Pancake Revolution

Robby is an extremely active child who prefers playing to watching television. He typically watches a few minutes of cartoons in the morning as he wakes up and select shows with his Daddy at night. Other than those times, he only sits and watches TV when he is sick. It's a good thing that he doesn't zone out in front of the television because he is a sucker for commercials!

I am amazed at how versed he has become in commercial jingles, tag lines and money back guarantees. We can't walk through the grocery store without his picking up a product and reenacting the spokesperson spiel. I am bombarded down the aisles with pleas to buy the latest miracle product he spies on the shelves.

Although he has a talent for pitching cleaning products, his true passion lies with infomercial products. He is easily swayed by the often frantic demonstrations and the money back guarantees. When I try to employ logic he only becomes more adamant in his sales pitch. "It works Momom. They showed it on TV. See, I told you it works. We neeeeeed this!"

For some unknown reason, his favorite product is the "perfect pancake pan." He has been mesmerized with this pan since he saw it advertised for the first time, and I am bombarded with pleas, justifications and begging every time we see it in the store. Despite the fact that I don't have a problem flipping pancakes, he is utterly convinced that my kitchen is deprived because I don't own one. 

A few days ago while Robby was playing with his Legos, I turned on Spongebob and told my little builder that I would be in the computer room if he needed me.  About five minutes later I heard him running down the hall before frantically pounding on the door. In a hurried voice he asked me if I had a major credit card. I thought it was an odd question, but needing to finish my project I decided it was best to just answer and not ask any questions. He quickly closed the door and went running down the hallway.

As the minutes passed I could hear Robby running around the house and up and down the stairs. I finally decided to abandon my work when I heard the front door slam closed. I found him running up the stairs, talking on the phone with his little hand wrapped around my debit card. 

He must have sensed my displeasure by the look on my face because he immediately began to justify his actions. "Don't worry Momom. I'm just getting you a present. It's okay, the man on the phone told me all I had to do was read him the numbers and then you will never tear another pancake. It's going to be great Momom. It's Guar-AN-Teed!"

I took the phone away from his eager little ear and calmly spoke to the individual on the other end. Robby apparently called the 800 number on the infomercial and was in the process of ordering the Perfect Pancake Pan. Thank goodness I caught him with my debit card before he read the numbers. A few minutes later and I'd be part of the "pancake revolution."