Three Questions?

If I was playing along with Jo-Lynne's What I Learned Carnival today, I guess I would have to say that I learned nobody really wants to know about me. Or that I overshare, so no one feels the need to ask me anything.

Moving on.

T With Honey asks:

What have you found to be the best solution for organizing and storing toys in which the kids can somewhat manage themselves and also not forget about their toys?

Oh T, you are too much. You are so kind as to think I have any kind of organizational system. We are not lucky enough to have a playroom, so most of the toys stay in the kid rooms. We do have one canvas basket in the living room for baby toys. My boys have one of these, only in primary colors and not quite that pricey. It is by no means perfect, but it is serviceable. I used to be anal and want the toys organized in each bin, but I abandoned that when I decided the boys could put their own toys away. This works for us because they can reach everything and none of the bins is so deep that toys get lost. They also have a toy box for their big toys, which means they might not get played with as often, but having them clean up regularly reminds them of the toys they have. My girls have less organization going on. Their babies and dolls and doll accessories are in one storage bin, dress up stuff in another bin, and then little toys are in smaller bins. They do have a wire shelving organization system that can be configured in several ways, but I don't love it and wouldn't recommend it. My best advice is to be ruthless in cleaning out toys on a regular basis so that there is not a ton of stuff to begin with. And finally, you have kids, so make peace with the fact that your house will reflect that.

Kami asks:

If you could do anything, beside being a GREAT mommy, what would you do?

Assuming talent comes with this dream, I would be an anchor on SportsCenter. I'm a sports nerd. I love watching sports. I love talking about sports. I love reading about sports. And SportsCenter is kind of the holy grail of sports television.

And finally, Jeanne asks:

I know you're an avid book reader, but are there any magazines you enjoy reading & why?

What a nice follow-up to the previous question. The two magazines I subscribe to are Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine. I've subscribed to SI for over ten years, and ESPN for a couple of years. I like them because I like sports. SI used to have some really great, in-depth stories about things I would otherwise not know about. While I think their content quality has declined in recent years, I still enjoy reading it. Plus, knowing about sports makes for great conversation in mixed company. I used to subscribe to WonderTime, which is a nice parenting/family magazine. I liked the stories, the recipes, the crafts, and the overall presentation. It is better than your typical parenting magazine. But, I couldn't afford to keep the subscription. I like to pick up Real Simple magazine every so often as well, for inspiration.

Thanks for providing me with something to write about. Coming soon, a birthday wish list featuring Etsy shops that I spend too much time browsing.