Can I just vent for a moment?

[DawnM]

And yet still not vent? 🤣

I am redecorating my main living room and I still can't have nice things!   Starting over again has its drawbacks.   I still need kid friendly stuff.

I wouldn't trade this child for the option of nice stuff, but OY!   I am still having to look what will/might show stains, what might break, etc.....

that's all, just a vent.

[Melissa in Australia]

I hear you 

I understand

[Carrie12345]

I looked forward to being able to do what I wanted with my house for AGES. Kid #1 was a fairly “responsible” toddler, so my expectations were way off.  
My 11yo, and even sometimes my 14yo, are still mini tornados and I can’t put out anything delicate. Or not stain resistant. Sigh.

‘It’s certainty more complicated with toddlers! (Except for my one weird kid, lol.)

[Katy]

Yep.  And nothing trendy is kid friendly.  Last night I watched a video of someone on YouTube going through RH, showing off the Spring designs, and almost every thing in there was either hazardous or designed to show maximum stains.  Pale linen couches are beautiful but frankly that wouldn't work with my DH's coffee habit even if our kids were grown.

[HomeAgain]

I love that you guys redecorate! 

My home is done in "Ikea showroom" 🤣 and up until 2020 the living room was dominated by the huge leather couch the previous owner had left behind.  And then we found out that the owners before had left it for HIM.  When the seats sagged too much we upgraded to the "not quite Ikea" huge grey couch that would hide stains and had removable covers.  Because me.  And coffee.

[teachermom2834]

I complained for years about not being able to have nice things. We are out of that stage now and our spaces are empty. We have moved and remodeled and never decorated. I enjoy the clean minimalist look but the truth is after all those years of complaining that I couldn’t have nice things I don’t know what it is I actually want and I’m just not that motivated to do it. Apparently I just enjoyed the complaining and the daydreaming. ???

[Drama Llama]

By the time the little one is past making a mess might there be grand babies?

This may be a never ending battle.  

[Elizabeth86]

1 hour ago, Baseballandhockey said:

By the time the little one is past making a mess might there be grand babies?

This may be a never ending battle.  

Right?

[Tap]

I hear ya!!

[Forget-Me-Not]

Yep. I watched my mom admire a floor lamp one day and then decide against it because the grand babies would just knock it over. 😀 

[BlsdMama]

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

And yet still not vent? 🤣

I am redecorating my main living room and I still can't have nice things!   Starting over again has its drawbacks.   I still need kid friendly stuff.

I wouldn't trade this child for the option of nice stuff, but OY!   I am still having to look what will/might show stains, what might break, etc.....

that's all, just a vent.

Completely legitimate vent, lol. Last year we got to the point where we said, “We’re getting the nice sofa anyway.” Yes to leather but I will tell you we aren’t as “chill” as we were worth the old sofas. 😉 I’m not sure it’s necessarily bad that they learn to be careful…. But it makes me more uptight which I don’t love. 

[Tenaj]

2 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

By the time the little one is past making a mess might there be grand babies?

This may be a never ending battle.  

This.  My youngest is 12.  We have a huge oak table that was all marked up and the finish was going bad. I put off getting it redone for years.  Last summer got it redone and then my grandson comes over and he loves matchbox cars and how can a grandma not let a little boy run the cars on this beautiful, shiny table.  Made up my mind - again!!! The kids are more important than the things.  I don't want to be the grandma that fusses over the stuff in the house!

[alisoncooks]

1 hour ago, BlsdMama said:

Completely legitimate vent, lol. Last year we got to the point where we said, “We’re getting the nice sofa anyway.” Yes to leather but I will tell you we aren’t as “chill” as we were worth the old sofas. 😉 I’m not sure it’s necessarily bad that they learn to be careful…. But it makes me more uptight which I don’t love. 

This is how I’ve been with the carpet we had installed in 2020. I regret it sooo bad, lol (should’ve went wood/laminate). But I can’t NOT be uptight about it because…stains. 

[BlsdMama]

7 hours ago, alisoncooks said:

This is how I’ve been with the carpet we had installed in 2020. I regret it sooo bad, lol (should’ve went wood/laminate). But I can’t NOT be uptight about it because…stains. 

Exactly. I really do agree with the idea that things are only things…. And I’d love to be poetic about it.  But things cost money to replace and money is a finite resource. Sigh. And lately it has been hard on everything - the house, the van, the mother. 😂 

 

Dawn, I feel ya. 

[Janeway]

My furniture looks so bad but I think it would be unwise to replace them now. Oddly, my 12 yr old is messier than my 6 yr old.

[Jaybee]

We are rough on stuff. When I say "we," I don't really mean me, but a long time ago I learned that this family just needs to go with fabrics that don't show stains, and rustic wooden furniture. That's just the way it is. Even dh, way old enough to know better, still has to be reminded occasionally that some thing or another is not good for the furniture. It's just as well, now that we have grandkids. Our coffee table is rustic in a way that is fine for cars to be driven on, and pretty much everything is comfy and durable. Even with just myself, I would never ever ever have a white or light covered chair or sofa. I'm clumsy.

[Hilltopmom]

11 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

By the time the little one is past making a mess might there be grand babies?

This may be a never ending battle.  

Yep. 15 years between my oldest and youngest. I’m sure there will be grandkids around here when I still have kids living at home.