World War III: Russia vs USA, or Liam vs Mallory?

Some would say that Russia's recent invasion of Georgia brings the long-dormant cold war back to the world stage, that Putin has been lying in wait to make such a move, and that the USA is almost certain to go to war with Russia as a result. I think that's a stretch, personally. I don't think World War III is going to be Russia vs the USA, even if the fate of an oil pipeline hangs in the balance. Partly that's optimism, and partly that's because I think I know where World War III is going to take place: Mallory's bedroom.

Back when Mallory was just a babe, I stumbled upon a Fisher Price Loving Family dollhouse at a yard sale for $5, and I snatched it up. Since then I have slowly been acquiring bits of furniture and dolls for it whenever I find a good buy on eBay or make a lucky thrift store discovery. One thing we've been sorely lacking to date has been any sort of bed, short of the baby's cradle, so whenever Liam and Mallory have been playing dollhouse, they abandon the part of the storyline where the dolls tucker out and go get some shuteye. However, Liam does keep asking for a bed.

It must be said that Mallory, of course, does not really play dollhouse, and especially not with any discernible sort of storyline; she just likes to do what Liam is doing. He sets the furniture up, she knocks it down. Cause and effect. Naturally, this causes Liam to go bananas. We have five dolls: mom, dad, big brother, big sister, and baby girl. You'd think that should be plenty to go around, but what can I say? - Liam is a hoarder.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I made a lucky eBay find, and for a winning bid of $8.50 I got 4 beds, 2 toilets, 3 sinks, a bathtub and a cat. We already had a sink and a toilet, but that was a heck of a deal to get the beds, and who can't use another full bathroom? (Certainly not us - that's a key reason why we're moving, after all!) I was thinking maybe I would re-sell the pieces we don't need, though Liam seems pretty attached to them already, so maybe we'll just hang onto them and use them to start cluttering up the new house right from Day 1. We received the shipment of toys in the mail yesterday, and had a good time opening the box to check them out.

About Liam being attached to them... after dinner and a walk last night, we went upstairs to play dollhouse with our new pieces for a bit before bathtime, and the battle that ensued was something fierce. Picture Liam clutching four dolls (the 5th is currently AWOL in the moving madness) and four beds, running down the hall screaming and trying to get away from Mallory, who was chasing him like a zombie, arms outstretched, attempting to get a bed away from him. Or a doll, for that matter. Or ANYTHING. Because when Liam wants to keep something to himself that badly, it makes her want it all the more, too.

It was useless trying to explain to Liam that he did not need all four beds, or all 4 dolls, for that matter. He was past the point of listening. Just the other day I was reading a magazine article that said to buy your kids two of everything (assuming you have two kids) so that they each have one and there are no fights. Whoever wrote that doesn't know Liam, because two of the beds we received were identical, and that didn't make him want either one of them any less. And of course, the irony of it all is that technically, this is supposed to be Mallory's dollhouse.

Eventually I played the "because I said so!" card (translation: "I have run out of other ideas") and insisted that the dollhouse be packed up so that bathtime could commence. That was enough excitement for one night. We will see how things go tonight... if the new doll furniture proves to be more hassle than it's worth, it might well be the next thing that gets packed up under the guise of moving, and stored away somewhere for a little while.

(Chad helped Liam catch a frog the last time we were out at the trailer. He kept it in his bug cage for a bit, helped Gramma look it up and identify it in a wildlife book, and then took it back out to the dock to set it free. Once she saw Liam with a frog, Mallory grabbed the net and attempted to catch something of her own, too, though all she did was nearly take out an eye.)