as much as i wish my girls would just let us tuck them in, snuggle for a couple of minutes, and then drift off to dreamland . . . i really do love sitting with them for the really long time that it actually does take them to go to sleep. i love it because that's when they talk the most. that's when they talk the most about what is really on their mind and what really matters to them.
and last night was no different. little shrimp is the one with the 100 million questions every night.
"do you know where pink lemonade comes from?"
"why is pops your dad?"
"why is nana your mom?"
"why do carrots have grass on the top of them?"
last night i had an aha moment (isn't that one of oprah's catch phrases?). little miss wanted to know which room was mine at nana's house when i was a little girl and what kind of toys i had when i was a little girl. so i started telling them all the things that i loved to play with the most . . . barbies . . . a barbie house . . . a pink barbie corvette . . . cabbage patch dolls . . . a play kitchen . . . baby stroller . . . a memory game . . . and that's when i realized something.
they really do not need to have all the toys that they have! i have been wanting to get rid of a lot of the toys they have but have been feeling really guilty about it. so they are still here . . . all over the floors.
so it's decided . . . i will get find new homes for the extreme amount of toys in this house! my plan is to keep the toys that require them to use their imagination . . . only their imagination. i want to keep the toys that they will remember the most . . . like the things i told them last night that were my favorites. what is so funny . . . all the toys that i told them last night . . . the ones that i remember playing with all the time are all the same toys they love the most and they play with everyday.
i'm sure i will keep a couple of toys that i would rather not keep . . . because i don't want them to be the kids with no toys when they want friends to come over and play.
to me the most important thing is a happy house . . . a house that is easy to keep clean and picked up even with 4 children . . . a happy dad who comes home to a clean house and good dinner . . . happy children that have a lot of one on one time with mom because she isn't constantly picking up toys every singe moment of the day . . . and when dad and kids are happy . . . you know that mom is happy!
and last night was no different. little shrimp is the one with the 100 million questions every night.
"do you know where pink lemonade comes from?"
"why is pops your dad?"
"why is nana your mom?"
"why do carrots have grass on the top of them?"
last night i had an aha moment (isn't that one of oprah's catch phrases?). little miss wanted to know which room was mine at nana's house when i was a little girl and what kind of toys i had when i was a little girl. so i started telling them all the things that i loved to play with the most . . . barbies . . . a barbie house . . . a pink barbie corvette . . . cabbage patch dolls . . . a play kitchen . . . baby stroller . . . a memory game . . . and that's when i realized something.
they really do not need to have all the toys that they have! i have been wanting to get rid of a lot of the toys they have but have been feeling really guilty about it. so they are still here . . . all over the floors.
so it's decided . . . i will get find new homes for the extreme amount of toys in this house! my plan is to keep the toys that require them to use their imagination . . . only their imagination. i want to keep the toys that they will remember the most . . . like the things i told them last night that were my favorites. what is so funny . . . all the toys that i told them last night . . . the ones that i remember playing with all the time are all the same toys they love the most and they play with everyday.
i'm sure i will keep a couple of toys that i would rather not keep . . . because i don't want them to be the kids with no toys when they want friends to come over and play.
to me the most important thing is a happy house . . . a house that is easy to keep clean and picked up even with 4 children . . . a happy dad who comes home to a clean house and good dinner . . . happy children that have a lot of one on one time with mom because she isn't constantly picking up toys every singe moment of the day . . . and when dad and kids are happy . . . you know that mom is happy!
2 comments:
What a great post and so true. I love sitting in my kids rooms and chatting at bedtime too. I learn so much.
It's my mission this Christmas to rid our house of toys we don't need. We play with maybe 1/4 of the toys we have here. I think simplicity is key for us. They other day they spent a long time using stickers and markers to make their own books and bookmarks. It was great and all we needed was paper, markers and stickers.
I don't think I am doing them or ME any favors by filling our house with toys we don't need.
What a beautiful thing to read! Your girls will always remember those conversations at bedtime and the time you took with them, for the rest of their life! You are making such great memories. As your mom I am so proud of you and the mother you have become!! Love you bunches
Mom
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