Laaaaaaaa! (Angelic chorus)

Okay, so this morning, we were AWASH in Christmas gifts: they were littering our living room, strewn across our kitchen table, piled in our garage, and still waiting in my trunk. This afternoon, the floor is clear! I SEE CARPET! And I got Claire's closet organized for the first time basically since she was born. This took a large Rubbermaid tower of drawers (why was the only color at Wal-Mart a hideous orange?), two packs of plastic snap boxes (these were very cool and sturdy and even had label slots), a heap of cardboard recycling and one bag of trash.

Here is her closet (and there's even some clothes in it!):

As I said on facebook, it is not a pottery barn organization job; it's a hand-me-down and Wal-Mart one that took creativity and resourcefulness, and I am quite proud of it! On the left-hand door, you will notice an afghan filled with bows and below that, hooks holding purses. The biggest purse is holding an assortment of small toys. One drawer in the orange monstrosity is holding nothing but markers, crayons, colored pencils, and coloring books, both of which she got several new for Christmas. Claire's kid fishing tackle box was put to good use there.

Doll bed moved to a more useful location, so that new dolls will be tended to more regularly.

New CD player on its own shelf with the kid CDs I dug up around the house. New dolly corner with stroller, bag (dolls ride inside when Claire is on the go), and basket of dolly supplies. New playhut and tunnel folded behind dolly stuff. New rocking horse for Anna, and several new sets on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. Fancy Nancy in the foreground has been a tea party regular since last Christmas.

Our living room!! Ready to relax in, without having to kick anything out of your way!

Anna's new b-ball goal (okay, so maybe you would have to kick it), Elmo (he won't stay there long, but believe me, the Tickle Me X-Treme Elmo is good family entertainment, at least for now) and some sad-looking Christmas decorations.

The toy section: a computer for each girl (but I'm sure Anna will still go for Claire's), a Sing-a-Ma-Jig, Mrs. Potato Head, and a home for Claire's puzzles, which had to move out of the game cabinet to make room for Uno Moo.

And this is my beautiful kid bookshelf, formerly a very messy kid book basket on the floor. There's a side for Claire books and a side for Anna's. Laaaaaaaaa! (This is the angels' favorite part!). The basket in the middle is holding one of Claire's fave presents, a Strawberry Shortcake remote control car.