Monday, May 30, 2011

What we talk about on Memorial Day

Both the Things Grandfathers and one Great Grandfather have served in the military during war time. My father served during Vietnam stateside and my Grandfather and Father in Law both served overseas in World War Two. 
The last many months my husband and I have been scanning in a journal my Father in Law wrote while serving in World War two. He was on the beaches of Normandy and walked across Europe a few days behind the front line US troops. It has been amazing to see the War from the perspective of a 20 year old man whose life stopped for this. He was in the band and playing JV baseball for Notre Dame when he went in, he continued that life when he got out. The letters we have seen and journal we scanned in show that life didn't stop while these men were away, people got married and friends continued to play in the band. The letters to another friend who was also serving showed more concern their would be no girls when they got home, and no place for themselves at school. They seemed less concerned with their own lives and the gruesome details of what they endured day in and day out, than life when they got out.  There is a journal entry talking about coming across a downed German plane and what these young men had to do to clean it up, but it is never mention in any letter and explained in a very distant way.  The journal ends with my father in law stating 'and at the end of it all I find out "XX" is a bum', we are guessing the girl he liked married while he was gone.  World War Two from history class to family members who lost their lives in it has always seemed mythic, and this journal reminded me these are just young men, like the young men and women serving now.
Reading the journal has allowed me the chance to get to know the man a little better. I met my father in law in the later end of his life, and though he was a talker I never felt like I knew him very well.  I learned more about him through his children and wife.  We would chat in the mornings on occasion when we went to visit over coffee, but I never felt like we had a ton in common.  My father in law was always warm to myself and my family, not always saying the right thing, but always inquired after them and hoping well for them. When Thing One was born so ill and he went in to see her in the NICU, he just keep telling us he wanted to just take her out of there and make her OK.  He adored his granddaughters, everyone.  When he passed away I was pregnant with Thing Two, the only boy in the troop, and I wonder often what he would have thought of him.
Thing Two looks like his dad, which means he looks like his grandfather. Actually Thing Two looks like both grandfathers as children, and hopefully he will become the great man both of these men are and were.
Until Thing One and Two can read the journal for themselves or put a wreath on their Great Great Uncles grave at Pearl Harbor we will spend a little piece of Memorial Day talking about the sacrifices that have been made and continue to be made and why, and spend some time with great friends to remember no matter what life goes on and needs to be lived. 

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Tutoring Update..Good News and Questions

I had a pow wow with Thing Ones tutor today, we are about 1/2 way through her first round of tutoring and getting ready for a break before the summer tutoring rounds start. There was good news and impressive results along with questions about what the decisions and forward steps should be. 

I have questioned a lot about our choice of tutoring, where and who, and how much; but today changed my mind.  Thing One is reading 20 words more per minute than previously and has increased another score by 1/3.  She is making great strides with phonics.  The phonics breakdowns she couldn't do before she can do now and with ease.  She was playing around and answering almost quicker than the questions being asked. Her math score though low, was attributed to attitude more than anything else. 

The issues and questions are around the attitude along with her attention.  Her tutor multiple times mentioned that she was highly distractable even though this was one on one tutoring. The line that really made me think was, "She is so distractable in here, I can't imagine her being productive in a classroom environment".  This may explain why there were so many teaching concerns this year, the questions always seem to be is this her processing, her attitude, or that she just isn't paying attention? 

This keeps coming up, her attention, her focus, her ability to be successful in class. She didn't trigger the attention scale, she had 6 markers, 7 identifies her as having an attention issue.  6 out of the 7 is awfully close though, and her support adults keep bringing this up. I read quite a bit before we received the report about girls and ADD. Most girls don't get identified until junior high because at junior high the organization most kids have ADD girls don't and they fail. Medication can be most effective early so that a child with attention issues can learn those organization skills and can usually be discontinued in late adolescence if kids start by 8 at the latest. Thing One is 8, if there is an attention issue and we start her now there is a chance a lot of the attention issues may resolve which will give her the focus to learn the skills she needs.  I am just not sure if she needs medication, or if it will help, and haven't we dragged her through enough?

The only true way to tell if a kid has ADD is to give them the meds, if they get hyper they don't have it and if they get focused they do. The question is, do we try the meds and see if they help?

The tutor and I have decided a summer of work with the coaching counselor and the tutor keeping a close eye on Thing One's attention will help clarify what is going on. I don't want to rush to medication, but I do realize the girl can make some people, me, crazy.  She is difficult to keep focused, has a hard time initiating work, we have a long running joke of yelling 'SQUIRREL' when we want to get her attention. 

No decisions have been made and we don't know for sure the path we are going to take, but now more than ever before I am feeling like a decisions need to be made, and end of summer will come awfully soon.

Monday, May 23, 2011

My PTA Peeps

I was doing the happy dance around the house last night, my PTA commitments for the year have been met, or as met as they are going to get.

I wanted to be involved in my children’s school experience and I wanted to contribute to the greater community of our school, but I had concerns. I was really afraid of the moms that were running the PTA ship at the start. These women were organized, focused and ran the PTA activities with either extreme planning or by the seat of their pants and ALL the activities were amazing. There were a lot of personal fears about being judged because I wasn’t taking care of my kids and family the right way or having people think critical of me. Also, there are a lot of personalities in the PTA ship and dealing with a bunch of crazies at work, why would I volunteer to deal with that craziness in my free time.

In January of Thing Ones kindergarten year I received a phone call from the volunteer coordinator at the school telling me that another mom was wondering if I would be a co-chair with her for the cookie dough fundraiser at the school. I was really intimidated by this, could I find the time, would I totally screw this up. It worked out great, I met a lot of great moms and the mom who co-chaired with me backed me up and supported me so that I could participate fully. After cookie dough went off with so few issues the PTA president started talking to my co-chair about the possibility of ‘doing more’ next year. The Co-Chair and I talked, she committed to helping me do this even though I was working and couldn’t always be there, and I committed to doing everything I could and making the time to being her Co-Chair and being on the PTA Board. It worked, I ended up with an amazing new friend, whose family is a huge support to my family, and we ended up with two crazy years of looking for new fun ways to raise money and laughing a lot more than crying.
After the last two years of only being able to make every other board meeting and frustrated looks from people when I had no idea what was going on because I couldn’t make the meeting at 11am, I am retiring from the PTA board and fundraising Co-Chair. I want to make sure that the quality activities that the PTA provides are quality and I just can’t keep as focused on PTA as I once did. This does not mean I am done with PTA, I am already nosing around looking for the thing that I really want to do for next year. In the last few years I have learned a lot about what I like and don’t like what I do well and don’t do well. I am a worker bee an organizer; I will not arrive at an event and wait around until someone tells me what to do and when, I jump in figure it out and work hard, usually with a few stories told in the lulls

What was my last activity, a great mom got tasked with a beautification project almost 19 months ago. The project got delayed due to weather and then due to the school being vandalized. This last weekend we were able to paint the map of the United States on the blacktop at the school. The full goal wasn’t met, we were supposed to do two, and we only did one. I was so impressed with the turn out, working with all these parents I have had the chance to get to know over the last few years was so enjoyable. The kids were running around playing with the oldest amusing the youngest. Each parent sort of set their own rules and guidelines. Some parents worked with their kids to paint a state, some parents didn’t let their kids near the paint, but it seemed we all made it work and we all respected each other’s views. Some of the parents I had set ideas about shined and some of the moms that I thought were amazing, were eh. The thing is, all these parents came out, we got it done and we laughed a lot doing it, and that is always a good PTA experience.



Thursday, May 19, 2011

Kids Censorship and Being PC..

Thing Two goes trolling through the iPad netflix list at tutoring and all of a sudden, "BOOBS MOM", at that capitalization volume level. Yep, on the netflix list was a movie cover that showed a girl near topless, we talk about nudity a lot the context of it isn't good to be naked in front of the mailman, but not much about movie nudity. 

Sexual content, violence, swearing, drugs, being sensitive to other differences; these are all things we are having to talk to our kids about constantly and sometimes I wonder what is sinking in and what kind of neurosis we are passing on to our kids. 

We have a lot of flexibility in regards to swearing, the general house rule is adults swear and you are welcome to as long as it strictly occurs only around mom and dad only. When swearing is used in music, performance art, books, and the like it is artists discretion and if an artist really feels the need to express something with swearing that is there choice, for the time being that is not your choice in your art.


Sexual Content is something we have not talked a lot about, we just don't see a lot in cartoon movies and we don't watch much else.  As much as Thing One has dealt with sexual things in the way of, I'll show you mine if you show me yours we have not dealt with it that much.  We have talked puberty a little, but not sex, like movie sex. They giggle at the nude paintings and we just talk about what moves artists is what they express, The Things are horrified at a person being moved by nudity except to barf. 

Violence is something we have talked about a fair amount, especially in TV, movies, and the graphic novels Thing Two loves.  The whole violence conversation started with Bugs and Daffy and has moved on to X-Men.  Now I struggle with what movies and graphic novels are OK for Thing Two, what isn't going to make him a serial killer? I am not planning on letting him watch Friday the 13th anytime soon, but when and what is or isn't OK?  I don't want to be paying for a therapist in 10 years or have him conditioned to be unmoved by violence.

Being PC or sensitive to others is the one thing I really struggle with, particularly as it pertains to banned art or books and people.  Listening to Mark Twain some months back there was a large discussion around 'The N-Word'; what did it mean, why hadn't they heard it, why was it bad, those questions were answered with relative ease. Last week Thing One came home and started talking to me about banned books, I have no idea where this comes from, probably the older kids at daycare. The banned art/book discussion is a lot more difficult. I don't believe in banned books, I believe in discussions around the content, but not in outright banning. The banned book conversation centered around some people not being comfortable with words in books, like the Mark Twain discussion, but quickly led beyond words to some books being banned for the things they talk about. We talked about peoples fear causing a banned book, people wanting a book banned because they don't agree with the content being read by kids, and also the idea that because one person thinks it is gross or violent doesn't mean you will think the same thing. At the end of the conversation I liked that Thing Ones take away was, every book should be able to be read by anyone cause everyone thinks different. 


Though everyone thinks different just like a banned book/art being sensitive to other individuals with our words can also be a complicated web.  Those who know me, know I am crazy blunt and frank and frequently put my foot in my mouth, but honestly I do try to be sensitive to things others may not like me saying.  When Thing One describes a friend at school she calls her tan, another friend has slanted eyes, these things are not meant to be hurtful or insensitive or racists they are the words she uses to describe the differences between people. We talk about words and how some words can hurt some people because they don't like their differences or find the words mean. We try and give both Things the words that are more appropriate, but ultimately I think part of being a kid is sticking your foot in it or using the wrong words and seeing how they can hurt or hurt you.  A great example is the kids who calls the lady at the pool fat, thankfully neither of mine have done that yet, but there is a lot of discussion right now around the new one eyed SSA at school. Identifying someone by their difference though not always good is the way I think kids parse their world. They are not being hurtful, or not going to play with them; they just want to identify one Josh from another in class. At this point both Things want to identify as a little different, but I remind them how would it feel if someone described them by the thing they don't like about themselves. Will all this make a difference, make them be sensitive to those around them, allow them to speak freely and still be aware of their words?  Who knows but I hope so....

Monday, May 16, 2011

Growing Up

With the school year coming to a close I realize that yet another door is closing behind us as parents. We will never have 'littles' again. There are no more babies or toddlers in our future, thankfully, and now we have big kids, and that is exactly what our two Things have become.  At some point, we became the parents of the big kids at the parties, you know, the kids who have to get the birthday girl out of the bounce house because she is crying. The kids who are older than all the other kids at the get together and end up herding the younger ones around. In truth we are lucky we have friends that have littles and have real big kids.
Both the Things will be in school all day next year and the requirements and the expectations people have for them are much higher than they used to be. No longer are they good just because there wasn't a screaming jag at the grocery store.  I am realizing that these are the teaching years, when they were younger it was just about them not disrupting the world and learning to be a part of it. Now we are teaching them how to navigate it and work in it as a fellow human. Suddenly there are questions about the people and world around us that go beyond why and how. There are social norms to be taught and Independence to be developed. Things are no longer issues about just about someone taking their toy, but about why someone has said something mean or untrue about them.
I am fascinated, exhilarated and a little frightened by all this. I have gone from being afraid I would drop a wriggling toddler, to trying to make sure I explain something honestly and appropriately enough that if they tell their friends, their friends moms won't be horrified and will still let them come to our house to play.  The wonder of toddler hood is being replaced by the indifference of not quite tween-ness.  The awe and magic of preschool is replaced by the information that school brings. The Things constantly quote Myth busters to me in explaining this thing or that.  They can Google or look up their questions vs stare open mouthed at my ability to produce an answer out of thin air.
Though there are things I miss about the cute little guy phase, I am so happy they are the big kids. Independence has brought us the occasional weekend sleep ins, when the kids get their own breakfast and can watch the toons till we get there. Quiet nights where every ones head is in their own book reading. Days when friends come over to play and we don't have to provide the interactions and activities that were once required.  They are becoming their own people, with their own likes and dislikes and it is now time for me to be in awe of who they are becoming.

Though you have to admit they were awfully cute littles

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Many Faces of Thing One.....Educational Coaching ?????

TAKE TWO, LAST POST CRASHED

     When Thing One first got assessed the recommendation was that there be some educational coaching to assist Thing One.  When I went in to coordinate for the 504 the school nurse recommended that some educational coaching occur to assist Thing One to understand her processing issues better to function as a better advocate for herself.  Thing One is a really good advocate for herself medically, and besides her root beer addiction is really good at managing and explaining her medial issues. The thing is, I am not 100% sure that Thing One would benefit from educational coaching just yet.
    
     When a child is highly intelligent and at the same time struggles with foundational issues, and has made it this long without anyone calling her on it she deserves a hand.  Thing One has an amazing capacity to fall under the radar intentionaly, so that people think she understands and is just diddling, instead she most likely didn't get it and is pretending or is stuck on how to organize her thoughts to do the work. Note, I stated most likely, some of the time she just isn't that interested and so doesn't do the work. I have no illusions about my kid, there are times she is interested and engaged and times she isn't though you may think she is.  Once I started talking to teachers, tutors and coaches we all started talking about the same things, there were good days and bad, days the work was done and days it wasn't though we all thought it was getting done.  So what will coaching give her.    

    Thing One is a great kid, I find her pretty amazing, and I feel for her because it seems like there is always another bump in her road. She is bright, funny, silly, kid that asks amazing questions, and can think of thinks way outside what you expect of an 8 year old. Her teacher told me once, she just isn't thinking about things other second graders thing about, she really chews on things.  Now there is no way this kid is perfect, she is a master manipulator and can tutor her brother on levels I was not sure possible. She isn't much of a drama kid, but she can whine and cause trouble with the best of them. 

     Will she use the skills she learns in coaching for good or will she use those skills for manipulation? How will coaching help her to be able to be able to tell people she needs help and will she use that to get out of work? Will coaching helping her maintain the cool person she still is or change her?  The possible outcomes concern me.

     I love my children, but wonder what is the best time to get into the details of thier learning disabilities. Thing Two knows, has a name for it and it good with it all, some how the medication and the resolution of his worst issues with that makes it all easier.  Thing Ones' situation is a whole lot more confusing to talk to.  Explaining what it is and how it works can be really tough.  Explaining the issues and maintaining her self confidence is the reason for the coaching, but what will come out of if beyond that is my concern. I think both the kids will be stronger people when they are adults, no matter how all this turns out.
    

Monday, May 9, 2011

..Playdates

     There are not a lot of stereotypes that either me or the hubs fall into, he is the cleaner and I am the blunt obnoxious one. Most of the time who does what comes down to interest level or availability more than anything else. A few things hold in this house, like a lot of others I assume, I do crafts and the organizing hubs does the outside chores, play dates tend to be the other area this occurs. Unless there are crafts or cooking involved, play dates tend to be handled by the same gendered parent, I have no idea how this happened but I defiantly got the better end of the deal.  On top of the fact that boy play dates tend to be managed by the boy parent, that means the girl and I can slink off when other boys are in the house.     
 
     Around 5 last night a friend of Thing Two tumbled up to the door to play. They usually go to play at his house, but he asked if they could stay here, I said sure grabbed Thing One and left it to hubs. Within minutes of One and I slinking off, I hear "DUDE, DUDE, you totally got it!!".  At this point, Thing One has locked my bedroom door, turned on Wizards of Waverly place and is blissfully amused. I sit on the bed and read a book, I am good and it is pretty quiet in our little cave.  Thing One and I have gone shopping, seen movies, hidden out watching TV and playing on the computer, all sorts of fun when the boys are in the house playing.      
    
     We strive to be able to let the play dates happen without intervention of a sibling so it means great one on one time for the parent with the non-play date kid.  Thing One shares with you on these one on ones, you can do like activities; when you have Two there is constant activity, making sure he is being kept level, having fun but not stripped naked at the park kinda fun, getting a yes/no can be tough enough let alone a conversation.  I enjoy one on one time with both kids, it is just very different time. I have found things to do with Two that give me a chance to have conversations and play and be together, but with One sometimes it just comes easier. There have also been times where we were able to get One to do something active and crazy, but that takes a lot more effort and can be tough to listen to the whining. Each Thing brings different things to the table, just like I am sure they bring them to their friendships and their relationship as siblings.

     Back to One and I hiding in the bedroom, we spent a delightful hour or so hold up in the bedroom thoroughly enjoying ourselves, but I enjoy her play dates almost as much. When One has a friend over it is almost easier than just having One. The girls go to Things room, play, aren't too loud, go outside play are nice to one another.  When they come in to eat, they chat, are friendly, giggle, it is very cute. Usually we do a craft and both girls seem to enjoy themselves or fake it and the girls go on with their time.

     Thing Two, his play dates are a totally different level or action. Usually the boys run around like monkeys, yelling playing and having way to much fun.  They eat everything on the run, never talk to the 'adults' and if Two says 'DUDE' once he says it a million times.  They don't do no stinking crafts, they make remote car tracks and roll around with the dog. They go up to his room and the crash bang booms occur.  I secretly hope he is not this off the hook at other peoples houses, that please and thank you are part of his vocabulary. The thing is the house he plays at the most, they seem to love him, and I love them because of that.

     This weekend we are hosting sleepovers for both kids and I can't wait to see what happens.  In these circumstances I tend to handle food prep and inside stuff, and Hubs tends to manage whatever craziness he runs into when it gets too quiet.  We have bubbles, paper and crayons, the Kinect, I have no doubt all the kids will have a great time.  The Hubs and I are already parsing up what will happen in the morning, again I am thankful, I am thinking the Green Expo and a Re-Art Hula Hoop Activity with the girls maybe a little market; Hubs golf with the boys and then a park for them to run wild.  Again I think I got the better end of the stick, an activity I am interested in and two chatty girls, but then again maybe Hubs thinks golf and nuttiness at the park is all that and we can both we thankful we are enjoying time with our kids and their friends.

     On a side note, I hosted a baby shower for one of my mommy mentors and their were eight girls 4 to 10 and they played amazingly. It was the coolest thing in the world to watch all those girls jumping around on the hammock, painting together and just being kids, I loved it. Here is a picture of the candy bouquet I created that the girls devoured.  Where was Thing Two, getting his boy on with his best bud, and again I love that they willingly came and got him to save him from the girlyness in the house, and I made sure enough candy got put aside for Thing Two, his bud and his buds brother.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

My Momness

Unlike a lot pregnant women I did not get to hold either of my children when they were born, both immediately were swept off to the NICU. For Thing One I didn’t even get that joy of getting to leave the hospital with her, with Two I left with him but had to return him shortly. Becoming a parent can happen in a million ways, birth, adoption, guardianship, foster parenting, step parenting, surrogacy, and bunches others I have not mentioned; and I know that in it happening a million ways, there are a millions ways to have those first experiences. Though my first experiences with ours were varied, they mostly brought about the same feelings of love and responsibility.


My first memory of Thing One was looking up in the Labor and Delivery Room and seeing a kicking red head; the first thing I thought was everyone will be so happy she’s a red head. It took approximately 12 hours before I got to cuddle her, only for mere seconds before she was swept back into the incubator, tubes, wires and all. There have been a lot of ups and downs with her through the years. The first time I was scared out of my mind for her she was two days old and she wasn’t coming out of surgery when they said she would, the hospital Chaplin, an amazing woman, sat with me and said this would not be the last time I felt like this about her and I just needed to breathe and have faith she would be ok, wise words I try not to forget. She has had two major surgeries, occupational therapy and is now in tutoring. Something tells me that Thing One will always be a high needs kid in the parent advocacy department. Most of One’s firsts have been celebrated with extreme glee as we initial weren’t sure what we were going to get out of this sick child who seemed to always struggle. Before her second surgery she would get tired after 15 minutes of playing, I cried on her 5th birthday when she came up to me 15 minutes into her party sat next to me and said she was too tired to play. She has a perseverance that I admire so much, she may not be at the top of the field but she is there and that counts. Thing One loves music, basketball, horses and Tae Kwon Do and as the hub says has the ‘touch’ with animals. She recently tried out for the second grade play, something I never thought she would do due to her shyness, she didn’t get the part, but I was so proud of her for trying. Her silliness, intellect and cuteness will take her wherever she wants to go and the memories we make and have are always special and cherished, and though they are not always firsts I try to appreciate them like they are and have faith it will all be ok.

Thing Two showed up without a sound, which he has never repeated, the cord was wrapped around his neck and he was day glow white. My first real good memory of him was looking at him in the special care nursery, and I thought I had given birth to the ugliest baby alive; he looked like Charlie Brown with a huge head and small features and a big hair red spot on his back. Thankfully, he got cute really quick. Around 3 days old he went back into the hospital with jaundice, he proceeded to scream for about 12 hours with a nurse on duty that worked with my brother in law. She called him up and asked if he had meet his nephew yet, when he said no she held the phone up from the nurses’ station and said, yep that’s him screaming. We should have known after this experience we were in for a wild time. Thing Two was a high needs baby, even our daycare provider carried him around in a sling because he was only happy being held. Until recently we always said, if he wasn’t happy no one was happy, but like all things he is growing out of this. Everyone has always met him and responded with boys will be boys, but we always knew his behavior and energy would have to be addressed for him to be successful in school, and it has and we are happy with the choices we have made for him. Thankfully he is successful in school and thriving, he tries constantly to be a thoughtful attentive kid, and he doesn’t always make the mark but I appreciate his efforts. If there is a chore in the house that needs doing, just ask; someone needs help he is there to help. Thing Two also seems to have a natural gift with most sports; he can pick up a game in no time and dominate, last year he and another boy on his soccer team made his team unbeatable on the field. I have noticed that not all parents warm to Thing Two, I am ok with that because the ones who do adore him and I adore them for their appreciation of him. I find it a great litness test for me on the kind of people they are if they love him. There are always good days and bad days, and I never know quite what I am going to get, but the firsts keep coming, though he said that kissing a girl won’t come till high school.

Why the ramble on my Things, because it is almost mother’s day and they are who made me a mom. I have called and apologized to both my parents after realizing what kind of kid I must have been in seeing my own. I have swept crying babies out of mom’s hands to soothe them when their moms were on the brink. I have chased toddlers that weren’t mine through stores to make sure they didn’t’ get into too much trouble. I have done all this because of my Things, because they have taught me patience, empathy, compassion, that I am stronger than I thought and more capable than I dreamed. I do all this also because I hope another mom will take pity on me when I am having one of those days to thump the Things in the back of the head when they are doing wrong and need correction or celebrate a success I was not able to be there for but desperately wanted to be.

Happy Mothers Day

Monday, May 2, 2011

Room Updates

We were buying shoes this weekend when we ran across a sale on reusable wall stickers, you know those ones that you can peel and stick on the walls.  Both the kids got super excited about them and since they had been really good I decided to let each Thing pick a set.

Thing Two didn't have a whole lot of choice, most of the stick-ons were flower associated or pink with peace signs.  I find it interesting that boy specific items are good for a lot younger or a lot older and a lot of the transition things are commercial comic book hero's (Spider man or Iron Man).  Thing Two picked a solar system, very cool and with the Star Wars look the room is starting to move towards it made a lot of sense. Thing Two has always been in this room so it has pieces and parts from each room update we have given it. Thing started with a Hawaiian surf themed room, then went to cars, and is now moving towards Star Wars and Outer Space. He was pushing for a TRON room for awhile, but I wasn't sure how I would make that work. The Solar System he choose didn't look too big, but I thought it would give a nice look to the room and we could then give the race track peel and sticks to another boy.  I was wrong about the size and amount of peel and sticks, there was a TON of stickers and they were a good size and at least 30 glow in the dark stars.  The room was almost transformed by these stickers, it amazes me how quickly a little change can alter a whole look. Thing Two is ecstatic and so excited to have so many glow stars.

Thing One picked pinkie orangy peace signs for her room update. They are very in line with her general style and would match great with the two other sets of flower peel and sticks already in the room. Thing One hasn't always had this room and though the color hasn't changed I have repainted the bed twice and really don't want to do it again.  Thing Twos room has been on the need to update list for some time, the walls need paint and the bed either needs a redo or a new bed.  The issue is Thing One and I can't come to agreement on color. She wants black and bright pink with purple, and I don't want to torture anyone with having to try and paint over black in 5 or 10 years.  Due to the impasse the room has not been updated, and will not be until we can agree. The peace signs made it more Thing Ones current style, but still didn't make me twitch with dread and the clean up when she decides they arne't her.

For the time being this little peel and stick update is all the Things are going to get in the room update department.  Thing One and I can't come to agreement and Twos room I am not painting till we move out, he is a mess and the wall is feeling the pain, particularly when the action figures get scraped againts the wall.  I want the Things to be able to express themselves with their rooms, and at the same time balance that with the fact that some day we won't be in this house or one of their rooms will be my craft room, we'll have to see how this all turns out.

How do you make a quick room update?