Project Playroom: Storage

When I asked my friends what was the most important thing in there play rooms, it was hands-down, storage!  Since there are many different kinds of storage I wonder what would be the most functional and visually appealing in our space.  Here are some top picks I found from Ikea and Land of Nod.

I like how this adds a little pizzaz and is not just a rectangular bin holder.

The great thing about this toy chest, other than its solid wood durability, is that it provides extra seating which will come in handy I am sure!

One of the things I would like to add is a space to store books...

I cannot tell you how in love I am with this library cart, Aaadorable!

This is a nice piece because I can see it lasting long time and stay with our family when the basement is no longer a kids playroom.

These bins look great, but I am not sure how functional the open space is to just throw toys in. I fear kids wouldn't know what they have in there in the back.

I like that I could add some paint to this or put a seat cushion on top to fit my own style.

 It is hard to see in the picture but this piece is nice because it is very thin and doesn't take up a lot of space.  Since we do not have a big basement I need to keep all the floorspace I can get for the kids to pay on :)

What is your way to storage?

~Audrey

Baby O ~ 15 Weeks

Sleep:  We were having some trouble earlier this week with waking up various times throughout the night, but that seems to have gone away and is back to normal now.  I attribute it to switching from the swaddle to the potato sack.

Play:  Not much new here. He constantly loves to play with his Vulli and his Caterpillar. 

Diet:  Moved up to 6 oz. of formula at certain times of the day.  It is helping him sleep longer at night.

Clothes:  I did more organizing of his clothes this weekend.  Packing old clothes moving current clothes, taking out new clothes.   Gotta say, I am excited for his spring wardrobe!

Crying:  I am starting to let him cry a little when I know he is very sleepy and accidentally wakes up.  No, no, not crying it out! Nothing over 2-3 minutes. Sometimes he goes back to sleep on his own, sometimes not..

Milestones:  Owen rolled over from his back to his belly all by himself this week! And guess what, I missed it :(  Then he did it again the next day, and guess what, I missed it again!  I tried forever to get him to do it while I watched and video taped.........nothing.  I think he needs his alone time to roll on his belly.  My guess is that he used a toy on his play mat to pull on and hoist himself over.

Fav's:  We took down his mobile.  Not because he did not like it, but because it was to heavy and I was afraid it would ruin the crib, or worse, fall on my little man! I was the "Freddie the Firefly Mobile" - awesome except for that... and the creepy "I'm stalking you music" it played (which Owen freakishly liked).  In its place we put up the Fisher Price Waterfall Rainforest Soother!  We got it as a shower gift, it is fantastic!

The animals move, and the waterfall glows.  Plays music too.

Following:  Right now my eyes are all over text about introducing solids to Owen.  I am contemplating skipping the cereal as a first food and going straight to the fruits and veggies.  I heard it can be hard on babies digestive systems and my thinking is that if we do not eat processed white starches with enriched ingredients (I mean we try not too, heh), why would I give it to my baby?

Cold snowy days.

Mommy:  My body is starting to ache in ways not experienced before.  I think the pains of carrying and delivering a watermelon, aka baby, are starting to finally catch up with me.  My hands and wrists hurt like a lovely combination of arthritis and carpal tunal.  Also odd- when I work out I can feel the pain of the epidural shot in my back. Isn't that creepy???

~ Audrey

Painting Inspiration

I would really love to take one of the walls in the basement and do something crazy and colorful with it.  It is a play room after all, why not get a little wacky? Perhaps stripes or chevron? Here are some inspiration walls. 

Wakka-doo!

You know I love me some yellow

I like the variation of the stripes thickness

I think they used stick on squares to create this chevron, what a good idea! However probably wouldn't work on our paneling...

Notice the thin strip of metallic gray lining the pattern

Holy Blue Batman!

~Audrey

Project Playroom I.

Welcome to our basement! Kevin's old man cave and currently the Gubat storage capital of the world. But not for long...

After Christmas I soon realized my intention of designing a playroom for the basement needs to happen sooner than later. So, Kevin was ambitious and cleaned out all of his stuff from his former 'man cave' (it took him days), and this is whats left. Doesn't it look great? ........ :(

In his defense (slightly), the rest of this stuff will be craigslisted for $$ for the future playroom. Anyone need ahh..umm...this stuff? 

You can see we are already storing O's toys down here that he still needs to grown into a bit.

Kevin caught the fish on the wall on his bachelor party and the boat man gave him the great idea of stuffing it ..$350 later (sucker).  

I have been trying out paint colors.  Yes we are painting over the wood paneling, more on that later.  I chose the color in the middle which looks kinda minty green but is actually supposed to be blue.  It is called Gossamer Sky from Valspar.

Our current flooring is linoleum stick on tiles.

Wall structure to divide the space is wood paneling.

This is my little nook.  There is a ceder closet on the left side and the doorway to our laundry room/storage area on the right side.  Moving into Phase II. of project playroom we are painting the walls and clearing the space/junk completely. 

I'd love to hear any ideas or suggestions!

~Audrey

Baby O ~ 14 weeks

These PJ's are size 12 months. Can you believe it!?

Sleep:  We had another big sleep transition this week, and hopefully our last one before moving him to a big boy bed.  No more swaddle! I was kind of up in arms about it because he would have nothing to do with sleeping on his back unless swaddled.  I googled, and read numerous forums about how to get him to do this, but at the end of the day, we just put him on his side. And guess what? In the middle of the night he would eventually lose balance on his side and roll to his back. He would stay asleep after some hand sucking (thank God), and eventually learned to like sleeping on his back. He has woken up more than usual the past few days because of it, Kevin and  I are hoping this is short term :)

Play: This week Kevin's best friend, Uncle Erik, came to visit!  He got to see Owen for the first time.  Not surprising, Owen had his first trip to a Hofbrauhaus house.  His future is already leading him to becoming a 'myrmidon".

Diet: I feel like we are starting to lose our consistency with his diet.  He should be going up in oz. but isn't, and eating less times a day, but isn't. I'm not going to worry about it since it will all change in a couple of weeks anyways when we introduce solids. 

Clothes:  Putting away his 3-6 months more and more. O hates putting on pants lately.  I hope this doesn't mean he will be that frat boy in college.  Can't wait for summer so he will have the freedom of his legs.

Fav's:  Baby exercises! We roll from one side to the other, sit and then stand. He just absolutely loves being able to learn how to work his own body and use his muscles.    

Followings:  So I switched carriers this week.  My mom was super generous and bought us the Ergo before we had Owen.  Little did I know that you cannot face a baby outwards in it, which is O's ideal position. So I did my research and turns out there are not many forward facing baby carriers.  The Bjorn, which is what we were going to get, is apparently bad for babys back.  So we decided to go with the Beco Gemini in 'aiden' design.  It comes in on Wednesday so I will let you know how it is.  

Crying:  Valentines day was a cranky day for us.  Maybe he was revolting against the holiday.  But I am pretty sure it was our fault since we kept him up late the night before and he was off his sleep schedule.  He is also starting to cry more when he fights to fall asleep sometimes.  Other than that he is a very mellow baby, just like his Daddy.

Mad Face.

Milestones:  He is pretty much able to roll to one side now, but not able to flip onto his belly just yet.  Also "lauging" is a big one, its more of a squeal of excitement right now but its a sweet, sweet sound :)

Mommy:  I had a great Valentines day.  It was the best staying at home and spending time with my two favorite boys in the world.

Cannot forget Lola in St. Valentines' love, she loves us all a little too much :)

~Audrey

Last Minute Love YOUR Lady Gifts

You have a couple of days, so here are some home run gifts most women would love!

1) I know the obsession for women watching television right now is Downton Abbey, but I promise she will love Homeland even more....and so will you! It stars an ambitious and strong-willed women who is smart as a whip, and fights for justice- she will just love it.

2) The LUSH bath bomb.  She can enjoy a relaxing soak in the tub and her skin can get rejuvenated with the shea butter and other awesomeness inside :)

3)  Swarovski Jewelry.  I know jewelry can be a little cliché,  but skip the heart necklace this year, ok? Not only is it just the right amount of bling, but it isn't very expensive AND Swarovski uses only the best metals so your skin never has a bad reaction to it (trust me, I may have the most sensitive skin in the world).

4) A Kate Spade Purse.  This expensive item can say, "I'm sorry", or "There was nothing left in the store", or, "I saved up just because I love you"...awww! Stripes are classic and on trend this spring and this particular purse is a cross body which is perfect for moms who need both hands!

5)  Winter sucks... the life out of our skin. So get her a great moisturizer that she wouldn't normally want to spend the money on.  Featured is from L'Occitaine.

Happy V Day!

~Audrey

Baby O ~ 13 weeks

Sleep: Owens been really consistant in the sleep department, which we are v. happy about.  We have been swaddling him with one arm out and I think we are going to try to transition him to two arms out this week since he is moving so much more, and will likely be rolling over soon :)

Play: Gram and Pa came into town last week! He just loves them so much!  He also loves hanging out with his big cousins :)

Diet: Still eating 4.5 to 5oz.  Our pediatrician said we can start solids next month, so excited!  He is definitely getting more distracted when he eats now.  He is interested in whats going on around him and stops eating to check it out.

Clothes:  Mostly wearing 6 month clothes now.  Still wearing some of his 'big' 3-6 months.  Some vendors are so crazy with their sizing. I put him in 9 month Hanna Anderson PJ's, and they fit perfectly!

Owen and Gram having fun :)

Fav's: We put him in his bouncer today for the first time and he really loves it.  His feet don't exactly hit the ground, but he really likes to sit propped up in it.

Followings:  I am following spring/summer clothes right now.  I am trying to be optimistic that is going to warm up around here soon.  I have my eye on a few things already, like these pants from the Gap.  Really loving the bright and colorful clothes coming out for this summer.

Crying:  We are getting a lot better with the crying.  He really only cries when he is hungry or tired, or uncomfortable.  My child is so finicky about being in just the right position for his comfort.

Milestones: Moving, moving, moving!  I can already tell he is going to be hard to handle when he becomes a toddler.  He LOVES to try and sit up on his own.  He looks like he is doing baby cruchies all the time... and he will grunt... he wants to sit up and move around so badly.

Mommy:  I am noticing a lot of hair loss lately, which apparently is a normal postpartum thing.  Other than that, just trying to shed the lbs per usual. Cannot wait until its nice outside!!

~Audrey