Potato Heads Gone Wrong!!

When tethered to IV poles, Potato
Heads offer great friendship.

Ok, this post has been in the making for years.  Anyone that knows me and/or my son, Sergio, knows we have an ongoing struggle with the love/hate relationship going on between my son and his Potato Heads.  I've concluded after years of observation and data collection (see evidence below) that they are evil. 

Sergio has an innate propensity for destruction.  I have come to accept this personality 'quirk' so to speak.  However, this 'quirk' elevates itself to a entirely new level when one of those cute sweet little potato heads arrive in the house.  Sergio LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Potato Heads. 

Saved Potato Head

Sergio (and I by default) have been in the hospital well over a hundred times in his short life.  Everyone of these stays has been made better by the comforting presence of a beloved Potato Head.  So much so, they started keeping one at the nurses station for middle of the night admissions when the playrooms would be locked.  EVERYone knows that Sergio = Potato Head. 

No, it does not fit. 

What started as a sweet love of a toy of the past has evolved into a demonic possession and master plotter of destruction.  The first signs things were going awry began with potato head pieces being flushed down our toilet.  I assure you, there is only one piece that comes with the potato head that can safely make it down, and that's the ear.  Other than that one lone piece, NOTHING else makes the notorious bend in the toilet.  I am now a master plumber and can vaccuum out the water, remove the toilet, declog the offending piece, replace a wax ring, and reconnect toilet in less than 15 minutes.  Not a skill I'm proud to have developed, yet here we are.


From the toilet, we noticed Sergio began to find ways to 'hide' the heads, only to then go mad looking for the missing potato heads.  His favorite place is over the back fence into the neighbor's yard!  Why?  Who knows, I can't for the life of me figure it out, but he's lost more than we can count to the abyss beyond the fence.  (then he added shoes, plastic pumpkins, and a variety of other items!)

At Disney this summer Sergio managed to find (and therefore I bought) several potato heads.  He then deposited one in the It's a Small World ride's river, another made it into the river at the Jungle River Ride, and yet another was left abandoned in the waterfall display at the Great Tiki Lounge.  Sigh. 

Very proud of his recent potato head contribution to the Jungle River Ride at Disney World.

Most recently Sergio has taken to having the Potato Heads actually destroyed!  He was beyond giddy when he managed to get one out into the middle of our road and watched it get run over.  He couldn't stop laughing for hours as he replayed that thought in his mind again and again.  When we went to the cabin a few weeks ago, he successfully threw his potato head under the golf cart and watched it get destroyed.  He then proceeded to successfully deposit the pieces in the pond, for future adventures.  Sorry Brian Bisgrove Home of Courage!!! 

Most recently Sergio destroyed my blender by blenderizing one of his recent new potato head additions.  The Potato Head faired far better than the blender I might add! 

If they didn't make him so darn happy, I would ban them for ever.  But. . . . as you can see, when you're life revolves around crappy visits to the hospital, who am I to take that joy away. 

So we'll just do our best to limit the destructive nature and foster the positive side of his love for the backless, naked toys he loves so very much!!