Decorating...here we go again!

Ok, this time it's not about holiday decorating. It's about your kids' rooms--when they get to that certain age and realize they can vocalize their feelings on how they'd like their rooms to look.

My daughter is at that age. Unfortunately for her, we moved into our house just prior to having the twins--so, of course, our focus was on the twins' nursery-to-be. I didn't go all out as I wasn't really sure anyway what to do for a room that would have not one, but two babies. But I did at least paint the room. A nice cheerful shade of blue--not pastel (too traditional baby)...not navy (too "wait-till-they're-7")--but a nice shade none the less. And it looked lovely--at least for the time being until the boys actually came and actually grew and actually became boys who were actually quite rambunctious and actually broke things. But I digress.

The key is, it looked nice. My daughter, being no fool, immediately saw the contrast between the boys' room and her white-walled boudoir. This translated immediately into a cry for a yellow room. I'm pretty quick on my feet so I tried to explain to her that her room was not white, but "a whiter shade of pale" (with a nod to Procol Harum) and that she should appreciate the blissful dichotomy of its subtle yet overbearing nature. Alas she is no fool. She said, "Mom!" (which somehow became a two-syllable word) "it's WHITE! Can't you see?" It was not the first time I had no comeback for her.

Somehow fortune was on my side a mere few weeks after this discussion as I sauntered down an aisle at a "Dollar Store". I was searching for party decorations upon the advice of several other mothers and, as luck would have it, there in front of my eyes was a knock-off version of Wallies! In many design options! My mind started racing. Most options were "country"-style borders (not my taste at all) or the usual seashells, herbs, abc's in pastels...you get the picture. But tucked in the middle of the display was a wonderful set of colorful gerberas and an alphabet set to match! Again, I note, this was in the DOLLAR STORE--so you know how much these self-stick, removable wall decals cost! I snatched them up (almost every last one of them), bought them all (sans any party crap), and raced home.

When my daughter returned home from school I surprised her and she was beside herself with glee. I helped her come up with words or phrases to spell out on her walls--like "reading spot" for where she keeps some of her books or "take a snooze" by her bed (see pics). And we randomly put the gerberas on the walls, too. She loved it.

The best part? I loved it. Simple. Cheap. No need to paint. A lot of happiness for basically zero effort. And if we move or paint or...? They peel right off.