Silly Bandz!!! 今年美國最夯的玩具!

The hottest toy this year is Silly Bandz. If you ask any kids between the ages of 5 to 16 what their favorite play thing this year, they will all tell you "Silly Bandz" (http://www.sillybandz.com/). Silly Bandz are a brand of silicone rubber bands formed into shapes including animals, objects, and letters. They are normally worn as bracelets. Essentially, they are colorful rubber bands in various shapes. The company that markets this product is laughing all the way to the bank. They are usually sold in a pack of 24 Bandz (6 shapes, 4 per shape) that will allow the kids to collect and trade. I looked up the internet and they are being sold from $5.99 to $2.50 for a pack of 24. As in any popular items, there are now hundreds of imitations in the marketplace. Most are just colorful rubber bands that will likely melt together in heat or pressure. As Silly Bandz are made of silicone, these bands can withstand heat and maintain the shapes really well.

I was resisting buying these Silly Bandz for my kids because I was not going to pay over $5 for 24 rubber bands, but reality hit last Friday when my 8 year-old son came home with many of these Bands around his wrist. He said a classmate gave them to him--he went through a long story of why this girl would give him so many Bandz. But now I have a dilemma. My 10 year-old daughter has been asking to buy these Bandz for weeks. I kept telling her no because it's a waste of money. But now that her brother has them, she felt life is a bit "unfair" to her. I did my research on-line and found out that there are so many different kinds of colorful rubber bands out there, but the quality of these bands vary. I decided that if I were to buy any for my kids, I might as well stick with the silicone kind.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I went to Toys R Us yesterday and bought 3 packs of Silly Bandz. They only have two kinds of Silly Bandz available at the store--the Princess pack and the Dinosaur pack. It's not like we have a lot of choices, but they were on sale for $4.99 per pack and the promotion was buy 2 get 1 free. I'll probably go to another Toys R Us and see if I can exchange the extra dinosaur pack for a different theme pack. Both kids now think they have the best parents in the world!!!

真的沒想到, 美國今年最夯的玩具是 Silly Bandz, 一種彩色橡皮圈手環! 這個東西真的是從幼稚園夯到高中! Silly Bandz 只是一家最先在美國販賣這種彩色橡皮圈的公司品牌。 因為賣得太好, 所以已經有上百種其它品牌流竄在玩具巿場上。 巿面上及網路市場到處在賣類似的彩色橡皮圈。比較便宜的彩色橡皮圈是橡膠做的。 天熱時, 這種橡皮圈都會黏在一起。 品質好的彩色橡皮圈手環是矽膠做的, 所以耐熱也耐壓, 可是就賣得比較貴。 Silly Bandz 這家公司(http://www.sillybandz.com/)賣的彩色橡皮圈就是矽膠做的, 但是一包(24枚裝)就要賣 $5.95。 當然我們都是要等到減價時才買。 這星期 Silly Bandz 在 Toys R Us 有在減價。 雖然貨色不多(只剩兩種),可是一包(24枚裝)才賣 $4.99, 然後買兩包再送一包。 這樣子的價錢我還能接受。 不過話又說回來, 這只是有色橡皮筋, 竟然可以賣到這種價錢! 業者真的是賺翻天了! 我想今年的聖誕節禮物少不了這個玩藝。 還有,如果近期內要去找親朋好友, 而那親朋好友有五歲至十六歲的小孩,這Silly Bandz 可是最好的伴手禮喔!

小學科學博覽會 ( 學後心得) Aftermath of the Science Fair

On the way home from school on Friday, I asked my son what he had learned from the science fair at school. He thought about it for a minute and say, "Mom, I think you should stop drinking Coke from now on." I knew he must have learned something about the "shortcomings" of Coke drinking. I said, "why?". "Because it ruins your teeth. It also stains your teeth." was his answer. I thanked him for letting me know. Apparently, he saw a poster on the effects of Coke on teeth (or rather the tooth enamel). Of over 100 posters exhibited at the Science Fair, this particular poster made him take notice. I should be glad that my son immediately thought of me when he saw the Coke/teeth poster.

Soda drinking is my one vice in life. I cannot live without that bubbly sensation of the first sip. To maintain a decent weight, I have resorted to drinking diet sodas. I also like that caffeine buzz cola sodas give me, but I'm not brand specific. I'll drink Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi One, depending on whichever brand is on sale the week I run out of sodas.

I have been warned about the adverse effects of soda-drinking, including calcium depletion and the ruination Coke causes one's teeth. But like anyone who has an addiction, until one is faced with an impending death sentence, one will not give up on one's addictive vice. In that regard, I am no different.

學校辦的科學博覽會星期五結束。放學回家時,我問了兒子,“你看到那麼多的科學海報,你學到什麼沒有?” 他想了一下就說,“媽媽,妳不要再喝可樂了!” 我心裏跳了一下,也知道大概他看到什麼樣的科學海報了。 不過我還是繼續問他,”為什麼不能再喝呢?” 他說,“喝了可樂之後,牙齒很容易變黃,也很容易蛀牙。” 我趕快告訴他,“謝謝你的提醒,不過媽媽早就知道了。謝謝你,可是你不用擔心媽媽,我只要常常刷牙就不會有問題的。” 小孩這時才鬆了口氣。我也鬆了一口氣。我最怕人家叫我不要喝太多汽水。

我當然知道喝汽水對身體不好。汽水能讓身體少吸收很多鈣質,對於家有骨質疏鬆症病歷的我以及牙齒不好的我,汽水的確是要少碰為妙。但是這個癮很難戒得掉。每當喝下汽水的那第一口時....那種超過癮的感覺,我可能要到面臨生死存亡的決擇時,才會放棄喝汽水!