The Stories of our Lives

[Photos were up at least a week ago, but this post has been hanging around in the Drafts for a while now, while we play tag-influenza at home. I'm just getting out of a bad case of it, and Xavier is up for his second round now. I'm literally sick of winter, and not just because of Mount Everest building up on my front yard.]

At long last, we finished it.

In fact, the playroom has been nearly done for weeks now, but the final touch was only added this afternoon, so I can finally post pictures of Xavier’s belated Xmas gift.

Salle de jeux

You can check the album above for the full set (11 pics), but here is a global view:

Budget
It was fun to do, and costs were reasonable. The priciest item was of course the playhouse, but not by much. We used two 4′x8′ sheets of MDF, which were cut to 4′x4′ by the store. Add a can of green paint and another of chalkboard paint (I had leftover red for the inside), plus some trim for the chalkboard, and it’s just over a hundred bucks. Then we spent another 20$ on acrylic to paint the tree and elf. What brought the cost up was my trip to Ikea: the big leave (a bed canopy) used for the roof was 25$, the door hanging was 16$ and the lamp inside – which Xavier can light up himself with the handy switch, and which doesn’t get hot enough to burn – around 7$ or so. The hanging vines on the ceiling and on top of the playhouse were found at the dollar store.

Diego play table and chairs were a Xmas gift from uncle Christian; coincidentally well timed, I might add. The priciest, in my mind, were the foam pads on the floor and inside the house: 20$ for 4… It added up quickly.

There was supposed to be a fake tree in the middle of the play area, but we haven’t gotten one yet. Some day.

Consequences
Now Xavier is constantly requesting a trip to the basement. We’re willing enough to oblige him most of the time, but sometimes (when we need to prepare dinner, for example) it’s just not convenient – and Xavier has to deal with that. Oh well.

It’s true that the chalkboard is a big hit: