Why buy toys??

well, about a week or so ago emily and ethan watched a blue's clues episode where steve interacted with a sock puppet. emily thought the sock "pocket" was hilarious, but ethan was totally afraid of it. i guess when emily chases him around the house with a sock on her hand trying to talk to him it freaked him out a little. anyway, that's all changed. ethan is now obsessed with sock "puppies" - all day long he brings me socks to put on his hands, and sometimes, mine. last night he had socks on both hands and would not let dan take them off, so he went to bed with them on. dan had to trick him this morning to get him to take one off so he could eat his breakfast. now, he and emily have socks on both hands, and emily has two pair of socks on her feet because she is "skating." why do we even buy toys?? we should just invest in a bunch of empty boxes, packing peanuts and socks. evidently all of the above are cheaper and keep a kid busier than any toy out there!