In which Mummy gets buried by the toys....

Let it be understood that I am NOT complaining.

I think it is wonderful that so many people love my kids so much as to give them (way too many) toys.

I think it is wonderful that I have the means to buy nice things for my kids.

There is only one more thing we (I) need to acquire in our home:

The ability to let. things. go.

Because seriously, I feel like our trusty heroes in the photo above.

Perhaps it is because I am pregnant and nesting (does that happen in the first trimester?) Or maybe it is the reality of a whole other person living in this house, though it is a big house. It might also be that over the last few days I have spent alot of time sitting and being green, watching the house fall apart around me and thinking about how much better organized the kids' space could be.

I know that trying to purge the kids' stuff with the kids is not going to get me very far. But I also feel for my poor son, who can remember in minute detail every single hot wheels car he owns. (I'm sure there are more than a hundred.) "Mummy, have you seen the red car with the black chairs inside? Not the one with the yellow head lights and the silver hood ornament, the other one."

I know I shouldn't let that stop me from getting the hotwheels down to a manageable 25 cars. It's just that I know what it is like to not be able to find the really good potato peeler. It makes me nuts. (And don't tell me you only need one potato peeler, because dear reader, if not being able to find the "good" one makes me nuts, imagine the trauma of not being able to find one at all.)

If you are reading this and you have a child under two, please get into the habit of limiting the toys. Do not collect toys. Pick a space, fill that space and then do not let the toys multiply.

I am also told that rotating toys is a good idea, though I am still of the (unpracticed) view that moving them OUT in favour of the newer ones is the best kind of rotating. That way you don't need to come up with a top secret toy storage space.

I have also found that my kids do best when there is alot of white space around each toy. Keeping them at eye level works well too. So I am going to spend this time sitting on the couch being green and plan improvements to our play space.