Little bitty toys...

I have a 3 year old. Until she turns 4. That seems like a really long time from now.

Other people talk about their children not making it to see 4. Bill Cosby jokes, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!" I'm sure my daughter will make it to 4 just fine. I might not, though.

So this is what she's doing... And I know now that this is typical child development age-appropriate behavior, because the only thing that keeps me going is to hear other people say that their kids did that too...Anyway...

She takes all these little toys that she's fascinated with...finger puppets, Littlest Pet Shop toys (which can I tell you the accessories to are so microscopic that we can never hold on to them for more than a week?), little rings, little collectibles my mother-in-law gave her (thanks for that), crayon pieces, puzzle pieces, blocks, etc...and she dumps them out (from these labeled shoe boxes that I have them all organized in) onto the floor and then mixes them up and puts them in the strangest places.

Example: The first time I saw this behavior was when I asked her to pick up her puzzle pieces. I did not specifically tell her to put them back in the box they came from. Therefore, they ended up in my husband's shoe. That was kinda funny because it was puzzle pieces from the same puzzle, they were easy to put away, and I found them in my husband's shoe shortly after they had been placed there.

But then...little things started appearing in bunches all around the house in containers that they were not meant to go in. Shoes, tupperware, a macaroni and cheese box I had thrown in the trash that she had taken out of the trash, diaper wipes containers...you get the idea. ALL OVER. It's been like this massive scavenger hunt for little toys I know are missing and I know they are somewhere in the house if only the 3 year old would give me a clue.

But when I ask she says, "I'm making salad." "I made mud." "I'm having a birthday party and I have to wrap the presents." What?? What does that mean?? Stop driving me crazy and tell me where your toys are.

And this is why I say I won't survive to see her 4th birthday. I can't go to bed sometimes until I know all the toys are put away in their designated box. I fear that someday my 2 month old will crawl around, find a small toy, put it in his mouth, and choke on it. I fear I will be pierced in the foot by a toy in my shoe. I fear I will be 65 years old with my kids moved out and I will still be finding Littlest Pet Shop accessories under the couch.

I've started to slowly move all the little toys in their shoe boxes upstairs to the 3 year old's room. She knows something's going on, but she hasn't figured out exactly what it is yet because it's a slow progression of toy movage and let's face it, pre-schoolers can still be fooled in some ways. I'm planning on moving some toys to the garage soon because I have to make room for new toys around Christmas time. I haven't been able to do the garage thing yet though, because I saw Toy Story 3. If you saw the movie, you know what I'm talking about.

I have a confession to make too. Sometimes, on days when I feel like I won't make it, I pick out one little messed up, broken toy and throw it in the trash. Okay, okay, sometimes two. But I always make sure they are broken and I justify it by telling myself broken toys can hurt kids. (Don't tell me about the lonely toys in Toy Story 3 that were broken and ignored...I know, I know...)

I want to get over myself and deal with the toys in a healthy way. I want to accept this behavior will pass and something else will take it's place. I know that's true. And somewhere out there is a therapist that will have a blast analyzing why I have to control the toys and why it bothers me so much to have small toys in my shoes.
I say, don't judge me.