Girls' Room

I once read an article written by a mom who said no matter how many bedrooms they had in their house her kids would always share a room. 

When we lived in Orangevale the house was a little over 1100 square feet. With two kids and a dog and all the junk that goes with people nowadays the walls were starting to close in. We decided when Charlotte was still a pretty young baby that we would put the girls in the same room and then have a "play room". It worked so well having a room designated for toys and we worked hard to keep almost all of them in there leaving a less cluttered living space. 

When we knew we were moving to a house 400 square feet larger but still with three bedrooms the question came up about them sharing. They were already used to it and I like the idea of sisters sharing a room and decreasing the concept of "yours" and "mine". I feel that kids these days (mine too in many ways) have "their own" everything. Some kids have their own rooms, iPads, TVs, phones, and countless other things. I also think it helps them learn conflict resolution when you have to sleep in the same room with that person every night. 

Just recently we have witnessed some of the loudest arguments between the girls and also have witnessed some of the absolute sweetest moments ever. We know without a doubt they like sharing a room...which leads me to the topic of this post! 

I have lived almost ten months with white walls almost everywhere in this house and it's bothered me every. Single. Day. 

Tim was not on board with my idea to paint the girls' room...maybe it had to do with the fact that we painted six different rooms in the old house most of which he did 100% by himself. 

I started picturing the room with some color and a fresh coat of paint and that was it...off to the store for paint samples. The girls and I picked up several shades of light yellow and then after going home I decided on one.

The only part that made me nervous was the fact that their room has vaulted ceilings coming to a pitch of about 12 feet. Getting up to those edges would be a bit tricky since we don't own anything more than a step ladder!! 

Over the next twelve hours I got in there and did different areas while the girls played, while they napped, and then after they went to bed in the guest room for the night. 

The finished product? A yellow that has a very striking resemblance to the "green" room in Orangevale! It sure looked yellow on the sample and in the can but either way it's a beautiful color and the girls LOVE their "new room". I moved the beds around and am still working on hanging things on the walls but it's done for now. Next I am tackling the loft area...which has about 8 walls. Wish me luck! 

I should have taken a before picture but I forgot...so here is the "after"

Sisters and Sleepovers

Dear Gracie and Charlotte,

Tonight we pushed your beds together because we are getting ready to paint your room. I told Gracie to stay in her own bed and be a role model so Charlotte would go to sleep. Over an hour after Daddy and I put you to bed you were still making noise. I went upstairs to see what you were doing and I stood outside your door in the dark. You didn't know I was there and I was ready to just you and tell you to quiet down and go to sleep. But do you know what I heard? I heard Gracie telling you, Charlotte, "I love you bigger than the mountains" then I heard you babble back to her in your sweet little language. You guys went back and forth like that and then Gracie read you a story. Then you asked her to read you another one and she did. Then she said she was tired and you needed to lay down and then offered to let you lay with her on her bed. She got you your frog and "beem" (blanket) and snuggled with you. Then I heard one more thing.

Gracie "you see that on the wall? The shadow from the window?" 

Charlotte "yesh"

Gracie "that's a picture God made just for you"

And just like that my heart was a puddle on the carpet of the dark hallway.

You were breaking my rule. But do you know what? I didn't care. At. All. 

You two were making memories. You are sisters and you were doing what sisters are supposed to do. Talk. Giggle. Be there for each other. I hope nights like these stick in your memory because I know it will stick in mine. We love you all te way to the sun.

Mommy

Charlotte is TWO!

Where did our little baby go?  She has turned into an "I can do it myself, talking all the time, independent" little toddler. We woke Charlotte up early before church on her birthday and she had a doughnut with candles.  We headed to church and then to the airport to get my mom.  That night we met Tim after work for Spaghetti Factory where everyone sang to her again and she opened her gifts.  This was when Gracie had the hardest time with the fact that it wasn't her birthday and she wouldn't be getting any gifts...so she pouted awhile but got over it when Charlotte shared her cupcake.

This was Gracie's gift to her and she loved it!

We had her party on Thursday.  It was unconventional and I felt terrible because I didn't even think about people having to fight rush hour to get here.  I was thinking of the holiday weekend, Tim's day off, and my brother and sister in law being in town.  I began planning awhile back beginning with ideas from Pinterest for an Elmo birthday.  Gracie was never into Elmo or Sesame Street when she was little (hers was a Bubble Guppy party) but Elmo is Charlotte's favorite so I knew it would be the perfect theme.  I really just did accents of Elmo with lots of color.  I was so glad nearly everyone we invited was able to come to our little house...but we made it work!  Thanks to a great rental company we had tables and chairs and even a kids table and chairs.  I thoroughly enjoy all aspects of party planning and especially diy projects for parties.  I saw the Elmo cupcakes on Pinterest and knew we had to do those for the kids, and we had a "Pin the nose on Elmo" game on the patio. Charlotte had a great time but was exhausted by the time it was over...and so was I! We are thankful to everyone who could be here to celebrate our little Charlotte, but we missed our far away friends and family!

4th of July 2014

We had our friends Pam, Amanda, and Jody visiting us the week of the 4th this year.  Early in the week we visited Multnomah Falls and then Pam took us to Benihana so they could do a birthday celebration for Charlotte a little early.  Neither Tim nor I had ever been there and it was such a fun experience!

The next day we went on a jet boat tour on the Willamette River even though it was a chilly and cloudy day!  On the way back we were able to visit the famous food trucks they have in downtown Portland and it even warmed up and became sunny outside! 

For the 4th of July we drove up to Longview to meet my Dad and Debbie for the Cowlitz County Go Fourth Festival at Lake Sacajawea.  There was food and there were vendors and then the fireworks.  It was a late night because Pam, Jody, and Amanda had to be at the airport at 6 the next morning and we didn't get back until midnight, but I am glad they were able to spend the holiday with us because we had a lot of fun!