What have we been up to?

Ha! What have we been up to?


January 2011 has proved to be a very busy month.  We started the year out with moving out Matthew's crib!  Yes... this was a very difficult transition (for me... not him so much. He loves it!)  And it's really sweet because if he wakes up, he doesn't even make any noise.  He just quietly gets out of his bed and comes into our room.  He'll pat Daddy's face and then come over to my side and crawl in and wiggle.  It's cute :) 
We did this for two reasons.  First, He knew how to "PLOP" out of his crib.  Thankfully, Kathryn's bed was next to the crib so he would land there.  But there is that chance that he would miss.  And that wouldn't be pretty.  We figure that once they can get out on their own, it's time to do something else.  
Second, our wonderful neighbors were replacing their beds, and asked if we wanted their loft bed.  We gladly accepted it :) 
With all 4 kids in one room, it is amazing the space it cleared up.  


We went from bunk/crib/bed to two 'bunks'.  

This freed up some floor space, and allowed the play kitchen to be out instead of in the closet!

We put the mattress directly on the floor, and Matthew can "safely" escape his sleeping place :) Also, notice the little animals shoved in the space.  How I LOVE how kids decorate!

Kathryn likes her new sleeping place too. (They play musical beds... rotating the three bunks.)

Matthew's new sleeping place (and OH MAN, I need to clean that gate! ha ha, wow) 

Anyway, it's been great to get everything set up for them.  Toys are organized into bins and in the closet (where the play kitchen was before).  I think the key to living in a small space is to organize, simplify, and use bunks!
I have also been organizing by going through toys and closets to purge and keep only what we use.  The way we handle the 4 kids' toys is with a couple of bins and a regular rotation.  That way they just have a few toys in the time that they can play with.  The rest are in bins in storage.  It is so fantastic because when I pull out some other toys and put away these ones its like Christmas all over again because everything is like new to them :)  There are a few things that stay out all the time because they are favorites.  Those are the play kitchen, the stuffed animals, and the boys Lego sets because they are played with ALL of the time.  

So, what else? 
Well we are back to our daily routine... boys to school, picking them up from school.  Wes to work, and class one night a week.  The boys are in separate basketball 'classes', which has been fun for them as they are learning how to play.  Kathryn is taking Ballet again and is so excited because she has a friend taking a class with her.   I have been attending a Wed. night Bible Study, and we are going through Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed, and it has been FANTASTIC.  It is so amazing how God meets us and teaches us just what we need.  

Super blessed and thankful this new year.