My Babies are Growing Up

Seven years ago, our delicate daughter entered our lives and changed my husband and I in every way possible.  Twenty-six months later, her robust baby brother arrived and continued his sister's mission.  It was no longer just my husband and I.  We were a family of four filled with love, laughter and .........TOYS.

Toys in their rooms.  Toys in the living room.  Toys in the family room.  Toys in the basement.  Toys in baskets in the bathrooms and the kitchen and our bedroom and even our guest bedroom.  Toys. Toys. Toys.

Toys in our cars.  Toys in the garage.  Toys in the yard.  Toys. Toys. Toys.  Toys every where and any where.  My parents would often scold me on indulging my children with so many toys, but compared to others, our invasion of toys was far milder than friends of ours with children similar in age and yet, our home was one giant toy room!

Fast forward to present day.  What should have been a moment of heel clicking glee became a moment of teary sadness.  Over the years, the toys which were spread out from around our home, made their way to our unused living room.  The room had become half play room and half room with fireplace.  Our adjacent family room was within eyesight and allowed parents and friends to mingle in an adult-like fashion while the children played in their own space.  But as of last night, this is no longer so.

Our living room is now a room filled with furniture and a fireplace and candle on the coffee table!  There is not a toy in sight.  In fact, my entire first floor is free of clutter and death traps and mess.  Our basement is now toy room central.  Equipped with an old television, and old Nintendo gaming system and all their big kid toys, the basement is officially the kids room.

In all these years of nearly impaling myself over these toys and cleaning up what appeared to be a tornado of mess, I never thought this day would come.  And of course, this day has come much to the sheer and utter delight of my children.  They happily played in their basement and arranged their toys in a way that suited them best and left my husband and I alone on the couch upstairs.  As I peered into the living room, I couldn't help be think how my babies are getting so big and proud of how mature they have become........

So I am thinking of a fresh coat of paint, maybe wainscoting the lower portion, curtains, or maybe make this a formal dining room and turn my dining room into a study.  The possibilities are endless......hmmm what was I saying talking about before?