This is Why We Can Never Find Anything!

Kayli is a kid that loves to “squirrel away” random objects. I guess she sees me constantly putting things away in cupboards, closets, bags, so she thinks that’s what you do. If there is a box, bag, bench, or nook, in our house, it probably has something Kayli stored/stuffed in there. Problem? At least these things are not scattered all over the house, but, “storage” is not contained to a few common places. It could be anything that has a lid, door, or latch. So, if something is missing, like the remote control for the t.v., I might not consider looking in the step stool in the bathroom! Sometimes it’s downright hysterical, for instance, to open a closet and find something like a crumpled up pair of little pink socks stuffed in a toy teacup, sitting on the shelf next to a rubber duck. See a purpose here? Me neither. Sometimes it’s downright maddening, for example, Kayli’s favorite green toothbrush and Tinker Bell toothpaste turned up missing a few days ago. We looked and looked, and I kept saying “where did you put them?” and she’d look at me like I was crazy, and it did drive me crazy, until it hit me. I remembered that a few days earlier I had mentioned to Kayli that we were going to meet up with her cousin, Anna, for a playdate. She was so excited, she immediately went into “prep mode”. (“Prep mode” in our house: Whenever we are getting ready to go somewhere, part of the preparation is, me packing the backpack with any items a mom might find herself in need of while out: snacks, drinks, wetwipes, books, crayons, change of clothing, etc.) So, Kayli went into her own version of prep mode, and began stuffing “things” into a little book box that she found nearby. I didn’t really notice what she put in her box, but now, days later, book box still packed, I’m thinking, hmm, sure enough, there they were, in the mix of random items, the toothbrush and toothpaste. You never know when you might need your toothbrush and toothpaste!!! It sure would be helpful if she would just limit her “storage” to a few common places , but then, what would be the fun of that?