Kid's Living Room

Perhaps this sounds a little weird but I banished the children from the living room.  I was craving a space that stayed lovely without the constant reminders to put away toys, jackets, pencils and other school supplies away, to straighten out the carpet, or put the pillows back where they go...things that I do with all other rooms in the house.  I wanted to walk into a room and have everything in its place, all the time, so I could enjoy the room and not get distracted by the clutter.  With a remodel, comes mess all.the.time.  I am loving just going into the living room with my tea or a coffee and just admiring the art on the walls and the way the room is put together.  Even if I don't have time to sit and enjoy, I can take a minute or two break to just be in a place of physical peace.  That feels good to my soul.

With the narrowness of the living groom which transitions to the oversized dining area, we are left with a large entry way space that is not very user friendly.  There is the door to the outside on the East, the stairwell on the West, living room (divided by the back of a couch) on the North, and a table on the South.  The space is big enough to be a room all by itself but it is too open to be a formal room.  I have pondered what to do with this space for quite sometime.  We had originally planned on a big cupboard area coming out to the left of the door to make a formal divider and an extra kitchen storage but since Phil wanted to make that piece, we needed something in the meantime.  So...I pondered for weeks, trying to formulate a plan.  I finally came up with a workable solution.  The narrow bookshelf that we actually got for another space (and we forgot about the light switch so it was too tall), worked in that space (books on it to come), the little purple shelf works just right behind the couch (I will find a short buffet to go there eventually).  I chose a brightly colored braided rug.  And then I came up with a furniture solution; a beanbag.  The highest end bean bags are a brand called Lovesac.  I looked online and the cheapest version would be 600 dollars.  We were not about to pay that much so I decided to look on Craigslist and found someone selling one for 250.  Still a little steep but we decided to take a look.  Her mother had been a seller at vendor markets and had a floor model left.  (Supposedly John Stamos sat in it.  We had to look him up since we aren't on the up and up of Hollywood to dos.)  I asked if she was willing to take less and she suggested 150.00.  Sold!  Since we got it, it has been the most used piece of furniture in the house.  The children take turns doing school on it and Phil has enjoyed doing computer work (and sleeping) on it.  

When Phil forgets to take out the garbage, I send him pictures to "help" him feel guilty.

In other news, Brighton is reading!!!  Now, this may not seem like a big deal for typical learners but for a profoundly dyslexic child, this is HUGE.  After 1 year of doing Barton level 1 (typically covered in one week for most dyslexics), I decided that we needed to move on.  I have worked on regular phonics but alphabet learning has proven to be very difficult (like it was for Sawyer and Evi).  We have concentrated on the first lesson of Barton, level 2.  And Brighton has learned 6 consonants and a vowel.  He is now able to sound out and read words using these 7 letters (sounding out carefully but READING).  This is exciting!!!  This is amazing!!!  

A teacher from Phil's work, after observing B, asked if he is ADHD (oh dear, strangers can tell).  She was asking because she wanted to be an encouragement to us since she has an ADHD son.  Phil shared that all the classes of medications that we have tried to help B have not worked.  She was so understanding.  It is nice to find camaraderie, especially when "mom" is the "drug" (I sit or stand next to him, I run my finger through his hair which calms him, I reign him in, help him to focus, help him with impulse control).  

On a night when I was too tired to think but needed an outlet, I started this Petri dish project.  I took the scrap wool from my felt paintings that I had actually planned to toss and needle felted it on this piece of muslin.  Then I crocheted some moldy medallions.  It is nice to find a project that I can do even when my creative energy is gone.