Saturday, January 19, 2008

The Brother Club


Well, as you can see, this sign hasn't made it to the wall yet, but I thought I'd share the upstairs with you. Upstairs truly is "the brother club". We built the upstairs over the garage so we don't hear all the stomping and craziness. So far, it has been GREAT! The other night we had 9 total children (8 boys, 1 girl) over. They all went upstairs and we didn't see or hear them almost all night. The adults had a great time downstairs too. Here is a picture of the children's den. This room has the playstation, wii and all the "cool" electronic stuff. It's a great movie room for the whole family because it has surround sound. You should hear the playstation with surround sound! It's a hoot!

The only thing breakable in the entire upstairs is the TV, and if they break that - they're dead!

Before we moved in, I decided that my cleaning lady was not going to clean up after my boys. They would have to do that themselves. My motto seems to be: "To whom much is given, much is required". For two weeks now, each boy has been responsible for cleaning and vacuuming his own room, cleaning his own sink, and cleaning a toilet and shower. If they finish their chores correctly and with a good attitude, they get $5 for the week. So far, things have been working out great! I had to teach each of them how to do these chores, and I have been surprisingly patient as they learn. They have been surprisingly eager to learn. They actually seem to like it! Here is a picture of Cade vacuuming his room. He has the built in bunk beds that I showed you earlier (they are still not painted).

You can see his perfectly made bed in the background.
Here is a picture of Cade and Braden's bathroom. They have the huge "locker room" complete with urinal and the LSU shower.


Here is Bryce. He is finally unpacking his last box. I told him he wouldn't get his full allowance if he didn't get it done.

Bryce has a VERY cool feature in his room.

I don't know if you can see or not, but there is a set of stairs to the right of the bookcase. What do the stairs go to? Well, this is the best picture I could get:

We call it the "secret room". It is everyone's favorite place, and the envy of every child who comes over. It is only about 6ft by 8ft, but Bryce loves to go up there and read or play legos.
And here is Bryce's bathroom:

The last room is Braden's. Braden has the big view of the golf course, and the best closet. You can only see his back because he didn't want to be in the picture.

Braden just said to me "It feels good when everything is clean and picked up". Yea!! It's a good mommy day!!

Hope you're having a good weekend. It is rainy and COLD here, so we aren't doing much. My mom is making some soup, so we're going to head that way in a little while. Have a great day!

16 comments:

Glinda said...

Spectacular! I love all of the carefully-thought out details; so special for them!

I love that you are teaching your children what will one day make them the most sought after of potential husbands.

Your daughters-in-law will thank you; I married a well-educated one myself, so I know these are priceless lessons.

Good for you!

cougchick said...

Love the secret room and the urinal.

Nancy said...

Can I come live with you. I won't take up much space?

Kim said...

Your house is sooo pretty..
Love the boys room..
Have you started on your little pink room yet????(or purple or etc.)..
Glad things are all getting put away..
Love the boys bathroom..
Have a Great Weekend..

Leslie said...

Oh what beautiful rooms for your boys, I love the bathroom with the urinal! I love that they are taking such pride in their special spaces.

Mission To Macie said...

very cool! your house is awesome!

Sheri said...

These are great rooms! Your boys are obviously very proud of their rooms. What cool details you've added like the den for them, the "secret room," and my favorite--the urinal. Only of mom of 3 boys would really appreciate that one! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

sheryl said...

Jennifer,

The details of your home are just amazing! It's so nice to hear that the boys are helping and doing their chores. Can you come work some magic on my tween & teen? No luck in that department here!

I have to say though, the urinal cracked me up! ;)

Sheryl

mommy24treasures said...

love it, I know it feels good to finally get the last boxes unpacked.

Dawn said...

LOVE the urinal!! I have always said I would do that if we ever built our own home!! The boys rooms look great, you are training them well :)

Courtney said...

The urinal cracks me up! Great idea to get the kids to clean up after themselves. You future daughters-in-law will love you for it! My husband is one of 4 boys, and lets just say, they could have used your guidance growing up. The house looks great!

Christy said...

We have the same little pool table-- cute! I totally love their rooms. I love the little loft thing up the stairs. That is really cool and what a cool place to get away from his brothers and soon sister. I have told you before but love the built in bunks and the urinal in the bathroom is way too cool!! I like that you make them clean up their stuff. We have been making our boys do the same thing. They are getting older and can so I have been really pushing them to clean their own room and pick up their stuff.

THanks for the cool tour.

Christy :)

insanemommy said...

Jen, the house looks great! Hard to believe you have only been in a couple of weeks. Didn't you move in before Christmas?! I've got to come visit....inviting self with kids, hubby and dog....

Deb said...

What a fun space for the boys! Love all of your special features too....the bookselves, the bunks, the LSU bath....and you are right....only a mom to 3 boys would think of the urinal!

I am sure that you are loving your entire new house!

3 Peanuts said...

I love that the boys are responsible for their own cleaning. I am teaching the same lesons to my boys but I think we are in the minority:)

Kim

Steffie B. said...

OMW.....I can't belive you have a urinal.....that totally cracked me up!

Every thing looks grand!

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