Home Tour: Playroom

We've been living in our new place for just over two months now and as you can see below Ez and Declan wasted no time making the place their own. Even though we've been settled for a few months the novelty still hasn't worn off for any of us. We LOVE it here, both the house and Sacramento. A few perks of our new house compared to our last place: 1) more space 2) a backyard. How we ever lived without a yard before I'll never know but to say the boys are happy with these new developments is a complete understatement. It's the perfect fit for wildly energetic boys. 

Luckily for the boys almost all the extra space has gone toward their play room. I'm pretty sure this room should be a formal dining/sitting area, but we don't have an extra dining table or couch. What we do have is a Radiator Springs table, a plastic basketball hoop, and lots and lots of toys. Voila, room furnished! ;)

Despite the lack of furnishings this is one of our favorite rooms in the house. We like to gather here in the evenings to play chase, bury each other under a mountain of stuffed animals, shoot hoops, and wrestle (though that's more of a daddy & sons game). Pretty much anything to get rid of that pre-bedtime energy.

Last year I gave a little play room organization tour, and this year I have finally gotten on board with toy rotation. Pretty much every time Ez and Declan ransack the room I go through afterward and pick out whatever toys are left in the baskets and make them "disappear". My theory is that these are the picked over toys that aren't currently holding their interest. Does anyone else feel like you're constantly losing the toy clutter battle? I'd love to hear if you rotate toys and how often you do it. I haven't gotten around to actually rotating toys back in yet, so far I'm still trying to find that sweet spot of enough toys to entertain them but not so much that it's overwhelming for them to clean their own messes. Any genius toy-decluttering hacks would be much appreciated! 

PS - If you want to see what this room looks like 99% of the time go ahead scroll all the way to the bottom.

Real life:

Nightly shenanigans:

We're Moving...Again

Things have been pretty quiet around the blog lately, but with good reason. Remember how I mentioned in our year by numbers post that we moved zero times? And how that was a big deal for us? Well, we've been in our current place for 18 months, the longest of any place Joe and I have ever lived together, and come this weekend we're moving on to not only a new house, but a new city.

As much fun as we've had here, money just doesn't go that far in the Bay Area so we're moving on to the state's capital: Sacramento. Since Joe is fortunate enough to work from home, with only occasional trips to the office, we were able to pick pretty much anywhere we wanted to live within a reasonable distance. Joe went to school in Sacramento and we've made several trips there over the past few months and it stood out as somewhere we'd like to live. So with just three weeks left till our lease was up we scrambled to find a place, and somehow, miraculously, everything fell into place and we found a beautiful house which all four of us love.

In case you're wondering how Ez and Declan are dealing with all this change, they're absolutely loving it. Mountains of boxes to climb, bubble wrap, messes - it's basically a toddler paradise over here. If you scroll down a bit you can see a short video of Ez and Declan going wild with the boxes. And so far they love the new place too. Both times we've visited they've taken over like they own the place, exploring every nook and cranny and playing hide and seek in the closets. Fingers crossed their enthusiasm carries over after the actual move.

This week is gonna be CRAYzzzzy, and the chaos of having half my stuff in boxes is starting to get to me, but we're all so excited for what's to come. The boys are going to have a yard, and much more room to play and run around, and the master bedroom has THREE closets. THREE!! So yeah, lots of good things waiting for us at the end of this crazy week. In the meantime, if you need me, I'll just be over here boxing stuff up at breakneck speed and trying to cram in a few more of our favorite local things.

Fall Decor

Each holiday I get so jealous of everyone else that has a fireplace, and, more importantly, a mantle. I have no need for a fireplace, but that mantle is just perfect for decorating. Instead I decorate the shelves in the boys' play area. This year we put up their frankenfeet from last year, all their Halloween books, and I added a few fun new touches that we recently got, like the jar of pumpkins (from Michael's), some Target dollar spot pumpkins, and a few wedding gifts: a jug made by my MIL and that egg shaped vase from our friends. 

I love the way it turned out, and every time I see it I get all the happy Halloween feels. Unfortunately it's tucked away into a corner of the house, and I decided that just wasn't enough fall decor for me, so I branched out and decorated the shelves right by our dining table as well. A few of last year's fall photos, some bright flowers, candles, pumpkins...it's a bright, cozy little nook and I love it. That hippo cookie jar is also a wedding gift. Cutest thing ever! 

And then I decided our gallery wall needed a seasonal update as well. I got that owl print at an art festival last year, and that Van Gogh tree print from a museum in Pasadena way back when I was heavily pregnant with Ez and we were trying to find air conditioned places to "walk him out." I wasn't really sure what I would do with them when I bought them, but turns out they've found their perfect home on our wall. For the next few months anyway. The wedding sign is supposed to be a place holder until we get our wedding photos, but I love it so much that I might just leave it there awhile longer. And the rest are all fall photos from the last few years. 

I think the downstairs is pretty well covered with fall touches now. Every direction I look I see pumpkins, so my job is done ;) I've mentioned this in past years, but I like to stick with simple harvest, pumpkin-y decorations so I can just leave them up straight through Thanksgiving. I'd be sad to see them go come December, except we get to move right onto Christmas decorations. Yay!

Home Tour: Playroom

We got lucky with the layout of this house, and while Ez doesn't technically have a full room dedicated to toys, there is an alcove off to the right of the front entrance that is perfect for him to use as his "kid office". One of the great things about it is that there's a nice big window that lets in lots of natural light and lets him watch all the vehicles that drive by. As soon as he wakes up in the morning he generally asks to "watch cars??" which means he wants us to open the window. 

Here's a little peak at his, and now Declan's, play area:

This is how we've currently got stuff organized:

We put this storage bench under the window, which was a Christmas gift from my dad and the perfect addition to the room. We were looking for something that was sturdy enough for Ez to climb on, but also functional as far as toy storage goes, and this bench was exactly the right size for the space. I will say that when I put the bench together some of the holes for the screws were stripped and the screws kept falling out. I called Wayfair and they sent me another one and told me I could do whatever I wanted with that bench, so I finished putting it together and decided it was still sturdy, even minus the missing screws, so now we have two, one under each of the front windows. The second one has already been taken over by Declan's toys, and is also a little coffee table for the reading nook I set up for myself. Here's a closer look at how we've stashed Ez's toys and books:

Growing up I was a total bookworm and I really want Ez to love reading too, so of course he needs his own little reading nook:

Ez's favorite part of the room is his Radiator Springs table. He loves that thing and plays with it daily. Unfortunately  Declan is drawn to it too, and loves grabbing any of the pieces he can reach and then chewing on them. I call him baby Godzilla because he's always terrorizing the town.

As moms we all face a lot of the same battles, and one of the top ones has got to be toy clutter. I doubt I'm the only mom that's stepped on a Hot Wheel and cursed then threatened to throw every last toy away. Right?? Please tell me I'm not the only one. 

I'd heard of rotating toys long before I finally got my act together and gave it a try. Not only does Ez have a collection of toy vehicles about 40k strong and growing, but he actually knows all of his cars, and heaven help us if one is missing when he decides he wants it. So I can't just sneak toys off to Goodwill. I also can't leave them all within his reach, because it's no fun to play with toys unless you take out every single one and scatter it across every seating area and major walkway in the house

Most of Ez's toys are cars so they thankfully don't take up that much space. For now I'm able to sort them all into backpacks, based on what type of car it is (aka - motorcycles, monster trucks, Disney cars, hot wheels, and mini cars). Then I allow Ez to have one backpack at a time. If he wants a different backpack he has to put all the toys back in whichever one he currently has out. So far this system is working pretty well for us. There is always still clutter all over the house, but it's only 1/5th of what would be there if we didn't rotate out his toys. It's also much easier for him to put them all away when he knows exactly where they go. And there's the very important added bonus that when I need a few moments of peace I can just bring out a new bag of toys and they're like brand new and much more interesting than if they were available to him all the time.

Here's a little peak at Ez's vast toys collection (sadly, this isn't all of them, he's got more in his bedroom):

So that's our current toy organization system. It's definitely not perfect, and it usually looks like Toys R Us has exploded in my living room. And dining room. And kitchen. Especially now that Declan contributes to the mess as well. But the fact that all the toys do have homes, and Ez actually knows where they go and how to put them away is a huge improvement for us. If you've got any magical tips that make toy cleanup even easier, please share! I'm always interested to hear how other people organize all the kid clutter that can so easily take over your house.

Holiday Home Tour

Slowly but surely we've been decking our halls with all the mini trees and stars we can get our hands on. I've also been big on anything deer this season, like our stocking holders which we got for $3 from the Target dollar bins. But my favorite part about Christmas decorations is being surrounded by the lovely mingling of pine, peppermint, cinnamon, and gingerbread scents. As soon as I walk through the door it immediately smells like Christmas and I wish we could keep the tree up all year long just for that smell. 

Today I'm joining up with Courtney, Sarah, and Beth for a little holiday home tour. Thanks for coming along!

Ez's gingerbread house not only smells wonderful, but it adds a colorful touch to our kitchen counter:

The view from Ez and Declan's play area:

Since we don't have a mantel the stockings are hung on our bookcase which has also been made over into a Christmas reading nook for Ez:

Our shelf in the living room also got a holiday makeover:

A closeup of some more deer decorations:

I've already shared our advent calendar on the blog, but here is is again:

And of course our tree, which is the best part of all:

And if you're curious, you can get a little glimpse into last year's decorations, which crazily enough was three houses ago for us.

Home Tour: Declan's Nursery

We've lived here about two and a half months now, and I have yet to share any home pictures. Probably because it took about two months to actually unpack every last box. And then there was the business of getting some prints of Declan for our walls. I think Joe may have a heart attack if another orange box from Shutterfly arrives on our doorstep. But now things are put away and the walls are cheerfully adorned, so I figured I'd kick off the home tour with Declan's room. 

I didn't originally plan a nursery for Declan because he and Ez were sharing a room at our last house. All the furniture was just arranged in the only way it would all fit and everything was very cramped and inconvenient. It just wasn't the best setup. Now they each have their own room and I think it makes life and sleep schedules much easier. 

Declan's room is probably my favorite room in the house. I took the mom initiative to decide that Declan loves elephants. He has no say in it, but if he sees them often enough, it may turn out to be true. His room is really bright and since Declan isn't mobile it tends to remain organized for the most part. Unlike a certain two year old's room.  Or my closet, for that matter.

One of my favorite things about his room is that there are so many handmade touches from friends and family that really show how loved Declan is. The balloons, Declan crate, and teal letters were made by my close friend Jennifer. The striped kitty on the shelf over the changing table was knitted by my sister/Aunt Anna. The blue animal print quilt hanging over the crib was made by Joe's cousin. And the elephant print was actually taken by my sister/Aunt Bianca on a recent trip to Africa. It's a three month old elephant, and I love how playful he looks. Perfect for a baby or toddler's room. You can see more of her gorgeous photos here.

Our Move

We did it! We're all moved into our new place. It gets the stamp of approval from Ez for having plenty of space to run around, stairs to climb (which will probably give me a heart attack, but he's obsessed), and a park about a stone's throw away. Plus, empty boxes. Better than toys, for sure. I'm loving the walk in closet, huge master bathtub, and a Starbucks two blocks away. Oh, and the master bedroom has two closets, which is genius and that means the walk in is all mine. Oh yeah! Joe loves all the bathrooms (we went from 1 to 3 - how we lived with 1 I'll never know), and the central a/c. And Declan is just happy as long as their are ceiling fans. I catch him staring up at them and doing his cute little laugh squeak. 

The actual move itself went smoother than I expected, mostly because Ez and Declan were such rock stars that day. Movers arrived around 10 and were done at 2ish. I wore Declan part of the time, took breaks to nurse him in the car with the a/c blasting, and he slept outside in his stroller the rest of the time. Except for a freak rain shower, which of course would happen on moving day. Ez played in the backyard and snacked on goldfish crackers in the car (which I'm sure I'll still be finding tucked into the seat cracks years from now). 

After the movers left we tidied up and hit the road just before 4PM. We got to the hotel a little after 9, just in time for Declan to pooh all over the place. Although there's never a great time for a poo-splosion, we were happy he saved that for after the car ride. We've done the emergency public restroom carseat cover scrub on a road trip before and it's definitely not ideal. After quick showers all around we ordered late night pizza and fell into blissful sleep. Ha. Yeah right. Ez repaid us for the calm 5 hour drive by literally bouncing off the walls and randomly screaming at the top of his lungs for no good reason well into the night. Apparently Joe had to tackle him before he bounced off the bed at one point. So yeah, my idea of a smooth move is probably pretty different from someone without kids, but we pulled it off with minimal tears and that's all I can ask for.

Unpacking is slow going, especially because I got hit by a stomach bug for most of the weekend, but we've stocked the kitchen and we've already located our local target, so we've got the basics covered. Priorities.

A few pics in the new place, unfiltered and uncleaned: