Engineering For All Ages

So it has been quite some time since I last posted. I really have no other excuse besides time, a luxury I do not have despite my children being in school for three hours a day. It seems that by the time I drop them off, I need to be back at pick up – with a little bit of cooking, cleaning, food shopping, and coffee-ing along the way. When I started this blog, my children napped – another luxury I no longer enjoy – and I was also spoiled with a full time nanny, who I would certainly appreciate when trying to cook dinner with not one, but two toddlers hanging from my legs and playing dangerously close to the flames on the stove. Whoever suggested open-concept living as being family friendly did not have two very attached children to account for.

But, I digress. I am writing, despite being exhausted and tempted by the lure of Netflix and my super-soft bed. And I am writing about a toy that is totally worth it. Bryce and Brody just celebrated their THIRD birthday. My babies are growing up and went from two to twenty in a matter of days, once they became infamous ‘threenagers.’

Their party had enough guests to rival a wedding, and they certainly have more friends than I do, even at their young age. And, one of the most wonderful gifts came from my cousin, who promptly sent it to my kids to enjoy before we left to visit my in-laws over the President’s week break. It came just in time for me to additionally order multiple travel-size versions since it was such a hit.

Automoblox cars, are mix and match vehicles that are a little bit “craftman” in design, making them a little bit of a collectors item, while being entirely entertaining and functional as a toy. Kids can interchange parts from wheels to windows, as well as an entire section of the car – personalizing their vehicle while simultaneously crashing it into walls and other furniture around the home. And when they are done, it displays nicely in a playroom or nursery given its authentic construction, with real wood and rubber.

In addition to the larger cars and vehicles, they make sets and individual “mini” models, which are easily transportable inside Ziploc baggies, for toting to and from restaurants, play dates, and in our case, for a five-plus-hour trip across the country. Brody loves lining up his growing collection, and I do not mind his interest in a car that doesn’t blast a deafening siren on repeat all day. Taking apart and reconstructing the pieces is also great fine-motor work for his little hands, and we both enjoy the subtle engineering influence that this type of play encourages.

A win for mommies and mommies of car aficionados like my son. Plus, they really are not pricey for the quality of their construction.