This is Sarah and Sophie's bedroom. They went through a phase, where if it wasn't pink, it didn't exist. I couldn't convince Chris to let me paint their walls pink, so we compromised with just stamping pink flowers on there. We added purple for Sophie. She does like a bit of variety. :) It is the smallest room in the house, but at the time we moved in here, they were the smallest people in the family so it made sense. Then Alexandra came along and we had to rethink things. The pink netting around their beds is the consolation prize for not getting bunk beds. We read all kinds of accident reports and found that those things really are death and broken bone traps, so we talked them out of their hearts fondest desire. It can't have meant that much to them, all it took was a couple of fancied-up mosquito nets from IKEA and a Pixel chick toy each.:)
My dad turned what was once an ugly, brown bookcase into the white Barbie house you see in the corner, and my mom made the most beautiful quilts for the Barbie's beds. They play with that all the time, and even have little girls from the neighborhood come over just to play with it as well.
Outside this window, you can see the horse stables.
That is where Bobbi and Winston live. Sarah likes to pretend they are HER horses, and she will often talk to them through her open window. They even neigh and whinny back to her. The younger kids will often take a break from playing outside to go over and say hello in person. Occasionally, the man who owns the horses will be there, and he lets them feed them a bit of hay. Makes their whole day.
The boys have their room right next door to the girls. When we first moved in, there was just Nick in there since Noah hadn't been born yet. He loves to have all that space to spread out train tracks, elaborate Playmobil setups, or even, do his homework sprawled out on the floor. (We bought him a perfectly wonderful desk, but apparently the floor helps his power of concentration.) Nick wanted a knight-themed room, but didn't tell me until he was almost too old for it. And then, of cou
rse, my friend gave us these adorable Noah's ark duvet covers, pillow cases, and curtains. How can you not decorate Noah's room with Noah's ark stuff? But even Noah is starting to outgrow that, so we may do a more grown-up knight theme after all. If they both still want it, of course.
If any of you are still following all this, the next room is where I update this very blog! (commence oohing and aahing) It is affectionally called the reading room, because that is where the majority of our books are. Someday I would love to have a proper library, filled with comfy stuffed armchairs, window seats piled high with pillows, a cracking fireplace, and rows upon rows of bookcases. Until that dream happens, I am thrilled to have our little reading corner. For the first year we lived here, it was also where all the yet-to-be-unpacked boxes hung out. Oh, and behind door number 1 is a small bathroom with a washer and dryer stackable unit. I am so thankful not to have to lug my 10 loads of laundry a week up and down 4 flights of stairs.
Last, but not least, is our dining/living room area. I would love to paint the fireplace wall red to match the couch, but Chris just can't envision it ending up looking good, so instead, I hang up all the kids' artwork from school to add a dash of color. It may look totally busy and chaotic to some, but it makes me happy every time I look at all their cute little paintings.
To the joy of the children and the chagrin of our downstairs neighbors, our house has a circle in it. What do I mean by that? Well, the kids can run in a continuous circle through the living room, into our bedroom, through the kids' bathroom, down the hall, past the reading room and front door, into the dining room, through the living, into our bedroom…. And they do do it, over and over and over again. The night we came to pick up the keys from the previous owner, a person from the rental agency was there and I was sure they were going to kick us out before we had even moved in. The three children were running madly in that circle about 20 seconds after we walked in the door, and they haven't stopped since. At least the floor below is divided into two apartments so, they get a break from the pounding feet for half the rotation. :) I make sure to give them nice treats at all major holidays, as my way of apologizing for the noise. They have never complained, but I am positive it isn't because they can't hear it, they are just very understanding and kind.
That's our house, I hope you can all see it in person someday. Just not all on the same day. 🙂
I loved the house tour, Amy! Thanks! It looks like such a cute house, I love the girls' room. Mindy would be in heaven with those pink nets. Of course, we just got her the death-trap bunk-bed instead, and she really likes that. Since we set it up again a few weeks ago, we've already had Elle fall off, but luckily she didn't break anything.
I miss your home!
Colleen, we hope you make it as well. And Dani, we miss having you in our home. The kids still talk about you and Corben all the time. I mentioned going to Playmobilland in the fall, and they immediately asked if Corben could come, too. Maddie would have a blast there, wouldn't she?