New Year Goals #23

23. See her play with her doll's house! And train set! And maybe improve the doll house set up, to take better advantage of space.

Willow's doll house is actually make up of two parts. One is three levels and bigger, one is two levels and smaller. The biggest problem with Willow's dollhouse is that we have had only the biggest level out, and it doesn't fit on the old entertainment unit that we use as her doll's house. In this photo we've got it running sideways, and while there are gaps in the wall for your hands, it's not as great as when we have it facing the front (because the front has no walls to impede play.)

So it's always been awkward and annoying in this little corner, especially seeing as you can't really get to the WHOLE table, since the yellow chair was blocking access.

But without the yellow chair, the spot between bookcase and the play table just looked even weirder.

So the whole thing was like a puzzle that didn't fit together. At all. Or wearing clothes that didn't feel right. Constantly and quietly bothersome.

The solution? 

Dumbest solution ever.

So yeah. I took the smaller part of the doll's house out, and put the largest part away. Willow hasn't complained or mentioned it once, which goes to show... you think you're doing things to make things better for kids... but they honestly don't care. She's actually playing with it more now, in fact. I suppose she'd rather have something easier to play with, then something grander and complicated.

You can totally tell we have loads more room now on the play table, and we don't have weird over hang. We moved the play table and couch down a bit because we put the birds in the weird awkward space between the bookcase and the window. The chair is still there, but Willow can easily shift it, although it's mostly used so she can easily climb up to look at the birds. 

As for all the toys that go with the doll's house, they live in the basket on the shelf under the table. Our old entertainment unit is perfect for Willow's doll house. I got a set of Christmas baskets post Christmas- just under $15 for the set- and they've been fantastic.

I don't even know why this is worthy of a post. But I guess I spent so long being bothered by how everything didn't fit, and the solution was so simple... a mixture of time, because we got the birds which filled up that dead area, and obvious.... just put out a smaller doll's house. I really should remember this lesson more often.

The second bottom shelf of the bookcase is also dedicated to Willow's toys. The things that aren't suitable for the toy tubs, or things I want to have on display.

Please ignore the powerpoint. Willow does.
L to R: M's nephew's old tonka truck. Found it in the shed at his parent's last year and brought it home with us. Fruit dominos from Sydney. Grimms Spiel & Holz elementals puzzle. One of my favorite things in the house. It's so beautiful and feels so amazing, and it's so much harder then it looks. Wooden Noah's ark, with animals, that I got from the op shop in Darwin for $5. Possibly my favorite bargain. Elephants from Emily. They're sturdy ceramic and not a single one is broken or cracked. I adore these, and so does Willow. She went through a period of sleeping with them. Emily is an amazing artist, and we, as her friends can't get enough of her art work. This isn't empty flattery as I'm her friend- we all genuinely love getting art work from her, and we all proudly display it in our homes. Willow and I have gone to a few of her shows. I can't help but love this elephants, as ceramic has a tactile quality that plastic does not.

As for the train set, Willow totally loves playing with it. It's stored in a plastic tub under the tv, and it's perfect as it is. The interesting thing is, if you leave Willow to it, she'll only take out a short length of track and play with that. If her grandfather or M are around, they insist on setting up the track properly- and setting up the whole thing. Then Willow play with it for a bit, if she's already bored waiting, and leaves M or my father to play with it alone.