Christmas troubles...

There are always a few toys that make it to the top of Santa's list that EVERY kid each Christmas just has to have... Christmas of '83 it was The Cabbage Patch Doll; in the late 90's (I think) it was the Talking Elmo Doll...

and this year, it's this...

I know, I know, it doesn't look like much- it's just a simple remote control car right? WRONG! it's the PLAYSKOOL TONKA BOUNCE BACK RACER- it bounces off walls or anything it runs into and EVEN FLIPS OVER!

This little remote control car for toddlers is "THE" HOT TICKET ITEM OF THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, and unfortunately, I, along with thousands of other parents, have been troubled trying to find not one, but yes, TWO of these racers for the last two months!

I never thought I'd ever be the kind of parent desperate enough to search EVERYWHERE for a toy like this; I've used all of my resources and I'm even nearly willing to pay whatever it would cost to get my hands on one (not really though). I've combed through toy store isles for the last two months just trying to find a pair of these racers; I even spent ALL of this morning searching the Internet for a pair to buy- no luck at all, and of course I've called ALL the toy stores that may carry them and are with in a 50 mile radius of where I live just to see if they have any stock, and still no luck at all! At one point during my day today, after having no luck finding the toy here in Utah stores, I decided to start calling stores in San Diego to see if they had any available; surely they couldn't be sold out all across the country right, and of course I'd find a few at a Target near where my parents live... well, I was fooled to believe I'd be so fortunate- apparently this toy isn't just popular here in Utah, IT'S POPULAR EVERYWHERE!

I really can't believe it! I HAD NO IDEA this toy was going to be so popular this Christmas. I had seen it advertised once on television back in September while I was watching TLC's "John and Kate Plus 8" . They looked like neat little remote control cars my boys would enjoy playing with, so the very next day, while running errands, I decided to stop by Toys R Us to see if they had any yet in stock. Sure enough, at that time there were plenty in stock; but... instead of buying two then, I made the mistake of deciding to wait and return to buy a pair later once the holiday season made it's grand entrance, not knowing they were ALREADY impossible to find! BIG MISTAKE! I've been to Toys R Us at least another 10 times since then and haven't seen the racer in stock.

It stinks I tell you. I'm not one who does her Christmas shopping early; I just don't understand people who shop store sales months in advance just to get "good deals"- I even hate "Black Friday"- you won't catch me messing with disaster in some mall or store the day after Thanksgiving- I just don't have enough patience or tolerance being around crowds of "CRAZY" shoppers. I hate hiding gifts away in my closets months before Christmas arrives; either they'll be forgotten about or worse... broken; not to mention they add to the clutter that already exists in my closets. Though, this Christmas, I actually did something out of character of myself and planned months in advance for what gifts we'd buy for the boys once the holidays did arrive. For Noah and Ian I had hoped to get them each their own Playskool RACER (that was plan A, there is no plan B... there really aren't any other toys that either of them need); for Cohen we would get him a "Jack in a Box" (I already know where to find a cute selection of these, hopefully these aren't HOT TICKET ITEMS this Christmas too and already sold out because, again, I have no plan B for Cohen's gift) and as for the gift that Santa will give them, Spencer and I are going to order a big, NOISY gift that all 3 of the boys can share and hopefully LOVE to play with (sorry, I can't tell you exactly what the Santa gift will be because otherwise it would spoil the surprise! Each year from Santa, we've decided to give our boys a group gift- one that they can ALL enjoy using- last year it was the BIG train table and the year before that it was the Fancy Shmancy Red Fire Engine Truck the two older boys have enjoyed pedaling around our side walk in).

Going back to the trouble I shared concerning the Bounce Back Racer, I REALLY can't get over how hard it is to come by. One of the employees at one of the stores I called today tipped me off and told me they were expecting another large shipment of toys in overnight tonight- though she wasn't sure if they would be getting another supply of Racers- anyhow, she suggested I call early in the morning (which I'll do of course!), because I've become that desperate! Please cross your fingers for me and HOPE they have 2 tomorrow morning AVAILABLE IN STOCK that I can buy and then my Christmas troubles should be over with.