Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I was askin' for it.

Do I even need to tell you again that I've been painting here at home?



painting with my head in the clouds
Hubby felt it necessary to capture another project in progress.
Thanks hon!

The good news is that we no longer have to move so quickly. The union my Hubby now belongs to revised their requirements for residency, so we no longer have an "end date" by which we have to move.

But we're ready. Ready to start the "fun part" - ready to be on to the next headache, the next stress. Ready to stop worrying about this house and start looking at new ones already.

I'm finding it hard to keep myself motivated. As soon as I have one project done, another jumps in its place, shouting, "ME NEXT! ME NEXT!"

Shut up, project.

So I take advantage of motivation whenever it strikes. This past Thursday afternoon I came home from work. (Translation: I had been out of the house, no one shouting "MOOOM!" at for more than eight hours. You can get drunk off that sort of respite.)

"Hey Nick! Wanna help Momma paint?"

He'd been begging for weeks to be allowed to paint something. Half of the porch floor needed painting, and I thought, "Eh...simple enough, right?"

Honestly? He was pretty damn good about it!


happy painter

I gave him the roller loaded with paint and he rolled away happily (mostly in the same spot over and over again) while I cut in around the edges. That being done, I'd drew a little square for him.

"Here - you fill in that square for Momma."

"OK!"

And he did.

We worked this way until a good portion of the floor was covered. Every so often I'd stop, load up the roller with more paint and draw another square. The space was narrow so I was very specific about where he should stand and in which direction he should "roll".

He didn't care. He was happy to be helping and he was doing a really good job. His squares needed to be touched up a bit in the end, but he was listening well and we were talking about the letter of the week at preschool.

Now, I must tell you that before starting this project I told him that if he got paint on hands he couldn't cry. I told him it'd wash off, it was part of being a painter.

When he first rolled paint over his toes (and hand-me-down play shoes) he didn't freak out. Just, "Uh oh, Mom! Paint! On my toes!"

Oh thank God. I was beginning to worry about his boy-ness.

The second time? He laughed.

I was happy to see paint on his hands and that he paid no attention to it.

Finally, we got to the section just in front of the door, and he started yelling for his Daddy to "Come see! Come see!" I told him to finish up his square, and that I'd go get Daddy.

We almost peed ourselves laughing when we came back out to this:

sad painter

Is that bad?

14 comments:

Blessed Nest said...

team work...glad you don't have to move so quickly!

Poof said...

I smiled when I read your rule: You can't cry if you get paint on yourself. That's kind of the opposite problem most moms have with letting kids paint.

Kati said...

Haha! That is too funny. the things kids do!

Amy said...

That is hilarious!! How could you not laugh!

NicEmMOM said...

Love it!

Anonymous said...

I'm laughing too--you are a great mom to let him help!

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

LOL! Awesome! I need to remember that rule when the kids help me do things.

Marni's Organized Mess said...

That's too funny girl!

Jenni said...

Oh that is funny! Did he try to sniff his roller?

Roger Miller said...

That's too funny. What was your rule about paint on the face? Poor kid looks like he is ready to scream bloody murder.

Did you tell him that it made his teeth look really white?

Kat said...

Oh my!! I would have soooo laughed at that as well. Poor guy! ha ha

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

Ha!

But I can't tell if he was laughing or crying (or a little of both). Is THAT bad? :)

Wineplz said...

oh holy crap is that funny!!!!

I'm kind of glad that I'm not the only parent that has to enact the "do not cry" rule on her son. I mean, I'd rather neither of us needed to, but I guess it's better than the alternatives of "quit eating the paint" or "quit painting your brother".

Kim H. said...

Okay, I'm sorry but I totally laughed. Poor little dee-dee though -- but how exactly did that happen. Too much pull back on the roller. Has he been working out?

And I love that you photographed it. You're my hero!