UNCONTROLLABLE ROLLERCOASTER
The past few years, it has felt like our family has been on an uncontrollable rollercoaster ride at an amusement park we never bought tickets for. This ride has had no safety nets and no safety bars along the way. We have had to grit our teeth through it, closing our eyes at times, while simply hoping for the best.
This ride has been rather difficult for me to be on most days simply because of the control factor, or lack thereof. I am a pretty typical “Type A” personality. I like control. I like feeling in control. I like knowing what comes next. And most of all, I love a good solid plan. In the life of a parent of a child with EoE, planning goes out the door. Control isn’t even in the equation. And that alone, for me anyway, has made this journey incredibly hard at times.
LATE PINTEREST BLOOMER
Last fall, I discovered the wonderful world of Pinterest. I know, I know. I was late to the Pinterest party, but once I arrived, I couldn’t stop! I found the website to be amazing and addictive. All of these really creative ideas for just about everything sucked me into the Pinterest void. The first few weeks of my discovery I found myself absorbed in the wonderful world of creating boards and pinning. I easily spent a few hours on the site every evening. Obsess much? Ummm, yes. I admit it. At around that time, I decided I really did not enjoy any of my current home décor. Our house needed a facelift and Pinterest was exactly what the doctor ordered. Soon, there were projects, projects everywhere much to the chagrin of my husband.
TAKING BACK CONTROL… OVER SOMETHING
You see, Pinterest allowed me to experience something I hadn’t had in a long time. In essence, Pinterest helped me get my groove back. And by groove, I mean control. Sometimes I have a hard time being creative, but I have no problems with seeing something I like, “borrowing” the idea, and making it even better. Shameless, I know. But that is why Pinterest is so brilliant -- all of these creative ideas that I can mix and match to make my very own. Genius.
At a time when my son’s health seemed to be spiraling out of control and my work-life balance seemed completely out of whack, I found a way to get some control back into my life. Thank you, Pinterest. You’re a life-saver. The house projects were a wonderful distraction to help me find some sense of normalcy. I feel like a home should reflect its homeowners’ style and personality and through Pinterest projects, that’s just what I intended to do.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FIND
Once I found, ahem, several projects that I wanted to create for our home, it became all about “The Find”. That involved several visits to my favorite antique stores, fabric/crafts stores and retail (mainly HomeGoods, Marshall’s and TJ Maxx). There’s something about retail therapy in a time of uncertainty and stress. Shopping just feels good. It was what I like to call a “healthy distraction” and a way for me to feel more in control in my personal quest to make my house feel more complete.
I love a good hunt. Ceiling tin tiles, lanterns, towels, picture frames, shelves, rugs, lamps, window panes, mirrors, old books, silver trays, and anything made out of mercury glass were all items I needed to find to complete my Pinterest projects. The tinge of excitement I feel every time I walk into a Homegoods store is a sort of sickness. I can’t help it. It’s like an adventure and I never know what I might find. Oftentimes I try to go in without anything in mind because inevitably I will find something that I didn’t even know I was looking for. That’s the best -- finding “The Find”, especially when it’s on sale!
FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS
For some, this may all seem frivolous and nonsensical. But for me, it was about not only getting a sense of control back, but getting my “happy” back. I went through a lot of emotions after Brady was diagnosed. The emotional rollercoaster had repeat occurrences, especially in the early days of diagnosis and uncertainty. Months after the official diagnosis, we weren’t seeing results and Brady’s health deteriorated even more. There were many dark days back then. EoE is so frustrating and watching a child suffer can take its toll. Pinterest, as silly as it may seem, allowed me to start living life again. To realize there is more to life than staying at home and feeling frustrated, worried, and stressed over a disease that I will never have control over.
My unsolicited advice to parents/caregivers out there taking care of children with EoE or other special needs is to try to find your “happy” in the midst of all the crazy. Easier said than done most days, I know. But try to find something that helps you get your groove back. So many days the world revolves around my special needs child that there is oftentimes little leftover for “me time”. Everyone needs a little me time. Ain’t no shame in that.
A YEAR OF PINTEREST
It’s been a year since my discovery of Pinterest. When I began writing this post, I had to revel in the transformation of our house and soak it all in. It finally feels like "us". It feels homey and cozy and a place I look forward to coming home to everyday. Most of all, it truly feels like a home. A place where my kids can run and play. A place where we can entertain. A place where I can feel safe. And most importantly, a place that we can appreciate what we have worked so hard to create… a home full of love, dreams, hope, and strength.
Check out our transformation below. Our goal is to eventually put hardwood in upstairs too. My next projects? The guest room, the master bedroom, and the hunt for a scalloped mirror for the entryway... and the list, thankfully, goes on and on. :)
The Family Room -- Before
The Family Room -- After
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| The fireplace is not completely finished. We still need to hide the TV cords and fill the gap around the fireplace. I'm also planning to paint the woodwork above the fireplace white to match the new baseboards. Hopefully that will be done in the next month! :) |
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| I found the shelf at an antique store in downtown Columbus. |
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| Thanks to Pinterest, I have found my love for framed fabric. I found this fabric at JoAnns and I love how I can change the fabric out easily when I need a change. Thanks to my father-n-law for putting the frame together. Somehow a few of my Pinterest projects have become his Pinterest projects. :) |
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| I had been on the hunt for weeks for a bookshelf to fit into the space between the window and fireplace. I found this bookshelf at one of my favorite antique stores on the east side of Columbus for $40! It was even painted the exact shade I was going for. Score! |
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| Coffee beans and a candle. Love this Pinterest idea. Makes the house smell good too! |
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| I love antique window panes. The picture didn't quite fit the dimensions of the window, so I went to JoAnns for fabric to fill in the space. Thanks to my fabulous photographer friend for the family photo! |
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| Antique ladder to hold blankets. I loved hunting down all the different patterns, courtesy of HomeGoods and TJ Maxx. |
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| Craigslist coffee table find! Love this table! |
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| I found this silver tray at an antique store in Springfield. It took me a few months to figure out how I was going to use it. |
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| My clever way of hiding the kids' toys. The top drawers have art supplies, coloring books, and crayons. The side drawers hold tons of Brady and Sydney's toys and games. The piece has been in my husbands' family for years. We just had it painted to look more modern. |
The Dining Room -- Before
The Dining Room -- After
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| I painted the walls a rich, gold color. I love the idea of two different chairs at the ends of the table. |
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| I found this piece at an antique store in my hometown. The frames have pictures I took while we lived in Boston. |
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| Another find at an antique store on the east side of Columbus. I recently switched out the fabric lining the back of the hutch. Another easy way to change up decor. |
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| Again, I couldn't find curtain panels I liked. So, I bought plain curtains at HomeGoods and stenciled this pattern on. |
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| My Thanksgiving Pinterest project for the dining room. |
The Living Room -- Before
The Living Room -- After
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| I got the idea for the wall collage from Pinterest. I came up with the color scheme (brown, dark orange, and slate blue all by myself!) :) |
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| Close up of the wall collage. |
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| My reading chair, on the rare occasions I have time to actually sit down and relax! |
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| I'll admit it, I'm slightly obsessed with ceiling tins. |
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Old shutter find at an antique store in Powell.
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The Kitchen -- Before
The Kitchen -- After
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| I found the frames at an antique store, added magnets to the back and now they display Brady and Sydney's art! |
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| Craigslist hutch find for $40! It was a dark wood color and I had it painted gray and cream. |
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| Framed pictures of Brady and Sydney when they were both 6 months old. Brady was aptly nicknamed "Peanut" and Sydney was nicknamed "Cupcake". Cute pics for the kitchen! |
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| I searched high and low for curtain valences. I finally gave up and found the fabric at fabric.com and had them made (I can't sew). |
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| I found this antique table in my hometown. Love! |
The Powder Room -- Before
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| I have no words. |
The Powder Room -- After
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| Wallpaper down, new paint up! It's amazing what new paint can do. I kept the gold accent pieces. They grew on me after a few years. |
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| Antique mirrors made in Italy that I found at a flea market. |
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| I've had these for about 10 years. Somehow I haven't grown tired of them yet. |
Brady’s Room -- Before
Brady’s Room -- After
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| Brady wanted a cars, trains, trucks and tractors room... basically anything with wheels. His room is decorated with antique cars, trains, trucks and tractors. More pics to come when his room is completely finished. |
Sydney’s Room -- After
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| I stenciled the wall to make it look like wallpaper. It only took me a few hours and has a subtle effect in the daylight. I found the shutter at an antique store and painted it teal. |
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| My handiwork. :) |
Basement -- Before
Basement -- After... a Playroom!
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| Brady and Sydney's "stage". We've had many a concert in the playroom. I may have rocked out on the karoake machine a time or two. :) I made the curtains. Yes, they were the "no-sew" curtains I found on Pinterest, but I still made them! |
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| My attempt to help my kids keep the toys organized. I painstakingly made each label and used velcro to get the labels to stay on. The pictures and sight words help the kids during clean up time. Genius. |
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| Art I made for the playroom wall. I love the saying "Believe". It comes from Brady and Sydney's favorite movie, The Polar Express. |
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| The art nook. I found the table and chairs off of Craiglist for $25, then painted them to go with the color scheme (navy, green, teil and gray). |
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| My father-n-law helped me out with the chalkboard and white board. |
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| My one Pinterest fail. The picture made it look SO easy. The pictures are supposed to say, "see you later alligator" and "after while crocodile". They are displayed on the stairs and it's something my kids say all the time. The letters were insanely hard to peel off the magazine clippings underneath the paint. I may try to take another stab at this with the kids... someday. |
Hallway -- Before
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| My only "before" picture of the hallway was taken when Brady was two years old. |
Hallway -- After
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| Framed art from one of my favorite cities, Charleston, SC. |
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| Left over fabric from the curtains I had made in the kitchen. This is now in our main hallway near the stairs. |
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| I found the shelf at an antique store. Love the hooks for when we have guests over. |
