The Toy Monster

Have you ever heard of The Toy Monster? He is not a scary monster, as a matter of fact, my children are not afraid when they hear the word, "monster" because we have always made it fun, sorta like the movie Monsters, Inc.

I LOVE the toy monster. You will too.

About 8 months ago the kids started having a hard time picking up their toys before bed. We tried the whole, "they'll go in the trash" thing but it was a bit traumatizing to Lauren and when I was a kid, my mom threw tons of my toys into a trash bag and tossed the bag into the garage without telling my dad. Those toys got put on the curb, never to be seen again. My brand new Minnie Mouse doll, my precious new key chain from the Fort Worth Zoo, gone! I will not do that to my kids. So, I told my kids that whatever toys were left out when they went to bed would get eaten by the toy monster. He sneaks into the house while we're sleeping and feasts on all the toys that were left behind. We think of him as the reverse Santa Claus who sneaks into your house to leave toys. This whole toy monster thing works like a charm. Sometimes the toy monster rings the doorbell if the kids are being slow about picking up toys. Then Lauren will shout out, "Go away Toy Monster! We are not ready for you yet." Sometimes the kids hear him ride on his motorcycle....the one the neighbor's kids left outside overnight! Sometimes we have toy monster spottings through the window or if we are driving home after dark, we have toy monster sightings at the neighbors' houses.

Yes, we love the toy monster at our house.