Five Steps To A Pared-Down Playroom

If you're anything like us- and I have a feeling many of you are- you have tons of STUFF in your playroom. The toys just multiply, don't they? Add in the games, puzzles, blocks, balls, books, and, oh yeah, did we mention the stuffed animals? It gets kind of crazy. And overwhelming. Before you know it, the playroom can become so cluttered with "things" that YOU don't even want to go in there and your kids are so over-stimulated they don't even know where to start.

It's time to end the madness. At least that's what I decided. If you're ready to make your playroom a haven where your children can learn, explore, make-believe, grow, and, well, PLAY, here are five steps to help you get there:

1. Figure out what's been holding you back. Are you afraid it'll be too much work? Better to just dive in- it's only going to get worse. That sounds harsh, but it's the truth. Are you afraid your kids will freak out? They will likely be just fine. They may really enjoy it. And, realistically, if they get all upset about "things", this is a good time for a life lesson... who wants to raise children who are already hoarding and coveting? Finally, and be honest with yourself here, are you afraid that, without all the "things", you're going to have to work harder to entertain them All. Day. Long.? It's a legitimate fear, but I think you'll be surprised. Children's creativity blooms with LESS. They discover new things to do. A child left in a room chock-full of "stuff" may not know where to start. A child given some paper and crayons has direction, purpose, and the tools to feel accomplished.
2. Take it for a trial run. Select a dozen or less toys/activities and make those the only play things available for two weeks or so. I cannot emphasize enough just how valuable this step will prove to be. It will give you confidence and also help you determine what you want to keep. For us, this "trial" occurred when we moved from Indiana to Connecticut and stayed with my parents until we found a home. By necessity, we didn't have much stuff. It was inspiring to see how content and imaginative my children were with: a bucket of play food, a bag of Little People animals, a drum full of musical instruments, some blocks, a few puzzles, a few games, and books. I could write another whole post on some of the games and activities they came up with...
3. Determine what you're going to do with all the "stuff" once it's out of your house. Are you going to have a garage sale? Right away? Or do you need to find a corner of your garage or basement to store it all in the meantime? Do you have a friend or neighbor who could use it? Does your school or church need some of the things you're getting rid of? Do you want to donate it? If so, do your homework. Find out who takes what. Goodwill, for example, is one of the few places that will take stuffed animals (and most of us have way too many of those suckers cluttering up our homes and harboring dust). Schools and libraries tend to love your extra books, while hospitals can't use them. Check with your local Ronald McDonald House. They are a charity near and dear to ourhearts and they can always use new playthings. Whatever you choose to do, figure it out ahead of time so you don't get everything organized and then have nothing to do with it.
4. Get your materials all set. This includes both materials for organizing your final playroom project and also boxes and bags for gathering up the cast-offs. Have everything in place so you don't wind up with piles and nowhere to put it all.
   
5. Clear out and reap the rewards. Dig in. It doesn't matter where you start, just get in there. I like to start with stuffed animals because they take up so much room- we cleared out a large area just by paring down to a few buddies and bagging up the rest for Goodwill. I truly recommend you let your kids get involved in the process. Some parents favor the "let it disappear while they sleep" approach and that's fine too. But if you want your child to learn valuable lessons of sacrifice, giving, and making tough decisions, let them take part. My children loved helping decide what to donate and, in fact, they got SO into it, we had to stop them from giving away the house!

Far and away, my children's favorite place to play- the art table.

Paring down our playroom is one of the best things we've ever done for our family. It looks better. It feels better. My children can find what they need. Clean-up is easier. We know what we have. Don't be afraid to take the leap! I think you'll be delighted with the peace and joy you will find at the bottom of the toy pile...

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How have you minimized "kid clutter" in your home? What questions do you have about paring down? Let's talk about it!

Blessed Vision

We went to see the ophthalmologist last week.

This is not exactly a rare occurance around here. My husband wears glasses and I wear contacts- we're each supposed to get checked out every couple years. But C? She needs to see the eye doctor at least every six months.

The verdict?

Her eyes got worse- significantly worse. These numbers will mean nothing to you unless you've dealt with a vision prescription before, but her eyes are -14.5 and -17.5 diopters. Yikes. The only chart I could find online that would attempt to approximate what that would be in terms of "20/?" guessed that her eyes are at about 20/8000. That's right- a person with healthy vision can see at EIGHT THOUSAND feet what my little girl sees at twenty. I can't even fathom (and my eyes are FAR from perfect...)

We are so lucky.

She is so blessed.

Almost four years ago, on March 22, 2006, I received the phone call that she needed to be transported to Chicago to undergo surgery with one of the top retinal surgeons in the country- and one of only a handful who operate on babies not yet at term. At the time, there was an 85% chance she would go blind- her retinas were steadily detaching and, well, you can't see without an intact retina.

The surgery was successful.

Some people may not walk away from an ophthalmology appointment that yields that kind of script with a smile. I did.

Because, after all is said and done, our new pediatric ophthalmologist sat back and told me:

"Her retinas look perfect. Dr. Shapiro did an amazing job. I see no gaps or tears. It's some of the best work I've ever seen."

I am so grateful.

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This post is linked to Gratituesday, hosted at Heavenly Homemakers.

My Story Monday... Getting Pregnant After A Preemie: Deciding To Have Another Baby

Over the next several weeks, I want to focus on our decision to have another baby- on the fears, the risks, the uncertainty, the pros, the cons, and the decision-making. Ask most women who have given birth to a preemie-- particularly those who had their babies extremely early or who suffered severe medical complications-- and they'll tell you that deciding to have another baby is a scary decision. As someone who has made that decision and, happily, gone on to have a healthy, full-term pregnancy, I'd like to talk about it...

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When you have a baby, one of the questions they ask you is:

Did you want to have your tubes tied?

Now, with my first baby, I didn't see this coming and it completely floored me. Unsure what our family size would end up being but confident we weren't planning on an "only child", I shook my head vehemently and declared, "Absolutely not!"

My "tubes", if you will, remained intact and I went on to get pregnant again just a few short months later. This second baby is the one who arrived so very early.

I wasn't as surprised to hear them ask me if I wanted a tubal ligation with this second child, but, at the same time, it seemed somewhat bizarre and cruel that- in the same breath- the doctors told me my baby wasn't likely to live and would I like to make sure I had no more babies after this one? I declined the procedure- again- and gave birth to my micropreemie who defied the odds and is now a happy, thriving four-year old.

We had always talked about having "two or three " kids. I can remember, vividly, thinking as they whisked me off to the OR...

"Well, I guess I'll be having two kids. Because- if this baby makes it- he or she will probably have such significant special needs that we won't be able to manage caring for three kids. And, if this baby doesn't make it, I'm not sure I can handle more than one more pregnancy..."

Three and a half months later, we both were out of the hospital and at home-- me, with my ability to have more children still intact and her, with a feeding tube, supplemental oxygen, and an apnea monitor...

This time, I wasn't quite so eager to do it all again.

to be cont...

Green Frosting... Hike!

My son has a January birthday. So when he wanted me to make a "football cake" for the occasion, I was completely okay with that. Super Bowl season is the best time to get football decorations!

I figured out pretty early on what kind of cake I was baking:



What I loved most about this cake was that it's just a simple 9x13" pan. No cutting, no stacking, no expensive form cake pans. Just a plain ol' 9x13". What I wasn't keen on? Shelling out the money to buy green paste color to get the field just right. I don't make a lot of "vivid" frostings and, thus, do not need a lot of intense colors cluttering up my cabinet. But, really, food coloring is NOT going to get you a grass green.

During our big monthly trek to Aldi, I happened to glance at a shelf of random stuff on my way to the check-out. Right in the middle of it?

For 69 cents.

People, I cannot MAKE frosting for that cheap. Did it taste as good as my homemade buttercream? Um, no. Did it mimic turf green and delight the kids? Yes, ma'am.

Keep your eyes open for holiday leftovers that can meet other needs! I'm kicking myself for not picking up a can of the red for Valentine's treats...

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This post is linked to Frugal Friday, hosted at Life As MOM.

Also linked up to FishMama's Birthday Cake Round-Up!

A Little Size Perspective

We brought our sweet baby C. home in April of '06, just shy of her due date; she was 3 1/2 months old.

This is the size diaper she was wearing:



That is not a preemie size diaper. No ma'am. That is a special even TINIER size available only to the hospital market. They had to send us home with several packages. From there, she graduated to "preemie size" and then, finally (at around 6 months old), to newborn size.

For another perspective, here is that same diaper up against another of the same brand (Pampers) that my son was wearing at the same age- a size 3. (For the record, my son was a big baby-- it is more typical for a 3 1/2 month old baby to be in a size 2 than a size 3...)


This is why I laughed, my friends, when people thought my 5 lb 8 oz third child was "so little"!

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Final note: This post was written and scheduled DAYS ago, but in that time I stumbled upon Quatro Mama's post about her quads and their preemie diapers here. Check out their site- another Indianapolis commercial-worthy miracle story.

Chocolate Cut Out Cookies

My son had his first "friend birthday party" this past Saturday-- he turned 5 and wanted a "football party". No problem! This is the perfect time of year to find football themed things. I baked up this cake...




...and put together 8 treat bags with little football doo-dads in them. I wanted to buy and add some of these...




...to fill up the bags. When an unexpected snow squall left our driveway/road a mess and kept my kids home from school, my errand running plans were shot. What to do?

I mixed up these cookies:


Ingredients

* 1 cup butter
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* heaping 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Mix in the vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa powder and baking powder; add and mix well. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/4 inch thick. (I recommend rolling your dough between layers of waxed paper to avoid having to use flour which can leave your cookies with a "dusty" look.) Cut with desired shaped cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on cookie size.

I don't own a football-shaped cookie cutter so I used a small glass bowl and overlapped my circles to form the outline of a football. I piped simple white icing laces and, voila!



Wrapped in saran wrap and tucked in the bags, they were perfect.

It's always a good thing when you can improvise with what's on hand! The party? It went off without a hitch. The cookies? They were a hit. My pocketbook? Untouched, since I used all ingredients from my pantry. Most importantly...

The birthday boy?

I think he was pretty excited about the whole affair.

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This post is linked to:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, hosted at Blessed with Grace.
Tasty Tuesday, hosted at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Works For Me Wednesday, hosted at We Are THAT Family
Ultimate Recipe Swap, hosted at Life as MOM.

There Was A Heartbeat

If you have just a minute, I must ask you that you watch the below clip:




Even if you're not as vehemently pro-life as me, I think you'll be moved by this beautiful song...

For more information about the song's writer, please go here.

(Did anyone else need to run for a tissue?)