Musical Rooms

It certainly has been awhile.  Granted, I have been very busy.  Gardening season is always a busy time for me and building a chicken coop/enclosure while gardening has taught me a whole new meaning of the words busy and tired.  More on chickens very soon.   But the real reason I have been so absent from the computer world is that very sadly my computer died.  I kept hoping M could fix it but it is gone.  So I am now having to share a computer with M and J and also having to learn how to use a new computer.  The latter is coming fairly easy, learning to adjust to the first, not so much. 

On to the subject of this post.

What happens when a family of four decides to play musical rooms?  Meme comes to visit to help clear out the ensuing chaos.
 
A brief explanation.  Rae and Nate have a a 2 story house with two bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs.    The master bedroom is downstairs and not very close to the stairs which like most houses are right by the front door.   Before the Little Guy was born and the Girlies were smaller they shared the big bedroom upstairs and Rae and Nate used the small one.  Then they moved to Tennessee and Fletcher was born.

Then they moved back to Alabama.  (Thank you God, Amen.)  At first  Fletcher had the small bedroom upstairs and the Rae and Nate used the a bit distant master bedroom.  To be honest this made all of us a bit uncomfortable including the overly protective Meme and Papa that imagined someone breaking into the front door and creeping up the stairs to steal children while Mama and Daddy slept totally oblivious to everything   So, Fletcher aka the Little Guy's crib was moved into his sisters' room and it became the kid's room.  While Rae and Nate moved back up to the little bedroom.  And by the way the Girlies' room is a pretty big room so it wasn't a big deal to have the crib in there.

The master bedroom became a den/toy room and the other downstairs bedroom was the craft room/office.  This worked quite well for all concerned.  Including the overly protective Meme and Papa that imagined a fire breaking out on the stairs with 4 precious grandchildren upstairs while Mama and Daddy slept totally oblivious to everything.   And by the way Rae is a mother that checks her children during the night.  Maybe even more than once.  So this should tell you just how over protective the Meme and Papa are.  Or maybe just over imaginative because I could offer you several more 'while Mama and Daddy slept totally oblivious to everything' scenarios.

Anyway back to the not so brief explanation.  Time has a way of passing and a few weeks ago our Little Guy gave up his crib.  A Little Guy who is really not so little but is actually a kind of big little boy that likes to run things over with bulldozers or dump trucks or be a super hero that makes funny faces.

The not so Little Guy  turned loose into all of the stuff in a mainly girlie room just wasn't working anymore.   Just think of a 2 and 1/2 year old bulldozer or Hulk crashing through pink lego houses and landscapes.  And imagine the shrieks of a small girl that accompanies this horror.  Times 3.  

To end this lengthy brief explanation, a game of musical rooms began.  In stages. Stage one - the craft room/office(small downstairs bedroom) was packed up and Fletcher's big boy bed and other big boy stuff was moved in to that now empty small bedroom.  Stage 2 - the den/toy room but really master bedroom was emptied with  some stuff  going to the new big boy room and the rest going upstairs.  Stage 3 - Rae and Nate moved back into the master bedroom thus emptying the small upstairs bedroom.  Stage 4 - the packed up craft room is moved into that empty small upstairs bedroom while the office is being set up in the loft upstairs.  Oh, I didn't mention they had a loft.  They have a loft.....the empty chair.  As I said, Musical Rooms.  Does that date me?  Does anyone even know what Musical Chairs is anymore?   
 
So last week  I again went for a visit with my Girlies and my Little Guy.  I had not seen them for a couple of weeks and was really missing them but the main purpose of the visit was to help their mama get some of the stuff from the Musical Rooms game done.  We went to work on the Girlies' room, purging toys, clothes and other stuff that girls seem to accumulate.  They have a set of bunkbeds and a single bed in one end of the room.  That leaves plenty of space for the toys from the playroom but it had to be organized and a spot found for everything!   The older girls had accumulated art and stuff for their walls over several years and several moves.  Each of them decorated their own corner above their bed to suit their own taste.

Evelyn Grace's top bunk corner is purely Evie G.  Horses. 

And more horses of courses.  (Oh my, shades of my father.)

Did you notice the beautiful horse above her head.  Here is a close up shot.

Isn't it gorgeous?  This awesome horse was made by my cousin Cheri for a project at the library where she works or worked.  Still not sure on that.  She kept thinking of my Evie when she saw it so she sent it to her.  Cheri, she LOVES it.  I kept meaning to sit down and write you a note but chickens and gardens have consumed me for the past weeks.  Then Evie and I were going to do it last week and in all the cleaning and purging chaos it got forgotten.  But, your beautiful horse is very much admired and loved.  And the thoughtfulness of you doing it brought tears to my eyes when I opened it and read your letter. A VERY belated but very heart felt Thank YOU from me to you and also from my Evie Grace!

Don't you love that glittery smile on that girl?  Here is a selfie that shows the glitter even better.
 

This photo was a wonderful surprise that I found on my camera after I got home.  Of course this Girlie is real good at leaving Surprises for me on my camera.
 
Meredith Rose's corner above the single bed is pure Rosie.  Our girl that loves all things sparkly, glittery and starry!

 

She arranged her wall grouping all by herself.  She did an awesome job.  The glittery, painted star with the black frame is a Rosie piece that she painted and glittered a few years ago.  I still love it!

Rae made their pelmets/cornices just like I did the window treatment in my sewing room.  They are awesome!

  

Rosiebear was made by Grandma and was in Rae's crib.  She now has a new home next to the Rosie ruffled pillow that has been around for quite some time.  This is all just so Rosie!

Did you notice that each had a book "trough" made from a rain gutter just above their bed.  Works fantastic!


I guess Little Girlie had just gotten lost in being sister number 3.  She had nothing for her walls!  So we fixed that while I was there.

Our Juliana Kate's (aka Juju, aka Jules) cozy spot in the lower bunk.  The letters for her name are covered in white glitter but they are going to get some color added to them when there is time.

Her mama found the glory sign and I made the morning out of a wrapped wire that was bought for her baby room.  Rae and I really like the way it turned out but Jules LOVED it!

It was a cozy space before but little bit dark and a bit empty.  So we hung her a light and decorated her walls like she wanted them and now it is bright and happy.  But still cozy!  She got a little step stool night stand and a couple of baskets under the end of Rosie's bed to hold her books and other Girlie stuff.

Aren't their quilts awesome!

The Little Guy's room is pretty awesome too.  We moved his big boy bed in a couple of weeks ago during stage 1.  The first time I went up to help.  Fletcher LOVES bulldozers.  And diggers.  And dump trucks.  Rae found him sheets that have them all!

 We really got a good start on it during my first visit.  He loved it!

 But the toy room had not been emptied and he had lots of empty spots!

 So this time I spent some time organizing the toys into  his empty storage areas.  Rae changed the curtains because the striped ones  hung to the floor by rings and kept getting pulled down during play and they also let in a lot of light during nap time.  So she found sill length room darkening curtains with grommet tops! 

  
The bird banner and the mobile on the door were from his baby room.  Rae made them both.  Fletcher's great grandmother would have loved this!

 
Now on to the craft room!

Just to share.  Here are a couple of more surprise shots from my camera.  Mark and Josh went up with me on the Sunday before J's birthday.  Evie captured some of the day without my even knowing it.

I have no idea what I was doing.  I do however know what Papa is doing in the next one.

Hurting his back.   And this last one I did know about.  We were eating red, white and blue trifle on Happy Birthday plates!