WFMW: Small and Simple Things

Thanks to Shannon, the great hostess of WFMW - check out other great ideas over at Rocks in My Dryer!

My idea today is not rocket science, just something I realized recently that indeed makes my life in Little Boy Land much easier. And them happier, too. It's inspired by the doorknobs to the nursery in the Beehive House. I saw them for the first time when I was eight or nine, and I've never forgotten them (or the joy of historic homes...): On the nursery door in that house, the doorknobs were installed about 18-24 inches from the floor, so that the littlest children could reach them comfortably. How sweet is that? (Especially when I personally rue the day my kids could reach doorknobs, turn them, and push a door open.)I just love the idea of thinking on the child's level for a few things, so here are three little variations on the reachable doorknob for me and my boys:

1. Dixie cups. They're not just for the bathroom sink area. 3-ouncers hold about as much as either of my little guys wants to drink at one sitting or as much as I'd like to mop up. They don't have lids, filters, or straws to locate and assemble, or rubbery spillproof attachments that are invisible in the garbage disposal, and since the boys sip these little drinks right in the kitchen, I'm not always looking for the sippy cup they were using this morning only to find the one they used last week, in a state of putrification. Plus, they sell handy little Dixie Cup dispensers for about $3, so you can keep them contained right by the kitchen sink.

2. Little "Joy" ice cream cones. They are less than half the size of a regular ice cream cone. I use a melon baller to scoop the ice cream. My boys love popsicles, but I'm not crazy about the stained shirts, hands, and faces and drips from here to there if we're planning to go out or whatever, so ice cream is a great alternative for a cool summertime treat. These little cones thrill my boys and they contain just enough ice cream to be manageable for the boys and not enough to melt and drip even to the wrist, let alone the elbow and belly button like a larger ice cream. Plus, I like to watch Henry eat with his pinky up.



3. Child-size backpacks. I've rebelled for a long time about individual bags for each child when traveling because I thought it would just create more stuff for me to keep track of en route, but this last time on the flight back, I divied their flight entertainment and some little snacks into the pockets of a backpack for each of them. Cal and Henry adored them, owned them, kept busy opening and shutting them, gettting their own treats or toys out and putting them back during our trip. It was adorable and really helpful to me - less rummaging in the deep dark single carry-on, and entertainment in itself for the boys.

These are just a few of the ways that looking at the world through their eyes every now and then simplifies life for all of us. Thinking small. Works for me!