sibergirlblue's Profile

I think the Ikea Kura loft would be perfect. The sides on the top bunk are solid and pretty high. If you used a peice of plywood with carpet instead of the mattress you make a nice space up there. You could also add a platform with storage under like the one on this post.

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/small-kids-big-color-2009/tommaso-lorenzos-bright-bedroom-small-kids-big-color-entry--100342

We have the recycling truck and my boys play with it more than all the dump trucks in the sand box. Plus we can talk about sorting items for recycling...my 4 year old likes to help do that now.

I loved the Moby for when they are smaller...It is very comfortable. Hard to figure out how to wrap but once on it's easy to wear it all day and just slide your baby in and out, no need to carry a bucket seat into the store! When they got heavier the material would stretch and they would end up dangling around my knees...so on to ergo we went. I loved the ergo for front carry...It had a handy pocket for my stuff and felt like you were hugging your little ones the whole time. Back carry was a struggle for me though...I had to try to get a very wiggly and often protesting 1 year old back there. He could also arch his back and it felt like he could fall out. I switched to a Beco and never looked back. Higher back and I can have him step into it like a pair of pants and then swing him up like a backpack...which he loves. My son is 2.5 and we still use this carrier. :)

We have the Maclaren one...exact same. It gets abused quite regularly by my 2 and 3.5 year old boys. It still looks great and folds.. the metal tubing used is quite thick. I huge difference between it and the tubing used on the cheep Graco/Walmart kids strollers.

Hi there... I love the log idea you are using.. One thing you could add to that is before you install the logs cut some circle, and half circle disks from the logs. Sand them a bit on the inside, you can choose to leave the bark, or peel it off smooth too. This can be set up as a natural building block set outside...plus a lesson on tree rings as she gets older.
I set up a safe fountain also that the kids love..its a basin of water that I set into the ground...used a sprinker valve box to hold the pump and then filled it in with med size rocks with just the power cord and hose from the pump coming up. I found a cool dragon head fountain spout and hung it on a pole so that the stream of water hits the rocks and trickles though them into the basin. This created a water feature in my yard that is safe for my toddlers...as there is no standing water....just the stream from the dragon's mouth...they like to play with the wet rocks and fill up their little buckets to carry to the sandbox. And of course if I don't want them wet that day...I just don't turn it on :)
We were lucky to find a CederWorks playground set on craigslist for $400...It was old and faded and the neighbors cringed and made jokes about planting stuff so they couldn't see it....but after a weekend of me sanding it down they could see how great a set it was.... looks like new. Best part is it doesn't require paint, or stain. Dosn't splinter. Though if you want it to stay golden a bit of natural clear oil will help. My boys love it and call it the Pirate house.

But as for other toys...honestly... a big pile of rocks to move around in a cart and and a pit of dirt and they are happy. ;)

Check craigslist for playgound equipment. Wood playgrounds often outlast the kids...so you will be preventing that wood from going to a dump or landfill...and often it's good stuff. When done...pass it along to someone else.

My concern would be how safe that gap between the drawer and the slats will be with the weight of a young toddler standing up on the mattress. I looks like there is space for the childs leg to slip through. That is a potential for a broken leg. I know that most kiddos stand right on the edge of the mattress and jump on it.

I think it looks good on the stroller as just a pad accent..but I'm not so fond of the items with the all-over print, like the travel bed. A bit too loud for me.

I think its fine to go ahead and get him the plastic dolls. If that's the type he likes, he probably won't be attracted to the "rag" doll style. However I would skip getting the Set with the strollers and beds stuff. Those thing bend and break quick and you will just have to throw them out. Find a handmade wood bed or something. The dolls will probably last quite awhile... maybe even for siblings later on.

Yep the photo is from LivingEtc, a UK site. I think the orange would be fantastic in this space in London. If the weather is dark and gloomy for quite a bit of the year, a bold color is great to perk things up. A lot of homes around Seattle have bold oranges, deep reds, cobalt blue.

I use a bowl with water and a little drop of Mrs. Meyer's dish soap. (usually lavender or lemon) micro for 4 min. Check on it, then maybe another 4 min if stuff is really dirty. It makes the micro smell good and the crusty stuff wipes right off.