Building Cruz' world, block by block

As I mother, I want to be able to provide the best for Cruz. Does that mean spending $24.95 (GASP!) on these Melissa & Doug cardboard blocks? I mean, these are top of the line learning toys. How adorable are they?! He loves stacking stuff, and come on, who am I to deny him the opportunity to learn and create art [...out of cardboard]???

I grappled internally on this purchase and in the end could not pull the trigger. While I want to give Cruz the world of opportunities, I also don't want to spoil him with materials posessions. I had to ask myself: How do I balance the opportunities we can afford to present to him without the toys I can't afford? The answer: I think WAY too much about stuff.

It turns out he's the one who's taught me about simplicity, enterprise and raw creatvity. A few boxes and some packing tape later....Cruz was on his way to becoming American's next top physicist, engineer or architect.