Bedroom Redo

Cooper and Jon went to Indian Guides this weekend- so I was on my own.
Oh, the luxury of it all!

My parents were here to see Cooper's play and the 3 of us went to dinner....then my mom and I went shopping. Such fun.

The goal of the night was to find some ingredients to add to the mix of Cooper's new room. Lately, that kid has been obsessed with a "new room". Obsessed.

We've had a few discussions and what it really boils down to is that he wants a room with a theme.
The horror. I am violently opposed to a theme.
His room now is simple. Khaki walls, red coverlet, blue carpet and denim accents. I figured it would grow with him. Evidently, he's not a fan.

He asked for camouflage. I gagged a little bit.

But, he's been asking since January and he's been pretty thoughtful with his requests. He's also been purging his "little kid" toys and books. I'm struggling with the whole thing but decided that he has a point, and I want him to love his space and the things that are in it.

Here are some before shots (of course, I didn't think about it until I was already finished with a large portion of the change)




This is the old arrangement- with the bed on the long wall (minus the bedding)


I moved the bed to the corner (he wanted to feel cozier) and put his table on the long wall instead.

With the furniture in place, my mom helped me update the bed with the loot from the shopping. We got a mattress topper to make his bed more comfy and pillows to coordinate with the PB*Teen sheet set that I spent a fortune on bought.



Then, I pulled a Nester and decided to make some window "mistreatments". Cooper never uses his top sheet anyway, so I ripped carefully cut it into 3 semi-equal pieces and decided to tackle the challenge.

This is my first attempt.

It's ok- you can tell me that they look like one of those witches at Halloween who has flown into a tree face first.

So, I tried again.

Much better.
The challenge- making them all look relatively similar.
Do you have any idea how difficult it is to hammer upholstery tacks into 4 layers of fabric while balancing on a small stool?

Here's where I ended up-





When he got home, Cooper could hardly wait to see the finished product. He hid his eyes until I said the magic words.

(dirty socks and hands c/o Indian Guides)

His face said he liked it-


And then the clincher....a dirty thumbs up!


It's been an exercise in acceptance and in letting that kid assert himself with his likes and dislikes.

Am I crazy about the camo? Not one single bit.
Am I crazy for that little kid who was so determined to make some changes to his room?

Absolutely.

For the Birds

Cooper's class play was on Friday.

A big deal in and of itself- but a huge deal if you are petrified of speaking in crowds. As luck would have it, Coop's a prime candidate for a meltdown in this type situation.

Thankfully, his teacher is aware of this and cast him as a bird.
He wasn't happy.
He wanted to be a fish. He even told me, "Momma, I voted to be a fish TWICE and she made me a BIRD".
She knew what she was doing- being a bird was perfect for him.
He had 1 line and an adorable costume.



Where do people get these creative ideas?
In a move of sheer genius, the woman who made the costumes figured out how to use a big t-shirt and a bunch of plastic feathers.


They were perfect.


Cooper was mesmerized by the whole thing.

And after the play, he said-
"You know, I'm glad I wasn't a fish. My costume was way better and I didn't really like the dance they had to do."

Whew- crisis averted!
After the play, everyone gathers for the photo ops....these 3 are peas in a pod.


I love 2nd grade-

What Happens in the Absence of a Sibling?

You get pretty darn creative!

I looked out the window on Tuesday and saw this.


So I watched a bit....and saw this.





Sadly, she only went a few steps before deciding that it wasn't for her.


She got a pretty stern talking to....
But it didn't matter.

I give the kid credit for trying.
If it had worked....it could have been big!

walking again-

a little more than a year and an a half ago, i started walking with one of my neighbors. i had prayed for a neighbor and i thought she was the answer. it worked for a while. we walked 3 times a week- she agreed to my crazy schedule needs and i was so excited. she was many years my senior, had 1 son, was a great cook, knew how to sew and was interested in decorating and gardening. her yard is fantastic. i figured i'd learn a ton from her and would be so much the better from our relationship.

it didn't really work out that way.
perhaps i was the answer to her prayer instead.
no matter- it was meeting my goal of walking and i needed the accountability to drag me out of bed. so i stuck with it for 18 months.

and then she dumped me.
SHE dumped ME.
and i was devastated.
evidently she decided that walking in the morning didn't work for her and she needed to change her routine to the afternoon.

and so for the past 3 months i haven't walked. i suppose i could have- but i'm sort of worried about walking alone in the dark and i'm terrible with being accountable to myself. it was depressing.

until now.
i have a new walking neighbor!!
i'm thrilled. i see her every so often and out of the blue, she asked if i was interested in walking with her.
YES!!!
she agreed to my crazy schedule needs and she wants to walk every day.
and after 2 days.....

SHE'S GREAT!!!
we're the same age, she's got 3 kids, is scattered just like me, has a super sense of humor and our goals for walking align perfectly.

Answered prayers- I love them!

Happy.

You know when something happens to you and it makes you inexplicably happy in an "it really shouldn't matter that much but it does" sort of way?

That's what happened to me when I was catching up on some blog reading and I came upon this. A post about mantels. A super long post with fabulous pictures.....and what in the world??? Smack dab in the middle of the post was MY MANTLE!!! (is it mantel or mantle....hmmmm)

Can I tell you how much I adore the changes that Layla helped me make in our living room last fall?

Typically, my mantle looks the same for the entire year except at Christmas. This year, I decided to try and shake things up a little and I've been working on an "Easter look".


What do you think?

It's spring, it's getting warmer, flowers are blooming, my mantle's got 15 minutes of fame....and I'm happy!

Making it.....

There is a Flickr group dedicated to people who love Diet Coke.
I clicked through the pictures longingly....and thought about the good old days of consuming at least 6 cans/day (I'm sure my mother just passed out!).



I saw my friend Dana in the cafeteria yesterday. Although she too gave up DC for Lent, she was carrying a frosty bottle in her hand.
I almost cried.
She said she didn't last 10 days.

I'm making it- and it's not as hard as I thought as much as it's inconvenient.
I'm not a fan of drinking restaurant water and nobody serves anything diet except Coke/Pepsi.
Kills me.

Oh well- my habits are changing, and evidently my skin looks good (according to Dana who might have just been trying to make me feel better).

I don't feel different....I'm not sleeping better or worse....my hair seems to look the same and I can't tell any sort of life altering changes. There is a potential that my teeth are whiter.

Oh well- I'm proud of myself for sticking to it, and it does serve as a reminder of the Lenten season and that's good for my spiritual life.

It's not all bad.
(but I sure do miss it)

Did you give anything up? How's it going?

2- 4- 6- 8-

Who do we appreciate??

MY PARENTS!!!

Cooper has spring break this week (although why in the world his break is so early and technically not even "spring", I will never know). Since his break doesn't work with our schedules it does present a bit of a problem.

Enter my fabulous parents. For the past 3 years, they have graciously offered to have him spend the week with them. And it's a vacation for ALL of us!

Jon and I reconnect...we go out to eat, sleep later, watch what we want to watch on tv and talk only about grown up things.

My parents do all sorts of fantastic things with Cooper and get their grandchild fix.
And Cooper? Although he does have bouts of homesickness now more than when he was younger- he soaks in the spoiling and the love like it's his job.

What could be better?

I am thankful that my parents are able to spend such quality time with our son, that they can keep up with him because they're in fantastic shape for grandparents, that they adore him regardless of his sometimes crazy antics and that they understand the win/win that it is for Jon and me.

Although work this week has been a bear for both of us, I am thankful that I'm able to come home to a smiling hubby who has our evenings all planned out. They are full of things that remind us how much we really do like each other!

Cooper comes back tomorrow.....and we can't wait to see that little kid- with fresh eyes and appreciation for how great he is. We'll all be rejuvenated.

Thanks Mom & Dad!!

Thankful Thursday

I have some amazing friends....friends who pick me up when I'm down, push me when I'm stuck, point when I'm lost and know exactly when to say just the thing I need to get through the day.

My friend Brandt sent me this.

My son just emailed me- "Would you consider me doing a study abroad trip this summer?"
I click on the link.
I read about a 4 week trip to southern Africa, where they learn about the history and different cultures yada yada yada....
Have to HUNT for the cost involved.
Find it's a mere $8,700 (plus any extras you want)!!!!
Pick myself off the floor.
Calm down from the thought that I raised a young man who would CONSIDER our family directing 8.7K to just ONE family member for a vacation.
Remind myself that he has no idea or concept about how hard it is to make enough so that enough is left over for "the other stuff".
Take a few deep breaths.
Hit the reply button and tell him what a wonderful trip it sounds like, and that yes, he can go, if he'd rather do that than have a large portion of next year's tuition paid for.
Then I told him to go to the career planning center and look for a good summer job.

Enjoy every minute of Cooper's youth!!!! It's so fun, so fast and much cheaper than the years to come (but they're fun too!)
Love, B

I laughed so hard, and then I started thinking about how quickly he's growing up.
He was so little here....and clearly so excited.


And even though it's whizzing by, it's so wonderful and SO MUCH FUN.

I'm thankful for friends who know what's to come and let me know what I can look forward to (the good and the bad)....and for friends who have the same sense of humor that I do!

I'm thankful for those 2 cheesy grins even if they're up to no good and bring me lobster bisque while I'm recovering from the worst intestinal crud I've had in years.

Yes, Lobster Bisque.

Any guesses?

I went to Lori's service on Saturday- sadly, I've been to lots of funerals and memorial services in my life. It was so beautiful and gut wrenching and a reminder about what it truly important in life. Not work, not material things- but family, friends and faith.

A reminder I needed, and the 2nd one of it's kind on Saturday. The first was the devotional at Cooper's Upward game....about not sacrificing the gifts we're entrusted with (our children) for things that don't have any meaning (like work).

And on Sunday, the 3rd reminder- I got sick. Jon called it roto-virus, I called it just plain awful. I couldn't move a muscle- I could barely get to the bathroom and back which was quite the necessity. I was useless and so spent the entire day doing nothing. Nothing at all. I didn't talk to anyone, read anything, eat anything or even think. I did crawl to the sofa to watch some of the Olympics.

Today, I told my boss that I couldn't come to work- that I was sick. Unheard of. I put an out of office message on my e-mail and although I had a big event that I needed to be a part of, I was able to do it by phone and then tune out the rest of the afternoon.

And I can't tell you how fabulous it felt, even though I'm still not 100%.
I need to do this more often- not be sick, but limit my craziness and be present when it's appropriate. Not 24/7 running like a chicken without her head.

I'm going to try.

One funny that came out of being sick- Jon called and asked whether I was in the mood to eat anything. I said that I thought soup might be good. I told him that the only kind we had in the house was tomato and that wasn't really doing it for me since I had been sick.

So my sweet hubby stopped at the grocery store and picked up some soup for me.
I'll send a $10 T@rget gift certificate to the person who leaves a comment with the kind of soup that showed up in my bowl tonight.

It does make me laugh!
Happy Monday-