Why buy toys when you have a cardboard box...

My son is tiny so we didn't have to switch from the infant car seat basket for quite a while. We have a larger car seat that is convertible from infant to who knows how old. It has been in its box sitting in my coat closet since my shower. We broke it out a couple of weeks ago and had a nice big box left over. My husband wanted to cut it up and put it out with the recycling bin but I insisted that we keep it. I wanted to make a little fort out of it for my son.

The other day I got home from work and there was the fort in the middle of my living room. My husband had cut out windows and poked a bunch of holes in the top. With string he hung toys on the inside. If you picture the box on its side, the actual top of the box is the entrance and the ceiling is one of the sides. He LOVED it. I am sure I could have left him alone to run to the store and he would have still be playing in when I got back. He loved the toys hanging down. He loved to drop things out of the window. He loved to crawl into it and back out, over and over again. I didn't really leave him to go to the store but I did pick up my book and was able to read it while keeping an eye on him out of the corner of my eye.

I thought the fort was the best thing in the world. But I was wrong, there was something better. Last night I came home and my living room had a whole tunnel system leading to the fort. Using the couch and ottoman as barriers, my husband draped blankets and the room became a maze. He told me to crawl through it. I crawled down one end and had to make a left turn. When I turned, I could see the fort was all lit up. He had taken the music/light box that came with our pack-n-play and rigged it through the window. I wish that I had something like that when I was little. I had cardboard houses but nothing like this. My son followed me in and we played until I became clausterphobic.

I couldn't believe my husband was so creative. He said they worked on it and played in it for most of the day. I had to tear it down when the baby went to bed because there was no where to sit. But it is easy enough to put back together again so I didn't feel too bad.