Our Playroom

The day Desmond was born I took photos of our finished playroom and that morning I mentioned sharing them with you in the update I posted minutes before going into labor. 4 weeks later, here are the photos of the boys' playroom.

This is the 3rd bedroom in our house that was once a guest room, it's right next to our main living space so it works perfectly as an extension to that area. We felt the need for a playroom when Kai was too distracted by the toys in his room to go to sleep. Since we transitioned him into a "big boy" bed he started to play instead of go to sleep, which was inevitable.

Since Desmond would be in our room for around 6 months we didn't need a nursery just yet. We've decided to evaluate whether Kai is ready to share a room when the time comes. If not, we'll transition the playroom to a nursery. For now, I love having all Kai's toys (aka mess) in one place.

{Kai at his table and toy storage}

{word art that I made + framed}

{the back of the room + a close-up of a bulletin board I decorated}

The clouds with raindrops are decorations I had made for Desmond's baby shower, the pennants are made of ribbon + foam sheets from the Dollar Tree that I just glued to an old cork board. The football toybox used to be his Uncle Cody's, the glider rocker is from Kai's nursery. I'd like to paint the dresser at some point to match the rest of the room. The alphabet painting above it is something I made with watercolors because Kai really loves to find and point out letters, but I wanted something unique to our space. I'd like to eventually add some curtains as we just have mini-blinds right now, but it's not a priority. 

So that's our playroom, when it's clean. Most of the time the floor is covered in toys. Pretty soon we are going to put away even more of his toys to help him focus on individual things when he is playing and to keep us all from stepping/tripping on things. 

Green Town Toys Review + Giveaway

Last month Green Town Toys send me one of their eco-friendly products. The most exciting part to me was the note that came with it, "you're the first person outside our offices to see the White Citadel". What a fun opportunity! Here is a little bit more the company in their own words...

"Green Town Toys is a market leader in innovative and eco-friendly corrugated products. Our mission is to design and manufacture children’s products that inspire imagination, creativity, and fun. Our extensive in-house manufacturing capabilities allow us to ensure prompt delivery, competitive pricing, and unparalleled customer service. In addition, we take the utmost pride in offering sustainable products that are designed and manufactured right here in the U.S.A."

Shandell's Review

I knew that Ben, Malakai + I would all enjoy trying out any of their products. The White Citadel looked like so much fun and something I would have loved to have as a child. We could hardly wait to put it together! Ben + I attempted to assemble it together but Malakai wanted to throw the pieces around and was making it quite difficult.

I distracted Kai with a popsicle in his high chair and he watched us build his new castle. Ben did most of the work and could have easily assembled it himself. Some of the pieces were difficult to fit in, but much easier than any plastic toys we've assembled!

 It took us about 20 minutes total. The directions were super easy to follow and much to my surprise neither one of us got a paper cut!

Daddy + Kai tested it out and had a blast. Malakai's favorite thing to do was to peek through the windows and run in + out of the entrance. As you can see it took up a LOT of space in his little bedroom.



When bedtime rolled around that evening Ben simply took a piece off the front and one off the back to fold it up and move it to our spare room. Malakai is in a toddler bed so he wouldn't have been able to stay away from the castle all night.

The next morning I just pulled the citadel out into our living room, added the pieces back to keep it open and he was able to play in it again. There was a lot more room for him to run around the outside of the castle as well as the inside in our living room than in his bedroom.

Our little 22 month old has a lot of energy and is still testing boundaries. He didn't quite understand the limits his new cardboard kingdom had and was a bit too rough with it. 

The pieces obviously bend, but thankfully are strong enough that he can't all out rip them. This child of mine is so rough on toys I have to cover his board books in packing tape to keep him from peeling them apart!

The citadel started to show a bit of wear after 3 days of rough play. This is to be expected with a toddler and I think the pretend-play aspect that this structure was designed for would be better suited to children 3 and up or those that are more mild tempered than my rowdy boy! So for now we're putting it away until he's matured a bit and can play in it instead of "on" it.

It was super easy to take apart. It took Ben maybe 10 minutes to dismantle the whole thing and it stores completely flat. I am really looking forward to pulling it out again and having Kai decorate the white walls with marker and crayons. Again, when he's old enough to understand the boundaries of coloring his castle walls versus coloring ours.

The White Citadel from Green Town Toys has to be one of the coolest toys we've ever seen and had the opportunity to own. If I wasn't concerned about making it last for him to enjoy in the future we'd have kept it out for him to play with on a regular basis. That, and our house is a bit small for a toy this size to be out full time.

In addition to being a great toy, they come at really reasonable prices. The White Citadel is only $44.79. Be sure to check out their online gallery of kiddos enjoying all of their different products.

The Giveaway!

Green Town Toys wants to give you an opportunity to try a White Citadel of your own! Review the details below and enter to win one shipped to your home (open to U.S. residents in the lower 48 only). Giveaway ends Wednesday June 15th, 2011 at 11pm PDT.

Mandatory Entry:

~Visit Green Town Toys and tell me what OTHER product of theirs catches your eye or something you find interesting about their company.

Additional Entries:

~ Like Green Town Toys on Facebook AND leave a comment on their wall (1 entry)

~Share this giveaway on your Facebook page (1 entry)

~Post my "a Gift + a Hope" button on your blog. Leave info on where to find it in your comment. (1 entry)

~ Follow Green Town Toys on twitter (1 entry)

~ Tweet this giveaway to your followers. Be sure to leave a link to your tweet. (1 entry per tweet, 1 tweet per day). Feel free to use the following example:

"I just entered to win a White Citadel play structure from @GreenTownToys + @ShanLeAnn at Breaking New Ground http://tinyurl.com/3n3j67h"

Discount Code:

Can't wait to pick up something from Green Town Toys? They are also offering an exclusive discount for readers of Breaking New Ground. Enter the code "NEWGROUND" at check out for FREE shipping!

Please be sure that your email address is accessible through your blogger profile, on your site, linked to your open ID or within your comment (format shanleann1 at gmail dot com) so I can notify you if you win. Otherwise, you forfeit your chances.

This giveaway will end Wednesday June 15th 2011 at 11pm PDT. Winner will be selected at random via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to an email in order to claim the prize or it will be awarded to an alternate. 

Comments subject to removal without notification based on their relevance to contest. All comments will be verified. So, please be sure to follow instructions carefully. Questions? As always click on the "email me" button to send me a message. Please do not leave a comment here that isn't intended to be an entry into the giveaway. 

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this giveaway. All opinions are my own. Green Town Toys sent me the White Citadel for the purpose of review.  Click for additional disclosures and PR policies.

blabla kids review + discount code

Just before Christmas I had contacted blabla kids about a review here at Breaking New Ground. They agreed and sent us the adorable Bamboo mini.

I wrapped him up and put him under the Christmas tree for Malakai. That morning was a bit hectic and he wasn't really overly interested in any of his gifts, but rather the wrapping paper.

After the holidays, when things began to slow down and half the toys were packed away for bringing out a little at a time, he noticed Bamboo. He pointed at him and said "what dat?" and when I told him he tried to say bear, which always comes out "bee-uh". Malakai can be pretty rough with his toys, he has thrown Bamboo all over the place and he looks as good as new.

I think think he is absolutely adorable. I love that all their goods are handmade. He's unique and special amongst all his more traditional fuzzy stuffed animals. Bamboo's coloring is bright and whimsical and really goes well with Kai's bedroom decor.

Blabla Kids has a ton of other precious things to choose from like blankets, paper goods, mobiles, and countless dolls {like Bamboo} of different kinds and sizes.

Blabla Kids has generously offered readers of Breaking New Ground a 15% off discount code, useable on any of their cute little things. Just enter BNG15 by 2.28.11 to apply your discount. 

Thank you Blabla kids for the opportunity to try one of your fantastic products and share the love with others.

photo friday: a giant turtle + sliding glass door

It's usually fairly random things that keep Malakai entertained. We don't have a ton of toys in the house because 1. they'd just clutter up our small living space, and 2. too many toys can be distracting and make it hard for a child to focus on just one item.

We also rotate the toys that Malakai does have. He has very generous family + friends, almost all of his play things are from them. We usually have about half of them out in the living room and his bedroom at once and then rotate things in and out to keep them fresh. After his birthday this became even more important so as not to overwhelm him with new things. It has also been nice having new things to keep him busy when I need a break from literally following him from room to room and keeping him out of the garbage can, wires, + blinds.

This week I finally got out the giant turtle that his Mema + G'Pa gave him. I filled it with the plastic balls we had at his party and he was absolutely giddy. Since I put it out, every morning he yells out "ball!" as soon as it catches his eye.

{he always has to have a matching pair}

He also has taken a liking to the sliding glass door to the backyard. I think he likes the way it feels + the way it sounds when he taps on it.

{pitter patter of chunky feets...yes, feets}

He thought it was absolutely hilarious when I sat on the other side of the glass. Is it weird that I love seeing his little hand prints all over our house? I wonder if that feeling will fade...

{nevermind my stripped pj pants in the reflection}

I'm still loving watching him grow + learn. He's so much fun to play with, even when he wears me out!

Happy Weekend,

P.S. don't forget to enter my current giveaway {ends 9.5.10}

this past week

I just noticed that I haven't updated for a week. It's been a blur of activity around here over the past week.

We had friends over for dinner for the first time since Kai was born. I always feel held back by our tiny home, but am glad we decided to entertain at our place. I love feeding people, making them feel comfortable and welcome. I can't wait for the day when we have a bigger home with room for more people. Someday I want our house to be the one that my kids and their friends are always hanging out at.

Speaking of our small house, the doorways are ridiculously narrow. On Friday night we were so excited to put together Malakai's jumper/activity center and started in the living room but realized that it would be WAY too big to move from room to room. We decided it's permanent location should be the nursery, but the bebe bean was sleeping so we postponed that activity. We still haven't come back to it. Tell me- does anyone else have the Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper?

What do you think of it?

Halloween was fairly low-key for Malakai and I. Daddy however was at the Oregon vs. USC football game with his parents and brother. It was an intense game and Oregon won! Beforehand we took Kai to the pumpkin patch down the street from my parents' place. It's a rural area so it was very quiet and we got to take a ton of pictures, here are a few.










okay, that was more than a few. I always have a hard time picking my favorites and only posting two or three.

The rest of the weekend flew by and here it is already Tuesday. Yesterday I did laundry all day and still have enough to do laundry all day today- but instead I'll just do towels.

Next on the to-do list...finding a time to go grocery shopping and DOING IT!