A ROOM of her OWN

As mom's we know that the day will come when our family shrinks in size. Some of us look forward to our little birdies leaving the nest and others dread it.

Yesterday we took my oldest to his dorm at SVSU, not really a big deal to any of us in the family except my youngest who ran in the door the minute we got home and said "Mom will you go upstairs and help me bring my clothes and stuff down?"

I hadn't even gotten my coat off yet but her's was on the floor and she was racing toward the steps.

She was finally going to have a ROOM of her OWN and she wasn't going to waste a minute getting into it. So, as I made way to the stairs, I made a quick mental list of all the things I had planned to do but would need to do later in order to help her achieve her new found freedom. We spent the next two hours cleaning moving and rearranging the two rooms until she was satisfied that her keepsakes and toys were in the best places and her brothers' remnants were cleaned up and tucked away. Then my little girl who won't spend any time in any room of the house alone borrowed my computer and watched her anime shows for the next few hours while I caught up on my list of chores that was pushed aside earlier.

Hopefully our oldest will like his freedom in the dorm at college as much as his 10 years younger sibling loves finally having a ROOM of her OWN and a little privacy even though she likes to keep the door open for now.

As mom I am just glad that she actually spent time in her room (even though it was with the door open) and slept the night alone in the room (even though she had two nightlights, a small lamp and a dog) without waking up once she finally fell asleep. All of this makes me a bit nostalgic but in an appreciative, loving way. I am not the least bit sad that they are growing up, that is what they should do and I'm very happy to see both of them exploring new ground and seeking out new adventures, after all that is how we learn and grow.

Do you have a child who recently moved away to college? How about one that finally got their own room? Please leave a comment and let me know how it all went for you? Thanks.

Painting Sun Catchers

Yesterday morning I was shopping. While strolling along I noticed some little sun catcher kits that were on sale. I thought what a great little activity to do with the girls and I could hang them on the large window in the kitchen that doesn't have a blind.

When I got home I decided to make it a bribe.
I did my best presentation of the fabulous mysterious something that I purchased for them and all they had to do to get it was to clean ~ not all, ~ but a portion of their bedroom.

My older daughter immediately said "Well, what is it because if it isn't something I want, I don't want to clean."

Hmm, my idea of bribing was sliding down hill fast...
So I told her that I had bought Sun catchers and how we could hang them in the kitchen and send some to loved ones and friends as little gifts in our letters. Trying desperately to talk them up to be much better of a bribe to her 11yr old pre-teen coolness.

Her reply to my bribe, "Do you still have the receipt? Could you take them back and get something else?"

Well that wasn't happening and little sister was all on board for my bribe so she was going to be coming along for the ride like it or not.

After a couple of hours had passed little sister came to me and said that she had done some cleaning and would like to paint her sun catchers. So, I got up from working on homework to enjoy a much needed break. The two of us got them out and we both started painting. It didn't take very long for big sis to find us and join in. She didn't clean but she does most the cleaning for both of them anyway. She admitted she had never painted sun catchers before and it was fun.

That little comment really made my day. Because me and little sister were enjoying ourselves too.

This morning we got up and hung some of our treasures in the window.

Have you tried to bribe your kids to clean? How did it work and what did you use? Leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks and have a great Friday!

First House Fire

Once back at the farm, we woke up to a house full of smoke are oldest was 4 and we had a 2 yr old at the time. We grabbed the kids put them out in the car backed it up to the end of the driveway and called 911.

My husband went back in to try and figure out what was causing all the smoke which was so thick you couldn't see but we saw no flames.

He came out as the volunteer fire trucks arrived grabbed a stick out of the yard and went right back in then came walking out as the firemen were opening the door with a t-shirt in flames at the end of the stick. Threw it down in the drive way and the firemen stomped it out.

They teased him because they went to school together (small town) and said it was the easiest fire they ever put out. Then they went through the house to make sure that was it.

What happened was the 4 yr old went down to the bathroom during the night and thought the light was to bright it was a bare bulb because I had broken the cover changing it that day so he threw dad's
t-shirt from the hamper over the light then proceeded back to bed and left the light on. Scorched the wall a little but no real damage. Crazy huh.