Like Mother, Like Daughter

As I wrote a few weeks ago, (see "Let the Inspiration Begin!" posted January 12th) my family responded to some complaining I had been doing by building a little workspace of my own for me.

A short time later, Katie decided she needed a workspace in her room. JP has his office, Jack has a desk, Andie has a desk, Mama now has a desk, so it's only fair that Katie should have her own also. Taking our inspiration from my new office, we created a cute little workspace for Katie in her room using her play table, a little chair, and a few other things we had hanging around the house. An hour or so of organizing and moving a few things around and voila -- twins!

No Girls Allowed

Jack will be 12 on Friday, and he's needing his mother less and less to manage his room and his stuff. It used to be that I'd go into Jack's room once a week or so and organize his stuff for him -- sports stuff all in one drawer, t-shirts in another, pants in one drawer, shorts in another. I'd get his desk all ready for the week, and put all his books away.

Well, those days are over. Jack now refers to his room as his "Man Cave" and the women in the house require an invitation to enter.

I have seen laundry go in there nice and clean, and when it comes out on Jack's body it appears to be a little messed up and wrinkled. I have seen plates and forks go in there, never to be seen again. Occasionally, Jack walks around the house collecting stuff like rubber bands, string, paper clips, scissors, band-aids, and measuring cups, then disappears into his Man Cave for a few hours. I have no idea what he's doing in there and have adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I would like to know what happened to my kitchen shears, though. I haven't seen them in months.

Jack seems to be functioning just fine without my intervention. He manages to dress himself in clean (if slightly rumpled) clothing, he always wears underwear, and keeps track of his school stuff with a system only he understands.

In six years or so, when Jack goes off to college, I'm looking forward to an anthropological dig in the Man Cave. I'm hoping my study will lead to a better understanding of the human male teenager. Or at least the discovery of my kitchen shears.

Mama, Do You Think the Stars Are Glowing Tonight?

We have to admit, our little Katie likes to sleep in our bed at night. Who can blame her? Furbers all like to be together, so during the day she's always with someone: running errands with Dad, doing homework with the big kids, at the park with Rachel, or keeping Mom company. Getting tucked in at night all alone in her room must seem very lonely to her.

This week in Sun Valley, though, she's decided she wants to sleep in her room. Not because JP and I are master child psychologists, or because she's outgrown her need to have company when she sleeps, but because we have glow stars on the ceiling of the bunkhouse here.

Two years ago, when I about passed out from standing on the ladder looking up with my arms over my head putting those glow stars up, I wondered if the task was worthwhile. (Note that there are 135 stars in the bucket. Being the overachiever that I am, I had to cover the ceiling with three buckets.) But when I hear Katie ask "Mama, do you think the stars are glowing tonight?" and when I tuck her in with the stars to keep her company, I know it was.

Beds that Take 30 Seconds to Make

We're spending the week in Sun Valley, enjoying the snow, sun and warm sunshine. For some reason, our condo in Sun Valley is the only place where I make all the beds every day. I think it's because our condo is small enough that you see most of the rooms in an eyeshot, and also because all the beds are all constructed very simply so they're easy to make:
Fitted sheet and pillows
Fluffy comforter in a duvet cover

Quilt folded at the foot of the bed

When I make my rounds in the morning, I just shake out the comforters, fold the quilts, prop up the pillows and I'm done.
Even Katie can do it. I can't say the same for the dishes in the kitchen, but I've got Jack and Andie for that.

A Letter to Jennifer

This post is for my niece Jennifer, who is 22 and getting married in October. Jennifer has always said she wants to be a young mother, so I imagine we'll be welcoming cute little Jenns before we know it.

Getting the house ready for a new baby is always a little bit stressful, as the books give you a list a mile long of things you need to do. I've been to the rodeo three times, and have culled that list down to a very short and effective to do list that will keep your prep time short, efficient, and stress free. Here is

Aunt Laurie's Top Ten Ways to Prepare for the Baby Invasion:

1. Don't wallpaper the baby's room. It's frustrating, time-consuming and makes you fight with your husband.
2. Don't stress about bedding for the crib. It doesn't matter what type of bedding you get, the baby will be sleeping right between you and Paul for the first six weeks of its' life.
3. If you don't want something barfed on, get rid of it.
4. The only toys you'll need for the first year are already in your pantry: an empty box, a set of plastic measuring cups and a spoon.
5. If someone asks you what you want for your baby shower, say "diapers" or "a babysitter." They're the most useful baby items you'll ever get.
6. The changing table is part of a conspiracy developed by baby furniture people who want you to think you need more furniture than you actually do. A changing station on top of the dryer works great. And it vibrates.
7. Swings are overrated and they mess up your decor. Better to let the dishes sit, and rock the baby yourself.
8. Stake out a place to stash your carseat, your diaper bag and your breast pump before you bring the baby home. Otherwise you'll be looking at all three on the end of your kitchen table every day for the first year.
9. The crib that converts to a toddler bed is also a conspiracy.
10. There's no point in trying to find a crib that won't make your baby look like a monkey in the zoo. It doesn't exist.

When you're ready for Aunt Laurie's top ten ways to get barf out of your favorite dress, I'll be here for you honey.

Can a Teenage Girl and an 11 Year Old Boy Really Share a Bathroom?

The answer is probably "no." However, they do share a bathroom in our house. At least for now, until Andie and all her toiletries squeeze Jack, his toothbrush and his Axe out into the hall.

Our arrangement works for now as long as the following rules continue to apply:
No Pink Stuff
Happy stripes work great -- red on Andie's side and blue on Jack's side. Each kid gets a little personality on their side, but not too girly. These towels from Garnet Hill are perfect:


Everyone Gets Their Own Trashcan
As everyone knows, boys and girls generate vastly different kinds of trash, and it's best to keep cross-gender exposure to a minimum. These SimpleHuman cans from The Container Store are extra good because they have lids.


Keep Everything Segregated
I bought these kitchen cannisters a several years ago, and repurposed them into the bathroom when we moved into this house

Even if he doesn't really need it, Jack likes to have one of the cannisters for his stuff. Sometimes it's filled with pennies, sometimes with stuff from his spy kit. He doesn't usually fill it with bathroom stuff, but he does like to keep it full, just so Andie doesn't move in.

Make Sure The Boy Gets At Least One Drawer
Although Jack doesn't need his very own drawer for the three grooming items he uses regularly, he still gets one. That way he doesn't have to sort through lip gloss, barrettes, and other girly things to get to his dental floss. And he doesn't have to pick long blonde hairs out of his toothbrush.

No Underwear On the Floor
Both genders are strictly forbidden from abandoning their underwear anywhere but their hamper or their room. No 11 year old boy wants to look at his sister's underwear.

Put the Lock Back on the Door
Remember when the kids were toddlers and you took all the locks off all the doors in the house so they wouldn't lock themselves in their rooms by accident? It's now time to find the lock for the kids bathroom and give it back. While an 11 year old boy doesn't mind having company while he's in the bathroom, his big sister doesn't really like walking in on him by accident.

Only the Boring are Bored by Guest Blogger Andie Furber

A kid's bedroom can often seem, well, boring to them after a while. To make it more interesting, add a picture wall! I have one in my room, and whenever I look at it, it cheers me up.

Devote an entire wall to it, preferably facing your bed, so it's the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning.

There is a delicate balance to which pictures to choose from, and they can't all be the same kind of thing. You'll need three different things:

1) Photos: They bring back memories, and they remind you of your family and friends. For these, use plain white frames for them. They'll balance out a color photo, and complete a black and white one.

2) Posters: If they're very colorful, they look really good on your wall. I have two posters from the plays I was in: Seussical Jr., and Stuart Little. The Seussical poster is bright and colorful and pops, and the Stuart Little poster is more neutral. For these, don't even bother with a frame. My mom buys some blue clay-like stuff from the store, and you put it on the back and it sticks.

3) Artwork: Use some artwork from your elementary school days. (You know you still have it.) They remind you of those days, and they look great on a wall! For these, use colorful frames with patterns and cool colors, and try to match the frame with the art.

My Mom always says "only the boring are bored." So if your room is boring, don't let that define your personality. Take control of the situation, and express your creativity with a picture wall.

I Am a Teenage Pack Rat by Guest Blogger Andie Furber

My Mom calls me a pack rat, but I prefer to think of myself as an archivist.

My room is the "DANGER ZONE" of the house. If you ever opened my closet door you'd know why. I have so much stuff I need multiple places to put it all. For example:

1. My desk: it's an architect desk, so it has nine compartments on each side. 18 compartments to hold things in!!!! WOW....
   
2. "Under" my bed: my bed sits on the floor, and has six compartments with baskets to keep my clothes in. Saves space in my room by not needing a dresser.
   
3. My nightstand: my nightstand is really tall, and has 3--what do you call it--layers? There are three different places to put stuff, and I keep magazines, books, pictures, my alarm clock, CDs, and notes there.
   
4. The left side of my closet: my closet has 2 sliding doors, and the left side is used for some clothes. It has my laundry basket (which is usually empty because my clothes are all over the floor), button up shirts, coats, formal dresses, and shoes.
   
5. The right side of my closet: used for just random stuff. Books, old magazines, bags, hats, just some other random things. But my mom exaggerated when she said I had six tiny bottles of ketchup in there.

My room, even though it sometimes can look like a cyclone hit it, is my favorite room in the house. The bad thing though, is my valuable stuff, like my iPod, camera, and other things get lost a lot. I listen to my iPod almost everyday, and when I can't find it, I FREAK OUT!!!!

About once every 6 months, my mom has me "purge," as she puts it, my room, and I have to clean my floor, desk, and my whole closet. She gives me about 5 garbage bags, says "When you fill all these bags, you're done."

When I purge my room, I approach the project like an archeologist. I carefully dig through each layer and admire each artifact. I recall the week I wore those dirty jeans to school (they were clean then), I recall the fun sense of accomplishment I felt when I presented my six Egyptian clay jars in my core class (I wondered where those went, until I found them under my pink chaise), I remember my friend Allyson telling me about the fun road trip she took, and how nice she was to bring me back four (not six) tiny bottles of ketchup. The purging goes on like that for some time. Sometimes, several days. It takes me that long sometimes to find five bags full of stuff I can bear to part with.

I think that my room really shows a side of my personality that will come in handy when I grow up and start to look for a job -- maybe I'll be a curator in a museum, maybe I'll be an anthropologist, maybe I'll be an archeologist. My Mom says maybe I'll be a garbageman (or garbagegirl).