Where have all the toys gone?

I started asking myself this question early this morning. It just seems like the toy box is not all that full now-a-days. Hmmm... Well, I got the answer when I took a quick look at the backpacks and purses hanging on their pegs in the girls' room. They were bulging! My girls are nothing if not resourceful!

So here's what happened -- they found a nifty work-around to the sharing rules. As in, "If it's in my purse or backpack you can't play with it." Now I'm not talking about a necklace or a favorite book. Oh no, I'm talking about pulling an entire TEA SET out of a backpack, complete with teapot, cream and sugar bowls, cups, saucers, and spoons! I won't list everything but let me tell you there was a LOT of stuff in these purses and backpacks. So, this morning's project for the girls was emptying out every single thing and then sorting out all the stuff and putting it back where it belongs.

After clean-up we had a little talk about what you're allowed to hoard and what is community property. Nora gets it. It was rough trying to get the idea across to Ruby and Elizabeth with their limited understanding of English, but I think that at least Ruby now understands that only your own special things go in your purse or backpack. Elizabeth, being Elizabeth, probably chooses not to understand it so she won't have to follow instructions. Ha ha! She also pretended not to understand that she had to help clean up.

After all their hard work their reward was watching "Beauty and the Beast." I was relieved that they asked for something other than "Chim-chimmeny." Marry Poppins is a great movie, but you know your kids have watched it many, many times when they are taking off their hats and turning their pockets inside out to fill them up while dancing down the sidewalk like Dick Van Dyke.