toys and other things

Elijah and I were talking yesterday about the state of our home. As in, glance around each room and you can find 15 things that just "don't belong." This is absolutely, without a doubt, 100% because of our children. (Well, except for that small mountain of clothes on the floor of our room that magically reappears each morning. Our children are only 67% responsible for that.)

I'm not just talking about toys strewn all over the house. That would sort of make sense. Instead, we have my children's playthings strewn all over the house. There is a big difference between conventional toys and the things my girls play with. For example, here are some of their latest favorites:

• old Christmas wrapping paper that somehow hasn't made it to the trash can yet (I am telling myself this is because my children are playing with it. How could I possibly throw it away?)
• Daddy's shoes (these make perfect bumper cars and cradles for Little People, if you were wondering)
• foil
• yarn
• grocery store bags
• socks and mittens (which apparently make superb coin purses - where did they ever learn the phrase "coin purse"? as well as excellent caves for all sorts of tiny objects)

Also high on the list is playing with their toys in a way completely unrelated to the way they were made to be used. For example:

• toy brooms are not for sweeping. (ha!) They are for laying on the couch so that the string loop at the top of the broom hangs down. This way, Little People can be hung from said string and parachute. (Now does that picture make sense?)
• toy strollers are occasionally used for pushing dolls and toys around the house. More often, they are laid down on the floor and become a fair - stuffed animals perch on the wheels (I mean ferris wheels) and other toys hang from the bars/roller coasters (this is where that yarn comes in handy).
• tricycles. Yes, we currently have 2 tricycles residing INside our little home. The girls got them for Christmas and it was covered with snow outside. The snow keeps coming, along with the frigid (by my southern CA standards) weather. We are inside trike-riders until spring hits. Warmer weather, please come soon!

Oh, 3, you are a most challenging age in so many ways. But you are also so fun and so creative that I can't help but love you.