Sunday, January 31, 2010

Tour of Home


Shanti, you can't tell by this picture (cause all the "stuff" was put away) but this is where most of the home schooling occurs:

















See the chair to the left of the fireplace??? That's where I sit when I'm commenting and reading all the fabulous blogs.
































Just from looking around does it appear that I am graffiti artist? FYI: Everything is super tidy in these pics because it was a big clean up weekend. Yes, I realize that I live in a very beige house. At the time I built it I thought I was going to sell it upon completion. Haven't gotten around to adding color to the walls except in J's bedroom. Not so crazy about painting with 14' and 20' ceilings. (high ceilings=bad decision) But I digress.....



Over the years with RAD there has been considerable property destruction. I've rolled with the punches and moved on but not without harboring some resentment. Seriously...I've worked hard for the things I have and most of my furniture was left to me by grandparents, great-aunts and other family members so there is a lot of sentimental value as well. Yet my kids are my kids. Huge difference. So when a little person decorated her desk I decided to "help" her. Insert Christine in my head. She's spinning around, hitting replay every few minutes. I hate that about her. ;) Then I pulled her straight out of this April 10, 2009 post. While J was in the shower I pulled out all my sharpie's and went to town. Her eyes became as big as saucers. No comments though. I think she was speechless. Then the next day she was downstairs cleaning the bathroom and I let my sharpie fly along with some crayons for good measure. Eyes even bigger. Hee. hee. You can't tell from the pics below but it is "decorated" on every single side. Nothing was left untouched.


I honestly cannot tell you how freeing this action was. I was gleeful down to the tips of my toes. Glowing even. A rush that was unbelievable. I am not being facetious or sarcastic in any way, shape or form. I "let go" of the stuff and embraced my kid.

She knows that I take care of things and am very responsible with them, therefore she knows it's a hot button for me. It's usually her first line of defense. I took it out of the equation. AND....I feel better about myself and my kid is healing.
Pretty soon I'm expecting to be decorating walls too. That should be tons of fun. My paint cans are ready and waiting.
Now scroll back up to the top and you'll notice something sneakily suspicious on her desk. :) It appears that her dolls are now using the desk as a bed. With Essie's blanket as their bedspread.
Wonder what that's about? *wink wink*

















I spent last night downloading all of Christine's videos onto my ip*d. Sometimes you just got to take her on the road with you. So now she's a part of my "Rescue Lisa Package" that travels where ever I go.

The S o u thern Living Graffiti Artist.













27 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have a beautiful home! Even the graffiti works :)

C said...

I am so very proud to call you "friend."

Hannah_Rae said...

Way to take it out of the arsenal. :) That is something I would really enjoy doing. :)

The biggest thing that happened here like that was Gabe purposely wasting a gallon of paint to paint his room improperly. In his words he was in a "I don't care stage."

You are such a great mama!

Blessings!

Hannah

The Accidental Mommy said...

HA HA, I love you even when you write on furniture, that's awesome! I can't believe how clean your house is. I don't think my house was ever that clean. EVER. Not even ONE room. Not even before we owned it.

So I totally don't get the significance of the animals on the desk....? Are you pregnant or something like that?

Kelly said...

Pretty house!! Love the big open kitchen!

Marty Walden said...

Your home is beautiful and so are you! A mama to healing kids. I guess I need to get me an Ipod one of these days, when money starts flowing like water. lol.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, looking at your pics I was wondering where all the property damage was. My Older Kid has thankfully kept the damage to his own room of late. But, I would never ever be brave enough to post a picture of his room. Never. Ever. :)

Lee said...

You are amazing. Property destruction is one thing I have a hard time with. I too have lots of family heirlooms and unlike you I go ballistic if they are intentionally damaged! Sigh.

GB's Mom said...

What a wonderful idea! A way to let go of resentment and carry the lightness around with you. Thumbs up!

Kerrie said...

Wow. I am sooooo impressed. That would be very hard for me to do, and I have almost no sense of style.

~Dinah said...

Very southern and antique-filled! Thanks for sharing! I love your take on the grafitti. :)

Annie said...

Ilya did some destruction of the attic walls when he first got here; fortunately they need re-doing. When he threw a rock on my antique mirror, though, that nearly broke my heart, and when he threw my little stool out the back door and it shattered on the patio, I wept (I used to sit on that stool in my dad's workshop; it had so much meaning for me). But, it turns out that Ilya believes all antique things are "junk" (well, maybe not the ones YOU have - they are lovely - but some of the ones I have that are more "rustic".)

He is over that anger he had at the beginning (thank heaven) and I think he understands that mom LIKES the things he believes need to be replaced. So, with him, anyway, it's coming together.

stellarparenting.com said...

my house is never that clean...
yeah for you for writing on her desk, that was a good choice! lol

Dia por Dia said...

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
So nice to see that sometimes I can think like you do. I will post a picture of daughter's work desk when I get a chance! (She keeps it covered with papers!)

Love the pictures of your home!

The Accidental Mommy said...

Did I mention how beautiful your house is? I love the dark wood furniture with the light yellow/green flowy curtains. Gorgeous.

Also, Teena and Genea have those cute flowers with the faces on them too. I wrapped them around their bed set. Actually I think right now they are under the bed, but whatever.

Shanti said...

Love the pics! Thanks for showing me your "school room." =) We've been using the kitchen counter and kitchen table, and so far it's working fine.
Oh, and I LOVE your graffiti work. I think we would tooootallly get along in "real" life. =)

BT said...

Yes, the destruction of our stuff is hard. It is even hard for me when P destroys one of his own things -- because, dangit, I paid for it. It is such a troublesome attitude for me to conquer both the righteousness and the emphasis on things ahead of people/feelings. So hard. You did good with that desk!

Diana said...

You rock, girlfriend! Love the house, love the graffiti! Keep up the good work!

Lauri said...

beautiful

Jessica Lynn said...

We did that once with my kiddo, me and the other kids colored her entire bedroom walls. It was so much fun, super pretty, and took her power out of frustrating me by writing on the walls.

Deborah said...

That is such a beautiful house!

obladi oblada said...

Lovely home! Graffiti and all. I love seeing where the bloggers live and do their blogging!

shastastevens said...

Your home is beautiful! I left you an award on my blog. :)

stellarparenting.com said...

more sunshine from me on my blog cause I thought you could use extra - go see.

Mom 4 Kids said...

I sent you some Sunshine too (cause you Rock!), come by my blog and pick up your award! Hugs!

Unknown said...

Award from me too!

http://crazymamakate.blogspot.com

BT said...

Hey Lisa. Just checking in to wish you well. I wanted you to know that I am thinking of you, J, and SK, and I am hoping you are doing okay.