...to show another room

...since I went on a blogging hiatus during the time that Mark was home I never was able to finish showing the house to all you (fifteen) faithful readers (hee hee).

My plan had been to show all the photos to Mark before he came home so he wouldn't be surprised.  However, he came home a bit earlier than expected...

If you are wondering he absolutely loves this house.  He says it is his favorite home that we have lived in thus far!  He thinks it is cozy and warm and while it is surely missing some charm he does love that it is a newly constructed home for a change.

Me...I am still pining for my beautiful West Point place.

Tonight I'll show the The Toy Room.  This room deserves capital letters because it was an incredible challenge.  With four kids, my own addiction to toys, and overzealous grandparents you can imagine we have a lot of toys.

Here are a few before photos of the toy room....do you notice how it is spilling out into the hallway!

Does "OH MY!!" come to mind?

It felt like we just stepped over this mess for weeks.

After hours of sorting, hauling, and purging (probably not as much as I should have) here are the after pictures...

In this picture is the first 'treasure' I found here in the area.  It is a set of lockers (square 3 rows by 5 across) and I love that I turned it on its side so the lockers open up.  I was able to store hide oodles of toys in these.  Surprisingly each one holds quite a bit!  I have one filled with all of their musical instruments, one filled with all of Will's Playmobile figurines, one filled with all of our Elmo/Sesame Street items...you get the picture.

On top are a few treasures Mark has collected on some recent trips (Eqypt, Africa), a dancing hula girl, of course some light reading material for the kids (The New Universal World Atlas, Atlas of World History, and If America Were a Village).

Notice the locks?  These are Isabella and Will's own 'special' keeping places for their things.

The closet...while Mark was home he added a second shelf (not pictured) to fit all the way across the length of the closet for me.  This helped to make some of the toys, puzzles, and art project things a little easier to get at.  These wire shelves aren't pretty but they are pretty functional and inexpensive.  At around $20 it fit my requirements perfectly.

 A few toys chests...

The white one was from my Grandmother several years ago.  I have it in the permanently open position housing the stuffed animals 'we' just cannot bear to part with.

The brown chest was made for me by a friend of the family a very long time ago (It still has my maiden monogram on it!).  This gem is the host for the babies that aren't as loved as the others and the dress-up clothes.
 

This is definitely not my favorite view of the toy room.  I love the photos of the kids but I feel like I hung them a bit too high...and maybe the chest needs a little makeover?  Maybe instead this wall should become a myriad of artwork?
 

A little collage of crosses we have collected from over the years from baptisms for the kids and some gifts from friends.  In the frame is a poem written by sisters who lived across the river from West Point.  It was a gift for Audrey when she was born from Mark's department.

 The best thing about the toy room...the girls actually play in it.  Often.  The next best thing: Everything has a place...so it hasn't been overwhelming when it's clean-up time!