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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Gobble Bag

Jeremiah tripped on some toys & caught himself but broke a dress-up shoe in the process. He was super annoyed & told Callie that he was going to take away her toys if she couldn't keep them picked up since he tripped on them. Shortly after that Callie tripped on a pair of Jeremiah's shoes & said that I needed to take them away from him because she tripped on them since he'd left them out! :)

The cleaning of the toys really is an issue around here so inspired by my friend Liz's gunny bag, we got a gobble bag. Much bigger than a pillow case! It's a collapsible laundry basket! The first couple of nights the threats of bringing out the gobble bag worked like a charm! The 3rd night Jack had made a huge mess & Jeremiah was about to get the bag & Callie was just sobbing as she was trying to pick up toys & Jack was just having a good old time playing. I told her to just pick up her things & then Jack's toys would be the one that got gobbled up & that immediately stopped the tears & perked her right up. That's ended up totally biting me in the butt! Now she evaluates which toys are worth cleaning up & which one's she's okay with having gobbled. She's said more than once, "That's okay, it can just go in the gobble bag until Monday" (the day the gobble bag gives back the toys). She's even volunteered a few things for the gobble monster to snack on! First of all I think we need to follow Liz's gunny bag more closely & make them earn the stuff back (I should have reread her post before I started the whole thing). But I wonder how many toys the gobble bag will eat up before they really care!

4 talk to me:

Reed, Liz and the kids said...

So glad you could use that! I am sure it will all work out- also, you are the Mom so change the rules of the gobble bag! :)

Dansie Family said...

we are not so creative here, just a a box. porter just cries the whole time and eliza really doesn't care. i need something better. tom's idea is always to throw it all away (or d.i. it). my kids will seriously spend three hours upstairs "cleaning." i really need to find something that works to motivate them other than me standing there dictating exactly what to put away.

shannon said...

OH MY GOSH, my mom totally had one of those growing up. lost my New Kids on the Block tape to the "gobble bag"

Callie said...

that is so funny, Kailey does the same thing, when she doesnt want to clean up she decides she doesnt need it. so we decided to throw them away, the thing is, I dotn want to throw them away! i paid good money for her toys, she needs to clean them up!!!! if you get any more insight let me know. lately we locked everything up and so she just cant make a mess. it works pretty well, now she colors and does "homework"