We Said 3-5 Years (We're Looking at 8+)

Really, this title could be used to describe several "goals" Greg and I set when we were first married. One of them being that we would probably only need to "borrow" my parents first bedroom set for about 3-5 years. Don't get me wrong - this was a fabulous set right out of 1975. The way my mom describes it, my dad went to the deepest, darkest corners of Granite Furniture and found the cheapest thing in the entire store. Amazingly, it has lasted 32 years! Today, we purchased a new one.

This all came about because we decided to move Austin to the downstairs bedroom. Up to now, Macy and Paige have been sharing a room. This works out fine until Macy decides to climb in the crib to wake Paige up. So, in order to save my sanity and spare Macy's life, we decided to move Austin downstairs, Macy into Austin's old room, and keep Paige in her room. Unfortunately, we are not fast movers. We (meaning Greg) finally finished painting Austin's room. I liked the colors of his old room so much that we went with the same color scheme: dark blue on top, lighter blue on the bottom with a white trim. To be really fun, we (again, meaning Greg) painted one wall with magnetic paint first covered with chalk board paint. We thought we were being fun, cool parents, but Greg's brother said, "Why don't you just buy him a chalk board?" I still think it will be fun for our kids to be "allowed" to draw on the wall.

Anyway...we also "borrowed" the bunk beds from my parents. These were from my childhood and are on their last leg, but Austin loves them. We needed a new dresser for his new room. I've been looking for about a month now, and I just couldn't find anything I liked. Then, I had this brilliant idea: We could give Austin one of our old dressers (which is really my parents old dresser) and we could get new ones! Greg thought I was brilliant as well. So, today, we went in search of a new dresser for me and chest of drawers for him. We bought a new headboard a couple years ago when we bought our king-size bed. We were looking for something to match the cherry wood. We narrowed it down to two: one that I liked and picked out and one that he liked and picked out. After walking back and forth between the two about 50 times, weighing the differences, and trying to convince the other person that we were right, we decided to go to lunch. I suggested "Rock, Paper, Scissors", but Greg refused because I always win that game (which I do). Then, Greg had a brilliant idea. He said we should call my mom and have her come and decide. The deal was that we couldn't tell her which one of us picked which set and that she couldn't look at the price. The deal was that we couldn't disagree with her - her word was final. I thought I had it made! Surely my mother would agree with my style. I was wrong.

My mom was so excited and a little drunk with her newfound power that she left work right away. After weighing the options, she chose Greg's set. It is a very nice set, and better made. It's just very "safe." Mine was much more interesting and had more character. Oh well...I'm trying to be a good sport. My mom was trying to convince us to buy the entire set. She said that we've (meaning our entire family) done things half way all our life to save a little money and that we should have a full bedroom set that matches. I do love the sleigh bed. Maybe we can finish off the set next year! :)
I've never decorated my bedroom. I know that all the wisdom of Oprah suggests that your bedroom is your sanctuary. Mine could be better defined as "the hiding place." Meaning that other people see all the other rooms in your house before they see your bedroom, and when people come over, I shove all my piles and mess in my bedroom and shut the door. That way, I come off as the perfect homemaker, but not a very romantic wife. Anyway...my parents always give us a certain amount of money for Christmas, and I think I will pick out some new bedding. I want to paint our room and put up crown molding. I've always loved the painting by Gustav Klimt entitled, "The Kiss." Maybe I'll purchase a reproduction and decorate the room around that. The good news is that Greg feels slightly guilty for "winning" so I think he'll let me finish the room the way I want!