Moving Time in the Sticks
My brother is moving out of my parent’s place and that means lots and lots of chaos while they pack up their stuff and attempt to transport it all to their new place. Of course I never want to miss out on any family drama so I decided to head out to the sticks to help with the “process”. Or at least help my mom cope with the empty nest syndrome, even though this will be my brother’s third or fourth time moving out.
My mom and I have been packing boxes (while my brother is at work and my sister-in-law and nieces are out of town) and we’ve been sneezing up a storm with all the dust. Let me just say this: my nieces don’t need any more toys ever. I think we must have packed a hundred boxes of toys. So many! If you want to buy them a birthday present in the future, buy them a ticket to legoland or something. Something that doesn’t need to have a place. I don’t know what their new house looks like but I’m guessing there isn’t that much more room than there was here at my mom’s.
I could be wrong. I am the fanatical neat-nick of the family. And I might get in trouble depriving my nieces of presents. I hate to do that. It’s just my independent editorial opinion that they don’t need any more toys.
I was talking to my brother’s boss (who came to help—yay boss!) and he said it’s just the times. All kids have this many toys, he said. Hoo Boy! I don’t think I can do that with Baby Bug. I really get stressed out when things don’t have a place to go. Plus, I hate to see people waste money on toys when she’d be just as happy with an old used up cardboard paper towel tube. Though I have to admit I do covet Madeline books and maybe a little miniature broom so she can sweep the patio for me. I’m such a hypocrite.
Baby Bug has been having a blast here, as usual. She loves the sticks. “Side! Side! Side!” she yells as soon as we pull up into the driveway. She loves the dogs and the dirt and the miles and miles of weeds to go running around in. It’s not really miles and miles, only a half acre, but to a city kid like Baby Bug it’s miles and miles. I filmed a little movie of me driving her around in my nieces play car. I’ll try to put it up tomorrow if I have time. I would put it up now but Baby Bug is sleeping in the same room I am typing this in and I know I would wake her up if I tried to work on a movie right now. You know me. I can’t just upload a movie as is. I need to edit it and add music and stuff… definitely not something I should be doing at 11:19 pm when my eyeballs are burning and I really should be sleeping.
So I’ll leave you with this silly face and check back in tomorrow!
18 Comments
Tara
Boy, she looks so much like both of you it is amazing!
PRETTY IN THE CITY
BB never fails making me SMILE =) She’s an angel. I love the last pic.
Angie
That picture of her on the toy horse is the best! So freaking cute.
BeachMama
I love the silly face, just so sweet. I hope the move goes well, I can’t stand moving at all.
As for the toys. We always said we wouldn’t have a lot for J and well four years later, we don’t have a lot by today’s standards, but we sure have a lot more than I ever expected. I feel like we should do a purge, but I haven’t brought myself to do it yet. It is so hard when they are little still, you never know if they will start playing with something again, I really don’t want to have to rebuy a toy.
DeeJay
The toys can really get out of hand in a hurry. But I tend to hang with you on your opinion of not giving things that really aren’t needed.
I was listening to an episode of Judging Amy yesterday as I cleaned house and the one and only line that I remember hearing was “Kids are supposed to grow up and move out of their parent’s house one day.” She was telling her daughter that after they moved into an apartment from living with Grandma for a few years. I have no idea what is truly going on and the circumstances behind the move but I do know that things will work out eventually and life will be grand for everybody involved. Hang in there. It will be okay soon.
andrea
I am such a hypocrite when it comes to toys. I said from the beginning that I was going to go totally minimalist, no plastic crap, just quality wooden toys that would last forever and could be passed down. What do we now have? A room full of the latest and greatest light up, music making, talking and spinning plastic junk. We do have many wooden items that I absolutely love, but it is so hard not to get sucked into all the other stuff. We go for play dates and friends have them and he loves them so I feel like I am developmentally depriving him if he doesn’t have the activity table with all the bells and whistles. Hopefully someone we know will have a baby soon so I can offload all this stuff, we are feeling a little overwhelmed around here.
Wish we had someplace like the sticks to go and unwind. It must be so nice to get out of the city and be able to run free for a few days.
Jennifer
A couple months ago I cleaned out our playroom and came to the same conclusion. No more TOYS! I swore up and down that the next person to buy the girls a toy was going to have it shoved down their throat. The next person? Yah, you already know it was me.
I have an excuse: it was for their birthday! *Sigh*
ioi
Wow! That silly face at the end… BB reminds me of your dad and I never thought she resembled him that much!
Jennifer
I love the saucy expression in the last picture. Too cute! I’m guilty of buying way too many toys. I’ll have to email you a picture of all the toys we have over here. You’d probably have a heart attack.
Jennifer
Forgot to say that Madeline was hands down my most favorite story as a kid but I’ve yet to buy a Madeline book for Emily. Weird…
Angella
Don’t get me started on toys. They accumulate somehow. Matthew just did a big purge and it’s SO much better! Hope your stay is a gooder, and BB is as cute as ever :)
OMSH
I look forward to it! :)
Jenifer
That last picture is priceless! She looks so much like Toby with your eyes. Okay, my ovaries must stop hurting now.
Tim
That last shot is one of the cutest pictures of her I’ve seen.
MissMocha
Thanks again for helping me out SAJ. :)
I agree, no kid *needs* that many toys. Seriously, it just adds to the clutter, and they can only play with so many at once. I don’t even have kids, but I guess, a good tip would be… if you are tempted to buy more toys, put some $ in the kid’s tax deferred college savings plan instead. You will be thankful down the line. And the kid will thank you when the cost of college has exceeded the rate of inflation ten times over.
Gretchen
Very cute picture!
We try very hard not so much to limit toys, but be discriminating about what we have.
It’s tough though, when for seven years you have the only grandchildren on both sides.
nila
That picture just put a smile on my face. A real smile. She’s so cute and looks so happy to be in the sticks.
aimee / greeblemonkey
i’m totally like you. Too many toys in the house make me twitchy!