Things that make me go "grrrrrr..."

I was packing lunch for a play date the other day, and when I grabbed a container for our sandwiches I noticed the symbols on the bottom. Inspecting them started my mind reeling with the little things that, well, drive me a little nuts. I try to be a positive Mommy, but sometimes I feel like there are things that are just a little more complicated than necessary in my hectic day (and, honestly, most of the time they are pretty funny, too). For example...

Pictures instead of words.


This is the bottom of the container that I was studying the other day. I get the snowflake--that probably involves the freezer. Since these are freezer containers, I would think that little symbol means that yes, indeed, the container can be frozen. That looks like a fork and goblet on the other side. That must mean something about food. The other picture, however, has me lost. Is it a cassette tape? Can I use the box to store my collection of cassette singles from middle school? Is it a VHS tape? The container is too small for those. Maybe the container is made of recycled VHS tapes. It could be an owl looking through a window. I don't really know why, but it could be. What if it's important? Should I devote a Google search to it? How would I even start a search for a symbol when I don't know what it means?

This is a page from the "directions" we were given when we bought our son's bed at Ikea. Ikea is a big company, and they have stores nearly everywhere in the world, so instead of printing words in their directions (that would involve way too many languages) they give much clearer illustrations. Here's a fun game--study the three pictures above and tell me what's different among them other than the exclamation mark and the giant "x." I'm not sure either, but I do hope we pointed at the bed correctly when we assembled it. (*FYI: See note at the end of the post.)

CD's and DVD's as toys in kids' meals.

Dear Fast Food Restaurants:
When I bring my toddler to your establishment and take the time to order inside and actually sit down and eat, I would appreciate it if you would provide us with a ready-to-use toy instead of a CD or DVD. You see, the whole reason why I bother ordering your over-priced kids' meal is because that little plastic car or action figure might just buy me the time I need to finish my fries before they get cold. The sleek multi-media we've been receiving as of late is really just useful as a weapon. Please, please bring back the junk toys. Seriously.

What about you? What gets under your Mommy-skin? :)

(*My husband just informed me that the Ikea directions above are referencing the matress thickness for the bed. I still think it has something to do with making correct hand gestures.)