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Cheryl
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 1:00pm | IP Logged
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If you do, do you set any limits?
Maybe it's because I have a six week old baby, and I slept 4 hours last night, and I've struggled this morning to load the dishwasher and eat my lunch, but I can't seem to decide where to draw the line.
I said no way to folding tables (this time) and no to the lamp...
I felt like screaming when I saw the mess.
And it's a gorgeous sunny day outside! 
I'm going to try to take a nap now. Maybe it won't bother me when I wake up, but I doubt it. 
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Cheryl
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Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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JodieLyn
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yes but there's limits and it has to be put away and on the days I just can't stand it.. they have to do it in their bedrooms rather than the living room. And they can't take off outside or such until it's put away. They use the blankets off their beds so I can handle just having the blankets dumped back where they belong.. so it's not a huge process of needing to fold and put away things.. or even make the beds.. I can handle just having the blankets put back on the bed whether made or not.. most of my kids prefer wrapping up in the blanket than having it laid out neatly anyway.
It mostly happens here during thunderstorms.. so it's not a bad indoor activity.. they call it their "bomb shelter"  not that they're afraid of the lightning at all.. just how they play.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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SylviaB
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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Yes, but we do have limits (lamp would be a good example). It does tend to stay up for days though! :)
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Marybeth
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 1:27pm | IP Logged
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Yes!!!!! It is one of ds's favorite things to do. I put my foot down when it gets too big or too messy.
Hope the nap helped...maybe you could say it comes down tonight and next time to ask permission before they make one??
Hannah is so adorable...look at her not the mess! 
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Marybeth (Mb)
http://held-together.blogspot.com
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 2:19pm | IP Logged
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Yes, I do. And there are days it does drive me c-r-a-z-y.
There is a wide space behind our sofa and a wall of our living room. The girls have a small rocking chair, a bookshelf, and their art easel back there.
They put afgans over the sofa back and the easel and bookshelf to form their tents. It usually looks more like a ghetto.
I check it periodically to make sure it is kept neat but often I find it littered with Webkinz and sleeping bags.
I allow tents on weekends but other days I insist this is still "my" living room. There has to be some order for my sanity.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
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Mary G
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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Yes ... but it does drive me crazy sometimes as they usually use my best books (they're great for holding blankets up, I guess). Last time they set it up IN MY ROOM and I couldn't get to the master bath without walking across the bed. They really wanted to sleep in there overnight and I had to put the kabosh on that as I worried about having to get up in the middle of the night .....
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MaryG
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stefoodie
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Yes! And the only limit = when Mom gets tired of it or company's coming. No lamps though. But most anything's game. Sometimes we join them under there and try to read or something. It's so much fun!!  It's one of the things I'll dearly miss when they're grown and gone. In fact, they haven't done it in a while.... so maybe I'll tell them to... but after the eldest's graduation party 9/13.
I'm such a killjoy when it comes to other things so this is one thing I really let them do however they want to do it.
Oh wait, now that I think about it. They did build one once that was made up of stacks of sofa cushions and pillows. The walls were one wall and the couch back. Inside they crouched in with a lamp, and stacks and stacks of books. I even fit. THAT was fun.
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stef
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Lisbet
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What I've done that has really helped with this is buy one of the those giant silk parachutes (Oriental Trading!) and a bag of clothes pins. I'm considering a second parachute for Christmas this year. They can make some awesome tents with this, and they are not dragging blankets off beds and out of closets (well, most of the time...)
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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missionfamily
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 4:47pm | IP Logged
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Okay--I'm so glad to know I'm not the only mom driven crazy by this. If my kids have to play inside for whatver reason, it always involves some sort of set-up...a restaurant in my bedroom, a vet's office in the TV room, an obstacle course in the living room, a dinosaur habitat on the deck...and tents, always tents. If I don't notice early on, there can computers, telephones, lamps, sheets, rugs, and furniture moving involved.
We have rules...no re-arranging furniture, no playing the living room where we pray, no mussing mom's bed, don't take things that aren't yours. They are consistently followed except int he excitement of a "set-up", when all ration and practicality are overthrown by vivid imagination--which is a good thing, right?
Except that it makes me crazy! We might have to try the parachute idea this Christmas. And I think I may revise the fmaily rules to limit set-ups to the upstairs play room. Then I won't get a lump in my throat every time I walk by.
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Colleen
dh Greg
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Tina
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 4:59pm | IP Logged
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We have the tents here, too. Not usually a big deal unless it gets too "full" or I'm just not in the mood . But I LOVE your idea of the parachute, Lisa!
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~Tina
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 5:30pm | IP Logged
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I bought them each their own pup tent and they can pitch it outside any time they want, rain or shine. Does that count??? 
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Theresa
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Mary K
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Our 2 couches get pushed together to form a pirate ship. I take advantage of the couches being moved and vacuum there.
I wish I had taken a picture when they used a love seat, chair, kid chairs, sheets, and hockey sticks to make a covered wagon,but they took it down before I had a chance.
God bless,
Mary-NY
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Stephanie_Q
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Oh yes - tents, boats AND trains. Every chair in the house lined up from the side door, through the dining room and the kitchen. They have to put all the chairs back before dad gets home so that he can get in the house. (We can get out...we have two other easily accessible exits and it is easier to move chairs from inside than from outside...although I have thought of banning the train as a "fire hazard"). The thing that drives me crazy about these things is the amount of STUFF they load up in/on them. When I see that pile, I just want to box it up and give it all away...and when it is "my" stuff that is being taken without permission, the game is over.
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MaryM
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| Posted: Aug 25 2008 at 4:47pm | IP Logged
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Though they are known to build tents indoors - it's more likely outside with patio furniture and old blankets we use for sitting on at sporting events. When I was a kid our tents were pretty much outdoor deals using those old aluminum frame lawn chairs with sheets and beach towels. Such fun memories - I hope my kiddos remember it fondly, too..
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Mary M. in Denver
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graciefaith
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Yes, but the rule is they HAVE to clean it all up by themselves when they're finished.
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Blessed wife and mom of 3 girls, Sept. '01, Dec. '02 and Oct. '07
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Do you let your children build tents?
