I would have loved to start off this post with an image of our spare bedroom. It is the 2nd largest of our three bedrooms, and is currently housing Neil‘s desk and a bevy of books from Neil’s old store. I wish I could share images of this room with you, because it’s quite impressive – the rows of bookshelves, the tables in the center of the room, the full closet… It’s a book-lover’s dream. But I can’t. No cameras allowed. So says the proprietor.
Here’s the thing, though. We’d like to clear that room out and surprise our boys by letting them move into it. It’s much larger than the room they are sharing now. Their current space is little more than a shoebox, as you can see.
To that end, I’d like to invite you to the temporary re-opening of Clarkesworld Books, where everything is on sale and priced to move. If you find something you like, and would also like something from my shop as well, just leave a comment on your orders at both Clarkesworld Books and Polka Dot Creations and Neil and I will be happy to combine shipping and send everything together. My magazine sale is still going strong too, so this could be a handy opportunity if you’re a crafty magazine lover and a sci-fi enthusiast…
Ok, ’nuff business. How about some Friday Flickr favorites?
This week, when I wasn’t picking popcorn out of my bra, I was looking at a lot of aqua things. And red. And some aqua with red, just for kicks. Totally digging those red shoes in the bottom right corner, and the skirt just diagonal from it? Yum! I am in love with that Heather Bailey fabric almost as much as this other one. I have so far resisted the temptation to make a skirt out of it, choosing instead to make pajama pants, and hopefully this week, some pillowcases for my bed, but that image is making me think twice. Maybe I should have ordered more yardage…
Gosh, if I had unlimited funds, do you know how many (more) skirts I would have? And what an amazing shoe wardrobe I’d amass to go with them? I blame flickr for all this. Before I found skirts and shoes on flickr, I shopped at Old Navy like everyone else in town, and wore the cropped pants, t-shirt, and flip-flops uniform of the thirtysomething mom. Not that I’m putting down that look – I donned the uniform at least three times myself this week, and liked it, darnit! 😀
But I’m discovering this girly side of me that enjoys playing casual dress-up, and I do it just as often as I can convince myself to shave my legs. With my eye on flickr, I keep seeing these great skirts that people are making and I think, “I want to make one, too!” And I do, when I can get my hands on the fabric without breaking the bank.
Oh, and the shoes! Somebody please tell me when I became a person who desires $90 shoes?? I’m still enough of the K-Mart Shopper I used to be to think that $90 shoes are insane, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting them terribly. I’m stalking eBay in the hopes that a pair will present itself for about $15. Oh, stop laughing. It could happen! …couldn’t it?
I bet the kids would be even happier if you let one of them move into the spare room — then they’d have their own rooms. (And it might be easier to get them to go to sleep, too.) I mean, how often do you really have overnight visitors anyway?
Of course, I was an only child who never had to share a room until college, and as a result, when I did get to college, I had a lot of trouble with roommates, so maybe getting used to sharing while young isn’t such a horrible thing.
I probably should clarify. Calling the other room a “spare bedroom” implies that there was actually a bed in there and that we used it for guests. That’s not the case. It’s really just an upstairs office. All business all the time.
Anyway, someday we may consider letting them have their own rooms, but right now there’s just not the space. And, more importantly, they like sharing a room. They feel more secure, less scared of the dark, having each other there. I often find them snuggled up together in the same bed when I check on them at night.
When they get really loud at night they bug me, but they’ve been verrrry quiet lately – still talking & playing, but softly, and I am ok with that. My sister and I used to fight like cats & dogs during the day, but at night, in the dark of our shared room, we’d play house, or just chat – it was really our best bonding time. I think it was good for us to have that.
For now, the boys enjoy/prefer being together, and I plan to milk that for as long as it lasts 🙂
Well, like I said, I was an only child and an introvert, so I couldn’t imagine sharing a room. 🙂
I guess when they’re that young, they really don’t need privacy.
Yeah, they’d much rather have the company than the privacy at this point. Give it a few years, though, and I’m sure that will change!
Okay, I did my share so the boys could get into the larger room. I am sure that they will be so excited when they find out. Boys do need a bit more space as they get older.
You know, you may have to consider some type of mural or design from polymer clay on the walls. Will they have a space theme or animals or garden or crafting or cooking………… Lots of fund possiblities.
And yeah, when you are little it can get lonely at night. My kids shared for a while and loved it. It was so fun for my husband and I to listen to their whispers. It was a wonderful sound, even though we didn’t listen closely enough to make out the words.
Thanks, Beth 🙂
I know what you mean. When they get raucous, it bugs me, but when they’re just playing quiet imagination games, or chatting about their day, it’s very sweet. I’ve been known to sit at the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes, listening in on the conversation, and feeling very lucky that they’re such great kids.