life is interesting

Life is very interesting. As you're driving, do you ever wonder what's happening in the life of the person in the car next to you? Or in the house you're driving by? As I'm running errands, enjoying the park, out on a walk, etc. I often have these thoughts. Life is made up of so many little moments. My life has many little happy moments, lots of seemingly ordinary moments, and a few very sad ones. I can't help but wonder what kind of moments make up the lives of those I cross paths with everyday.

Just a thought.

So our recent moments are taking place in a pigsty. Really. Our house is a disaster. And you know what, I'm okay with that. For now. I've come a long way. I know some of you are probably thinking "Ya, right. Jenny is an anal freak who never has a dirty house." So here, I'll prove it to you.....

This picture doesn't even nearly do our dirty house justice. To really get the point across, I'd have to take a picture of every room, and I don't have the time for that today. So you're just going to have to trust me - there are piles of dirty diapers, mounds of dirty clothes, dirty toilets (very gross), a very dirty wood floor (I vow to never have a dark wood floor of my own. Ever. Never again. Please remind me of this later in life.), toys everywhere, books all over my floors, etc.

However, there is one exception. There is one room that is absolutely spotless. No dust. No cobwebs. No dirt. The linens are clean. The blinds are sparkling. The closet is organized. You could eat off of the furniture.

Now only if it would stay that way.

I wish I could say it was my room that was the sanctuary. No, it's the boys' room. All because one 13 month old little guy woke up from a nap and then in the middle of the night this week with hives all over his legs. This picture was taken at the very early stages of the onslaught, and it's all I've got. I couldn't bring myself to photographing a sleepy, screaming boy at 11pm when his legs were at their worst.

I have no idea what caused the outbreak (just like I still have no idea where he got the chicken pox!) - and the nurse tells me I'll probably never know. She also told me that I shouldn't bother cleaning because the list of possible causes is endless. I'm okay with that answer (or rather, no answer), but Ryder always has to have a reason for everything - so I told him a spider bit Cannon and made him sick. And that's all Ryder could talk about that day.

Anyway, the symptoms set in only once Cannon was sleeping in his bed. So - I ripped the room apart and cleaned every single nook and cranny in that few square feet of space.

And it felt good. Cannon has been hives-free now for two days. Yay!

In the process of cleaning their room, I switched their beds around and did some more brainstorming. And I still need your help. I'm begging here, okay. So please don't let me down.

What kind of adequate lighting do you put in a kids' bedroom that has no overhead wiring and you don't want a floor lamp for safety reasons? That measly little lamp there is going to do me no good once daylight savings hits and we're living in the dark at 4:30pm.

What color should I paint these walls? And what should I do with that huge blank canvas above Ryder's bed. That's a big space.

And what kind of curtains should I hang? On what kind of rod? There are too many choices out there! And with our high ceilings, I need a curtain at least 104 in. in length for it to reach the floor.

And when it comes to paint, should I pick one solid color?

Should I do smaller vertical stripes towards the top?

Should I do large, thick horizontal stripes?

I kind of like the stripe idea, but with this tiered ceiling (see pic below) I'm worried the stripes won't flow.... with horizontal stripes making the room feel so much smaller and vertical stripes giving me a headache with all of the directional change of that one wall above the crib.

So, I would appreciate your help. Please give me some ideas. Post some links. Guide me. I'm looking for something traditional - not too modern or funky. Something classy and baby-ish. I know I have a three year old who is obsessed with Lightning McQueen and using words like "hypothesis," but he still is only three. Barely three. He still is a baby to me. And I'm not ready to give that up.