Toy Rotation

I've been toying with the idea (yes, pun intended) of doing toy rotation with the kids' multitude of toys.  I decided to join Pinterest.  Shock, shock, I know!  I'm always behind the times with new technology.  For goodness sakes, Chad and I just got smart phones this past year.  You know when your parents have better technology than you do, then it's time to upgrade.  Anyway, I'm beginning to see how time consuming and addictive Pinterest can be.  Maybe even more than Facebook; At least, when I begin to look up new recipes....that's my downfall.  There were several ideas and inspirations for me related to toy rotation.

I wanted to have all of their toys separated in bins that we pull once a week.  I may pulls bins sooner  (every other day) or later (once a month) depending on how things play out.  I made sure to have puzzles, noise-makers, and builders (legos/blocks) in each bin.  All of their books, stuffed animals, and large toys (basketball hoop, kitchen set) remain out in their bedrooms.  So far, the house seems much more picked-up and clean-up is a breeze, since I only have to worry about putting 10 toys away in a bin, rather than 30+ that are scattered all throughout the house :)

I felt that it needed to be done for two reasons: 1.) Luke gets bored easily.  He also gets overwhelmed. For instance, if you have every toy at his disposal in a room, he will usually try to "play" (tackle) with me or just sucks his finger and looks aimlessly around.  I think he gets overwhelmed without some kind of structure.  2.) I'm going to try my hand at "homeschooling" Meredith for pre-school this year. I wouldn't even call it homeschooling, but I couldn't think of another term for it.  I'm going to try to do an hour or two of structured activities with her daily, similar to what she would do at pre-school.  We will probably send her next year when she turns 4, so I thought this would be good practice.  I have two different pre-school workbooks for her to work through, and we recently bought pencils (the big chunky ones for her to learn to write with), scissors, and lined paper.  That along with the craft items we have should allow her to do a few structured activities a day.  She is really excited about it and keeps asking when she can start "school".  By having toy rotation, I think it will help to occupy Luke while Meredith and I work on some lessons.  Plus, the puzzles and builders in each bin will allow Meredith to learn new skills and not get bored.

I found most of these bins at a garage sale this Spring, for $2-3 each.  Can't beat that price!

This is currently what the toys in our living room look like.  Shoved down into a big bin.  What a mess!  

Might as well put the kids to work on this project!  Meredith was so excited to help me clean off the bins.  I took full advantage of her help :)

Next step: pull out all the toys, to make sure all the pieces are there and begin sorting into a few piles - noise-makers, anything with wheels, puzzles, and builders (legos/blocks).  If you are missing pieces, look under the couch, dresser, and crib.  Note to self: NEVER do this with kids present.  It took at least three times as long, since they kept reminiscing over old toys.  We still managed to finish the project over the course of a morning.

Even though it took three times as long, it was priceless (and might I add super cute) when Luke decided to get into one of the empty toy bins.

Happy boy!

Process complete!  After I put all the toys in their respective piles (I didn't take a picture of that since the kids kept pulling toys and I had to work fast!), I placed each in one of four bins.  This was the fun part.

I just need to add an outside label (from my OCD/nerd side) of what is in each bin, then it will be completely finished.  I have enough room in Meredith's closet to store all of the bins, so I will just pull one out each Monday.  We are on the go so much with activities, that I think once a week should work nicely.

The Big Apple

This Illinois-born-and-raised girl made it to The Big Apple!  Chad and I went on a mission trip with Spread Truth Ministries to New York City for 5 days this past week.  It was an amazing experience, to say the least.  Even though the kids were in good hands with the grandparents, I was still a little worried about leaving them for that long.  Before this, the longest we had ever left Luke was for one evening.  The kids were really excited to see us when we got back, so that made it all worth it.  You never really appreciate people (or home) until you are away for a while and then return.  This trip provided a nice break of daily life for us and also gave us a renewal in our faith.

Meredith wanted to go with us.

We went to different parks and streets in New York City to present the gospel.  The group we were a part of went to Madison Square Park and Bryant Park.  At these parks, we went out in 2s or 3s and asked people four worldview questions: 1.) How did this world begin; 2.) What went wrong; 3.) Is there any hope; 4.) What will the future hold?  As expected, we had several that weren't interested in talking.  However, we had many good conversations with people.  Most answered "I don't know" to these questions.  A few individuals were Buddhists and several were of the Catholic faith, but most didn't identify with any religion.  It seemed as if most hadn't even thought about what will happen to us when we die or how we got here in the first place.  One individual (who ironically was walking 3 dogs) told me the world would be a better place if humans were gone and it was just the animals who roamed freely.  Let's just say we met some very unique individuals.  Depending upon the answers we received, we would go deeper and present the gospel message to them or sometimes we would simply hand them some materials that explained it further if they were in a rush.  I found parks, particularly the second one, to be very difficult.  It was hard to approach people while they were eating lunch or walking.  But, it's nice to be put out of your comfort zone every once in a while and step out in faith.

The streets were awesome!  We set up a prayer station and would ask people if they needed prayer as they walked by or many would come up to us on their own.  We had lots of good conversations with people, simply by asking what was going on in their lives that we could be praying for.  Chad spoke at length with a young man who was trying (unsuccessfully) to get out of a gang.

We were humbled, to say the least.  There were many homeless people we encountered and to be honest, they were some of the most genuine and kindest of all the people.  One woman was dressed very nicely, with her nails and make-up done up.  After speaking with her at length, she told us that she and her disabled husband are homeless and currently in a shelter.  It was mind-blowing and reiterated that you can't judge someone by their appearance.  Another homeless woman had just lost her son at the park we were at in May.  He was sitting on the bench with her and died of a massive heart attack.  It was so hard to find the words to say to comfort her.  But I was blessed when she told us at the end that she would never forget us stopping by to talk to her and give her some toiletries.  I have written down one person's name from each day and will continue to pray for them on a regular basis.

We arrived a day early and also had a few evenings to sightsee.  We just scratched the surface of all the places one could visit while in the city.

Times Square!

Yes, those are two Elmos and Cookie Monster across the street.  

I did jump when this guy started moving.

Freedom Tower

Brooklyn Bridge.  By this point, we were too exhausted to walk the full length of it.

I was blown away by the size of Macy's.  It took up an entire block, had nine stories, and a restaurant inside.

Empire State Building!

Central Park!

The skyline was beautiful in Central Park.

Radio City Music Hall!

We had the privilege of visiting a soup kitchen.  It was a humbling experience.

Yankee Stadium!  We left at the 8th inning with a 0-0 score.  Thankfully we didn't stay the entire game, since it went 14 innings.

It was neat to see Derek Jeter in his last season.

This was the full group from Eastview that went on the trip.

Other than the young man taking our picture, our group was the only ones on the subway in this picture.

Fourth of July Festivities

We had a very eventful weekend.  We visited Flora to partake of the July 4th activities, see family/attend a reunion, and play at Grandma and Grandpa's house!  Grandma stayed home with Luke for the fireworks, while we took Meredith to watch them up close at the park. She had a blast!  She covered her ears and would clap during the breaks, but went right back to covering up her ears.  There were no tears, which was awesome!  She got in bed around 10:30, which is a new record for her.

Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Meredith loves to help Grandma feed the birds.

....and give them water.

This was the first time Luke has visited their house since he learned to walk.  He was everywhere!  He has always loved being outdoors and could have spent all day walking around the yard if we would have let him.

Makes me wish I had a porch swing at my house.  Both of them loved watching vehicles drive by on the highway.

Grandma dusted off Derek and Megan's old wagon and gave the kids a ride.  

Trying to get both kids to look at the camera (let alone at the same time) = Impossible

Grandma's house = Chocolate Ice Cream Cones

Pre-Fireworks.  Such a poser.

There were a lot of inflatable "rides" for Meredith to play in.  She had a blast and was filthy!

Meredith and Quenton

I finally got to see my cousin Amber and her boys.  Ty is almost 2 1/2!  Our visits to Clay County never seem to be at the same time.

Poor Meredith and her allergies.  Her eyes were really bothering her.  This was about the best picture of Great-Grandma, Aunts, and Cousins.

Kasey the dog.  Meredith and Luke love him!

Grandma surprised us by having a little pool for the kids.  They loved it!

We LOVE Uncle Derek!