One of my favorite features on OBM is the "pimp my kids room" posts — I'm a big into interior design and kids rooms are some of the coolest decorating spaces.

That's why, when I saw these cool chalkboard wall stickers, I immediately thought they'd be a a fun addition to a child's room.

Apply these over-sized wall stickers to any clean, dry surface; then write on 'em with ordinary chalk. And then a damp cloth wipes it all away for another day.

A+R has a bunch of cool designs in various animal shapes…

And I got curious, so I took my search elsewheres and found a lot of other great chalkboard wall decals to fit all different types of kids…

Continue reading "Chalkboard wall decals for your kid's room" →

With some compromise and some creativity you can make even the biggest "night and day" differences between two kids sharing a space feel celebrated.

I have two stepdaughters. They don't live with us full time. And this summer they drove me absolutely INSANE. They fought all summer due to lack of personal space & feeling like people view them as a solid unit as opposed to individuals. They're in that place, developmentally, where they REALLY need to have their own individual identity. And in my fit of insanity I decided we could give that to them. Here's how we managed to turn one room into two decided separate spaces for two decided separate young women…

Continue reading "Conquering Shared Space for Teenagers" →

My son loves animals. Since he was three he has wanted to be one of three things: A dolphin trainer, a shark trainer, or a zoo keeper.

At one point he even wanted to marry a T-Rex.

Me: So when you get older what do you think your wife will be like?
Him: She will be huge with little arms and sharp teeth.
Me: Wow! She sounds pretty scary.
Him: Oh she is! She's a T-Rex, mom. She could eat you.
Me: Well, I hope not!

Anyway a few months ago I wanted to change up his room — do something fun, but not too expensive. So I decided to paint an underwater scene, something from one of our favorite books "Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea."

I penciled in the characters and then started to paint…

Continue reading "How I turned my kid's room into an undersea dream for less than $100" →