Empty Nestin - Decorating

Decorating has been my distraction lately.  Now that the girls are off to college, I’m looking at their rooms with fresh eyes.  Since they took most of their stuff with them, I need to make their rooms cute again. 

Britt’s room was pretty easy,  all I had to do was walk around my house and grab a few things, such as the lovely bottles left to us by Brad’s grandmother, a huge starfish from a long ago Bahamas trip, some great seashells, and voila.  Beachy Bedroom!
 

  


Stephi’s room still has a lot of her stuff, but there are gaps.  I was sitting there when one of her garden photos grabbed my attention.  THAT’S IT!!  I'll use Stephi’s GARDEN PHOTOS! 

Stephi is a great amateur photographer with a great eye!  I love her work so much there are several on the walls throughout our house.  Here are two I want to put on her walls.

 
 
I kept walking by, and finally opened the door to Joshua’s room.  We’ve changed little things over the last 3 ½ years, but it's still Josh.   Since it is the largest kids bedroom, with a large bed, his room has always been our guest room.  That meant throwing Josh out from time to time, but he didn’t mind. 

These days, I keep wondering if we should leave it as the room of a "forever 12 year old boy", or update it a bit like we have updated the girls rooms. 

I would like to make it welcoming and peaceful, though I don’t know if that’s possible; The four of us are split on what to do.

 
I looked at Peyton Manning's jersey!  Josh was such a huge  Peyton Manning fan.  He wrote how happy he was to get to see Peyton and the Colts play the Washington Redskins. 

I’m so happy Josh and Brad had that night together!  When we lose a love one, we tend to hone in on regrets.  In this case, we got something right.

As it should, although I object at times, life has moved on around us, and so has Peyton who is now a Denver Bronco.  I changed Joshua's Colts bedspread right after his funeral, which was pretty traumatic for all of us.  Last week, I changed the window valance to match the bedding, which  I admit, brought on some anxiety on my part. 

After all of this, there was still one thing I just had to do!  Something was missing.….a Broncos banner.  I went online and ordered a pennant to go on the wall opposite of the Colts banner. 

Who knew how emotional it would be to fill these three rooms?!  Just yesterday, it seems,  I was getting after the Newmanettes to keep a path clear from bed to door. 

Oh how I miss the messes, the smells, and the sounds!
  
 I sat down on the edge of the bed after I tacked the banner on the wall, and found my eyes full of the tears I couldn't stop, but when they finally did stop, I stood up, put fresh sheets on the bed, and thanked God that there are three rooms that hold treasures and memories of my three children.


“A child enters your home and for the next twenty or so years makes so much noise you can hardly stand it. Then the child departs, leaving the house so silent you think you are going mad.” -- John Andrew Holmes

Hugs,

Sherri

Empty Nestin'

I'm sitting here enjoying a muffin before heading out for some surf and sun in South Carolina.  Brad is off with his white dimpled mistress and will join me for lunch. 

Both daughters are settling into their college lives.  Britt was already moved in, so we stuffed two cars and dropped Stephi off in North Carolina.  The move-in went seamlessly....we somehow managed to avoid getting hit by all the couches, 54” tvs, and furniture.  Holy Moly, I didn’t even have a tv in my dorm room, and we hiked through 3 feet of snow each way to use the shared hallway telephone.  I have dorm envy!!! 

Stephi’s room looks great with the tiny tv and her beloved 1D/5 SOS decorum.  Two seconds after it was set up, she was pushing us out the door.  Brad wasn’t quite ready, but I felt pretty confident that she would be begging us to feed her in a day or two.   The next day I received this text :  PLEASE TAKE ME AWAY TO DINNER!!!!  Happy to Oblige!

After feeding her, on our dime, and setting up the all important DVD player, it was time for that long awaited no kids vacation! Wooohooo!  We’ve been dreaming of this day since the first time we stuffed luggage, beach toys, lotion, and diapers into the car. 

Turns out it’s not as easy to shut off the parent brain as we thought.  Even though Brad and I always worked to keep the romance alive during the kiddo years, it feels sooooo weird!

For so long, vacation has been kid-centered ; always thinking a step ahead of the kiddos.    Now I’m free to do my thing, but I just can’t shut down those mommy voices in my head. I fought the lurch forward reflex when the adorable toddler put that shell in her mouth…her mom was on it! That sweet child needs a hat!  I was so proud of that sweet girl who tried and tried, and finally mastered riding the waves.

Will it ever go away? 

My mountain man and I have lots of couple time now, but we know each other so well, we can’t fake it!  Dang!  I know he hates the beach; He knows I love it.  How can I enjoy a day at the beach when I’m worrying about how much Brad hates the beach?

I’m thinkin maybe those little white lies we told when the relationship was new weren’t so bad. 

We look lovingly into one another's eyes and say....

“What do you want to do?” 

“Dunno, what do you want to do?”

“I dunno, hey, we could go to a jazz bar for 21 and over”  I can see the light go on when  he realizes “yes, we can do that” .

So here are a few highlights we shared with our friends and family.....

When wildlife and humans unsuccessfully share playground. = jellyfish sting



Facebook status, day 2:  Pretty proud of myself. Its 1030 and im still awake. I doubt it has anything to do with that nap this afternoon. Yep, kids are out of the house and im a party girl. Sweet dreams all!

 

Hi Girls, guess where we are?
Brittany response- ballpark...btw rockin' the nail polish!
Stephi response:  Oh Mother! lol!

 

My poor attempt at a selfie.....how do you work this thing? Click!

 

And this was just week 1......
until next time.



HUGS!
Sherri

Catnapping

I was sitting outside on my lunch hour admiring the beautiful clouds the other day.  I was pretty impressed because I actually knew their technical name thanks to Brittany’s constant chatter about meteorology.  During our road trip to Oklahoma; I just had to keep asking her the same questions over and over . “Brittany, what kind of clouds are those? Brittany, what are those white fluffy clouds called?”  Apparently, some of it stuck: Cumulus, Stratus, Altostratus....

 

After lunch, I headed home and continued to enjoy the gorgeous day from my refuge spot....the back patio.  This patio is my zen spot with its peaceful fountain; a gift from my girls, flowers blooming all around, and a sleepy Stealth Kitty for company.

I must have drifted into a bit of slumber before I found myself suddenly startled awake when my head and stomach became Stealth Kitty's springboard to get from one perch to another. 

Who, Me?
 

Other than the immediate need to rush to the bathroom since he landed square on my poor "mommy" bladder, there was no physical damage, but mentally I was startled, confused, and irritated. Haven't  we all been here before…just enjoying beautiful moments in life, slumbering along when KERPLUNK, life jumps right on your stomach.  Grrrr!

After telling Stealth kitty what I thought of his decision to shortcut his path via my midsection, I got comfy again as my mind drifted to my "new normal" which just took another turn with Britt leaving home.  I handled it pretty well...I kept telling her how much she’s gonna miss me as we moved her in,  and bless her little heart she kept inviting me to live with her, but I don’t think returning to the college life is where I need to be and I certainly don’t think her teeny room will hold both of us for long.

Besides, back in DC, my middle baby, Stephi is officially a high school senior and has the gorgeous photos to prove it.  I have one more year of chorus, report cards, friends buzzing around the house and then she’ll be on her way too.  I see the signs…she is excited about a college that she thinks is “the one” and I have to admit, it is a gorgeous place.  I’m so happy for her, but the house will be so lonely without her next year.

Isn’t it amazing how life can change even if location remains the same?  When I decided to follow my dreams to Washington DC, there was so much excitement, so much hope.  This time it feels different.  Brad is trying his best to convince me the answer lies in taking up golf.  Maybe....but I think it means road trips to Oklahoma, North Carolina, some mission trips and anywhere else I get a bug to go see.  Brad will be ok with that, as long as there is a golf course.  I’m gonna keep tryin’ to get to that point where the excitement is there again.  It’s closer, I can feel it.

One thing is for sure.  When Stephi moves away, she is taking that crazy stealth kitty with her so I can enjoy some uninterrupted peace.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
― Corrie ten Boom

Hugs,
Sherri