Why Buy Toys?

Funny thing is I just published this without writing anything but the title! And, really, does anything else need to be said?

If all the kids want to do is chase each other with pillows, sit in my lap and whine, and jump on the furniture, do they need toys?

It's no use taking them with you anywhere because your kids don't play with their toys at someone else's home. They play with things that aren't theirs, toy or not.

They can turn anything into a plaything...food, books, sticks. Why spend money on toys?

They complain when asked to pick them up or put them away. They throw them, step on them, and do who knows what else to break them.

Really, why buy toys?

Arg!

OK, so I'm probably not going to boycott toys...I do like it on the occasions that they actually do play well with them, pick them up without arguing, and generally enjoy themselves. But, toys are one of life's great parenting frustrations. Sometimes right up there with potty training and learning how to use a spoon.

PJ Day

I wasn't raised lazy. My parents are hard workers. Somehow, though, I found an even greater joy in the relaxing part...after the work is done. So, today is PJ Day! It's a special day we celebrate every so often when there's no reason to actually get dressed.

Now Tyler is not only not dressed, he's also technically not in PJs. He sleeps in his diaper since it's rather warm here in Georgia. And Gracie isn't in her PJs either. She's very fashion conscious and, like most days, was dressed before I found my way out from under the covers. Jace and I, though, are still proudly sporting our jammies. He loves PJ Day almost as much as me, I think!

I do get a little sass from Scott when he gets home from work and finds we still have pajamas on. But that's to be expected. He's set in his ways. He unties his shoes every time he takes them off. He had to break me from wearing cotton drawstring pants to the grocery store when we were first married. That style was perfectly acceptable in college, mind you. He is also not a fan of flip-flops and clogs, or anything that just slips on. So, for him, the idea of staying in PJs all day is slightly outside his comfort zone...but we're working on him.

While we wait for Dada to come around (we might be waiting awhile) we'll enjoy the rest of today, a relaxing day of lounging after a busy holiday weekend, in our PJs! You should try it!

Jace, The Author

Jace is so creative. He tells me he doesn't like to read books that use imagination. "I prefer non fiction." It's true he does. He just got two new books with a gift card from his birthday, one about sharks and one about the brain. He's already planning his next trip to the book store! And every time we go to the library he comes home with factual books as well, about animals, weather, and people. But don't let him fool you. He may like reading non fiction better, but I think he'd be great at writing fiction.

He has a summer journal and I keep trying to get him to write stories in there. He mostly pens songs, though. I love that! Today, in the car, he started a story and I encouraged him to keep going. Together we came up with this:

Once upon a time there was a little boy who didn't eat his vegetables. After a whole week of not eating his veggies at dinner, he went to bed and dreamed about all the foods he loved. But when he woke up...he was in a garden!

He looked around and had squash, tomatoes and cucumbers to one side. On the other side he saw carrots, lettuce and mushrooms. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. When he opened them back up, he was still in the garden! He began to panic.

He jumped up and squished a squash. Then he tripped on the tomatoes and crushed a cucumber. He cracked some carrots when he fell and tried to get up in a hurry. The lettuce wouldn't let him. It made him try a mushroom. "Mmmm," he said.

All the vegetable stopped and said, "What?"

"Mushrooms are mmmmm," he repeated. The lettuce let him go. He carefully made his way out of the garden and back to his house. He ran through the door and yelled to his mom.

"Mama! Guess what? I woke up in a garden and got scared. I squished a squash and tripped on tomatoes. I crushed cucumbers and cracked carrots. When I tried to run away the lettuce wouldn't let me and made me try a mushroom and I liked it. I like it, mama!"

Mama squatted down and smiled at her son. "Does this mean you'd like a salad for dinner?"

He thought about it, and remembered the veggies in the garden, and answered, "Yes! Can I make it?"

Grocery Shopping

Last week I went grocery shopping with all three of my delightful children. There's nothing unusual about that. Jace is a little bummed because he's transitioning out of the space ship cart as he gets too big for it and Tyler gets big enough to be in it. But rather than directly express his feelings about being displaced he went gets a little sassy toward Tyler in the store. And last week he not only had me laughing but everyone else in the aisle.

We'd gone at a different time than normal and got dangerously close to Tyler's nap time. He was started to show signs of wear and got fussy midway through the store. Jace needed for Tyler to be removed from the cart so he could get in. Usually when Tyler's sleepy I put him in his sling. At 18 months old I'm trying to grow out of that a little, because I have to carry that sling! So I was holding off.

Finally Jace asked, "Do you have a crying baby on your list?"

"No."

"Well, then put him back!"

After I stopped laughing, and Tyler kept crying, I slung the little boy and let the big boy climb in the space ship for the rest of the ride! What's a mom to do?