4 weeks and counting

I'm still determined to declutter and organize around here, although my energy level is decreasing everyday. I'm back in the kids' room, which I know I just organized a few months ago, but it just doesn't look that way anymore. My first job was to pull out Kate's crib away from the wall and search for lost binkies. At 3:30am, Kate was crying and I was searching for a binky and finally found one after pulling out diapers, wipes, and the Barbie box from under the crib. I left the mess for the morning and decided I might as well search for more binkies before cleaning up my mess. I found 1. Now we have 2 out of 5. 2 is better than 1. When I picked up the barbie box to move it, all of the barbie stuff fell out the bottom...broken box from the kids playing in the box. So I dumped all the Barbie stuff into the hall and tossed the box out the door. I emptied out a box just like the Barbie box that had some of Emily's stuff in it and I put the Barbie stuff in that box. I found new homes for Emily's stuff and threw some stuff away. Then I got to one of the problem areas of the room. The book shelves. I emptied off what I call the bottom shelf which is actually the top of the built-in dresser. I put all of the books that were on the bottom shelf in the hall to go through while Kate took a nap. My intention was to get rid of a lot of books, but I have a hard time parting with children's books, so I got rid of a few and decided to go buy some stackable bins to put in the dresser area where the drawers used to be to put the books in that were on the bottom shelf. I put the toys that were thrown into the dresser area, which looked awful, and put them on the bottom shelf. It doesn't look great, but it's an improvement. I really like the stackable bins and they look nice and neat. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it tomorrow.
While I'm on the subject of books, I'll mention how neat it is that Emily is now reading Junie B. Jones left and right these days. When I go to the library, I pick up Nancy Drew for Zoe and Junie B. Jones for Emily. They love to read and love to see what books I bring home for them. Fun!

Zoe, Emily, and I are anxiously awaiting our shoe organizing bags and rack. Every day Zoe asks me when they will be here. They are so excited to have their own shoe bag that will hold 10 pair of shoes and they think it's neat that they'll be able to pick out one pair of shoes to leave on the rack by the door. They are looking forward to no more digging for shoes!

Matt and I went to Pizzeria Uno this evening for dinner. It was so nice to get out after a busy day of taking care of the kids and organizing. We watched the beginning of the Red Sox vs. Rays game while we waited for our food, so we saw the big brawl. The one that will be the top story on ESPN for the next 24 hours. It was entertaining. When we got home, my mom told me about Zach taking all the books out of one of the bins and making steps with them. Maybe having some of the books so easily accessible is not such a great idea.