Passing time - bedrooms

We're in major turmoil currently in our house physically. The girls room has been "dressed up" by Mary's recent birthday as our present to her was curtains/bedding and a flashier paint job on the wall. Well . . . sorta. We kept two walls the same color but with the T-shaped bunk bed configuration you can't shift that monster around with any ease and I HATE painting.

So, we picked some colors she liked (purple, pink, light blue) to add to the soft green and then with the aid of good ol' painters tape came up with a workable pattern. I had sent wall art to Ethiopia earlier (Dollar Tree) and I figured . . . hey, I can't mess THAT up! The results tickled Mary pink. We're currently needing to reinstall the curtains as I have since added room-darkening roman shades (due to my girls delighting in waking anywhere from 4:30-6 a.m.) and haven't gotten around to installing them again (everything shifted). I still plan to add a "canopy" around the perimeter of Mary's upper bunk with sheers - once again time is a factor.

The boys actually got their bunk bed first. We found both sets on Craig's list. They have a double bed on the bottom and twin on top so that if they choose to sleep together - there is room. Mary was immediately intrigued by the bed and would at first climb in the top bunk to escape her sister (and taunt her) but Julia learned to climb easily. We DID have to remove the lovely ceiling fans we had so painstakingly installed before though as the bedrooms are rather small and there was the potential for a head injury by leaning out of the top bunk. We'd found the girls happily placing Littlest Pet Shop animals on the blades (the fan was off) and then giving them a spin to send them flying around in circles. Julia climbs in the top bunk but cannot get herself down yet . . . THAT is how I was able to paint their room. I had forgotten that . . . she could watch me contentedly and I could paint without interference.

Although the girls have the bunk beds they choose to sleep together probably 50% of the time. This provides mixed results as you hear them snickering and animated conversations much later than we'd like at times. If we don't have a pressing engagement the next morning I usually let them cavort. Its interesting though in that they both refuse to use covers and flip-flop on the bed constantly. Sleeping with either child is a potential painful experience as you never know when a flailing limb may catch you off guard. Their beds are both twin-sized so them sleeping together can get . . . inventive as shown above.

Right now we are thinking the boys' room will simply be a work in progress. I was wanting to paint it if I had known their preference (I was thinking a very light olive/green or gray/blue). I have more extensive wall mural appliques in a jungle mural theme that would look like you're under the canopy . . . but I remembered Mary's delight in having an active participatory role in her room. Choosing made it HERS (and of course Julia's but then Julia just likes being with Mary). Its looking like we won't be painting unless time suddenly appears and I'll try to let the boys know that we will be helping them to create them a space to reflect their personalities. Shoot, because I'd like sleeping with glow-in-the dark stars on the ceiling with leopards and toucans and such on the walls doesn't mean my sons will! They may want . . . sports figures or spiderman or cars.

Please though . . . no Hello Kitty!!