a secret of the universe: toy organization

I am about to totally brag. And if it bothers you, I apologize. But I have unlocked a secret in toy organization that I wish I had figured out four years ago. Instead I have been stepping on toys in the middle of the night for almost five years, and wondering how on earth we could tame this mess of duplos, puzzle pieces, doll house toys, thomas trains, blocks, kinex, lincoln logs and game board pieces. But I have done it! And I want to tell you how.

It should also be noted that our farm house doesn't have a livable basement (it's limestone from the 1890's) or a play room. If we had a separate room for toys we might have a different system. But because our bedrooms are our playrooms, we had to figure something out.

I know I've already shared the toy organization I implemented three weeks ago (there is a picture in that post). But I just have to say it a little clearer, because it has changed our lives. OUR VERY LIVES!!! It began with a weekend of throwing and giving a lot away, sorting like items into storage bins, and labeling every container. (The labeling has been a nice feature for babysitters or cousins so they can help with the clean up too.)

But now, this is how it actually plays out in our day-to-day:

First, the toys are up high. They are in the kids' closet, which is the only closet in our home. No kidding. But the kids can't reach them and this is key. Any toys that are accessible are going to be scattered on the floor, so none are accessible. (Except their books, which they are suddenly very interested in, as there are no other choices! Awesome!) This even means the food that goes with the play kitchen is out of reach. And the marbles that go with the marble run. Everything is inaccessible.

Second, each kid can choose three items for Quiet Play Time. Each day after lunch (usually around 1:00) both kids go to different rooms to play for 90 minutes. 60 minutes alone and then 30 minutes together. Ivar has his own timer that he sets and takes this job very seriously. And each day they can select new toys. I think what this changes is that they are focused on only three choices to play with. And they play for so much longer! When all toys were out and accessible I think they were overwhelmed with what to do with their time. Or the room was so messy, nothing looked fun at all. But on their clean floor those three choices are very clear and suddenly they play hard. Sometimes longer than the 90 minutes!

Thirdly, clean up is obvious. They know exactly where to put their toys when it's time to clean up. Sometimes we pick up right after Quiet Play Time, other times just before bedtime. But they know they have to have their three items picked up, and know right where to put the items.

And forth...I really know what my kids like to play with. And what they have no interest in, at this time. This is helpful for Ivar's birthday gifts...he loves kinex and looking at the booklet to copy a creature they have pictured. He is so proud. I think he has graduated from duplos, but he is definitely on to Legos. He spent much of Labor Day at Mimi and Papa's building houses and buildings and just picked out a step-by-step Lego book at the library.

All in all, it is a bit more facilitating on my part. I have to be up there to get toys up and down. But three weeks in, and I haven't had to pick up a single toy! Not one! Mothers of the world, I have cracked the code. And it might sound rigid or strict, but somehow these boundaries have brought order to our chaos and fun back to our playtime. My kids love it as much as Rory and I do. It might work for you too.

38 weeks

I have a goal this weekend to get a decent picture of me at 38 weeks pregnant. Until then, I'll let you gaze at the soybeans in the field behind our house that are turning bright yellow right before our eyes.

My friend Shannon told me right when we got pregnant with this baby that the best thing she did when she was pregnant with her last baby was have professional house cleaners come and deep clean her home just before her due date. Largely because at 9 months pregnant you're not really scrubbing your bathtub anymore (...or ever), but also because after the baby you don't have to stare at all the dust and dirt while enjoying your new babe. So we did that yesterday and I think my house is

cleaner today than the day we moved in. Best decision ever. Tuck this little wisdom away for when you have a baby or your sister/daughter/friend has one...

Elsie got a cold last week and it has worked its way through our whole family. We've burned through an insane amount of kleenex at this house, but I think we are on the upswing. At least I really hope we are.

I got an email from The Baby Center today telling me that at 38 weeks my baby is the size of a leek. I hope not. I think they take their measurements based on the length of the vegetable, but a leek just seems too scrawny to be accurately associated with the seven pound babe inside of me. 

On Saturday night I ended up going grocery shopping by myself at the last minute. The plan was for the family to go, but we had car trouble, so I jumped in the truck to do it on my own. I hadn't fully thought through how tired I was to do a full week's worth of grocery shopping and by the end I was exhausted. I was walking from the last aisle to the check out lines at a very slow swagger when a very elderly man came out from his aisle, pushing his cart, to walk towards the same check out line. We were neck and neck. We walked with the same fatigued posture and he smiled big at me.  We had a sweet and unspoken, though very bonding, moment. Then he turned into lane 7 and I went to lane 5. 

The kids are doing awesome and start preschool next week. I have them in for two mornings a week, in the same class, and we are all very excited. They can't wait to bring their backpacks to hang on their hooks and I can't wait to have some consistent, undivided time with the new baby. I have started calling them my velcro. They must sense all the change that is to come, but I cannot leave a room without two bodies physically finding their way to be as close to me as possible. Lots of cuddles and snuggles are needed lately and it is very sweet. (and I'm back to edit that word a bit...sometimes smothering. It's sweet when I'm thinking about it. It's smothering when I'm living it...)

At our midwives appointment this week Elsie asked if the midwives would listen to her baby too. So when I was done, she crawled up on the table and they listened for her baby and let her listen. Ivar was quite sure someone needed to tell Elsie that she does not actually have a baby in her, but Rory was quick to quiet him so she could have her special time. She told the midwives proudly, "only girls have babies." 

picture bunting

We moved into this house three years ago, and since then I have hung zero photographs. We have some canvas art, but most of our walls have been left bare waiting for us to enlarge pictures on canvas or purchase frames for a collage. For some reason these tasks always feel daunting (and expensive!) and the can continues to be kicked down the road.

We still have hopes of making barn wood picture frames for a big wall collage, but it will be a while before that project is tackled. Yet we have these awesome pictures, waiting to be seen and enjoyed and remembered.

So this weekend I printed out 75 of our families best. And then I taped them to a piece of lace and hung lots of photo garland around our sunny room. And for under ten dollars the number of family pictures displayed in our home went from zero to about 50. Just like that.

I love it so much. It looks so festive. Ivar asked me if I was decorating for a birthday party. And I believe I was doing just that. Decorating for the Birth Day coming up at the end of the month. Little-baby-to-be got a special bunting all its own.

a country lemonade stand

Ivar has been asking for chores lately, trying to earn quarters. He has his eyes on Mack, the truck from the movie Cars that carries Lightening McQueen across the country to his races. We told him he could wait until his birthday, or try to earn the money to buy Mack on his own. So he has been working hard. If he checks for eggs each day for a week he gets a quarter. If he helps me unload the dishwasher he can sometimes earn a quarter. We try to come up with good tasks and he has been very helpful.

Earlier this week, Ivar was lamenting how long it was going to take him to get Mack and then Rory explained another way to earn quarters. "Ivar. There is another way to earn money. You offer something that someone else wants to buy. You work hard to make something and someone else will give you their quarters and you give them the thing you made."

Rory explained the concept of a lemonade stand, and when I came home that night they proudly showed me the sign they had worked so hard on.

Can you see the joy on this boy's face?!! He was so, so proud! Rory was teaching him what to say when the neighbors came. For each person he proudly said, "How can I help you? One dollar will give you two cookies and one cup of lemonade." Rory showed him how to give them their lemonade and cookies first, and then to take their quarters. And then to thank them for buying his lemonade. It was so, so awesome. And Ivar was a very good salesman.

The funny thing about having a lemonade stand in the country is that we rarely have cars drive by! So last night I emailed our neighbors telling them that we would be selling lemonade and cookies from 6-7pm. I wrote that Ivar was working towards purchasing a truck to hold his favorite cars and we'd love to see them.

As a result, the turnout was great. Lots of neighbors came at the same time and it turned into a little catch up for everyone. And we loved that it was just an hour. It was super muggy and our kids' interest was about an hour in length anyway. Ivar worked hard, Elsie ate a lot of cookies and I fielded lots of questions about being 37 weeks pregnant. (Check out the side profile of me below!)

It was only right before bedtime that Rory helped Ivar count his money and found that, combined with the money he had already earned through chores, he had enough money to buy Mack and to tithe on his earnings. Everyone was very, very pleased. And Ivar didn't fall asleep until 10:15.

overheard

Ivar and Elsie play marvelously together lately. Watching them come up with pretend play is the best:

For example, Baby Jesus and Baby Mary. They had a little dispute as to who got to be Baby Jesus, so one of them decided they could both be babies. These babies were quite adventurous. They were taking turns in a laundry basket shooting each other down the Nile. One day we'll sort all these Bible storylines out. Until then it's the best audio story I could ask for. They are hilarious.

When we're in the car, they are very competitive about what is on their side of the car. This has evolved over time into a celebration with Ivar yelling, "Yay! I have corn on my side!" And Elsie echoing, "Yay! I have soybeans on my side!"

I called upstairs, "what are you playing up there?"
Ivar ran to the top of the steps to tell me, "It's Pinky's (Elsie's blanket) birthday! But she's sick, so she's taking a nap for 10 minutes and we might have to cancel her party." (So hilarious because Ivar has had his last two birthday parties cancelled and rescheduled because of illness. Naturally that is just part of the pretend play now...)

We're really into band aids around here. If ever things get too quiet, it is quite common that an entire box of band aids have been found and used. Sometimes I see it as a waste of band aids, other times I see it as a good price to pay for a bit of quiet time.