bkcgraham's Profile

I suggest making a wood frame out of 2x2 and plywood that would insert into one of the doorways you do want to completely block.

You can then decorate in fabric or paint with chalkboard. I like the idea of doing both. Cover the top section with padding and burlap for a decorative board that stuff can be hung on and chalkboard paint on the bottom

I pack a small folding cooler all the time in the summer, even if it's just a long day out. Pop, water, gatorade for me and hubby plus juice, milk, p&j sandwich, string cheese, cut up fruit for son. Also have small plastic container with low sugar animal crakers, gerber puffs and cherrios.

My 3.5 yr old son will sleep just about anywhere. However, the best one by far was at the blue angel airshow. The planes were flying directly over our heads and he fell asleep in his stroller. Funniest part is he would cover his ears in his sleep when it got too loud.

I did something similar in an old aparment in a very small closet with the cat box. I would not recommend putting any clothes in there. Think of it has hard storage. Only stuff that would not absorb the smells or could be put in ziplocs and storage totes. It can work but you have to plan on losing the space for clothes.

Thank you. I have been having a miserable week and this made me laugh.

In my experience limiting gifts is extremely hard so I have several ways of handling.
- For grandparents I first ask if there are any specific gifts that they had in mind. If not then I purposully request a larger/more expensive gift so that it reduces the multiple items from just that one person. (however I am mindful of what each person can spend and do not request something out of there comfort zone. For example - my parents are actually buying a twin bed set and then will just add one small toy. My mother-in-law is getting him the vtech gaming system and nothing else)
- For others I create a list that I can use for those who specifically ask. These are either items that build on something my son already has or something I know he will really like/want
- As gifts are unwrapped try to move some quickly our of a room. People start opening stuff so the child can play with it. If you quickly move stuff into a back room you can save for a later time, donate or re-gift.

Hope these sugesstions help!