earlier i had posted about an interesting posting from Cosmo Cricket (one of my favourite scrapbook supply companies).
the reason behind that was i could relate to the "being selfish for the purpose of being selfless" and "reward" discussion.
i agree that we can get lost in our
role as moms, and forget that taking care of ourselves is important to our kids. i'm not yet dressing in skirts and heels at home, but some make-up or jewelry for no reason is closer to my style! when i was teaching the preschool kids i dressed similar to the way i did at home. i would never wear my best clothing if we were painting or doing something equally messy. if i'm cleaning or involved in something messy at home, i also don't 'dress up'.
i had an interesting discussion with Aidan one day last year. he had commented on a classmates' mother. she came in to help regularly. Aidan told me that she always looked nice when he saw her. it was the first time i realized that our kids love to be
proud of their moms too and want us to look our best.
when i was teaching i do recall feeling badly for kids who came to school in dirty clothes, messy hair, etc. on a regular basis. their
confidence often matched their appearance. not sure if they lacked confidence to dress nicely or didn't care about their appearance because they lacked confidence. or what order it came in? i think we are called to look our best. kids and parents. inside and outside. i also realize it is a bit of work to keep my kids dressed nicely. especially when they seem to
grow an inch a day!! we all have our favourites, and my kids are no different. it is tough for them when their favourite t-shirt is too stained to wear outside of the house, or is too small. they are fortunate to have very full closets with lots of choices, but still tough to make sure the clothing is the correct size! it is a part time job some days.
when i stopped bringing home the regular paycheck myself, i also stopped
investing in new clothes. it also was more complicated to shop with kids in tow. or arranging to go when they could be not-in-tow! after i started to work at the scrapbook store, i realized how
'kid-friendly' my wardrobe had become. i think i have a long way to go, but it was the encouragement i needed to shop for things that weren't always practical. it is nice to have some grown-up clothes to wear once in awhile. it is a work in progress.
i have also decided that
our home is another place for our kids to be confident in. our basement was neat and organized when we moved. except for the pile of boxes and containers that needed to get sold or donated. after a year, and some changes the basement became more of a dungeon than a play space. with some rearranging, purging and organizing....it is now a
safe and fun place. i want the kids' friends to enjoy playing here! Kris was home between Christmas and New Years, so that afforded me the time to devote to getting things better.
for me it is sometimes hard to find the
balance between clutter and comfort. i love to be surrounded by nice things, and my counters are rarely bare. yet after some time, i start to breathe differently if there is too much clutter for my liking around me. i have to say that it is MUCH easier to handle clutter when pretty much everything has a place to be kept. i'm still figuring out what works for me and my family. for now, the kids' stuff each has a basket to be held, until i file it or throw it away. i realized when we were selling our old house that i did love my home to be clean and spotless. however, it also brought a certain degree of discomfort as well. oh, the balance!
once the basement was looking better, i knew it was time to move on to other rooms. along with the purging and organizing i also came to the conclusion that some of our possessions did not need to stay with us. unless it has a deeper meaning (like the needle work my grandmother made, or the oil painting my other grandmother made...both not my style, and not fitting anywhere), then the "just-stuff" needs to find a new home with someone else.
it took me a year to finally decide on the colours i wanted to paint the kids' rooms. with their permission, of course! after the basement was looking better, i was ready to commit. i had been uncertain with doing the work myself....questioning the quality of my painting! then i was reminded...'they are bedrooms...not beyond trying on my own.' Aidan had dreams of me painting a type of mural....when i told him that was beyond my talent, he was shocked. 'but you are so artistic, mommy', he replied. that sweet compliment also boosted my confidence!
Aidan has been firm that he has wanted a blue room. Kiara stayed adamant that hers must be pink.
i still think (especially after painting) it has been to our advantage that the previous owners did not add any new, non-builder colours. the main colour is Barn Swallow and the secondary colour is Grey Hearth. they are both good colours. i know we would have never chosen the grey colour, but we have really loved the contrast it has in the rooms.
they are neutral colours, but not exactly the kind of colour loved by kids!
the "BEFORE" picture is in Aidan's room. i didn't take one of Kiara's. same colour, different walls. ha! aside from the window (and clutter) there would be no difference.
if i had realized how badly the professional painter had made the cut lines, i would have repaired that before i started to paint. when you first looked at the edges, there were a few obvious paint mistakes...which we gave credit to the previous owners. guessing that they messed up when they spot painted before selling. they may take credit for some of it. unless you are looking closely for crooked lines, or misses...i don't think they are that recognizable.
the plan is for our real professional painter to repair the mistakes when we get the main part of the house repainted later. still undecided if later will be in the near or far future. i have some areas i need to patch and short walls to paint. if the spot painting is really obvious....then the professional painting will happen sooner!
all my paint colours are Benjamin Moore. i personally LOVE how they arrange their fan decks, and their historical and classic colour collections. so far i have not been disappointed or mislead by the colours.
i am glad that Aidan INSISTED on blue. i chose to do 2 colours. the main colour is van courtland blue. while the theme wall is phillipsburg blue. i was worried that the second colour would be too purple...a problem i have had in the past! Aidan wanted as dark of a blue as we would allow. if he had it his way, it would have been nearly black! only because he wanted it to look like outer space.
initially i was going to keep the main colour as barn swallow (an ICI colour), and paint 2 of the walls van courtland. so glad Aidan refused to think that was a good idea.
his opinion on the after? he liked "his blue" better than "mom's blue". too funny.
i discovered that the grey undertones in the van courtland are very strong in dim light. i LOVE it when a single colour gives off different tones in differing lights.
i'm still not sure if i made a good choice using 2 contrasting colours here. i love each of them on their own. there is no way i could have handled an "all pink" bedroom. but i know that Kiara would not have been happy if there was no pink. this was the compromise.
the next item on the kids' rooms list is the furniture and decorations. i have some wall decals for the kids, but plan to put them on the walls next month. it takes at least 30 days for paint to cure....i'm concerned the removable stickers will peel off the paint when they are removed....even though we plan to keep them for several years. is that a realistic concern?
Aidan just had his desk set up last night. the shelf we want is on backorder. we've decided to remove a dresser and adjust his closet to make up the loss. i think his room would be too crowded if it remained. the desk will be well used in the future, and much appreciated by him in the meantime. sadly, his room is looking more like a "big boy" room. less and less of a little rowdy boy.
i'm undecided if i will replace Kiara's dressers or refinish them. the one dresser would look so cute white and distressed, then with cute girly handles/knobs added!! i found a fabulous dressing table with attached mirror that she would LOVE. she's not quite ready for a desk...but it is in her near future too. one of the shelves in Aidan's room will become hers for her doll house.
there you have it! not before/after photos. more like before/in progress! now that the painting is complete, i cannot wait to finish them off.
for me the reward is that sense of accomplishment. i still have other areas of the house that are due for re-organization and purging. it will happen. for now, the small changes are making this house feel more like our home. i'm letting go of some bad habits and making changes that will be more beneficial to ALL of us!
it has been a tough few years. much more that i have not mentioned. however, i feel like the changes happening in the rooms of our home are a good sign. a sign that i am coming back!
and my reward for the long days cleaning and painting?
heehee....
shopping and scrapbooking.
yes. you shouldn't be surprised!
next goal: finish decorating the rooms
next reward: more shopping and scrapbooking
i think the rewards and goals benefit all of us. don't you?!
