he's taking over

Before I got pregnant and we made the stereotypical move to the suburbs, we had a great house in the city. Philadelphia to be exact. We loved city life and took full advantage of all that it offers… great restaurants, bars, culture, shopping, on so on. We rarely used our cars and loved being able to walk or catch cabs nearly everywhere we needed to go. Our house was very typical for “young professionals”… hip furniture and all. The hubby and I both love decorating, and we took great pride in making everything “just so”. We both hate clutter and, for the most part, kept the house quite tidy.

The move to the suburbs afforded us about 2x’s the house, meaning 2x’s the decorating. Having moved in about 6 months before our little guy came along, we went to town with furnishing and decorating the house. We of course set up his nursery, but the rest of the house we foolishly furnished to our tastes and needs. We have both a formal living room and a family room. To my husband’s dismay, I declared no TV in the living room. However, I gave him free reign of the family room. His flat screen was quickly set up, with all of the necessary surround-sound components. He brought our great “hip” sectional from the Philly house and added a very cool arm chair. He was thrilled with the results. Knowing that baby would be coming soon, and that we would likely be spending a good deal of time in the family room during the first few weeks/months, we left a little space at one end of the room for a pack n’ play and swing.

After he was born, the baby “things” began to multiply… pack n’ play and swing turned into pack n’ play, swing, bouncer, diaper genie, hamper, exersaucer, bumbo, activity mat, toys and so on. As the months have passed, the “things” continue to multiply. Some items (that he has outgrown) have been rotated out, but they have just been replaced by more and BIGGER. The little space we had set aside at the end of the room has turned into an all out playroom, and this playroom is rapidly taking over my husband’s beloved TV room. So I have been forced to give in and reconsider my “no TV in the living room” rule. What was once our TV room now clearly belongs to our little guy and the flat screen is moving out into my formal living room.

As my husband measured wall space and played around with different furniture arrangements in the living room on Sunday, I looked around the house… books, games, push carts and toys were everywhere. Our decor could certainly no longer be described as “hip young professionals.” No, the house now loudly screams “family”… and I would not want it any other way.