Prefences of a Preteen

When we broke it to Lucas that we were thinking of moving last year, we thought it might help the transition if we mentioned he could decorate his room any way he wanted. It took us a year but we finally got around to his room and its makeover.  In July Aaron was going to Seattle for a marathon of meetings and  Lucas and I decided to jump on the project.

From the beginning Lucas had a very specific idea in his head about how his room would look, what colors to use, where he wanted the bed, how to hang pictures, etc. I've patted myself on my back for how much we compromised and made it work for both of us. :)

This is the "before." When I took the pic, we had already moved out a lot of his things but not that much. The previous owner had a thing for focus walls and so many of the rooms have multi-colored walls.

We hadn't hung anything up.  So sad looking. :)

And this is where I forgot to get a before picture.  But we completely reconfigured his closet.  We added all the baskets and buckets ourselves.

Luke didn't have a whole lot that needed hanging up and that small black dresser was not cutting it with everything else.. The thick white lines in the picture below represent where the wooden dividers were, along with a lower clothes bar,  We ended up taking a reciprocating saw to the divider all the way up to where the arrow is and took out the other bar.  

The bottom shelf with the 3 black fabric boxes is actually the bookshelf we had in our Seattle family room turned on its side.  We bought 5 black boxes and another white plastic bucket "system" from Ikea.  It's been a great way to handle clothes and other stuff.  Everything now has a home!

 

He wanted grey walls (great, since a lot of the new house has been painted grey) and then florescent green stripes.  Again I like stripes but we ended up compromising with dark green instead of day-glo.  Phew. 

Anyway, here's the after.  We painted stripes, hung black curtains that "had to have grommets" since that was what Lucas liked. We hung the Star Wars poster he got from his grandparents for Christmas and we took out the black dresser and shifted the bookcase to this opposite corner.

We added labels to all his baskets and buckets.  Just vinyl and my Cricut paper cutter.

Works great.

Lucas wanted stripes all the way around the room but I lost steam.  Lucas was fabulous at putting together lamps, his chair, his desk and his shelving.  Basically did it all on his own.  But painting was not his passion and I got left with most of the work.  So I made the executive decision: no stripes around the whole room.   BUT, I do think I might continue the strips around to the left past the bed and the shelves.  It feels kind of abrupt to have the stripes just stop.  We'll see if I get the energy to go back and paint more. Give me a few weeks.

We finally got him a desk with a new lamp and shelves for all his schoolwork and Lego/Bionicle building.  For me "Storage" was the theme of the room and I made sure he had enough drawers, shelves, buckets and baskets for all his stuff.

The motorcycle picture above his bed was free since he won the poster at school from the book fair and the frame we literally received for a wedding present.  There has been a number of pictures in the frame over the years, but I took those out and spray painted the original purple mat with its flower power picture to black and then added the poster.



View from corner.

So again here's the before...

And here's the after.

He loves it so that's all that matters.

Quotes of the Week

Jonah and I were waiting in line at IKEA.  He sat in the cart and I hugged him and kissed on his neck. (my favorite) He does his lovey-dovey, whisper voice and says...
"I love you so much."  Looks me in the eyes and swears, ".I'll never let you down."

Aaron and I took him on a walk through the woods near our house.  We went off the trail where it suddenly got bumpy.  Jonah yells out with all his might, "Hold on to your brains, everyone!"

I asked him to take the dirty clothes to the laundry chute.  I get a salute and a "It would be my pleasure, sir."  No.  The pleasure is all mine.

Tonight Aaron was getting his PJ's on and he was whining he wasn't ready for bed.  Aaron pointed out that the sun had gone to bed and now it was his turn.  He fake-cried and whined, "I want the sun back."

The wait is over!

"Unbound picks up immediately where Threads That Bind left off. Having failed to bind Osadyn, the Berserkers must deal with the aftermath of Kara’s decision. Madison and Rhys are left behind to continue her training while the other Berserkers attempt to hunt down the remaining unbound Havoc.

Madison soon discovers her powers are even stranger than she had previously thought and that someone close to the Berserkers wants her dead. Seeking some sense of normalcy, Madison tries to blend back in at school with less-than-successful results and her attempts at a romantic relationship lead to consequences far worse than anyone could have imagined.

The Berserkers' world will be changed forever."

***********************

My brother in law's second book is out and ready to read!  It's a fast paced, YA fantasy that even if you are unfamiliar with that genre, you will love it.  You can download your copy HERE

Or if you are new to the Havoc Chronicles, pick up the book that started it all, Threads That Bind   HERE

Also, here's a link to Brant's website to keep you updated on all the latest book developments.

http://www.havocchronicles.com/

And if you look at the "About Me" section, you can check out my professional photographer debut!. (Basically I just took the picture of my handsome brother in law :)

And if you missed my riveting personal interview with the author, I have a link to that too.
Threads That Bind by Brant Williams

We could not be happier or more proud of his success!!

Aaaat last, my love has come along

(This is my second attempt at this post.  More than a month ago Blogger wouldn't publish my finished and PERFECT post and then our resident preteen closed the page so he could play some game and I lost all my precious work. It's taken me while to get back to try again.)

Anyway....

I know a lot of the country has been melting in extreme heat and power outages for weeks, so I really have nothing to complain about It's just I had been counting the days until summer for months now and I'd been ready for some sun.   All of June we were teased with intermittent days of sunny weather followed by cold and rainy yet again. On the freakin' 4th of July and I went to our ward picnic in long pants and a sweater.  This week we've caught up by having some 95 degree days and with our air conditioner not cooperating, my need for heat is finally being satisfied.

In June we had the cousins come stay with us while my sister and her husband went on their stake's Trek.  We took advantage of a sunny day and drove the 4 minutes down to a local strawberry patch to pick some yumminess.

Bennett was a good scout and filled his little basket quickly.

Lucas tried to teach Jonah the finer points of berry picking...

...but he only had eyes for playing in the outhouse.  Seriously.

Sarah had a penchant for anything moldy or had to do with a bug.

Sorry, Genet, for letting her out with such crazy hair.  I'm not good at "girl hair." :)

And Paxton just ate whatever he got his hands on and then blew dandelions the rest of the time.

Lucas couldn't help but mug for the camera.  (Takes after his mom at that age.)

This kid needs a haircut :)

But afterward he went to town and picked his weight in strawberries.

Jackson, my trooper, was the best and most focused.  He picked only the best and was thorough and diligent.

I guess I have to appreciate all the Northwest rain because we get the best berries and my freezer full of homemade jam and whole blueberries attest to that fact.

Next week my Arizona sister comes into town and we're going to do late raspberries and wild blackberries.  Love it!

Rise & Shine

3 ways I've been woken up by Jonah these past few weeks....

1. Yelling in my face, "Mom! Get up! Our sun has risen!"

2. A very loud stage whisper, again in my face, "Mom, I gotta a pwoblem.  A very poopy pwoblem."

3. "Queen, your presence is requested in front of the king.  Right NOW!"

Love this kid.

**Addendum: I we-alized that I didn't wite that last quote with Jonah's "R".  Therefore it should say, "Queen, your pwesence is we-quested in fwont of the king.  White NOW!"  

Plus., how could I have forgotten, wiz-en instead of risen.
:)

"Put a bird on it"

Apparently that is what Portlanders do. 

I never realized just how well I am fitting in down here.  Because on the front door post, my sweet Seattelite -turned-Phoenician friend, Ali, suggested a door knocker from Anthropologie which she has on her door and I fell in love with it.  That same day I ordered the little thing and up it went. 

Super cute.  It may too cute for some but I guess I'm into cute.  Aaron actually likes it too, so it can't be all that "cute."

The yellow really looks washed out.  It actually is much more vivid in real life, but I just could not get the balance right. 

I also found a rug from TJMaxx.  An extra large rug that I needed to balance out the large entryway.  I had almost bought a plain coir rug and painted something on it myself. When I say "painted" I mean stencil.  I don't do free hand stuff.  Not where my talent lies.

Anyway, I like the color and design, perfect for summer.  If summer ever really gets here.  I am getting a little agitated, to put it nicely, that we haven't had much sun yet. 

Anyway, front door is coming along.  I'm still looking for pots or something else to fill up/balance the space. 

But I have to find plants that can grow without any sun. Seriously, they wouldn't get any direct sunlight., I just haven't researched it at all since I am the opposite of a green thumb. Any suggestions?



Tag, you're it

One Saturday afternoon in May, Uncle Brant & crew came over to play.   He had gotten a new toy and we all wanted a turn.  Per our house rule, we normally don't "shoot" people, but for the day I of course had to suspend it so we could play.  :)    I mean, who could pass up a game of Lazer Tag?!     It's shooting and running and screaming and laughing and even I have to admit, a blast.

Everone got suited up and we ran around crazy until we were all sweaty and tired and smiling.

Too fun.  I love these people!

A chip off the ol' block

Jonah takes after his dad in many ways. One I love best is their ability to make friends anywhere.  They are genuine and have an innate talent of talking to anyone and making people feel comfortable.  Jonah has no fear.  We went to Luke's tennis tournament and within 60 seconds he went up to a 10 year old girl and started the stream-of-consciousness conversation.

"Hi!  I'm Jonah.  What's your name?"

 "I'm 'free.'  What old are you?"

"That's great.  This is my mom.  Is that your mom?  What old is she?"

"I have brown hair.  And brown eyes.  You have blue eyes."

"There are cre-e-epy dinosaurs in the forest.  I am wearing a pull-up."

"This is my shirt.  Do you like it?"

"This is Lukey's transformer, Bumblebee.  Do you want to play with me?"

And off they went.  Easy as pie, new friends.

His two front teeth look better. Months ago he fell in the church gym and damaged the nerves, so his teeth have been grey. :(
There's nothing to really do until they fall out in a few years. But for whatever reason, they've been getting lighter.

They played tag, ring around the rosie, fought monsters in the forest, stalked dinosaurs in the bushes and laid in the grass watching the clouds.

Ali was so sweet with him.

I needed to write this post this morning.  I was woken up by his yelling in my face to get out of bed. (For years I woke up to Lucas snuggling up in bed with me for 20 minutes before we got up.  Jonah, not so much.)   He then proceeded to throw 45 minutes worth of tantrums because I was making him carry his own stuffed dog down stairs, then because I asked him to calm down before I would get him some milk and then a melt down because we were having family scripture study and he wanted to watch a show.  He is one stubborn little dude.  And loud.

Luckily this is not normal behavior and once we got some breakfast into him, he felt much better.  I think his blood sugar gets low and he hulks-out.  Nothing a cracker can't fix.

He's my buddy.  And gives the best pucker fish kisses this side of the Mississippi.