stuffed

Some days I feel that our home is over-run by toys.  Yet it seems we don't have nearly as many toys as many other kids I know.  But every where I look I see "stuff".  I'm reminded just how many toys the kids have when my Step-Dad tells stories of the kinds of things he and his brother played with as kids and how they used their ingenuity to come up with fun ideas (they also used their ingenuity to find trouble too but we won't go there).  Anyway, I digress... somehow that "stuff" just makes me feel so full and greedy.  I want to raise an appreciative boy, and I want him to enjoy these generous gifts he was given by us and many other family and friends.  So I decided to box Samuel and Sydney's toys up in rubbermaid containers and rotate them each week.  I'm hoping Sam will appreciate his toys more this way and that the toys will continue to feel new to both of them.  I also like the fact that our living room and Sam's bedroom is now a little less cluttered.

But even what seem like good ideas can have some glitches along the way, right?  Well, when Sam came down this morning to see a good chunk of his toys were missing he said, "Did I throw those toys Mommy?  Did you take them away?  Did you give them to another boy that will like them?"  The poor kid thought I shipped all of his toys off to another little boy!   You see, we have a rule here that anytime a toy is thrown, it's taken away for the day.  So that explains why he thinks I took the toys away, but you may wonder why he thinks another little boy has them.  Well, I admit it, I once told him in the heat of the moment after he had been throwing trains Sydney's direction that maybe we should give the train set to a boy that would take nice care of it.  So I tried to tell him that no, I did not send his toys to another little boy, and I tried to explain the rotation concept but I think until he sees those toys back on that living room floor he's going to think they are in some other little boy's room.  Poor little guy!  Why must he remember EVERYTHING I've ever said!