The Bane of my Existence...or not

 Lightning McQueen...the bane of my existence.

For those of you who don't know him, he is a red race car and the star of the 2006 Pixar film Cars - he is also Jack's favorite car.  I believe Jack owns every variation of Lightning McQueen that the Mattel toy company has ever produced.  The marketing has been amazing, that's for sure.  After first seeing the movie, Jack was happy with the traditional red race car.  Then there was the Dinoco blue version.  Then there was the Dinoco blue "dream sequence" version.  Then there was a Lightning McQueen with dirt on it's tires.  Then a Lightning McQueen wearing night vision goggles.  Then there was a Lightning McQueen with barbed wire and a tree branch.  Then there was the "Crusin'" retro paint job version.  Then there was the Lightning McQueen with his tongue sticking out.  Then Jack discovered the mega block/lego version Jack spied at Toys 'R Us.  Just before Christmas, a new, "eyes change" Lighning McQueen debuted. At this point, I seriously did not think another version of Lightning McQueen could be made, but I, of course, was undoubtedly mistaken.  And yes, Jack does own all these Lightning McQueen versions.

In the new year, "Color Change" Lightning McQueen and friends debuted.  Previously, the mounting collection of Lightning McQueen and other Cars characters in our house was slightly annoying, but tolerable.  Unfortunately, "Color Change" has about done me in.  In a nutshell, the car has two paint jobs in one.  When the car is hot, it's one color and when it's cold, it turns another.  I really do like the concept because Wyatt has learned his colors and the difference between hot and cold, yet at the same time Jack has taken a great interest in the sink, the bathtub and refrigerator as a means to get his car to change colors.  Jack is now going through 3-4 shirts each day because he manages to get himself soaking wet while doing his science "experiments" in the bathroom sink and he also ONLY wants to wear polo shirts currently.  He has just 5 or 6 polo shirts right now because when I bought his shirts for the season, he wanted to wear a different style.  Now that the boys have discovered the refrigerator as a way to cool down the cars, I have found some broken eggs in the carton and some other edible "surprises" scattered about.  And bathtime has turned into a marathon...

Despite all the complaining, the "Color Change" cars are a lot of fun for the boys.  And despite some of the messes the boys have made changing them colors, they have been playing pretty well together as brothers and as a result, I have gotten a few minutes to do things around the house, even if there is an inevitable mess to clean up after their fun!  But please Mattel, no more Lightning McQueens!