H]

Here you go, Jen. I've not seen the real deal at TRU yet but ours came from good ol' Wal-Mart:

http://snipurl.com/5gid