Teenage Mom

It's official, I'm a teenage mom.... a mom to a teen that is.

Rylee turned 13 on Sunday!

My friend Krissi, Abree and I went to Rylee's school and decorated her locker Thursday afternoon, so she could see it Friday morning. (I forgot to take a picture, darn.) Then on Friday, while she was at school, we worked on this little project...

a bedroom for Rylee.

Rylee has been wanting her own room for several years now, but we've never had enough space to give her one. Even in our new house we only have 3 bedrooms-- the girl's room, Treyson's room and the master bedroom for Jason and I. (We actually do have another room that we call "the office". It has our piano in it and is used for craft storage and guests when they come.)

As I thought about a room possibility for Rylee, I started thinking about the unused space at the top of our stairs, sort of a huge landing area. I don't know what it's intended use is, but we used it for our computer at one time. Recently, we've moved the computer downstairs into the nook by our kitchen, so the space has just been sitting there mostly empty.

I pondered how I could divide the space, for a little privacy. At first, we thought of buying some type of divider, maybe like an office cubical. That seemed like an expensive, too-much-to-figure-out solution. Then I came up with the idea of a temporary wardrobe closet thingy. I had one that I used to store Halloween costumes in for re-sale, so I it gave me a good idea of how big it would be and how it would divide the space. I thought it would be a good solution. I bought a new one for her room, because my costume one was FULL.

After wrestling with the wardrobe thingy and bending back and cracking my big toenail in half on the bed frame (OUCH!), I finally got the room set up. I decorated with new bedding, painted canvas', polka dots and a great vinyl phrase; "Cinderella.... proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life." (Rylee is a BIG time shoe freak! A perfect saying for her.)

When she got home from school we waited and waited for her to discover it. Finally, we told Abree to take Rylee upstairs to help her with something in her room (she was sworn to secrecy and wasn't supposed to say anything). Rylee said that as she walked up the stairs she saw the wardrobe thingy first and thought that I had created a little craft corner for myself. As she walked around it and looked in, she saw the bed, decorations and note that said, "Happy Birthday Rylee!" We heard her gasp and squeal, "Oh...oh...I LOVE IT!... I can't believe it!... I LOVE it sooooo much Mom!.. Thank you!... Thank you!... I LOVE it!" Such a fun, big reaction... so funny, so dramatically teenager-ish. :)

The room is a work in progress. I couldn't get everything done in that one afternoon. So Rylee and I will work together to complete it and get it looking ultra cute. There may be more photos to come, as it takes shape.

On Sunday, her actual birthday, we celebrated in the normal way.... gifts and cake. Rylee's bedroom was her main gift, but she did open a few others; Wii "Pop Star", Michael Jackson's "One" cd, "Princess Diaries", fuzzy socks, a basketball and Colgate Wisps (she's been wanting some of these for months. Don't ask me why???).
We had yummy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting instead of a normal cake. We also did a sparkler star "candle". Lots of smoke, but really fun and different.

Happy Birthday Rylee!!!

We LOVE you!