Missing Our Playroom

Right now I'm missing my playroom!

Having just recently bought a new home and moved, We have found ourselves playroom-less, which has left us with only one option. We have had to store the toys in the kid's bedrooms. And it is giving me the heebie jeebies!

Having no dedicated play space has seriously thrown off my groove. And I know that sounds like I'm being pretty ridiculous (perhaps I am...) but the unorganized chaos that has occurred in their bedrooms has been killing me inside. Hives people. Hives!

The stupid things we let get to us, yah?

But it isn't just being OCD that makes me miss our playroom. There are so many more reasons to it than just craziness!

A dedicated play-space, in our home, gives the children a place where they have express permission to explore.

They are allowed to make messes without fear in their dedicated play space.

Their play space is set up so they CAN make messes without being destructive.

The play space is an area where they can leave their toys mid-play and return again later ( instead of having to put them away for sleep time).

Playing in the play space is never off limits (as opposed to having the toys in the bedroom where they are not allowed to touch them during naps or night time)

The play-space environment is set up to instill capability (and in a way that also ensures that mommy is nearby). 

Oh there are so many benefits to having a place for your kids to play where you can say 'Yes' to them as much as possible and put as many materials as you can within their reach (Unlike a bedroom, where you don't want the finger paint in reach, lest they get creative during sleep hours...)

I want my playroom back. For reals.

In the meantime, I know we'll squeak by. We are currently saving to turn our downstairs basement into the playroom. It only has 6' ceilings...but that should be plenty high for the little tots that will be playing down there! I hope to be able to get started on that project soon.

How about ya'll? What is your most favorite/important room in the house? Where do you find the most joy, inspiration, and peace?  I don't think it is too hard to guess where I find mine! ;]

Playroom Updates...

Well, I am finally on the mend! Thank goodness! Ny-quil and I have been on a little too close of terms lately for my taste. But oh, what a joyous (albeit brief) union it was. Now if I could just keep these cold sores in check. I've got two of them, because apparently it wouldn't have been a party if there was only one...

Okay, all sickness aside, while I haven't been keeping the posts updated... I have been messing around with my the kids playroom. Again.

But it was just too fun not to! Post-Christmas means new toys, new possibilities, and usually... a lot of rearranging to make it all fit. ;]

Look who got a play kitchen for Christmas! And oops, I'm still not finished with Emmie's Market. I have some spray painting left to do (probably white!) and the grocery ads to put up, but Em has enjoyed playing with it all nonetheless!

And check out that Lego table! Bah. I'm giddy excited about how that one turned out! Expect a how-to post on it soon!

I was also crazy excited about these cute little metal pails I found in the dollar section at Target. Be still my soul. They came with the chalkboard stickers already attached! I instantly knew that I needed them. Now I just wish I had bought about...500 more. You think Target might carry these babies online?

Oh yah. Did I forget to mention I moved the art shelves? They used to be on the wall that currently houses our new play kitchen (which may or may not be getting a paint job soon, we'll see...).

 By the way. Ignore that random white hutch sitting by the book shelves. I hope to discard of that soon. As soon as I can afford a peg board and some Azar display bins anyways. Which, you know... could be a few years from now. I'll cross my fingers otherwise, ;].

And thanks to my sweet husband's parents, we were able to add some more Playmobil to our collection this Christmas. We bought this set to go along with the Children's Petting Zoo we bought last year for Emmie's birthday. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

I also finally got around to setting up the dress up station and mounting the mirror. It had all been stuffed into the dress up bin and stored in the toy closet since we switched rooms. It was time for that to change! Now we just need to get around to purging and updating all of our costume supplies.

The toy closet only saw minor changes. Really all that happened here was that I moved out the tall baker's rack, and moved the dress up bin out (as previously mentioned).

Well, there's a quick peak into a few of the changes we've made around here. 

We have by no means "arrived" exactly at where we want this playroom to someday be.  But it's functional. And the kids love it. And even though it may not be cute, or coordinated... I love it too. It has become a place for us to explore, create, pretend, practice (sharing, manners, cleaning), read, and play. 

And, maybe someday, I'll finally be able to add all the cute curtains and accent pillows my little heart could desire. But for now, I'll take it slow and steady, and enjoy the memories we are investing in.

What has been your best investment over this last year? How will you invest your time or money differently for 2013? Or will you stick to what you did in 2012? I love January. And I love New Years resolutions! I'd love to hear what's on your list!

Ch-ch-ch-changes! (A new, new playroom)

Ohmygoodness it's stormin' Norman over here! We went grocery shopping this morning and just about got blasted away by the wind. Too bad I had to take myself and the kids out in it! Not quite as bad as the political hurricanes wreaking havoc on Facebook, but bad enough I'm hoping I get to stay inside for the rest of the day!

...and maybe add to that facebook mayhem ;].

Hope you all are having a bit better weather!

So, as promised, I told you I'd tell you all about the major changes we made last week:

 I decided to turn our master bedroom into the new playroom! And our playroom into the new master!

HA!

I told ya' I was crazy. ;]  But at least now you know that my husband loves me. ;] What a good man. He was totally gung-ho supportive about it! Even though it did mean moving us into the smaller bedroom.  The one with out the private bath...

But I had some pretty good excuses for doing it (sanity for one!), and kind of spent weeks thinking it over in my head (and talking it over with the hubs, of course!). By the time last week had rolled around, I was just DONE thinking about it and had to make the change! Immediately.

And so I did! And I am loving how the switch is working out so far! And I think the kids are loving it too!

But I should probably explain why I made the switch in the first place!

You see, our new apartment... it had some issues. Organizational challenges, if you will.  And they had been giving me the straight up heebie jeebies since moving in!

These "problem" areas? Namely, the closet and the bathroom in the Master Bedroom.  

Let's start with the closet.  Albeit, a walk in closet, this space had less space than any other closet in the entire apartment.  With only one rod to hang clothing on and an awkwardly placed shoe holder,  I was pretty sure the moment I moved in that the closet and me weren't going to get along.

To make do, we added a metal support and a shower rod for hanging more clothes. And we stuffed in our plastic drawers (ya know, to hold the usual...socks, undies, power tools ;] ) as best we could.

But it was a clutter nightmare. I'm pretty sure my brain couldn't think up worse.

And then there was the master bathroom. It was less than half the size of the kid's bathroom. But that I almost wouldn't have minded.  What I did mind, was that the top two drawers in the bathroom... aren't really drawers at all. Just facades, people!

Which left our bathroom (the one that had much more to hold than the kid's bathroom) with one, count em, O-N-E working drawer.  At least it was deep...

But it still hardly fit a darned thing! Whatever wasn't essential to our morning routine had to be moved over to the kids bathroom. Which had 3 working drawers, coincidentally...

And so, after a few months of this, the thought of switching rooms didn't seem all that bad anymore. Originally, we didn't do it because we were tired. Tired of moving. Tired of limbo. Just tired.

Plus, we already had the playroom all set up and cutes-like. And we cringed at the thought of moving the art shelves. And the rain gutter book shelves.  They were a pain (and two-halves!) to put up!

But like I said, by the time last week rolled around, I was so over all of the clutter that I promised to make the switch all.by.myself. Art shelves, rain gutters, and all!

And my husband was so sweet, he offered to help me so many times, but I've got more pride than pride rock I was determined to be a girl of my word, and did every single last bit of it myself!

The Playroom became the new master, the master become the new playroom. The master bathroom became the kid's bathroom, and we took the main bathroom off the hall.   And it all fits so much better!

And in so doing, I also semi solved another area in my apartment that I considered a sore spot. The kitchen
storage. (Are you getting the picture yet how much this apartment lacks in storage? It's nuts.)  We had two baker's racks in there originally, but I just didn't like the way they looked. When I switched the bedrooms around, I had an extra bookshelf, so I moved that into the kitchen, and took the baker's racks into the playroom.

(Before)

(After)

It isn't perfect, but I like the look of it SO.MUCH.BETTER!

So, as far as 'after' pictures of the master bedroom? It's gonna hafta wait! The closet space is amazing! But our new room is still a total wreck. Its the room we use the least...so it usually ends up being the last I ever address.   But... I can tell you this... once I do finish it? Its gonna be good. ;]

Well, there you have it! A glimpse into the insanity of my organization itch. This may or may not happen 6-7 more times while we live here. Guess we'll see ;].

What are the problem spots in your home? Have any genius fixes? Closets always tend to be a sore spot in this casa. I haven't even started to begin on what the other closets look like. Yikes!