MaeLyn's Musings

An extended relative of mine made a comment to me recently that left me with the impression that she thinks I throw away all my kids' toys. I'm not sure exactly how she gained this impression, but I can guess. My kids don't really have a big variety of manufactured toys. They used to when they were younger, but over the years I've realized that they don't play with them very much. Things that were designed to be used in one specific way don't seem to interest my children very much, and so these types of toys often end up tossed in a corner. I try not to buy these types of toys, because they aren't right for my children. On the other hand, my children have a huge collection of Legos, which they spend hours and hours putting together, building cities, organizing communities and economic systems. Why do they like Legos? They are versatile. Yes, you can build with them, but the things they can build provide huge varieties of ways to play. Because my childr...

When April was here over the 4th of July, I was looking at her cell phone. It was a lot cooler than mine. It had a camera. It could record sound. It had a full keyboard that would make texting a ton easier. When she told me how much it had cost her, I had to pass on the information to Steven. He did some research, and last Friday, our new phones arrived. The next couple days were filled with getting our phone numbers and minutes transferred to the new phones, and becoming familiar with them and their capabilities. We acquired additional gadgets for them - one to connect them to the computer to transfer music and pictures, and another to connect to the car stereo so Steven can listen to the music on his cell phone over the car speakers while he is driving his hour long commute each way to work. I spent several hours one day customizing my ring tone and formatting a few of my computer desktop backgrounds for display on my phone. It's been fun playing with our new phones. When we ...

Last night I took the three older children to scouts and Young Womens. When I returned home, Peter was sound asleep in bed, but I could see what he had been doing. Several of Peter's favorite stuffed animals were lined up against the wall, each with either a backpack or a jacket. Facing them was the rocking chair and bench/desk with some books. Of all my children, Peter is the most attached to his stuffed animals. How many of your children set up elaborate games to play with their stuffed animals? (And how do you teach them to put the toys away when they are done with them - without being reminded?)

I'm way overdue for an update, but it's been hard to find the time this summer. The week after our South Dakota Adventure was busy. John had Cub Scout Day Camp that week. I was busy unpacking, cleaning, doing laundry, enjoying Kristy and Family's visit, and on Friday of that week I got to leave the other three kids with a friend while I went to help out with the day camp. That was fun. Since it was the last day, the boys got to shoot off rockets that they had made earlier in the week. They pounded stamps into leather, learned about putting up and taking down tents, learned how to play some volley ball, and played dodge ball. The challenge was keeping track of the boys' water bottles and making sure they were all drinking enough in the hot sun. John and I ended up leaving a little early, and I'm glad we did: at the time that they were supposed to let out, a summer storm had arrived and it was pouring rain and hailing! The following week we were finally able to settle...