we make a good team! (a year later)

For Christmas, Karl and I made the kiddos at wooden play kitchen. I've had my eye on a particular kitchen for years, since it is made in the US, is gender neutral, and appears to be quite sturdy (a must in this house!), but it just wasn't in the budget. So, last LAST Christmas. That's right... 2010 I drew out a plan on paper, we purchased all the supplies, and then failed to find the time to make this. This year we were determined. Karl was up until 2am on December 23rd (true to this family's procrastinating ways) sanding, drilling, and assembling this sweet kitchen. It turned out perfect! The kids love it, I love it, and so far it has already baked 137 pizzas and made 322 pots of wooden vegetable soup. LOVE! And a bonus? Since we made this ourselves, we were able to make it a pretty good height for our taller-than-average children. Hoping this will be played with for years to come.

The kitchen's current home is in our dining room. Some homes I go into I noticed that all the kids' toys are tucked away into bedrooms and the living room/dining room/kitchen all appears to be "adult" space. That's lovely for some families, but I really want to create a home atmosphere that is child friendly in every room. Though they do have toys in their rooms too, I don't want my children to feel like they have to be isolated in bedrooms to play, and my husband and I like to be involved in their play. So keeping some of the shared toys in common areas of our home is a good solution. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep it looking neat.

Oh, and that stick above it? That's where we hung the stockings. I'm not sure what to do with it now that the stockings are gone though. It's such a cool looking branch I kinda want to leave it there, but I'm not sure what to do with it. Hang a cute heart garland on it for Valentine's day? Make a cute felted bird's nest to tuck into one of the curves of it? Put it back outside where I tell Max everyday is where sticks belong? Hmmm... Any suggestions?