Making room

When I was first pregnant with Finn, Andy and I were determined that our house wouldn't get filled with toys, baby paraphernalia and general plastic, loud stuff. We didn't want our kids to have loads of unnecessary toys and would try as much as possible to stick to traditional, educational toys. Then 4 Christmases and 6 combined birthdays came and went (via our generous family and friends) and we find ourselves left with this

Our conservatory, ladies and gentlemen. The conservatory was here when we moved in and we have never really liked it. It's freezing in the winter and doesn't get the sun in the summer. Original plans were (and still are, one day) to take it off and create an extra, proper room in its place that's warm and stuff.

But since having the boys it's been lovely to have a space just for them. It means the rest of the house is free from toys and we maintain our grown-up space. However, this is what I'm left with at the end of a day at home. Carnage.

They don't play with lots of the toys and have outgrown many of them so today we decided it was time for an overhaul, a reclamation of play space and a good old-fashioned clear out. It took about 3 hours, thanks to my 'helpers' taking out the toys just as soon as I'd pack them away (annoying, much?) but we got there in the end and now have only toys they play with (but seriously, do they still need this many?) Here is the end result

The train set lasted the best part of an hour before Max decided it was better on the floor

Thrifty vintage desks. £4.50 on eBay.

I gave Finn the letters to his name to see if he can spell it out. This is what he came up with. He's now known by his Norwegian name, Fiehln.