In a homeschooling house full of 7 kids & 3 guniea pigs....there is never a dull moment! A lot of people show genuine concern for us and want to know how we are doing, as the road we've left behind was not a pleasant one. So, here I am, to tell some of our stories...share some of our days...and open up a part of our world to you! Come join us on our journey so you won't miss the moments that take our breath away!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Out with the old...in with the new!

Ahh....the after Christmas organizing! 

I must first say that my children are so very blessed!  With so many aunts, uncles, 2 sets of grandparents (actually 4 sets for my older kids), siblings who buy each other Christmas gifts and of course a mom and dad who are somehow able to provide more than their kids need...my kids are beyond SPOILED!  If they go without something that they want, you'd sure never know it around here!

I prepared well for all the new things the babies were getting!  Last week, I spent an entire weekend re-organizing around here.  I went through every toy box and bin in the babies room and took out all of the toys they didn't play with and the ones that they simply outgrew.  Some toys went to my parent's house and others still sit in a pile to be sorted and donated to those in need.  For a few days, their room sat looking so empty, but it is now wall to wall with toys once again!

Thank God I have a knack for organizing...otherwise, I would go crazy!  Our entire house had gotten out of hand over the last few months and one room at a time, I have managed to get it back in order!  I still have some work to do, but overall...we are once again organized around here.  Organization definately makes for a much happier mom...and we've even had time to re-start our family game nights!

I have a few friends who many times call upon me to come and help them organize their house...to me, it's second nature, but to some it's a completly foreign to them.

The babies used to have an official "sleeping area", but many months ago, I had to remove the toddler bed from the room because Emu constantly took the bed apart...he's so facinated with taking things apart and putting things together.  He could always seem to get the bed apart, but never back together and it just didn't seem safe that the bed constantly came crashing down.  So, now Emu and Macaw sleep on their mattresses that we pull off of Ducklings bed every night.  It seems to work out, especially now that they have even bigger toys.  As much as I'd love for them to have bunk beds...I just don't know that they'd fit anyways!

So...here is their new "sleeping area" that now also houses their Grocery Store and Construction Zone.


 The only toys I kept in their room are toys that go with each of their "centers", with the exception of one "Misc." bin. 

Here are their large bins.  The bottom is their misc. bin, the middle is their food bin (contains everything for their kitchen and grocery store).  The top bin is all animals (for the vet care center).  You can't tell by the picture, but the wall where these large bins sit sticks out so the small bins actually sit back.  The doll house sits in front of the small bins and lines up evenly with the large bins.  The smalles bin contains wallets/cell phones/money, etc.  The next bin contains all of the tools/wood pieces/nails/screws, etc (for the workbench), the next bin contains all bags/backpacks/purses, etc.  The bottom bin contains all the figures/my little ponies, etc.  The doll house stores all the furniture and people.  There is a toybox up against the wall and that contains all of the buildings for the GeoTrax, in front of that sits the workbench.



 Next to the train buildings toybox is a toybox containing all of the dolls!  In the corner sits two stacks of storage drawers.  The bottom drawer is doll clothes, the next drawer up is all of the doll accessories (bibs, rattles, shoes, etc), then all of the medical/vet care accessories and animal clothes, then a dress up drawer (all the dress up clothes, magic wands, etc.), the top drawer is a train set.  On the top, we have started a Barbie section, as Macaw got her first 3 Barbies and a Barbie Kitchen.  Next is McDonalds (all of the McDonald's food/accessories are stored inside), next to that sits the Vet Care Center.


 Next to the Vet Care Center is the Beauty Salon which holds some accessories and make up.  Then sits the washer/dryer (the dryer holds all of the baby sleeping bags/blankets).  The baby care center sits diagonally which allows for the grill and high chair to sit behind it.  The train table fits nicely right in the middle of this area, with plenty of room to play all around it.

 Lastly, the new kitchen :)

I am always looking for a bargin and some of these toys were bought used...I bet you can't tell which ones :)  Don't worry...they didn't notice either!  If you must know...the Little Tikes Grocery Store, Shopping Cart and some food items were purchased as a used set for $40.  The Mega Blocks and the Garbage can were both given to us (the Mega Blocks were new), Beauty Salon which was used was $10, train table $60.  Not shown...other used items the kids received for Christmas...the Radio Flyer My First Scooter was $10, Ping Pong Table = free, Air Hockey table $30. 
By buying used and with the loving help of a Christmas Angel or two and selling some things they outgrew...the kids got more than they "wanted" under the tree...all without me going "too" far over my initial $50 per kid Christmas budget!  Most of the toys now in the babies room are all new (either for their birthday or Christmas).  Santa brought McDonalds, the beauty salon, and the vet care center and a few other small things.  The rest of the stuff (like the grocery store/cart, the workbench, the dollhouse, the baby care center, the lincoln logs, the kitchen and much more) all came from the grandparents, many aunts and uncles, and siblings who spoil them!


No comments:

Post a Comment