Decorating a Kids Room

March 11, 2010

I haven’t talked much about it, because I’ve been terrified that things will fall through, but… We seem to be on track for a (local) move the first week of April. Jeff and I love the new house, the new neighborhood, the new yard, the new school, the new everything and are anxious to get settled. The kids? Not so much.

As part of the bribery tool to help make the transition smoother for the them, we’ve built up the new rooms they’ll be moving into. New wall colors! New blankets! New clocks! New curtains! New, new, new! Exciting, right? I certainly think so.

Now, I thought it went without saying that I, as their mother, would be the one responsible for said rooms. Sure, I’d work with their passions (dinosaurs for the boys and sweet little illustrations for Lily,) but this was my project. I’d get to pick out the bedding and decide on the wall art for them. I’d choose ballet slipper over hot pink for Lily’s walls. I’d decide that timeless Tyrannosaurus Rex was a far better choice than the trendy Transformer quilt. Me, me, me. For them, of course.

My husband, on the other hand, seemed to have some other ideas. He had the nerve to whip out the paint chips last night and steer the kids the direction he envisioned. At IKEA last weekend? He had the gall to encourage a brightly colored quilt for Ben that totally clashed with the well thought out color scheme I had decided on. The nerve!

The decor of my children’s rooms simply is not debatable. It’s fun for me and I’m good at it. That makes it my job. And, the fun filled process helps balance out the fact that I’m the default laundry do-er, lunch maker, puke and poop cleaner-upper and middle of the night go-to parent. That’s only fair, right? Should my husband decide to take any of those off my plate, I’m willing to let him choose the pillow shams.

But I still get veto power.

{ 67 comments }

Photographing Children: Tips & Tricks

03.10.2010
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I grew up with a father who documented every single moment in film. It drove me completely crazy, and there have to be hundreds of shots with my hand out in front of the camera, scowling back at him. I swore that when I had children I would never be that parent. I would never [...]

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Starting a Blog: What I wish I’d known

03.08.2010
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My two year blogging anniversary is today. Blog years are like dog years— two must be at least six or seven, right? Because it seems like forever.
When I started out, I had no idea where I wanted blogging to lead, other than that I wanted a modern sort of baby book for my kids. I [...]

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The Best Babysitter Ever

03.04.2010

How did mothers ever cook dinner before the invention of television?

Seriously, Scooby-Doo, you’re a life saver. Bless you.
{I’m hanging out with the Aiming Low girls today. Stop on by and say hi!}

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He said, She said

03.03.2010

Every night in our house there comes a moment when Jeff and I start jockeying for a free pass on the nighttime parenting rituals. We go back and forth comparing our days: I got up at 5. Well, I had to fly to New York. I got up at two o’clock in the morning to [...]

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Building your Blog Audience with Social Media

03.01.2010

I’m speaking next weekend at Bloggy Boot Camp, hosted by the amazing girls over at SITS. I’ll finally be meeting friends that I’ve been communicating with for (what seems like) ever. One of them has kept me laughing for the past two years and another one will even be staying with me. {Yay for blogging [...]

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A Reptile Birthday Party

02.28.2010
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Why would a non-reptile loving person allow an assortment of  lizards, turtles and snakes into her house on a Saturday afternoon?

To see this, of course!

I would do just about anything to make that little face smile.

Happy fourth birthday, my love. I hope this is your best year yet!

{If you live in the PA/MD area, I [...]

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Childbirth: The grossest thing ever

02.26.2010
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{Alternatively titled: The nastiest picture of my daughter you will ever see. I pray.}
Last week, we sold the changing table that we’ve used for all three nurseries. As the young couple walked out with it, rosy with the excitement that can only come from expecting your first child, my husband pulled aside the stranger-man and [...]

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Big Brother & Little Brother

02.23.2010
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Last night, I walked in on Ben and Evan coloring all over themselves with markers. {Again}
Benjamin, I scolded, you are the big brother. You are the one who needs to help teach Evan what’s right and what’s wrong. This is wrong. Don’t you understand that?
I know, mommy, he answered. That’s what I was doing: Teaching [...]

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ChatRoulette.com: Do you know what your kids are surfing?

02.20.2010
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You know those discoveries you make, that you wish you hadn’t? Where you want to go back in time to the place of innocence, before you knew what you now know? I made one last night. And I just can’t shake it.
This world of social media is a strange one. I’ve been blogging for two [...]

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My Mother went to the market, and she bought me…

02.17.2010
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You know that old memory game? The one where each player adds an item to the end of the list, but first has to recite every one mentioned before?
Well, I have a big beef with it. If a person remembers every damn item on the imaginary shopping list, shouldn’t they be deemed successful in the [...]

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