[GardenOfDarwin]

Hi 831Coastie! Glad to see you made it to the forums - I remember the difficult time we had registering you.

Erik, your story about the Poliform to IKEA transition sounds like a good one for the Why IKEA? forum -- it'd be great if you could retell it there, and tell some of the details of what you wanted and what you're getting...when you get a chance, of course. And when you get a free minute, take a look at minmin's kitchen -- she used IKEA AND Leicht that she bought on Craigslist -- they look fabulous together. You'll find her story in the Progress Blogs forum.

Anyway, welcome to the forums!

Susan

[PhilandRob]

First I posted; now I'm introducing myself. That's me in a nutshell -- direct and goal-oriented! My other half, husband Phil, is laid back with never a sense of urgency. It should come as no surprise that I am the breadwinner in the family, and Phil is a SAHD to our six children. Yes, that is 6.

We moved to Southern CA from Ohio with three children who were then 4, 3, and six weeks old. We moved ourselves during Christmas week. That will be 10 years ago during this Christmas week.

We added three more children to the pack, and decided to stop when I was feeling poorly and had a difficult pregnancy and delivery with #6. Now the children are 14 g, 13 g, almost 10 g, 8 1/2 b, 5 3/4 b, and 4 1/2g. This is the first year they are all in school; tuition (Catholic school for all) hits pretty hard every month. IKEA is all we can afford around here!

We still have the four youngest sharing the largest bedroom, but we are trying to change that as rapidly as possible. Within the next few weeks, our master bedroom, closet, and bath should be ready, and then the boys will move into the small bedroom. The four girls will be trading rooms, so that every child gets a new room. Of course, the two oldest want the dark blue walls (Phil gets to paint), the two other girls want the burgundy (more Daddy-do), and the boys want the hunter green (Daddy's arms are gonna' hurt). Poor Phil! Phil has already painted our new closet, and has installed the organizers for his side, but I am reconsidering my side since not everything I want is available through IKEA. With the house under renovation, it is hard to envision much of anything anymore. The mess is overwhelming at times, but we keep talking about how nice the changes will be. Our next task is to purchase a Murphy-style bed for the master bedroom, as during the day, it will still function as the den. We have found what we want to order from a company, but we are kind of frozen until the master bath is done. That has been fraught with problems, but things are starting to advance now.

Anyway, you now know more than you ever wanted to know about me! Life is always exciting around here. The Toastmasters club that I belong to always solicits me to do speeches about my family and home -- they all find the stories funny, and have said that I should write a book. It would be non-fiction, if I did; every detail is true (sad to say
~Robin

[Shouva]

Robin,

Youmay find that your 14 and 13 year old girlswould probably LOVE to be able to paint their room themselves. Grab the blue tape for masking, and all the other painting paraphanalia and witha few minutes of demonstration of techniques plus somesupervising from Dad they can be on their way. Who knows, they may like painting so much you may even get them to paint the other rooms. Save Dad's arm and enstill your daughters with all kinds of good things: sense of accoplishment, pride in their room, gaining a skill they can always use later etc.

Of course, make sure they dress in clothes that cannot be handed down to their younger sisters. If there is sibling rivalry have then work on different parts of the job or on different walls. Hey, having the girls paint may end up as an interesting chapter in your forthcoming book.

I have a neighbor who started helping me do work around my house when he was 13. Now at 14 he has helpedinstall closet organizers, put together Pax and other cabinets, paint, etc. His friends have come over and he has proudly shown off his handiwork. They go, "Wow, you did this?"Boy, you can just see him grow 3 inches each time.

God bless your dedication to giving your kids a Catholic School education. I am a product of Catholic schools as are both of my children. It's a sacrifice, but well worth it.

If you need any help with your bathroom problems just ask here. Even if you are not using Ikea cabinets I'm sure you will get help. Members here are great.

Shouva

[Liz H]

Hi Robin, nice to meet you!

Shouva has a great point about having the kids paint. My sister and I were a year younger than your 2 oldest when we painted our rooms. I did go on to paint the kitchen a few years later. My only "pay" for the job was that I got to pick the color. You may want to negotiate a different agreement with yours!

[GardenOfDarwin]

Hi Robin! Welcome to the forums! I'm going to merge your thread into the 1000+ members thread, so that everyone can "meet" you! Welcome to the gang!

Susan

[GardenOfDarwin]

Hi DJ! I didn't see your post! I'm going to merge your thread with the 1000+ members thread so that it doesn't get lost. Welcome to the group! We look forward to following your progress, and we'd love to see pictures!

Susan

[GardenOfDarwin]

Hi Jackie! Moving this thread to the 1000+ members thread so that other folks don't miss it! How are things coming along?

Susan