Day 17. Flor Designer

oh my good lord! I cant decide on a pattern for the FLOR tiles in the nursery!
Its driving me crazy! Too many options. afraid im missing out on a really cool pattern. I have been at the computer all night trying out different patterns in relation to the way the furniture sits in the room. Here is a screenshot of the flor designer that you can find on the DWR website

http://www.dwr.com/category.cfm?subc=3933


This is pretty much what i have decided on unless anyone can suggest anything else. I have tried toooons of different designs and this one seems to be the one i like the most. One of the montessori rules is that the room should be peaceful, calm and relaxing. Im afraid that having the tiles scattered around all randomly will have this crazy dirsturbing effect and make the child uneasy. Isn't that stupid of me? Wow how your brain thinks when your a parent. I always try to look at it this way. I will remember something from my past..my room for instance.
I dont remember what carpet we had, or what color the walls were painted. Im not scarred or anything. That always puts things in perspective for me. Even theresa ok'd a checkerboard pattern using the two colors that I have decided on, but I am just not feeling it. Too busy.



Oh and get this. I was all about to order this flor tile days ago, but have been putting it off and putting it off. Then i found out yesterday that there is this contest at work. Whomever sells the most Herman Miller Product during the Herman Miller sale that runs June 3-17 will get a $750 DWR gift certificate. So I am going to try and win that! and if I do, i will be using that money to order the tile!

Day 16. New Camera

Today I shopped long and hard on the internet. reading reviews and what not for digital cameras.
This morning I decided on the CANON SD600. I checked the usual suspects, and while everyone was having a sale...circuitcity had the best price. I must say, the guy who helped me at CC knew alot about cameras and lenses and was very helpful. That just seemed weird. I would expect that level of service froms say...well my store, or well i dunno, some place other than a big box chain store.

I was all set on the SD600 BUT then the guy showed me a panasonic that was $50 cheaper. Now I looove me some P-sonic, but they are very new to the camera market so i was skeptical. I ultimatley settled on my original intent.




Heres a tip that I didnt know. I was telling the salesaman that i wanted a camera that had very little lag time. He explained to me that there are two parts where lag occurs. There is lag in getting the camera to take the picture and lag in the time it takes to process the picture. He said that for the lag in processing time, All you need is an ULTRA memory card. these are the fastest cards on the market and significantly reduce processing time. So yeah, i bought one of those.



Anyway, The rest of the day had me helping my friend move. talk about tiring. He lives on the 3rd floor AND is a pack rat. I think I counted like 4 bottles of the same shampoo when I was cleaning out the bathroom.

Oh,
today was theresas first day of her new summer job! She said she had a good time and that she liked it. It is a temporary contract job where she helps a software company called compass learning to make sure that their programs are in line with state mandates. She will do this until July 17th, after wich, we are going to take a trip to San Francisco! That's the plan anyway.

Day 15 Need (or want anyway) a camera!

I am tired. not much to contribute to today. I will be helping my friend John Vasquez move tomorrow. so no work will be done on the nursery. I have realized that i need a new camera. I used to want a Nikon D50. But now I am realizing i need someting small and compact (for baby). I wanted to pick up one of the pentax optio's. they are awesommely compact but they are notorius for slow processing time at high megapixels. Whith a baby, you need a fast processer. you want to capture the moment. nothing is worse than when your finger is pressing on the shutter and nothing happes. uggg

I hope to maybe have time to go to best buy tommorrow to check out the cam's.

-gil

DAY 14, What happened to day 13?

Well, saturday had me worn out!

I laid down for just a second at 7:30pm and within minutes, I was out!
I woke up at 10:00 sunday refreshed and ready to go! and really looking forward to today.
Well here is the sunday picture. Week 27!




Today Theresa and I spent the afternoon in Wimberly at my friend Paul Steindharts place.
We swam, well (I swam) kiked the ball around and then Paul and Jutta prepared a wonderful meal. We got back into town around 9:30. We met Paul's business Partner Fred and his lady Carmen. Here are some pics.


facing the river from the deck. That's Paul enjoying some pecan pie with a Latte


Paul's 4 year old son Vincent makes a formidabble foe on the soccer field


Theresa enjoing a book of Walt Whitman poems on the deck


View from the pool. That's Theresa wayyyyy in the backround at the riverbank.


I loved hanging out on these Eames LCW chairs!

More tomorrow!

Day 12. THE MURAL

I am very excited!

Bonnie Gammill has agreed to do the mural for the nursery! Bonnie is an awesome local artist that specializes in mixed media painting and textile design. We have already purchased one of her pieces that is currently the only piece of artwork in our bedroom. Its oil on plexiglass with the image relief that's done via exacto knife!



She will be doing it on July 15th and 16th. This got me thinking. I should wait to order the Flor tiles b/c I want to put those down after all the painting is done, But then I thought, maybe I should put the floor down first. This will give me a better sense of the colors in the room, and make it easier to pick a paint color for the mural.

I am still wanting to do a tree. Both Bonnie and I are going to look for a cool tree to do.

Her work is currently on display at Women and their work Gallery
http://www.womenandtheirwork.org/

check out all of Bonnie's work here:

http://www.bonniegammill.com

I looove the carscapes that se does. She goes around taking pictures from her car and then goes and paints them. Like landscapes, but from the drivers perspective. very original and very cool.

Oh and if you need a framer, I HIGHLY recommend Corrine Patch! She did the walnut frame on Bonnie's piece with a silver leaf finish. She has a very good eye for minimal aesthetics and she does high quality work at a very good price.




More on Corinne here ------ http://www.silverleafframing.com/



Oh and get this! I just found out that Our store has to move out most of the kids items to make room for more product, so we are selling all the kids stuff at 33% off, off the floor! dont pay shipping! I think I might pick up a few things...we shall see!

Day 11. The Recap of Day 10

Nothing today. I'm so glad I finally got to paint yesterday though. It's kinda weird, now that I have entered "day 11" that makes me realize that I was going to paint 10 days ago. Hmph, oh well. Life gets in the way of stuff that has to get done sometimes.

Well the room is painted!!!! The nursery looks better already! Here is a pic that I took midway to illustrate the huge differences in the white shades. The old paint was a nasty old peach hue (probably original) the new shade is a calming grey hue.



Wednesday had me running some morning errands afterwich I was ready to start painting. I had already had all the supplies from previous projects so that was some money saved. I paid 30 bucks for a gallon of paint and was ready to go.

I started off pretty good, but soon realized I was having a bit of a time midway into it. Heres the thing. Since I was painting one white color onto another white color, it made it hard to see if i missed a spot. Oh and heres another thing. The texture on the walls is very rough. So rough that Even after buying the "rough surface roll" for my paint roller, I was having a hell of a time getting the paint to completely cover the wall. I found myself really having to push the paint roller to push the paint on the roll into all the crevices in the wall texture. I was painting so hard that I was bending the paint roller all out of whack! Then i would have to bend it back into place! uggg.
Here is a picture of how I would start



and this is how I would end



oH , and if that didnt suck enough, then I would find the roller slipping of the paint roller!



I would have to whack the wall every 30 seconds to get it to stay on.



I was getting tired and running out of paint.

I called Ecowise to order another gallon and headed that way.
oH and since ecowise is right next to HOMESLICE, I figured now would be a good time to get a snack. Homeslice is great, I highly recommend it! bUT get this! They are closed on tuesday. umm whatever. The best calzones I have ever had. Seriously.

http://www.homeslicepizza.com/

While I was there, I decided to try this Maine Root Beer that ive been seeing so much of. ITs everywhere! I even saw it ON DRAFT at Wahoos the other day. Imagine, a soda, on draft!! well Isnt that the same as a fountain drink? Isn't that just marketing? WHOA I almost let that one slip by.



I ordered one and the girl says, "whats the deal with those?"

I'm all, "I'm about to find out!"

It turns out that the deal is, its just root beer, but its ORGANIC!
Jeez. Louise. It did taste good, but id still take A&W.

more about it here http://www.maineroot.com/

So back i go to finish the job, but I'm thinking....Those painting products are so cheap! Surely there is something better out there. I mean, isnt there a proffessional Bob Villa Signature Series Line of paint supplies out there? is it at Home Depot maybe?



Surely there must be an upgrade available, I mean, this is AMERICA! home of the upgrade!
And if you know me..you know that I'm all about the upgrade. But thats whats weird, i didnt get the upgrade sooner...why is that....

So i go to lowes. Sure enough there are some more "professional" tools available. But they are sooo professional that they are not even pushed as so. they sit there at the very end of the aisle with no fancy logos, no bling, and no fancy professional product packaging. But they definitly have a proffesional price tag. I pick up one of the rollers and push on it with all my strength to see if it bends like the old one. Nothing. Then I moved on the the extension poles. Now these were serious. Nice quality stuff.


Extension pole with locking mechanism. None of this bullshit "turn to tighten" that only comes loose every minute or so.

I picked one up, connected it to my roller and moved on to the actual paint roll. i was scoping them out. I already had 2 unused ones at home, but they werent cutting it, so I sprang for the ..get this..are you ready for this... the Nine dollar sheepskin paint roll. This versus the $3 roll that i was using. I was like. Ok, i think im in business.

All the products were Wooster. More here. www.woosterbrush.com

Well I walked out of there with my Wooster in hand and my wallet was 41 bucks lighter.


Dont fear the Wooster.

Well i got home and was ready to go to work!

Heres the first thing, the woosters roller has a clip system on it so that the roller clicks into place and wonts slide off on you. No more banging the wall to keep the thing from sliding off.



You simply click it and forget it!


Look at that Wool roller! Plush!

On to the painting. The difference was amazing i'd say ....100% better. I moved at breakneck speeds, no more problems, just quick and easy painting. So easy, i almost painted the closet too!

Look at the difference the lambswool roller makes (front). The nap is really effective in getting into that rough surface while the other just gets matted and flat.



I threw all my old supplies away.

So the rooms all painted and it looks awesome. Now its on to the blinds. The blinds suck cuzz theyre made of metal , and there beige. look at the difference in color



I have to "upgrade" those to the 2 inch faux wood versions. That will be the next project! Until next time!

Day 10. Let the painting begin!

I painted the nursery! And I'm Tired! ...must keep ...eye..s .....o.. p...e..n!

Day 9. The Calm before the paint!

Ok!

today was busy and tiring. I woke up, and Me and Spartacus went to work. What's totally lame though is that i forgot about the pinche closet, so I had to take everything out of it and rip up the carpet in there too. Im not sure if im going to paint in there though. That'll be a pain.



So these little floor tack strips do nothing but splinter when you try to pry them out. Even Spartucus had a bit of a time, but I'd say I pryed them off and cleaned up in about an hour.



I think I will keep Spartacus next to the bed with me at all times, for those, "Did you hear something" moments. I would much rather split some intruders head in two after I knocked his teeth out with a quick jab to the mouth than just shoot him. Hmmm this reminds me to make my "What would Conan Do?" t-shirt. Hey, nobody eveer said this was a family blog, or that I would be censoring my comments. Stream of consiouness is stream of consiusness, with no time to go back and check for spelling...mOM!

So get this, the first email i ever get from my mom is to tell me that I mispell friends and expireance on my blog hOW appropriate.

Anyway. on to baby stuff. Theresa had a checkup today with the doctor and she said everything is hunkydory, (in so many words) Now we got to start finding a pediatrician and stuff. This baby is just around the corner, and I for one am starting to realize that not only is my free time finite, but my time with theresa, alone, as a couple is about to end too. We were walking out of Target today and going to the car when I realized I had nothing to worry about but the sack of stuff in my hand. I wasnt having to wrangle my kid, or push a stroller. All We had to do was walk to the car and get in. Those days will very soon be over. It will totally be like a minivan commercial or something.

Well tommorrow i PAINT!

Day 8. Spartacus

So i ran over to Lowes today to return the Garden Claw. I realized that If I mowed the weeds all the time, i wouldnt need it!. I needed to buy a "pryer" so as to pry off all of the nailboard tacking for the carpet that surrounded the nursery. It took me forever to find the right department, as i was constantly being sidetracked by all the tools and gadgets. I finally came across the assortment of hammers and pryers. It took a while, but i finally settled on Spartacus. Me and Spartacus will go to work tomorrow.

I am too tired to snap a picture of it, and when I went to find a pic of it on the net, all i found was gay porn.

Till The Morrow.

Day 7. Sunday Picture

Every sunday I take a picture of Theresa in the same spot wearing the same clothes. Eventually we will have a little flip book!

Here she is at week 26!

Day 6. Music for Baby

Tonight I came home to see Theresa hangin out and giving Baby a little listening time. What an adorable site! I was all, "Mozart?" and Theresa is all, "Tupac!"



We went downtown after dinner to hear a freind's band play, so it was even more music for Baby.

I did get an email today from Blik confirming my order. I had ordered some birds for one of the walls in the nursery. I plan to place the birds above the dresser.

What is Blik you ask? well go to http://www.whatisblik.com/ and find out! Tons of cool wall graphics to liven up any room. Here is a picture from their site of the birds im getting.



Im not getting the blue birds though, Im getting them in gray assortment. Partly because they are "most real" Heres one problem that I ran into when starting to design the room. The Montessori Method states that there should be no "cartoony" toys or art. Meaning no cute nuthin. nuthin cutesy at all. hence the wooden toys and what not. So that means only realistic representations of animals and people. The birds look kind of real (from afar) and if anything, they are abstract, wich is good. I wanted to put up some pictures of animals, but give me a break! who does real pictures of animals that arent photographs?

Day 5, Here comes the Rex.

No work on the nursery today. This might sound like its going to be a trend. But the deal is that, (per the baby books) you can't paint while mother is in the house, so I have to wait until Tuesday and Wednesday to paint B/c those are my days off and Theresa will be at work. Until then I am just placing orders for stuff.

Oh, guess what arrived today! The Rex Rocker! I have put it in the bedroom, its new home. and since the nursery is being worked on, I put the Rar Rocker in the theatre upstairs for now.




Oh and now its cool to say Thanks to Pearl (theresa's mom) for picking up the tab on the RAR Rocker. She wanted to buy us a rocker, but I had already ordered the RAR, so she said that she wanted to pay for it and that would be her gift. Pearl laughed when she first saw it. Thats pretty much what all my relatives have been doing. Laughing and then saving grace by saying things like, "its unique!" But I do think Pearl really likes it even though she wouldnt say if she didnt. Ted on the other hand (theresa's dad) will let you know what he thinks all straight up style. But he liked it too. I was holding the gift a secret from T, but kinda let the cat out when I told T to tell her mom that the rocker was here. Theresa "carried the one" and all was known.

Until tomorrow!
Oh here is your daily dose of Theresa. I took this pick when She was excersising to Madonna
in the nursery last week prior to me moving all the furniture out. That is our dresser there on the left. Its really cool. I bought it off craigslist. Fot those of you that are not aware of craigslist you need to check it out. Its an online community where you can pretty much find anything you need.

www.craigslist.org (dont forget to click on your city before perusing the sight)

Anyway back to the dresser/changing table. It comes with interchangeable color panels that go in front of the drawers. I'm going to use the blue side, or if its too much im going to remove the panels and just use the bare white surface with blue pulls or wooden beech pulls. we will see.

Day 4. The floor bed.

Hello!

Well no work on the nursery today, but I did receive an email from Lord Company saying that the floor bed that I ordered had begun to process and that I should expect it in 3-5 weeks. It took me forever to find a floor bed that I could order online but i finally found it.

you can get one here. http://www.lordequip.com/



Now the floor bed was my first introduction into the Montessori Aesthetic.
I had picked out the crib and all that business and I was showing my selections to my wife and she's all, "We are not putting our baby in a cage."

I started telling people that we were not using a crib and they thought i was crazy! Most expireanced parents will tell me, "that sounds great and all, but trust me, you are going to want that "cage" later. Here's the whole deal with the floor bed and the montessori method. And I'm copying this from a site, as you can probably tell by the grammer.

Reprinted from:
The Joyful Child, Essential Montessori for Birth to Three
ISBN: 1-879264-12-9

THE FIRST YEAR - RESPECT FOR UNIQUE DEVELOPMENT, THE CHILD'S SELF-RESPECT

Preparing the Home to Welcome the Newborn
As you go through the process of preparing baby's room before birth, lie down on the floor in the middle of the room and look around, listen. Will it be safe? interesting? beautiful? calming? Will it allow for as much freedom of movement possible?

Because of the young child's strong sense of order it is ideal if the room can stay the same for the first year. Thus it is very important to put a lot of thought into just how to arrange this first environment.

One day as I was watching the joyful, exuberant actions of a new kitten in our house, I couldn't help comparing it to the curiosity and needs of the young child. The kitten tested itself against the challenges of moving in every possible way around the living room, carefully examining each object and the best way for its body to move over, under, and around it. I was reminded of watching babies when they are allowed to move freely in a prepared environment.

Imagine how the natural development of kittens would be affected if they were confined to such things as kitten cribs with covers, kitten slings, swings, walkers, and pacifiers. I am continually thinking about how we can help babies to explore with their bodies and to develop grace and confidence in movement. The newborn has a lot of important developmental work to do, and we can help this work by providing the most naturally supportive environment.

While in the womb a child has already been exercising muscles and listening to sounds. After birth she will gradually learn to move on her own and to explore, with every sensory and motor ability at her command. She will study the room in detail with her eyes and listen carefully to every single sound with her ears. After strengthening arms and legs with baby push-ups, she will head for objects to explore further.

Every child follows a unique timetable of learning to crawl to those things he has been looking at, so that he may finally handle them. This visual, followed by tactile, exploration is very important for many aspects of human development. If we provide a floor bed or mattress on the floor in a completely safe room—rather than a crib or playpen with bars—the child has a clear view of the surroundings and freedom to explore.

A bed should be one which the baby can get in and out of on his own as soon as he is ready to crawl. The first choice is an adult twin bed mattress on the floor. Besides being an aid to development, this arrangement does a lot to prevent the common problem of crying because of boredom or exhaustion.

It helps to think of this as a whole-room playpen with a baby gate at the doorway and to examine every nook and cranny for interest and safety. If the newborn is going to share a room with parents or siblings we can still provide a large, safe, and interesting environment.

Eventually he will explore the whole room with a gate at the door and then gradually move out into the baby-proofed and baby-interesting remainder of the house.

These are the beginning stages of independence, concentration, movement, self-esteem, decision-making, and balanced, healthful development of body, mind, and spirit.

Okay!
And then my friend Tony the Woodworker calls and says that as a gift, hes going to make me said floor bed!



DANG! but thats OK! Since the floor bed is on the way, He is going to make the shelving unit that I was going to buy from Ikea out of SOLID MAPLE YO!



I highly recommend Tony for all your woodworking needs. view his blog here,
http://woodblog.tjromero.com/

I was too tired yesterday but i did want to mention that Theresas School threw a baby shower for us on Wednesday. It was a real treat! We got lots of generous gifts and a lot of great Books that I cant wait to put on the shelf that Tony builds for us. Theresas Team did an awesome job decorating the room and making it a very festive and receptive library where we had the shower. Theresa and I were very thankful for the amount of effort and love that went into the planning and execution of the celebration. Here are some pics of the event.


Books! Check em out!


Thanks Anne for taking the pics!


Theresa's Mom Pearl on the left, T's Aunt Alice in the Middle




Big Thanks to Kathryn and Natacha for the cake and extra effort!

Day 3. What a day

It is 3:00am in the morning. I have just finished editing a video for theresa that had to get done tonight for a presentation tomorrow, or I guess today really. Ahhh, just like the good old days. Its late but I feel that I must blog everyday for some reason, even if its to say that I won't be saying anything.

Here is a pic that Theresas Aunt Alice who is visiting from Detroit took. Rawr! in action!



Well, there you have it.

Day 2, Ripping up the Carpet

Oh what a day, and hardly anything done on the nursery, but alas the grounds have been manicured and some paperwork has been filed.

Today I just felt like mowing the yard and cleaning the house. I dont know why i didnt just start going at the nursery, Oh I remember! its because I have ADD! This morning's errands took me too Lowes to buy new pulls for the dresser/changing table, and 300 dollars later I was back at the house using my new sledgehammer to bust up some old decaying tree roots scattered around the yard. That was fun. I think I pulled something though.

Then I started on with my new edger! well that was it, I just did lawn work and cleaned the house for the rest of the day. Which brings me to something you should know. Have you ever heard of Method Cleaners? Does this picture ring a bell?



Well, its an awesome line of cleaning products that are eco-consious and all that, but more importantly they smell great and the minimalist graphic design makes it look cool enough not to have to transfer the contents into a dispenser. Just so happens Karim Rashid designed the packaging. Figures. Anyway, you can get this stuff at TARGET. Figures.

find out more here http://www.methodhome.com/

But I warn you, and this is the whole point, DO NOT BUY THE GLASS CLEANER!!
ITS HORRIBLE! all it does is leave a hazy film. I had gone through and replaced all of our cleaning products with this stuff, but im beginning to second guess the stainless steel cleaner and I am definitly now a Windex Man!

Remember the time in Pulp Fiction when Harvey Keitell asks Quenting T if he's an Oak man?
Anyway, i Digress.

So while I was at Lowes I came across the truck Hitches. Hmmm, a truck hitch. This gave me an idea. An idea so grand it will be filmed. Theresa wants a front porch. Right now there are some hedges in the way of this little idea of hers. The hedges must be removed. Hmmm, truck Hitch!

Here are them HEDGES.


So Im thinking of,,,,,whats the word? Hauling? no. ummm. Yanking? No. Ummm. Oh i know,
IM GONNA HAVE TO GUNN IT!

Now my freind stephanie thinks this sounds too much like an MGD commercial but I can definitly tell you that with my years of Advertising Expireance that this is indeed a High Life commercial. complete with lawn chaired spectators and all. I will be filming this for sure!

Speaking of filming stuff, Charles and Ray Eames made almost a hundred films! and they also designed the Rawr! Rocker.


oK! Now here is the story of the this Rocker. It is really called the R.A.R. Rocker. I knew this a long time ago, and at the time there was nothing amusing about this title. I have always been a big fan of the LCW and the DCM, both designed by Charles and Ray Prior to the RAR back in the 40's.

wHATS up with all the acronyms you say! well i guess acronym is not the right word here, but whats up with all the letters you say! Well its my guess, and I could be wrong, this is just a theory, but it's because that the first ever paid contract that the Eames were awarded was by the Navy. and hence the letters and such. If you've ever worked with the government you know that you can't just ...oh say....name a leg splint for injured soldiers the "Leg' O Steel"!!! No!
You have to give it some coded name that is easy to enter into the 8 bit computers. So this is where they came up with the way to name stuff. Oh, by the way RAR stands for Rocker Armchair Rod.

find out more about the EAMES'S HERE!

http://eamesoffice.com/index2.php?mod=intro

Ok, heres the funny part. So since working at DWR, I have heard some very interesting pronunciations. "sir, excuse me, how much is the Ames Rawr Rocker?" I dont crack up anymore but I will swipe the customer with my hand all clinched like a claw while yelling RAWRRRR!!! This all happens in my head of course.

So I have been wanting this chair for a long time, especially b/c it relatively affordable. The first time I sat in one I was dissapointed. But i would sit in it at meetings, and it really started to grow on me. So when T got pregnant, I was all, "what are we going to name the baby? Oooo I get to buy a RAR Rocker!! " OK! so maybe not in that order.



Well I showed it to T and luckily she is small enough that it is comfortable for her. For me, its all about the look! thankfully i do like sitting in it, but i'd get it even if i didnt, that is if T approved it.

So im all excited about this chair right, well people outside the design click keep giving me the Ojo! My dad came to the store to visit and I showed it to him. He laughed and asked, "how are you supposed to get in that thing??" Other people also think its crazy. And I will admit, its not the most comfortable rocker, in fact its probably the least. Every one says, "how are you supposed to fall asleep in this thing. Well, thats kinda the point. I dont plan on sleeping in a rocker thats in the kids room. The rocker is there for guests and mama and me to be with the child in their environment. If I had a gargantuan stuffed glider of sorts, it would swallow the room. the scale would be off. and there is no way in this life that one of those most comfortable pieces of "Rooms to Go" luxury is finding it way anywhere in this house. You saw the period, it was right after house,

OHHH!!!!!

BUT, I am concerned that I could be nieve, young and foolish. And I am also concerned about guests being able to rock the baby as well. Half well, 3/4 of my family could not fit in the RAR rocker! So I'm getting this!!!! It's way more comf and My dad can at least fit in it, so he flashed the gold card and ordered me one! Thanks Dad! I think he got it for himself though. I'm a Garcia too, This aint my first rodeo.



check it out here - http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=7830

Ladies and Gentleman, i give you the Rex Rocker! Rex and Rawr! Hilarious!
The rex will be in the bedroom most of the time for those fall asleep moments and is still compact and lightweight! The thing even folds for quick trips to the mountains or to the in-laws. Mountains. It must be getting late.

But Alas! I did make progress on the room. I ripped up the carpet, and guess what little gem was hiding beneath the carpet! No! not wood floors, a moroccan themed linoleum!



whoa! Umm...The Red Fez called....they want their tile back! The room is very lound now. Tomorrow is pretty booked, I am not sure I will get to paint or not. We shall see!

Now, talking about Montessori. just what is it and such? well i dont want to overwhelm yall, so i will give tidbits as i go. A good start would be with Maria Montessori.

I copied this from a site

Maria Montessori was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaravalle, in the province of Ancona, Italy, on August 31, 1870, she became one of the first female physicians in Italy upon her graduation from medical school in 1896. Shortly afterwards, she was chosen to represent Italy at two different women's conferences, in Berlin in 1896 and in London in 1900.

In her medical practice, her clinical observations led her to analyze how children learn, and she concluded that they build themselves from what they find in their environment. Shifting her focus from the body to the mind, she returned to the university in 1901, this time to study psychology and philosophy. In 1904, she was made a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome.

Her desire to help children was so strong, however, that in 1906 she gave up both her university chair and her medical practice to work with a group of sixty young children of working parents in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. It was there that she founded, on January 6, 1907, the first Casa dei Bambini, or "Children's House." What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed there, based upon Montessori's scientific observations of these children's almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, as well as their tireless interest in manipulating materials. Every piece of equipment, every exercise, every method Montessori developed was based on what she observed children to do "naturally," by themselves, unassisted by adults.

Children teach themselves. This simple but profound truth inspired Montessori's lifelong pursuit of educational reform, methodology, psychology, teaching, and teacher training--all based on her dedication to furthering the self-creating process of the child.

Maria Montessori made her first visit to the United States in 1913, the same year that Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Educational Association at their Washington, DC, home. Among her other strong American supporters were Thomas Edison and Helen Keller.

In 1915, she attracted world attention with her "glass house" schoolroom exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco. On this second U.S. visit, she also conducted a teacher training course and addressed the annual conventions of both the National Education Association and the International Kindergarten Union. The committee that brought her to San Francisco included Margaret Wilson, the daughter of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.

The Spanish government invited her to open a research institute in 1917. In 1919, she began a series of teacher training courses in London. In 1922, she was appointed a government inspector of schools in her native Italy, but because of her opposition to Mussolini's fascism, she was forced to leave Italy in 1934. She traveled to Barcelona, Spain, and was rescued there by a British cruiser in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War. She opened the Montessori Training Centre in Laren, Netherlands, in 1938, and founded a series of teacher training courses in India in 1939.

In 1940, when India entered World War II, she and her son, Mario Montessori, were interned as enemy aliens, but she was still permitted to conduct training courses. Later, she founded the Montessori Center in London (1947). She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times--in 1949, 1950, and 1951.

Maria Montessori died in Noordwijk, Holland, on May 6, 1952.