That is so cute! Our dress up stuff is stuffed into a plastic bin. This would be so much better.
But I stuck to my plan of never owning a minivan! LOL

Nate and I have already said we're going to try to stay as far away from electronic toys as possible. They can have all the dolls and lincoln logs and racecars they want, but nothing that is just going to scream at them all the time.

Pretty much everything I said I would never do as a parent, I do. It's a whole different ballgame when the kids actually arrive. I'm due with baby girl #3 in July. You just get beat down after awhile, and start allowing things that you never thought you would:-)

My thing before we had kids was the "apparatus" in the main living space; the swings, jumperoos, exersaucers, all that stuff. Well, that didn't work cause she LOVES all of it. We've been successful, though, in keeping it to one piece of equipment at a time. As soon as she was done with the swing it was packed up to make room for a playgym. Then came the bouncy seat, and so forth.

Very cute! My husband and I refuse to own a minivan. We bought a Traverse. I love it and it has all the space of a minivan. I remember thinking all those same things...then I had my second child...xo Kristin

HAHAHAHAHA. You know what happened to me with the minivan thing. They are totally not the same space-wise as an SUV, despite everything I'd hoped when I was childless. Also, I STILL hate the useless plastic toys and don't buy them, but it's the GRANDPARENTS that don't abide by the house rules. You gotta watch out for them. However, I would totally have that little dress-up storage. Adorbs.

I said I would never have a kid with boogers... yep, my kids totally have boogers :)

LOL!! The minivan is the BOMB, it is my favorite thing, just got a brand new one after my old one was completely worn out. I don't even care if my kids outgrow it, I can't see giving it up. ha ha.

Problem is that when you have kids, especially babies and toddlers, you get so worn out at times that ANYTHING that will keep them quiet (read: make them happy) is worth it. Form/function/appearance comes second. LOL though.

I am with you with the NO MINIVAN EVER! I have told multiple people...if you see me with a minivan it means I have lost my will to live. I would rather drive a bus before a minivan. LOL!

I wish I could say that my girl's toys never traveled out side of their room but sadly that is not the case. However I would rather have them playing where I can see them then have tons of storage to hid when people come over to visit.

1) I think we're going to have the same kids.
2) That dress up storage is adorable! What a great idea!

I was the same way, then my hubby and I found out we were having twins! Logic went out the window!

We did have them sleeping through the night by 5/6 weeks (I think it was a fluke) and we have a Flex. I detest minivans! So I do consider that a win.

We have tons of toys, mostly plastic and very loud, thank you to the grandparents and various friends who apparently hate us.

Kids are messy though, especially when they insist on feeding themselves. Wipes are bought in bulk.

The dress up storage is super cute!

Minivans are a no. I want an SUV, so I can run over all of the things and the kids will still be safe. Safety first.

Other than that I know that my kids will be hellians and never put anything away because they will take after their father. And I'll be the no-fun crazy OCD mom that no one appreciates until they move out. I'm kind of ok with it. Maybe.

You very likely recall this same conversation when I was pregnant. I was not going to have any of that crap either. Mwahahaha. Henry hates anything that's not ugly. It's a curse. And he also spits up and pukes and gets into everything breakable and dangerous. But you know what, it won't even bother you when your little comes around. And I've found that its all about moderation. I have plastic crap,but I haven't let it take over my house. (Yet. Never say never.) and there are plenty of baskets and storage pieces that make it more bearable.

Now the minivan, I'm totally with you.

And I want a dress up area like this. Adorable.

This dress-up storage piece is so cute! I love it. We don't have any kids yet, just Penelope. When we first got her we said "no squeaky toys" and only a few toys at a time. The grandparents broke the squeaky toy rule on visit number 1, so I have very little hope that they won't break the no loud / plastic crap rule when there are grand children. She also has a good number of toys, but we rotate them and hide them in a storage box when guests come over. Oh and I'm with you on the minivan! I'd upgrade to an SUV, but that's it.

I love that dress up station! I would love to live in a plastic-free toy world when I have kids... but seeing as my parents continue to give my nephew plastic stuff I don't think that'll be a reality.

I think it's so funny you put the no minivan thing on here! I am totally with you. I have no kids, yet, and I know I will NEVER have a minivan. I will get an SUV and that's that! Too funny!!!!!

I always said I will never ever have CHILDREN. I was young and stupid, what can I say. My boys are in college now and I wouldn't trade a minute of the chaos and joy that having them brought to my life.

Lisa was totally no minivan once... we don't own one yet, but she's dropped hints that maybe we should consider one. :)

Resistance is futile.

This is adorable! I love that there is storage inside and around it. Ana White is my girl crush I think because she has mad carpentry skills.

I will never own a minivan OR a station wagon. My husband desperately wants either! Silly rabbit he is. Never. I bought a Rav 4. That's my "mommy car" and as close to mini van or wagon as I will ever get. I'm more of a 2-door-as-small-as-a-go-kart kind of girl.

That's adorable! We had this old trunk that we kept our dress up stuff in when we were little.

My brother was very anti-minivan. He swore up and down that he'd never drive one. They now have three kids and a minivan. Funny how things change. I already drive an SUV so I'd probably just keep that, or maybe upgrade to a larger one.

I love that....such a cute idea!!!

And I'm with you on #1....I will NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR own a minivan. :)

This was an awesome post. I love the little dress up bin- super cute!!

As far as the minivan- I would prefer an SUV as well. I also would want to keep less plastic, noisy toys and more old school, simple imaginative toys but that's hard to do with gifts, etc. I figure it will all change so I try not to make too many rules before it even happens! haha

I'm obsessed. Um, don't judge me, but I LOVE Mini vans. Now, here me out. So I'm the youngest of three. And by the time I got to high school, my mom donated their old 1995 grand voyager to me. And I could have been a super embarrassed teenager, driving around a beater van. But dude, we ROCKED that thing. It may or may not have had a disco ball in it. Okay, it did. AND we took out the back seats and replaced it with a small couch. People lined up for rides in that mother. And... we also took it off roading. The thing was a tank. The point is, I am sort of (Okay, REALLY) excited for the day I have a mini van again. Mainly because I know we're going to go adventuring in it like it's nobody's business. Don't knock mini vans til you try them ;)

I am also a minivan hater, and although I have caved on a lot of the "I will NEVER"s in parenting, this is one point I will never change my position on. For other people? Fine. Couldn't care less. But for me? Never. No minivans. No.

I love the dressup storage! And I especially love that it works for boys, too--Forrest is only 2 but he LOVES dressing up. He has a particular hat and set of mittens that he has hardly taken off for like a month now. Never mind that it's way too warm for a hat and mittens and that his hair is DRENCHED in sweat when I finally peel the hat off--he doesn't care. Loves his hat and 'ittens.' I see a lot of dressing up in his future.

Right there with you on the minivan thing! And I may have three baby apparatuses lined up in our living room right now, but I predict that by three months we'll be down to one! Oh, and sleeping through the night IS possible, just give it 12 weeks instead of one!!

Oh ya. I was never going to own a minivan, but I did buy a Subaru Forrester. What you'll find is that the roomier the car, the less you'll be hitting your head everytime you try to get that infant car seat in there. One less thing to worry about when you're running on no sleep is a good thing. I'm loving the dress up storage and could use one on my son's room. Would your father be willing to share how he did it? It doesn't look too complicated.

How adorable is this! Brilliant idea FIL! And Michelle, good luck keeping that list once you have kids, I know I broke all of mine when the crazies came along ;)

The day will come when you open your mouth and you'll be channeling your mother, saying all the things you swore you'd never say, like 'because I said so.' And that's okay, b/c kids need to learn that 'because I said so' is reason enough to do what you say.

We knew a couple who announced while pregnant with #1 that they were never going to say the word "no" to their kids. Ummm, yeah, how you think that worked out for 'em?

That dress up station your dad made is totally adorable, now would you give him another grandchild please? Don't say no, or I'll see to it everyone sends you plastic toys.

Bliss

What a cute idea! My kids will be perfect too!

That is so cute. I'm sure all your parenting wishes will TOTALLY come true. I think you should add to the list that your teenagers will never role their eyes or be embarrassed by you:)

Do they still sell minivans? I'm pretty sure minivans have been completely replaced by the crossover SUV. I mean, sure, you can probably still buy minivans. But nowadays nothing screams soccer mom to me more than a crossover SUV...

Hahaha...as a childless newlywed, I'm with you on all three of those statements! That and when I see a crying baby at Target, we look at each other and say "ours won't cry"! Cute dress up station! I want one in my size too!!!

I said no minivan....I now have a minivan. Nothing beats pushing a button on your key chain and having a door magically open as you're carrying a diaper bag, purse, Target sacks, and a squirmy little one in slippery winter gear. Some day I'll rock a more "cool" vehicle. But for now my obsession will be the new high end Honda Odyssey with the BUILT IN VACUUM! Yes, that's right. A vac in the van. Brilliant (thought up by a daughter of one of their engineers).

And yes, never say your child won't cry or scream in public. It will happen. You will die a thousand deaths trying to figure out what bribe will work to quiet them down, knowing you should immediately drop what you're doing and take said screaming child to the mini-van, but doggonit you're out of milk and juice and bread and perhaps a good drink for after bedtime and you don't know when on earth you'll get a chance to go to the store again so you take out your smartphone and play a train video from you tube for the billionth time just so you can get those groceries and get the heck out of the store and home before you lose your ever-lovin-mind.

Mark my words. :)

That is adorable!
I am with you on the no minivan thing. My brother has 4 kids and NO minivan. It is possible.

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You're right about avoiding minivans. (I've been driving mine for six years, because when you've got four kids and want to leave the house with all of them AND your spouse, the options are limited.) It's not that they're minivans. It's that they can't handle in anything remotely resembling snow and don't have enough ground clearance to get through paved parking lots.

I NEVER thought I would watch as much Nick Jr., Sprout, or Disney Jr. Now, I go to bed with these songs in my head and they won't go out. THe kids just aren't goign to go for the Today Show in the morning, no matter what!

I have 4-year-old triplets and I haven't and will never drive a minivan, either! I drive an Expedition and I love it! I might mention I have a friend who is a firefighter and he said he won't either after seeing the results of some pretty awful situations on the interstate involving minivans. He says SUV's are so much safer!

Also, have no expectations, and go with the flow! I always said as a parent it is your willingness to ditch Plan A, and try Plan B....and C...through Z.

This is precious! Ramona has all her dresses hung up in her closet and her accessories in a huge basket. The girl seriously has that much dress up stuff.

Don't worry about the mini van thing. Some people can rock them! ;)

I so agree (especially on the minivan) but I don't have any kids yet... So I feel like I can't judge.

Erin

I definitely said I'd never own a minivan......we have an Odyssey....and it is THE BEST THING EVER! The sliding doors with a toddler and one on the way makes it all worth it. God bless the inventor of sliding minivan doors....