This year, THE TOY, the one that is sold out everywhere, and selling for hundreds on e-bay would be the Leappad. I love LeapFrog. They make great toys. We have several of them, and they are always a big hit with the kids. I looked at the LeapPad. And the Explorer. And the Leapster 2. And I can actually tell you what is different about them. But I won't. The gist of the LeapPad, for those of you who don't have kids, is that it is basically a tablet PC for the toddler set. It has apps. And games. And I figured, yes, it is cool. But if I can't go into the store, pick one up, and buy it (or even better, order it from Amazon so I don't even have to leave my house) then I wasn't going to get one. Besides, this is a toy that requires extra purchases. You can't buy the LeapPad and be done. It needs apps. And games. And batteries. And maybe a nifty carry case so that all those extras stay together. But then it happened.
I was at Target today, buying peanut butter (you know, so the kids won't starve) and of course, it being Target, I had to wander around the whole store. (Besides, I had to get a prescription. Which apparently can't be filled until tomorrow. Awesome.) And there it was. ONE LeapPad. PINK. I look around suspiciously. Put it in my cart. With it in my cart already, I text the husband. Should I buy this? Sure, he says. So I finish my shopping, fully prepared, as I wander through the underwear section (because, again, I am at Target, and I only have Bee with me, and my MIL gave me a gift card to Victoria's Secret, so maybe she thinks I need new underwear) to defend myself should anyone say anything about the LeapPad.
Get checked out and go home and feed the now screaming Bee, then go to the car and unload my booty (peanut butter, diapers, 4 pairs of pants for Bee who outgrew her 0-3 mo clothes, and for some reason only has 4 pairs of 3-6 mo, nursing pads, new underwear since we are going to visit the in-laws, two boxes of triangle crayons which won't roll away when we are on the plane and Elf and G-man don't have to share, two pixie movies, ezcema lotion for Bee and the aforementioned LeapPad and one game) Get kids down for nap and decide to plug this thing in. I have read the reviews, and I know I want it prepped before she opens it, so that it is ready to go.
First challenge- getting it out of the box. It took two different attachments on a swiss army knife to get it out and assembled. Find 4 AA batteries. They are not all the same brand. I walk on the wild side.
Second challenge- Get the thing working. Put in the CD, which apparently has nothing on it, because you immediately have to download software. I do this. Twice. Plug in the LeapPad. Turn it on. Crash the browser. Wait and play on FB and start writing post while it connects and downloads. Choose my free app. (I was a little peeved here, because you can't choose from all the apps, just a few, which I suspect are not the star players on their list. But Elf is 3. who cares?) Talk to my mom on the phone while the apps download and I see what other damage I can do to our credit card.
Play with the thing. You know, to make sure it works. And because I don't have anything more pressing, like laundry or dusting or packing to do! Update later on how it plays. So far, as long as you prep it before giving, it seems like an awesome toy.
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