Almost done!

Mercedes' room is taking shape.  I may be hauling things out to the lawn on Saturday morning to give away or sell!  We got rid of this huge dresser that took up a whole wall of her room.  My friends gave me a smaller chest of drawers, so we painted that black (Meche's favorite color is red) and tucked it into a corner of the room with a silk plant on top.  I'll find a little red bowl for her crystals.

She already had a cream colored bedspread, so I bought red sheets and put the cream spread back on the bed.

I painted the room country white.  We rent, so I'm technically not supposed to paint at all, but since we've lived here 9 years without painting, and since I'm just using white again, I figured I deserved to give my girl a freshly painted room.  It's so nice to watch the marks on the wall disappear under the paint roller!

I'm now looking for a red area rug, red or red and black curtains (the blind is filthy and I don't know how to clean it), mosquito netting,  and a writing desk.  The really lovely part is that I've only spent about $30 on the room so far - a gallon of white paint, a quart of black paint, and some Gorilla Glue to fix her closet door.  And a $12 set of sheets at Wal-Mart.

Mercedes is quite the "neat freak," so I think she will appreciate having a beautiful room again.

Quiet here~!

Krista took Jared and her sons boating at Deer Creek today.  Evidently they got worn out, because she called me at 7 to tell me all the kids were sacked out asleep and she was going to let sleeping bears lie.  Jared spent the night over there due to the early wake up today - so this is the 2nd night not home. 

It's quiet.  Too quiet.  I miss my kids.

In the meantime, I got Mercedes' closet door repaired, half her room painted (only to realize I didn't use semi-gloss - oh, well), her furniture out the door, and bought her nice new red sheets.  She said her favorite color was red, so I'm re-doing her room in red, black, and white while she's gone.  I've got to bring the dresser we painted black back in, put her clothes away for her, finish painting, re-arrange her room.... It should look new by the time I'm done. 

I just need to be twins for this one.

I am soooo tired

Krista managed to get free wristbands for Jared for Spanish Fork's Fiesta Days.  She took him down at about 9am for the parade, and I joined them in the afternoon, after an appointment.  Poor kid - he was so tired he could not sleep! 

Mercedes is having a big time with her grandpa and grandma.  It kind of leaves me with not so much to talk about! 

Proud Mama Moment - Laundry

This morning Jared complained that there were no clean jeans in his drawer.  (There probably were, but who knows.)  So I told him to check the dryer.  Didn't think about it again.

I came downstairs to finish getting ready for work, and what did I see? 

A basket full of clean clothes.

A newly filled dryer.

An empty washer.

Jared had moved the laundry through without being asked.  He then came to me and told me there were no dryer sheets, which was why he hadn't started it.  He sees me doing laundry every day (a la Flylady) and decided to help.  I had already taken time to teach him how to sort laundry, how to load and run the washer, and how to load and run the dryer.  (It does help that I have front loaders.)


Very, very cool.  I am so proud of him I could pop. Way to go, Jared!

(By the way - this is his self-portrait)

Don't talk to strangers?

I was just reading Lenore's blog over at Free Range Kids and was interested in the post on Stranger Danger. 

I'm a free range mom.  I parent under the belief that I am to work myself out of a job.  By the time my kids are 18 or so, they should be able to take care of themselves (and me, as I tell them!).  Because I don't hover every single stinking minute, I've taught my kids what to do when they get lost.

Find a store employee. 

Find an adult (mom or dad) with kids. 

Find a police officer or store security.

I've talked to them about people I've seen that scare me.  Not too many of those, but I've told them that when they have a bad feeling about something, pay attention.  That's their intuition warning them about something or someone.

It's a good feeling to be paged over the store's intercom because the kids got turned around in the toy section and promptly went to the checkout stand to page Mom.  It's good, because I know they know what to do in a potentially frightening situation. 

Logic at 7

I got so tickled at Jared.  Keep in mind - he's 7 years old.  Like most 7 year old boys, he's a budding paleontologist.  Dinosaurs, reptiles, and the like fascinate him. 

So he came up to me last night and asked me if crocodiles were cold-blooded.  (We had talked about cold/warm blooded animals a few nights ago.) 

Me: Yes, crocodiles are cold blooded.  They're reptiles.
Jared: Then dinosaurs are cold blooded.
Me: Well, son, we don't really know.  What makes you think that?
Jared: Mom, you know crocodiles are dinosaurs.  So, if crocodiles are cold blooded, then dinosaurs are cold blooded.
Me: I can't argue with your logic there....

although I can see the fallacy (ie - we don't know enough about all dinosaurs, some may have been related to birds rather than reptiles),  he doesn't have enough information to know it, and for 7, that's a pretty formidable use of logic!

The way this boy thinks is so interesting.  I'm loving the extra time alone with him to see how he thinks! 

Update on Mercedes' trip

It's been quiet this week at the Harris household.  (I guess I should put Vazquez in there because my kids are surnamed Vazquez, but I'm a Harris, and as the head of the household, that stands, LOL)

Jared asked to call Mercedes last night.  She said she was waiting her turn on her grandma's trampoline, and all her cousins were there.  It sounds like she's having a blast.  I sure hope Denise is taking lots of pictures! 

I asked Jared today if he was enjoying having Mercedes gone, and he said, "Nah, I miss her." 

In the meantime we're cleaning out her room and getting part of it redecorated.  I can only manage a few things at a time, so it will be a process.  Budget's pretty tight.