Here's the promised post about the kids' "new" bedrooms. With school starting, and different soccer schedules for both of the boys, my already sparse blog attendance might get even more sparse for a little while. But once we settle into the new routine I'm anticipating lots of nice time at home with my little girl. Zöe and I have never had much one-on-one time at all (although the boys play together so intensely that sometimes it does feel as though they're not really here, but rather off together in imagination land) so it's really going to be a treat to have some time just with her. This will also mean extra cleaning time, reading time, craft time and computer time because when Zöe takes her nap...it'll be Mommy Time! This is not to say that I'm not going to miss those big, active boys. It's so hard to see them go. Jack is an old pro at school now, but I can hardly believe that my little Max is beginning full-day Kindergarten. My, oh my.
So anyway, several weeks back Jack informed me that he felt there was still dust in his bedroom from when Nana (my grandmother) lived here. My mind raced in several directions when I heard this, and thankfully this was one of the very rare times when I actually processed a thought or two before speaking. First, there was never a speck of dust in this house when my grandmother lived here. Ever. Second, while I may enjoy doing almost anything before housework, our house is not dirty. It was then that I realized what he meant. The paint in Jack and Max's bedroom really needed sprucing. And while I loved the rich, chocolate brown color my grandparents painted it like, thirty(!) years ago, it also needed a change. So change we did. In addition to painting it with Pratt & Lambert's "Briney Deep" we debunked their bunk beds, got new sheets, duvet covers, lamps, bedside tables, and totally organized the overflowing mess of toys that was threatening to smother them in their sleep.
Such a remarkable and profound change! The first night Max ran around kissing all of his new things, and jumping for joy that he now had a "real" bed. Apparently the poor little guy never felt at home in his cave-like bottom bunk dwelling. So now it's fantastic! They play up there all the time, instead of always bringing their toys down to the living room. They sit on their beds, alone and together, and look at books. They hang out and talk. I couldn't be happier to see them loving and enjoying their space.
And in the interest of fairness, but mostly because I was totally excited to decorate, we re-worked Zöe's room too. She was so fascinated by the boys "new" beds (she really, really wanted to sleep with Max that first night...) that it seemed like a good time to move her into a Big Girl Bed. With a new bed, sheets, duvet cover, dresser and paint (two shades of pink...Pratt & Lambert's "Ballet Pink" and "More Than Pink") we were able to transform Zöe's little space into a glittering jewel box.
She digs it in a major way and has done marvelously without the crib. I end up sleeping in there with her if she wakes up in the night (which can be often) but it's sweet and cozy, so that works for me. Incidentally, we ordered Zöe's bedframe online and she was soooooo excited that she carried around the printed-out photo of her new bed for days until it arrived. And boy does she have that girlie squeal of excitement down pat. Zoiks! My eardrums were not happy, but I was. It's worth all of the hard work to see the kids proud and excited and enjoying their bedrooms.
We're coming up really soon to being in our house for one full year. That's funny, because their room re-dos were right there at the top of my list when we moved in. Oh well, better late than never. Enjoy those last few late-nights of summer vacation everyone, and best wishes for happy first days of school to the students in your lives!
