Extreme Makeover - Birthday Edition

From day one Karis has never really wanted much for birthdays and Christmas. Occasionally a toy would catch her eye, but more often than not she most enjoyed getting new art supplies, her own scotch tape or a box of envelopes (not kidding - one year she practically swooned over envelopes!). She's also the middle child and gets most things handed down to her - clothes, bikes, school books.

So, with both her birthday and Christmas coming up I desperately wanted to do something extra special for her, something she'd remember, something not handed down, something just for her. Then one day I caught her drawing pictures of her "dream bedroom" - fire orange walls, pink and red bedspread, lime green polka dots on the wall, and a disco ball. I asked her what was wrong with her current room. She looked at me with a frown and said, "It's just so babyish, so pink and flowery." And it struck me - her room was completely Laura Ashley, pastels and gingham. And she - she is so, well, so Gwen Steffani - striped tights in bright colors, mix match of patterns, lots and lots of color.

Step one: kick Karis out of her room for a few days. Step two: a trip to a few stores. A can of paint (Benjamin Moore Aura rocks!!). And a little more time than I anticipated. And here we are. At first I tried to be discrete about it, telling her that I was hiding a big present in there. But, with a few hints from her four year old brother and a little bit of paint left on my nails, she figured we were up to more than that.

Tomorrow is the big day.
As Tye would say, "Move that bus."
I hope she tears up and is speechless. More likely than not - she'll jump around, squeal like a girl and get busy drawing more pictures.

p.s. Nana and Bumpa T added a CD player to the room, and Nana and Bumpa S added a lap drawing board and an MP3 player. Yep - she's getting spoiled rotten by all of us!