My Pack Rats

Imagine this: It's time for school and you are eagerly and patiently trying to get 3 small children out the door and loaded into the car. You already have all necessary bags loaded so all that should be leaving the house is you and 3 kids, right? That would be ideal. Instead, let me tell you what I wound up with in my car before we left for school yesterday morning: 2 hula hoops, 1 dinosaur, a red purse, a black purse (the pink one could stay home), 1 pink box full of hair accesories, 6 books, 2 cups w/ granola bar and raisins, and 2 sippie cups. No, I'm not kidding. I wish I had thought to pull out my camera. Austin and Avery start playing with things in the morning and then want to take it in the car with them. I do attempt to stay "no" but if that results in a fit, I try not to fight it.. not worth the battle. I wind up carrying most of it myself and then it sits in my car all day. Yesterday we seemed to pack along more things than normal... Of course, this really doesn't suprise me. There have been a few nights where we have had to make room for Avery to lay down in her bed because she insisted on putting all of her baby dolls in bed plus her usual 3 or 4 books, hippo pillow, and Minnie Mouse. I attempted to take a few of the dolls out when tucking her in, but she caught me and insisted they go back in the bed. I had to wait until she was fast asleep to remove some of the things.