Run With The Fishes

I completely overhauled the kids’ bedrooms while they were gone. Of course, you guys already know that. Since it won’t be my picture of the day, I thought I would go ahead and post a picture of the girl’s room on the main page.

The bunk beds give them so much more space. I’ve heard that IKEA is known for having missing/damaged parts and pieces with their furniture. Thankfully (since the closest one is 3 1/2 hours away) it didn’t turn out to be true this time. The beds are also super sturdy.

They will be home in T-2 hours and counting. Woohoo!!! I can’t wait, but I have to

I have spent almost the whole night touching up the grid lines in between squares. Sometimes it does not pay to be detail oriented.

If you’ve glanced over at the project 366 page, you already know that while the kids are away, I am giving their rooms some much needed makeovers. Re-painting with their ideas in mind. Somewhere I read that if a child helps pick out the color and planning of their room, it helps them become more confident people later on in life. I could see how this is true.

It gives them some freedom to define something about themselves. As parents we lay down so many boundaries and are forced to set restrictions that sometimes it’s difficult for children to show their independence without completely rebelling. When I was around the same age as Nathan and Zoey, my mom let me pick out the color of my bedroom. Purple happened to be my favorite color at the time and I ended up with a very lilac bedroom. I’m sure it was awful, but I chose it myself. I thought it looked beautiful. It was my hideout where I could be myself and get away from everything (or everyone).

Nathan’s room is not how I would chose to paint something. I showed him a few different options, hoping he would like one of them better, but I could see that this was really how he wanted his room to look. I had to stop myself from controlling how his room would turn out when complete. There is a lesson in there for me to take a step back sometimes and not try and dictate every little action the kids make. In the battle over will-power, sometimes my will does not need to be the deciding factor. Their vision does not have to be mine, or even a semblance of mine. In the end there can be some fantastic results.

Because I know they will not have internet access on the return trip, it is safe to post completed room pictures. That black line took two hours to paint.

LT has a neighbor dog (which is weird since we have no neighbors) that comes over and plays with him every day. Whenever I try to go outside while it is there, it quickly runs away.

I haven’t spent a night alone in eleven years. Not just in the house. In my bed there has always been someone else, whether it was Greg or a child. It’s such a a strange feeling. You hear everything and nothing all at the same time.

There is no computer whir and typing going on to lull me to sleep. No whispering sound of children’s sleeping breath coming from other rooms. The wind in the grass and the creak of the trees reverberate throughout the stillness of the house. No other body has sprawled across the bed to try and fit myself around. One would think that I would stretch myself out and enjoy the whole mattress. Instead there is a big lump of pillows and blankets to simulate people.

As nice as it is to have a little break. I am thankful that soon my sleeping comforts will be back. I haven’t had good sleep in nights.

I had a different picture, but after a couple of hours still couldn’t figure out how to transfer it from my phone. Maybe the kids can help me with this new fangled technological stuff when they get home.

While the kids are away I am painting their rooms. Nathan had a specific idea of how he wanted his room. It’s not my style, but it’s also not my room and it’s only paint. I have to say, it is looking pretty awesome. Just in case they try and peek while they are on their trip, I’m not going to post the final pictures until after they get home.