My Goodness!

My goodness... I feel like I've been away for too long!! I haven't disappeared, just trying to get a handle on things at the house.  I am exhausted these days... with decorating, cleaning, cooking, training (yes... still potty training... and yes it still sucks!!!), and tot schooling I haven't gotten a minute to post.. well I guess I have a few minutes.. so I'm sneaking in this post in today... Did I mention I'm trying to plan my Mary Kay Open House?!?!

Ever feel like things are just getting all out of control.  I'm behind on laundry, and cleaning seriously... so I must devote most of my time to that recently.  Anyway.. I've stopped by a few of my favorite blogs... and I love what I'm seeing!!! All the color, organizing, and decorating has my heart all a twitter!  Anyway, just in case you were wondering I'm still here, just all over the place at the moment.  Hopefully I'll be back with a real post soon, with some great updates on what I've been up to.  And my minute is gone.. I think I just heard a bucket of blocks being dumped out!  Gotta Run!

Friday Five: Black Friday

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just next week!... which means that Christmas is just around the corner!! I can't wait!  However as much as I love Christmas (and I really do), stressing out in lines and stores and parking lots is not my idea of fun.  So while some of you may be out at 5am (or maybe earlier for some of you).  I will be spending my day doing other things.  Here is a list of Five Things I'll Be Doing On Black Friday.

1.  Cooking!! Yeah Yeah, Thanksgiving is on Thursday... I know.  But we will be spending Turkey day with my mom, and I need to have my own special mini Thanksgiving at home with my little family.  I love to cook, and when you go to someone else's house your limited to what they ask you to bring.  Plus I'm greedy and I like lots of leftovers... lol.  So I'll be making everything that was on Friday Five: Favorite Thanksgiving Eats.

2. Online Shopping.   Hey just because I don't like to go to the malls or stores on Thanksgiving doesn't mean I don't love a great deal, and it seems to me that you can get pretty much the same discounts if you shop online Friday or Cyber Monday.

3.  Holiday Decorating!  If you want to see me act like a total child and my eyes light up like a kid in a candy store... peek in my house when I'm decorating for Christmas.  This has been one of my favorite things to ever since I was a child... There's just something about getting the Christmas box out and unwrapping all the little Christmas trinkets.  Love Love Love It!!

4.  Belting out my favorite holiday tunes.  Yes I'll admit I've been listening to (and singing) Christmas music since mid-October, but I'll be adding to my playlist and playing it throughout the house now.  I will most likely at some point during the day; scoop up one, two, or even all three of my guys and dance them around to Luther singing This Christmas (CLASSIC!!!)

5.  Going to the Gym!!  Come on... I'm not a total glutton.  Yes I will stuff myself both Thursday and Friday... But I have made a commitment to myself:  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday... my behind will be in the gym getting in a good workout, and Black Friday is no different.

Anyhow... are you a Black Friday Shopper or a Keep it in the house kinda gal?  What are some of your favorite after Thanksgiving traditions?... I'd love to hear.

I'll be taking a blogging vacation next week.  I may add a tot school post because we just did a cute project... but I can't promise I'll be posting at all (side bar... one of the things I love about blogging is that I can decided when and for how long I can take a break).  Anyway, check back on December 2nd for the first Holiday themed Friday Five.



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Home Tour With A Twist: The Boys' Rooms

 Hello there!!! Welcome to our Home Tour with a Twist, bedroom edition.  As I've taken you through the rest of our home, you've probably noticed that besides paint... it's a total blank slate.  Well, the boys' rooms are a  tad more taken care of.  You'll notice, that although I love the boys' rooms, there is no design savvy.    We'll start in Little Bear's room and I'll explain.

When you come in through the door you can see LB's crib.  I've placed it at an angle because I love the look of it that way.  When Munchkin was born, hubby and I (mostly me) picked the Kidsline Zanzibar theme.  Everything is Zanzibar.... everything.   Me being the (mostly) practical person that I am (I do have my moments of splurging) everything we used for Munchkin's baby nursery passed down to Little Bear... lol, along with clothes, toys, books, and everything else.  Poor kid... maybe one day he'll get his own things. 

These are LB's crib necessities: his blanket, boppy, pillow pet, pacifier (which stays in the crib) and a Curious George (not pictured).  I know it looks crowded, but that is the only way to get him to sleep.  Can you see the teeth marks from both my little teething babies.

The corner behind the crib is where I hide all the baby things we're not using... until I get a chance to move them to the basement.

I know this picture is horrible... but I couldn't get a better shot and I wanted to show you the window between the glider and crib. 

 In the corner across from the crib is the glider and dresser/ changing table combo.  I've spent many many late nights and early mornings soothing little ones in this glider.   It has a small ottoman, but I have two little dare devils who like to use it like a cannon or in some other dangerous way... so off to the closet it went.

Both my boys at this age enjoy pulling the clothes out of the drawers!

Little Bear is also really into opening and closing doors... it's amazing he hasn't pinched his fingers yet.

Once I stop using the top to change millions of diapers I would like to add a shelf.   For now I'm afraid of bumped heads.

The closed door is the closet (check it out all organized here).  The open door is the bathroom.  Yes... all the bedrooms in my house have a bathroom... awesome for convenience... not so awesome for the person who cleans.  Anyhow, I don't keep too many toys in the kids' rooms which makes keeping them neat pretty easy.  One of those bins has small toys, and the other books.  The wall stickers have been used in 3 different rooms.  We first used them in our other house for Munchkin.  When we moved, the cheapo that I am peeled them off and put them on the wall in Munchkin's new room, and when Little Bear arrived I peeled those suckers off again and re-stuck them in here.  So if you wondering if they are worth the money... Yes!!

This is Little Bear's bathroom.  I say Little Bear's only cause it's in his room, but I only use this one for both boys.  I keep Munchkin's locked; A. so he won't go in there and do crazy things that 2 year olds do, and B.  I can't keep up with all the cleaning, and I really don't think a 2 yr old needs a bathroom of his own.

 So much for Munchkin cleaning up bath toys after bath time!

All their little bathroom needs and things are kept in the medicine cabinet where only I can reach.  

Munchkin's Room is all decked out in Circa sports from Target.  I made a deal with hubby that if I could have Zanzibar when he was a baby (hubby wanted a sports nursery) then his next room could be sports. So here it is.  

Munchkin's room is pretty much identical to Little Bear's.  One wall with windows across from the closet and bathroom.  Here's his closet if you want to check it out.  I didn't take pics of the windows because of the glare (like in Little Bear's room).  I also forgot to do pics of Munchkin's bathroom but it's painted light blue and has Target's Ducky theme going on.

I took this pic standing in front of his dresser.

We skipped getting a toddler bed because I figured he'd only use it for a year or two and we'd be buying another anyway.  

The boys fooling around... seconds later there was a huge fight over that pillow pet that happens to be Munchkin's.

The Munchkin's dresser and bedroom door.

On the corner next to the dresser are Munchkin's books.  I need to find a better system.  I'm thinking Ikea spice racks... but I've been seeing some other cute and inexpensive book storage ideas... so I'm holding out.

 So as you can see we used absolutely no design skills for these rooms.  Everything is completely store bought and designed.  Well my friends, that is about to change.   No not the entire rooms, but I'd like to add some personal touches to each room.  

The plan for both these rooms:

Add name art on the walls (Munchkin's in bright red)

Find some fun art for them, and ways to display their own art.

I want to hang different sports balls from the ceiling in Munchkin's room (over the reading corner), and perhaps some stuffed jungle animals in LB's room.

Add shelving over both boys' dressers for small details and family pics.

I also want to get door signs for both boys.

What Are your ideas?  Seen any good reading nooks around?

Here's the rest of the home tour room by room if you want to check it out.

The Mudroom

The Laundry Room

The Kitchen

The Family Room

The Living and Dining Rooms

The Office and Playroom

Friday Five: My Favorite Thanksgiving Eats!

Not sure if I've mentioned this... but I love food.  Seriously, I love the smells and tastes.  I love to cook (most of the time).  When I went away for college, I missed home cooked food so much that Thanksgiving was like my absolute favorite holiday.  Anyhow, there are so many wonderful foods to eat on Thanksgiving, but if I had to choose just 5 (God forbid.. lol), this is what I'd choose.

1.  Alton Brown's Roasted Turkey.   For those of you who are turkey gurus, I'm sure you've heard of brinning.  Basically it's like a marinade for your turkey.  It makes the meat super juicy and flavorful.  Anyway, last year is the first time I tried it, it's words can't explain good.  I followed Alton Brown's recipe exactly.   The week before Thanksgiving last year I did a small practice turkey (we were having everyone we know over so I didn't want to experiment with the actual bird).  Anyway, it was so good, my husband and I ate that sucker right out the roasting pan.. I didn't even have to make a gravy, although I did on Thanksgiving because of tradition.   This recipe is on Foodnetwork.com, it's 5 star with well over 3,000 reviews... try this recipe now!!

2.  Sausage Stuffing - When I was a little girl, stuffing was never a fav.  The soggy mess that comes out of the bird (usually made with store bought stuffing mix) just wasn't very appealing to me.  However, a couple of years ago I discovered experimented with homemade stuffing.  Let me just tell you it's a 100 times better.  Last year I found a recipe for homemade stuffing and it has totally changed my perception.  First of all it is not cooked in the bird (I stuff my bird with herbs and onions and things like that).  I've made this recipe using both cornbread and white bread and I can't decide which way I like better.  It's from a Food Network Magazine Nov. 2010 (50 Stuffings), it was a mini pull-out cook-book ).  Here it is if you'd like to give it a try.

Brown 1 pound of crumbled sausage ( I always use turkey sausage) in 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.   Add 2 cups each of diced onions and celery (I never add celery because I can't stand it) and 1 tablespoon each of minced sage, and thyme; add salt and pepper and cook 5 min.  Add 3 cups of chicken or turkey broth and bring to a simmer.  Beat 2 eggs with 1/4 cup chopped parsley in a large bowl.  Add 16 cups of cubed stale bread, then pour in the vegetable broth mixture and toss.   Transfer to a buttered baking baking dish, dot with butter.  Cover and bake for 30 mins at 375.  I also add dried cranberries in mine when I mix everything together... just think it really sends it over the moon.


3. Baked Macaroni and Cheese - Now, I love all things cheese, but the marriage of cream, butter, pasta, and cheese all baked until golden and bubbling is pure heaven to me.  I grew up eating baked macaroni and cheese in a non-traditional way.  My uncle made it using big ziti noodles (so the cheese sauce oozes out with each bite).  I have my own recipe to make it, and folks have always told me it's the bomb.  Lol, funny story... When I first started dating my husband I made mac and cheese for him.  I was so busy talking and (ok flirting) that I totally over cooked it and it was this dry lumpy sad excuse for mac and cheese.  Well he of course ate it, but later on he told me he could help me out.  Then, a few days later during my "tutoring" he explains that his ex-girlfriend made the best mac and cheese and he was going to show me how.  Now, I don't typically get all "black girl", but oh no he didn't (neck swerve and all)!!!  Seriously! The nerve, and in my kitchen no less.  So of course I'm fuming and when his mediocre mac and cheese was done I ate it and told him (ever so sweetly) that I could def make it better.  So of course a challenge was set and at Thanksgiving at my uncles house we had a tasting(blind, no one knew who's was who's).   I won of course!!

Anyhow, I don't typically measure when I make it so I don't have an exact recipe but I basically make a cheese sauce using garlic, white wine, and heavy cream.  I add sharp cheddar, monteray jack, and colby cheese, then a sprinkling of nutmeg and pepper.  I like to use big ziti noodles like my uncle.  I do not add bread crumbs on top, never been a fan of that.  I also don't use egg.  If I do it right (and I don't every time.. kids yelling and pulling on my leg and what not), then the cheese sauce is thick enough with out needing eggs or flour.   It takes a while because I have to constantly stir.  Anyway if you want another great recipe, Patti Labelle's Over the Rainbow Mac and Cheese is delicious too.  Try it out, I also think it's easier to make.

4. Mashed Potatoes  A heaping pile of hot, creamy, buttery mashed potatoes with rich brown gravy spilling over the sides is just sooooo good.  Last year (can you tell it was my first time hosting last year?) I found out that there is a trick to perfect mashed potatoes.   Now I don't know the whole science behind it, but the milk or cream you add should be hot.  Also the butter should be melted.  It makes for the perfect consistency.  Some times I make herbed mashed potatoes.  Just heat the milk and butter and add chopped fresh herbs to it (usually sage and thyme, possibly basil if I have some).  YUM!!

5. Collard Greens - This is a staple on my plate on Thanksgiving.  I've loved collard greens since I was a child.  My mother told me that her father (my pop pop) called the juice left over in the in the bottom of the pot "pot liquor".  Has anyone else ever heard that?  It always makes me smile when I think of him.  Typically collards are cooked on some type of pork, but since hubby doesn't eat pork I cook mine on smoked turkey wings.  The result is just as divine.

With these five dishes, I could eat Thanksgiving left overs for weeks.  I love this food so much that even though the fam and I will be heading over to my mom's for Thanksgiving I know that the plate of food I'll bring home will not be enough and I'll be making these same 5 dishes for a second Thanksgiving for my small family.  LOL, then we can have tons of leftovers, just like I like it.

By the way, it is not by accident that I haven't chosen any pies or dessert.  I know lots of people love dessert on Thanksgiving.  Usually I'm too stuffed to eat dessert and to be completely honest... I don't like pumpkin or sweet potato pie (call me crazy if you want).

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?

Graphics for Friday Comments

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Hey Rosey Fans and Followers!  I have finally set up (and connected) my Facebook page.  Check-Us out to hear some fun little tips or random daily activites at the Rosey Home!   

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Playroom Update: New Magnetic Center!

I'm not sure if this is true for every one's stainless steel fridge, but mine is not magnetic.  What!?!? Now how am I going to hang fun letter activities and things for the boys?  Well thanks to Pinterest, I found my answer.  If you haven't checked Pinterest... run there now.

Anyway, while reading lots of Tot School posts, I'd often see the leapfrog magnetic refrigerator game.   I love everything Leap Frog and I immediately wanted it for Munchkin.   The answer... a new homemade magnetic center in the school area in the playroom.  This is the before, if you want to see.

See this!

Pinterest via preschoolsuperstars.blogspot.com

I love the idea!!!  What do I love even more?  It was so inexpensive!   The cookie sheets were only 98 cents from Walmart!  The command strips that I hung them with were more expensive.  Anyway... take a look at my version.

 I was going to spray paint them bright red... but the hubby was like "is that non-toxic?"  Lol, I started imagining peeling red paint chips, or scratches from rough play (I do have to little boys).   Needless to say I left them shiny silver.  Not exactly what I had in mind... but I love it nonetheless.  I'll save the red spray paint for the spice rack shelves I'm gonna add.

First I laid them on the floor to decide how I wanted to hang them.   I measured the space to try and get them centered... and uh... they're still a tad bit off center... oh well.

They are the perfect height for Munchkin and Little Bear.  Lol, Little Bear isn't really interested in the Leap Frog Magnetic Zoo (what else is new?)... he prefers to bring them to the little Elmo table, eat them, hide them... You get the idea.

Thanks for reading!  

I'll be linking to 

A Bowl Full Of Lemons

Clean&Scentsible

Mudroom Update.

Remember my bare mudroom, and messy closet.  Well I took care of the closet... Check it out here, and I have finally gotten around to fixing up the rest.  It's still a work in progress.  I'm working on some fun family art for the walls, but take a look so far.

 I've added two rail hooks. I wanted to make sure Munchkin had easy access. I'm trying to teach him to hang up his things.

I scored the umbrella stand from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for %40 off.   Don't you love clearance!!!

I also got to use my %20 off coupon on the door mat.   Hoping this baby saves my wood.

Stay tuned for some fun family wall art that I'll be adding.  I'm just looking for a frame that will work.

Thanks for reading,

The Pink Lady

Tot School Update

 Little Bear is 13.5M

Munchkin is 32.5 M

Wow, it's been ages since I've posted about Tot School, and not because we haven't been tot schooling away!  Anyway here are a few highlights of what we've been up to.

Let's start with Little Bear.  When I do my plans for the boys I usually have a color of the week.  Munchkin is very good at colors so I focus mostly on Little Bear for these things.  I've started making color baskets each week.  Munchkin gets to review because I send him to find objects to add to the basket.  Here is our yellow basket and Little Bear exploring it.  Once he got bored of one thing I gave him another, trying to remember to name the object and the color each time.

I think we added: Hot Wheels cars, a foam lacing square, a happy meal submarine, a triangle bean bag, and a lemon that I only left in the basket while we were having school time.  Little Bear mostly liked banging the cars together.

One day I made a smooshy bag (I have no idea what else to call it).  I just squirted some corn syrup and yellow food coloring into a little baggie and sealed it.  This had to be closely monitered because LB is into biting everything now.  Luckily it was cheap and easy becasue LB was totally uninterested.  He did love that lemon though.

Munchkin has a blast with tot school.  He's always asking to have ac-tib-bities!  For a while I couldn't get him to do some of the activities himself.  He always wanted me to place everything or do all the tracing, so I would.  Model Model Model.  Well all the modeling paid off,  he will now trace, sort, and even glue with little guidance from me.  

Typically he'd want me to color the letters that he'd point to.  This time I only had to do two before he was saying "let me do it!".

We do a lot of Tot School before we even get dressed.

We did lot's of art activities.  Munchkin loves to paint, but instead of painting with brushes everyday we used different tools.  One day we used cork bottle tops.. from.. uh.. wine that I sip every week once in a while.  This actually started out as a finger paint activity, but who knew my boy wouldn't would be into getting his hands dirty.

 We also used sponges and made fall leaves that we hung in the playroom.  I had to help a lot, I think I cut the sponges too small and he got frustrated (mad) that it was taking so long to fill in the leaves.  The finished product was cool though.  I just drew some leaves (and letters and a clock at his request).  Once everything was dry I cut them out.  Fun and easy!

For Halloween we made ghost feet.  Munchkin's daycare did these when he was about 6 months old (no, I wasn't always a stay at home).  I still have them in his box.  LOL, Little Bear was not too crazy about having his feet painted, he had the funniest look on his face when I was doing them.  I used black craft foam sheets and white acrylic paint.  When they were dry I added wiggly eyes and drew a mouth with a Sharpie.

Munchkin's favorite activity by far is the scensory bin.  He asks to play with "the beans" just about everyday.  Right now it's a fall bin.  I found a lot of cute little fall things to add at %50 off at Hobby Lobby.  I also found these tiny plastice pumpkins from the dollar section in Target.  Erasers from the Dollar Tree finished off the bin and it is loads of fun for Munchkin, and Little Bear as long as I watch him like a hawk.

Munchkin loved helping to make the new scensory bin.

%50 off at Hobby Lobby, I think they came to about $1.50 ea.

Dollar Tree Erasers and pom poms I already had.

He loves making pretend meals for me.

In case your wondering... yes this gets very messy, but surprisingly easy to clean up.

I added a muffin tin one day for some fun sorting practice.

 Thanks for stopping by.  I love sharing our activities and reading about what others are doing.  You can checkout 1+1+1=1 for more great Tot School Posts, and learn what Tot School is all about.

The printables Munchkin is using came from these great sites.  Check them out!

Confessions of a Homeschooler

1+1+1=1 Tot School Printables

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotSchool.html

Friday Five: Things I'm Thankful For

So this may seem cliche for November, but my first Friday Five for this month will be all about things I'm thankful for. I have some fun ideas for the rest of this month, but thankful is up first. So here they are in no particular order.

1. My family, I mean I love them with every ounce of myself. I am thankful for every argument, every temper tantrum, every poopy diaper. I know some people wish they had these things. Yes, I get frustrated and angry just like everyone else, but I love having my own family and everything that comes along with it.

2. Being able to stay at home with my kiddies! If you asked me three years ago what I'd be doing in five years it would most definitely be married and the principal of a school. Now, not so much. Now I want to bake cookies and muffins. I want to do art projects, I want to see every step and be there to kiss every boo boo. I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to stay with them.

3. Country living, it's so peaceful out here. Yes... Yes.. We are at least 30 minutes from the mall, and a good 15 minutes from the supermarket, but I truly love the quietness. I'm glad my boys can see deer walk through the back yard a few times a week. Or see a hummingbird zip around while they splash in the little pool (true story).

4. My childhood, as I've matured and grown I have realized that I was lucky to have what I had, and also to not have everything I wanted. Does that make sense?

5.  Modern day technologies, lol.. yes there are other things more important, but lets have some fun.  Could you live without your computer or phone.  I feel all empty inside when I leave the house without my phone... lol I feel totally cut off.  My iPad is like my friend, and my phone keeps me connected.  I love talking to Siri (have you seen the commercial, it really is that cool), and what can I say about good ol' Mac.  We love you.  LOL!

What are you most thankful for (serious or funny)?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Home Tour With A Twist: The Office and Playroom

Welcome Back to my Home Tour With a Twist Series.  There will be links to the previous stops on the tour at the end.  Today I will wrap up the first level of our home.  We will stop by the office and revisit the playroom.  I have lots of ideas and projects in mind for both rooms.  Let's take a look.

The Office

This room is our home office.  Mostly the hubby uses this space when he works from home or when he's researching something (he's addicted to google searches just like me).   I have also allowed Munchkin to use the computer for Starfall.com (excellent reading and letter resource, I used to use it in my classroom).  Any how it's painted the same Clary Sage as the kitchen.  It's located to the right of the family room.

When I met my husband he had this same desk but it was literally covered in papers and clutter.  It's been fun helping him to get organized.  Yes it does have moments of messiness still, but it's much easier to clean up when everything has a specific place to go.

We bought the Billy Bookcase from Ikea shortly after we moved in.  Both of us have always wanted an in home library so that's the look we were going for.  We have been slowly adding to our book collection and hope to all the shelves filled at some point.  I love that we still have room to expand it if we need to.

The left wall is a total blank slate.  I'd like to add some inspirational quotes or framed posters, as well as our degrees on the wall.  To keep it fun I also want to add some of Munchkin's and Little Bear's framed art.  I've been stalking pinterest and I've found some super cute ideas.

The back wall is also a blank slate... (what's new? this is my big ol' empty house we're talking about).  At some point I'd like to add a homework area for the boys, but I know that will be a long way off.  I also considered a futon or set of chairs.  Don't ask why the radio is there.  it's probably something he's had since college and he can't let go... smh.  I think I've mentioned before that hubby is a pack rat.  The amount of storage in this house has saved us from quite a few arguments.  One day it will disappear into the basement where it will continue to collect dust and not be used.

The Plan Summarized:

Find some great inspirational quotes, and some great frames at the thrift shop.

Decide on a cute art project for the boys that they can both handle and will compliment the space.

Find the floor plan of the house and frame it... I just think that will be cool.

Actually take my degrees out of the envelope and add them to the wall, sheesh I worked really hard for them!

I need your help!  

What should I do with that back wall where the radio is?  Beside losing the radio, I'm all over that.

The Playroom, Welcome Back 

I swear my house isn't as dark as it seems!

If you walk out of the office and go through the living room, you'll come to the playroom.  I am soooooo glad we have this room (there aren't enough o's to express this), it helps to keep my home clean, no... it keeps my home clean.  Technically it's called the conservatory, but who actually says that?   I have a few friends in our development with similar floor plans, some use it as a grown-up playroom complete with stocked bar and pool table.  Some use it as the family hang out room.  My husband actually thought it was going to be his man cave, you can see how that turned out.  I originally posted about my playroom here, but I thought I'd show it again since I have kind of rearranged it, and I have some cool ideas for the space (at least cool in my head, ever wonder why things don't come out as awesome as your imagination dreamed it would?).

From the doorway, the left side is all about play and fun.  I decided to take the pics as is.  Clean playrooms are fun to look at, but mine only stays magazine clean while there are no children in it.  It still gets messy since I've organized, but it's so much easier to clean up and easier to get Munchkin to help.  He loves looking at the pictures and playing the match game.  I know I need to get tons more storage, but if you haven't already realized I don't spend money like crazy.  I save or pick up things little by little, which is why you may notice some of the trofast bins chillin on the floor, the entire Ikea trofast system will have to wait.

FYI, the Triple Fun ExerSaucer is awesome we've used it since Little Bear was about 4 months old, and both boys love it.  It's growing with them so it's totally worth the money.

He loves that train whistle, and what's funny is that he can't quite make it work yet.

See the books up there.  They will be finding a new home once I get my reading nook in order.

I added some fun art and a thrift store clock up on the wall.  The art is finger paint made with corn syrup and kool-aid packets.  It makes a cool shiny product once it dries, but be careful, in humid weather it will start to drip even after it has "dried".

The opposite side of the playroom is my school area.  I try my hardest to get the boys to keep cars and trucks out of that area, mostly in vain.  Ideally I would like to get some type of furniture divider.  It'd have to be low so there was no risk of falling over.  I just think a more concrete line or division will help the boys understand the difference between the two sides.

This is my art area, I moved the easel to this side of the room but I feel like it's missing something.   I use the wall here to hang their art and on the floor are puzzles.  I want the boys to have easy access to them, but it doesn't look so hot.

On the middle wall (where the alphabet is hanging) you can see that we're up to letter x in Tot School.  I have this cool idea to add some painted cookie sheets on the lower part of the wall for a cool magnetic center.  Again, in my head it's an awesome idea... I'm still working out some kinks like how to hang them and what colors to paint them.  I know I want to stick to a red and blue color scheme but still wondering if I want the cookie sheets all one color or some type of pattern.

This corner is my attempt at a reading zone.  I want to add a tree behind the rocker, and do some cool letter art on the wall.  I also want to cover the pillows and chair with some kind of fabric to make them match.   I saw a cool inexpensive way to display books thanks to Jen at iHeart Organizing.  Can't wait to do this project, but again can't decide how to do the colors or precisely where to put the spice book racks.

The old TV sits on the floor because I'm afraid to put it on a stand and the boys knock it over.  Sometimes they play in here without me, so this space needs to stay very toddler friendly.  They usually watch Baby Einstein videos here, but i'm sure before I know it they'll be asking for some sort of video games.   One day when they are older they will get an upgrade, but for now this works fine for them.  My husband and I are in agreement that they will not be getting TV's in their rooms.

So here is my summarized plan:

Add some letter art for each section of the room - CREATE, EXPLORE, LEARN...  Wooden letters can get expensive so I'm devising a thrifty plan.  I'll let you know what I come up with... but I'm leaning toward cardboard.

Cover the pillows and rockers with fabric.

Add painted cookie sheets for magnet fun.

Purchase some more storage at some point, including a room divider.

Create a fun letter tree in the reading corner.

Help Me Please!  

I'm still trying to figure out what my art area needs... right now it's basically just the easel and the Elmo table.  Keep in mind, Munchkin is 2 1/2 and Little Bear is 1.  Art supplies CAN NOT be kept with in their reach.  I just feel like it needs something.

Well, thanks for reading and your help.  I can't wait to get started on these spaces.  Next we'll go upstairs and check out the bedrooms.

Here's the rest of the home tour room by room if you want to check it out.

The Mudroom

The Laundry Room

The Kitchen

The Family Room

The Living and Dining Rooms