What we've been up to lately...

I've taken a bit of a blogging break this past month to focus on some projects here in SwitzerFrance, the main one being the process of baby proofing and de-cluttering our space. 

It's been an amazing feeling to find ways to preserve and display our sentimental treasures, organize our important paperwork, and find objects at the back of closets that we thought were forever lost to the armoire gnomes. 

I've often heard people talk about how once you have kids, you start to accumulate SO MUCH stuff, everywhere. Maybe Oswin is too young for that to happen yet, and only time will tell, but so far I find that the complete opposite has happened. If anything we're paring down what we own to make sure that it's deserving of the "real estate" that it possesses, because we just don't have the room for things that don't. I'm essentially going over everything that we own with a fine tooth comb, and as can be expected, it's taking a long time. I'm also not great at saying goodbye to things, which is where Dan has really been a big help. This process has helped me to put into perspective those things that are important for us to hold onto, and those which can be disposed of or donated, sometimes with a little nudging from him. 

It's also meant that we get to a do a bit of redecorating, which is a lot more fun when you can really breathe and relax in your space. Our bedroom has never felt quite right, and we're trying to change that. I'll make sure to do a "house tour" once we're all done, because I think this is going to make our already awesome alpine chalet that much cooler. 

The hardest part of this has really been the baby proofing. We have a lot of breakable treasures, and trying to find a locale to hold things that we use everyday, like coffee mugs, crystal glasses, and cast iron pots has been a very big challenge. And then there are things like our first floor's marble steps, and the second floor's wooden ones. And the windows without screens. And other things that have started to keep me up at night because I have no idea how to make them safe for our little adventurer. Luckily she's only just starting to move around on her own: she can crawl backwards, and sometimes take a "crawl" or two forwards before face planting, but I know that won't last long. Before we know it she'll be off and running...probably for the china, if I can't work this situation out.

Part of me wishes we could just hang 15 shelves all at about five feet in the air. The other part of me knows that Oswin would probably be able to eventually problem solve how to get to said aerial items. No, it looks like there is no way to avoid the "what stays and what gets wrapped in storage until she's a teenager" stage for our kitchen goodies. 

So how did you do it? Are there other options aside from turning our home into a factory storage area? Have any of you had luck with being able to teach your kids that there are some things that they just do not touch? I'm all ears over here!

A la prochaine friends...

Honey