Gigi's Room

Moving in has been a particularly slow process this time.  Maybe the "unfinished" look is just starting to bother me less and less, or maybe after so many rentals I'm just feeling like the only walls I'm going to really care about someday are the ones I own.

But in any case, piece by piece, room by room, things are coming together.  This move I knew it was time to pull Gigi's room together in a way that was going to support her developmental stage (i.e. she needed to be able to clean up her own toys in a safe way), and so I spent some time doing research on toy storage ideas that we could live with.  Eventually we decided to go the IKEA Expedit-designed shelving route, and I am so glad that we did.  The Expedit series is really sturdy, I love the birch finish, and there are so many options for compatible storage boxes that when we move this shelving into a public space someday I can get nicer baskets and dress it up.  The best features of course are that Gigi can pull out the boxes, clean up her own toys, and push them back in.  One of our house rules is that before she plays with a new toy she needs to clean up the mess from the last one, and she's been doing well keeping her space fairly tidy.  Who knew?

Bedroom-size wise, Gigi was the one to get majorly shafted in this last move, since her space is probably only half the size it was at the last place.  But she is oblivious to things like that, and it makes me so grateful to have a child in my life, to remind me which things truly matter.

But then again, it was she who had a melt down recently when I stirred her cereal into her milk, so I guess her wise moments are kind of hit and miss.