The Search for Zurg...Buzz's Long Lost Father

Do you have any idea what the heck I am talking about? Zurg? He is the bad guy in Toy Story. Zurg is part of the Buzz Lightyear cartoon. He is the "Darth Vader" of the show. At one point he tells Buzz that he is his long lost father. Jude is sorta obsessed with Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear and every toy that is in either Toy Story 1 or 2. Seriously Pixar was brilliant when they made that movie by putting so many different toys in it. I worked at Toys R Us when Toy Story 1 came out. Things that had been sitting on the shelf with an inch of dust on them suddenly were flying off the shelves (army men, barrel of monkeys, little tykes piggy banks, mr. potato head, etch a sketch, slinky dog, etc...). Jude loves stuff. And he really loves Toy Story stuff. He has Buzz Lightyear pjs, night light, room decorations, slippers, at least 5 different sizes of Buzz dolls, Woody in several different sizes as well.... He was Woody for Halloween last year and Buzz for Halloween this year. I've mentioned before I never wanted my children to like characters but long before Jude could even talk he had characters he was drawn to (Elmo was his first). He is character driven. Luckily Elise could care less, although she is a little momma with her baby doll.

You want to know what this has to do with Zurg, right? Well, Jude's birthday is in a few days (November 6th). He has been picking out stuff and telling me he wanted it for his birthday for about 2 months now. In September he went to 2 different birthday parties and he asked when his birthday was....then it began. Well, last week we (the whole family) were at Target and we decided to take a spin through the toy isle. That is when we saw him.... Hanging on a peg about halfway down the action figure isle was something new I had never been privy. It was Zurg. Jude's eyes lit up and immediately he said, "Mom I want Zurg for my Birthday." I looked at Jake and we mumbled something like...he wants everything...doesn't need more toys....toys story obsessed.... Then to get Jude to be quiet I said, "okay, you can have Zurg for your birthday but you have to wait." He put up a little battle but decided he would have to be patient. So we left Target without major incident. So, the week goes on and Jude brings up Zurg. It really isn't like him because usually he wants something because he is right there and looking at it. When we go away he forgets. Not with Zurg. He has been bringing it up constantly. Monday he begged me to go back to the store and buy it because he thought someone else might buy it. I laughed. But you know...I worked at Toys R Us for 6 different Christmas seasons. Long enough to learn this lesson - When you see a toy you or your kid wants on the shelf buy it then. Don't wait. You never know when a new commercial is going to hit or when the Today show is going to do a segment on the latest toy rage that will inevitably cause a mad rush to the toy store and a demand that will never be satisfied before the impending holiday arrives. I've seen it happen time and time again. I used to have desperate fathers come into the store and offer me money to hook them up with whatever toy it was they needed. I never understood. This one man offered me a $50 to get him this pirate ship thing. If I had taken it I would have been fired and you never know if it was a set up so I of course declined. But now that I have children I understand how you don't want to let them down. So, last night Alicia came over to sit with the kids and Jake & I went Birthday gift shopping. We immediately headed over to Toys R Us. After all, they have a Toy Story section. We stop by the games and pick up a great game for him then off to the Disney isle. It was a little sensory overload because of all the different Buzz stuff. Woody has really been pushed out of the picture. And there wasn't even one Jesse. But Buzz in all colors, sizes and materials. Buzz on a motorcycle (which Jude told me he had a dream he was going to get it), Buzz in his space ship, A Buzz train......oh the Buzz galore. But NO Zurg. I started to feel a little panicked. I told Jake we had to head over to Target. So we get to Target and I don't mess around - I need to find Zurg. He wasn't there either. Oh my goodness...the Zurg we saw was a fluke. I know (retail experience again) that when the companies send out products they pack them in variety boxes. For example in the Buzz Lightyear box they might pack 10 pegged toys. 6 Blue, 3 red and one Zurg. And every box might not even have a Zurg. They create a Zurg demand. That makes Zurg a collectible. I've seen it so many times. So, I tell Jake we have to go to another Target. We were on a mission. We went back to the original Target we saw Zurg with Jude. As I walked down the isle I noticed the pegs had been filled. I felt so disappointed because as I looked through the pegs the same way I had watched desperate parents do for years. When I got to the last peg the second to last toy hanging....there he was - ZURG!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah! I think I did a little dance in the isle. So Jude will have his Zurg. Really a cheap birthday gift at $7.19. And he is going to be so excited. He already asked me about Zurg this morning. Ha. I told him not to be upset because he might not get it. He said he would tell Stevie (Alicia's sister) to get it for him. Oh the joys of children.......


Here are some pictures from Jude & Indy's party with had with my parents, last week and from Halloween. Aren't my kids so cute???