Dinosaurs!

We went shopping again this morning, and finally found a place that has kids sheets for a decent price. (That would be Target if you were curious.) I found about five that I thought were nice, and my husband narrowed it down to the two he liked best. We then let Ben choose sheets for his new bed.

There were sheets with red and blue stripes and sheets with dinosaurs. The red and blue striped ones were not only classier (as in, he wouldn't be embarrassed by them at age 11) but also a little cheaper. But that wasn't really the point. I wanted Ben to feel pride and ownership in his bedding, to help him transition to thinking that HIS room is his room, rather than that OUR room is his room. So I specifically said that I wanted him to make the final decision, and that characters or something fun that he would enjoy would be a good idea.

The thing I was worrried about though was that he would not be able to choose. Sometimes when you offer him two choices, especially if they are both nice, he will just repeat what you say right after you say it. Ben, do you want cheese "cheese" or apple "apple" for a snack? No, Ben choose! Cheese? ("cheese") or apple? ("apple") The only way you can get a real choice out of him when he's doing that is to phrase the question so that the thing you want him to pick is second and ask it really quickly. Ben, doyouwantcheeseor apple? "Apple." ha ha ha.

But I wanted this to really be his choice, so we phrased the question carefully and as neutrally as possible. We asked twice, one time listing stripes first and the other time listing dinosaurs first. We also put both sheets in front of him so he could point if he wanted. (Normally we discourage this and ask him to use his words.) All three ways, pointing and answering both questions, we got an enthusiastic "DINOSAURS!!!!"

I have to admit, the sheets are pretty cute. Much better than football or construction vehicles. And though there are some orange dinosaurs, the sheets themselves (the background) are a nice neutral tanish. So my nightmares of having his entire room be neon orange are unfounded. It's actually a decent orange. Kinda rustic. There are also blue dinosaurs (they match the curtains that are already in there) and red dinosaurs and green dinosaurs. All in all, I'm very happy with it, espcially considering the bed in a bag (sheets, pillowcases, comforter, sham and bedskirt) was on sale for $41.

Yes, that's right, $41.

I love Target.