Construct

Construct: To build or erect something by bringing together different elements.

I have a home with 3 small children, so you'd think there'd be no end of construction materials. Here's a secret though: I LOATHE Lego, ken*ex and all the other stuff. Always have, though I had brothers who ADORE it as much as I hate it. Maybe part of the hatred stems from how many times I stepped on something small and sharp on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night?

I did try to be a good mom at first. I bought blocks of all types and descriptions, including that pre-cursor to Lego, the Mega Blocks. I sat on the floor and played with my kids, encouraging them and showing them some ideas for how to use it. They hated it as much as I did. The only thing that really stuck were the wooden blocks, because you can make pretend furniture out of them, and the MegaBlocks characters. (Because TIGGER. Also, PRINCESSES.)

That all changed at Christmas this year though. Santa brought them this super cool and wildly fun marble race game. You can construct different courses with different obstacles and then race your marbles through them. THIS my kids love. Hey, I love it too! I just grabbed the camera as soon as I saw the prompt and snapped a photo of the current construction, a two-tubed course courtesy of Sweetpea (DD2).