I surrender to the makers of plastic toys. The barons of all things child.

I give up any notion that my home will be sophisticated when Baby Girl is at home and at play.

I will embrace the primary colored tummy-time mat and spinning bouncy exerciser, bright green help-me-sit seat and small round yellow and red dog that barks and vibrates. I will carry the yellow safari-themed bouncy chair to the kitchen, the dressing room, the bedroom and anywhere Sophia wants to go, watch and play.

I may invest in window treatments, art, new linens and new furnishings. I may even spend a few weekends getting intimate with a wall roller and a gallon of paint. But I will not try to hide the toys in the living room, or put them up at the end of every day just to drag them back out in the morning.

I will instead learn the true meaning of a family room and make room for all of our belongings. It took my husband and I a few years to find domestic harmony when we moved in together and blended our belongings, so it will probably take a few years for us to get in tune with the kid stuff as well.