Happy New Year!

One of our New Year's resolutions this year was to address the disaster in the girls' room. They've accumulated so many toys, and they're unwilling to part with older ones to make space for new toys. They've also accumulated more clothing than their dresser can hold.  With only one overstuffed clothes dresser and a small shelf unit in their closet, most of their toys ended up in large piles in the floor, where they could never find anything.  

Before: Giant piles of toys in the floor next to each girl's bed. We made them keep a walkway clear from their beds to the door, so they wouldn't injure themselves if they woke up at night to use the restroom.

The closet situation. The dollhouses on top of the shelf were normally covered by a packed row of dresses and costumes that hung from the closet bar.

Our solution was a trip to IKEA, which the girls loved!  We let them explore all the rooms and little "houses," but we already knew what we planned to buy. 

We purchased multiple square shelving units and let the girls choose their own cloth box colors. We've had this type of unit in their closet for years, and we've been impressed by the volume the boxes hold, and how well they've held up.  We bought each of the girls a unit for their toys, and replaced their dresser with another unit. 

Emma's side of the room.

Hallie's side of the room.

The closet - fewer hanging clothes, and more storage cubes.

We also bought this fun carpet. It's super soft and fluffy and the girls wanted to live on it!

One issue we didn't foresee was that all our new shelving units covered every electrical outlet in the room.  The girls used to have a wall plug-in nightlight, but that was no longer an option. Instead, they each got to choose their own tabletop nightlights to add to the decor.

Hallie wanted an adorable nightlight

Emma wanted a nightlight with a clock, so she could see what time it was if she woke up too early.

We put the girls' old clothing dresser out on the curb and Hallie made a sign for it that said "Free Dresser" with pictures of shirts, pants, socks, and underwear. Someone picked it up the next day!

We received a free recumbent bike from a couple at our church in January!  We had one in the past and loved it, so we're excited to have a new one. It's wedged between couches in our TV room, so we can watch something while we exercise.

Dan also bought a used inversion table to help stretch out his back. He hangs like a bat once or twice a day, and says it feels great!

Hallie's 2nd grade class presented a puppet show during chapel in January. She's standing on the far right, and she had two solo speaking parts.

The kids all made homemade sock puppets for the show. Hallie's has long red hair, a fancy, decorated dress, and she's holding a trumpet in a special instrument case. 

One evening, Emma accidentally landed with her full weight on Hallie's fingers. Hallie was in lots of pain and wouldn't bend her fingers at all that night. She was still complaining the next morning, so Dan took her to urgent care to get an x-ray. 

It turns out that her hand and fingers were fine, and they felt better as the day went on. But while they were at urgent care, Dan asked them about the consistent stomach pain that Hallie's been experiencing. She often wakes up and goes to bed with stomach pain, and sometimes feels nauseous after she eats. We've been concerned that she may have an allergy or an underlying digestive issue. 

The mystery was solved when they x-rayed her abdomen. She was just extremely constipated and full of gas. Dan was pretty sure that he saw fruit snacks stuck in there, too. The doctor sent home a healthy diet plan that was Hallie's worst nightmare. We cut her sugar consumption way back, made her eat more fruits and veggies, and gave her Miralax and extra fiber in her food for a while to get her un-constipated. It took a couple of weeks, but her stomachaches have mostly gone away, and she's doing much better now that we're monitoring her food choices more carefully.

Speaking of digestive health, I scheduled my first colonoscopy in January. I had heard all about the horrors of prepping the day before, but nothing prepares you for the actual experience.  I started drinking the fluid they prescribe the evening before, and then I had to wake up the middle of the night to drink more since my appointment was early the next morning. I think I got two hours of sleep and spent the rest of the night traveling to and from the toilet. 

I'm smiling because they're about to knock me out with anesthesia and I'll finally get some sleep! Thankfully, they didn't see any areas of concern and recommended that I do it again in 10 years! Whew!

Hallie was invited to her friend, Fiona's, ice skating birthday party. 

Our whole family joined in the fun and enjoyed ice skating together. They have plastic walkers for the kids to push along, and I was wondering where they keep the adult-sized ones!  It made the experience less stressful for our girls, who have only been ice skating once or twice before, years ago.

Near the end of the month, we celebrated my birthday with the extended family. 

Emma and Hallie gave me a sweet giraffe stuffed animal for my birthday, since it's my favorite animal. I put it on display at work next to the two prettiest girls I know!