It's beginning to look alot like.....

Christmas!

This is hands down my favorite time of year!  I could not wait to get the Christmas decorations up this year so I could see the pure amazement and excitement in the kids' eyes. 

We put up the Christmas tree the Friday evening after Thanksgiving.  Last year, we placed it in the corner of our dining room and completely gated off the dining room so the twins couldn't bother it.  I debated on whether I should do the same this year. Or, are they now old enough to understand?

That question, along with my frustration of constantly picking up the kids' toys in the family room, gave me a brainstorm.  After the kids are in bed every night, I have to stumble over toys and their mess just to relax on the couch and it drives me absolutely bonkers.

We live in a townhouse but it's a decent size and very wide.  Our dining room is almost the size of what you would find in a single family home.  And, since having the kids, we just don't entertain like we used to.  Now, it's essentially wasted space.  If we have a family meal, it's at the kitchen table.   The dining room table just sits empty.

So, I decided to move all of the kids' toys into a designated kids play area at the back of the dining room. 

Work in Progress

Christopher being a "helper"

Finished view from family room

Finished View from hallway

So far, it has served the purpose of keeping the toys in the dining room and not under my feet when I'm trying to walk around in the family room.

With the toys now in their new home, it allowed us to place the Christmas tree in the corner of the family room where the toys used to live.   Now we can keep an eye on it and stop the twins if they start to get curious.

It's hard to see but the "theme" of the Xmas tree is rustic.  There are balsam wood stars and bells, burlap snowmen, wooden animals, patchwork stockings.  And, red berry garland.  Nothing is breakable, which is a good thing.

I thought the kids would show an interest in the ornaments but instead they are fascinated with the berry garland.  Christopher keeps pulling off the berries and saying "Balls" and throwing them across the family room!  And, this morning, Daddy said Kendall stuck a berry up her nose.   Niiiicce!

On the bright side, at least the tree is still standing after 3 days.