Toys, Toys, Toys!

School has started!  The weather is getting cooler. Christmas will be here before I know it.  I have actually started a list of things that I want for gifts for the kids.  This year, I am hoping that we don't wait to the last minute and end up not really getting the things we want.  I think I want to get some more car toys and some older doll house toys as well as some duplo blocks.  The twins are playing with some toy doll house pieces with EI and they seem to really like it.  I am also thinking that I want to get a few more dolls.  I had gone out looking for a Barbie doll for my daughter and even though I got so many thoughts about Barbie not being an issue for girls, when I looked them they were just so skanky and I couldn't spend $20 on a barbie for a 2 1/2 year old.  As I looked for something that I felt was more appropriate, I found a small doll that was bigger than a barbie, but still small enough for a 2 1/2 year old to carry around.  It came with a couple of changes of clothes that snap on to the doll and there are a few different dolls to choose from.  The kids love this doll and it was such a good choice.

Now, with Christmas approaching faster than I care to admit, I really need to weed through a lot of their toys and get rid of things that they wither don't want to play with, or that seem too young for them.  That way I can make room for new toys and hopefully keep a cleaner more organized house.

I am really looking for toys that are going to have a developmental benefit to the kids.  I am not crazed about the type of toys that they get, but I do want to make sure that they actually do stimulate some learning.  One of my goals is to also make a few gifts for them.  I am hoping that I can make some things to go along with toys that they will potentially get for Christmas.  A friend of mine made a great map quilt for her kids to play with their cars.  I am thinking of something like that, or maybe even just a simple case for the kids to carry their cars in.  I want to make a doll or 2 or 3, their quilts, and on and on and on.  I have way to many thoughts and not enough time to complete them.  I am hoping to have a few travel projects so that I can take them with me, for example when there is down time at work.  Right now, I need to utilize what ever time I can find to complete my projects!

Amy