Ok- here is my update: it's 12 midnight and I'm tired. But more importantly here is the deal on the closet. When my kids put on a shirt or a pair of pants, whatever, and it's too small they throw it in my closet. In my closet I have a dirty clothes hamper for too small clothes. The idea is that I will pack up the clothes as the hamper gets filled. The reality is I dn't. So as you can imagine, the bottom of my closet quickly gets covered with kids clothes. Also, this is the biggest piece of storage area in my house. I really don't have closets, except for the ones in the rooms in my house. We have built storage where we can but there just isn't much storage area. So whenever anything comes up that I need to hang on to for a while but don't need it right now- it goes in my closet. And my closet just gets worse. With my saver husband and the way we use this closet- my closet is out of control. I wish I had taken pictures of it before. Yup! Before! I did work on it! I have used nap times and night times like this to do it. I just started going through one box and then another and then my clothes etc. End result- the clothes on the floor that are too small for the kids is still there. However, I managed to repack two boxes my husband had into one smaller box. Didn't get rid of anythign but reciepts that were more than two years old. The rest just went into the one box. Mostly he had just two boxes horribly and I was able to repack and compact it to one. I have empty space on my shelves. And that is after I put all my shoes in plastic shoe boxes and put them up on the shelves. I took out a total of 3 bags of garbage. It sounds bad but remember please that there were shoe boxes and other boxes that I didn't stomp down- just threw them in the garbage bag. I also took out 3 or 4 smaller garbage bags of stuff to goodwill. I have empty space!!! Thanks to you ladies! Here is what I have left to do: 1- take my Christmas Sunday school lesson (which is a bunch of manipulative toys to teach the Christmas story in a different way) and organize that out with my lesson plan, and put it back in my closet somewhere out of the way but easily got to come Dec. 2. Pack up all the small clothes and put them in the garage for future boy clothes (for the baby boy to wear) or in the garage sale (girl clothes). That is it. And if it doesn't get done then I'm ok with that too. It looks so much better already. Overall today I took 8 bags of stuff to goodwill and several boxes also. I have also taken out 7 to 9 bags of garbage from this house. Now if I could just get some of that furniture under control and get rid of it. Or a house addition. G

Are you kidding me? He hopes she dies giving birth? Calling her horrible names, thowing out your 15 yr old son and wanting to throw out the pregnant 16 yr old? Sorry but your husband is a real A**HOLE. Don't get me wrong, I have issues in my home but my problems seem like a walk in the park compared to what is going on in your house. We don't know the whole story but I just can't help but feel terrible for your daughter. While it's unfortunate that she became pregnant at such a young age, it's done and she has to deal with that. She will need you. Why would you even think about putting her out on the streets? Why would you even allow your 15 yr old son to be put out? I'm assuming that you probably have had a lot of issues with the teens and your husband doesn't know how to deal with it so he just wants to kick everybody to the curb. Those are your kids and you just don't give up on your kids! Somebody needs to leave but I don't think it's the kids. I'd make DH leave or I'd pack up my kids and get out of there!

Demon Based on what you've said here, I think you've made the right decision. It concerns me that his reaction is to blame the child and focus on how it affects 'him'. Classic abuser behavior. I'm even a little concerned that his reaction will change from cooperative to hostile when he realizes that tactic won't work. If I were you, I'd set up a strong support system. I have a feeling you are going to need it. I also agree with silver, it's not a waste of time to learn such a valuable lesson. When I left my ex at 29, I spent years feeling sorry for myself because I wasted my 20's in a crappy situation. But, the worse part wasn't the time I wasted, it was that my kids were in that crappy situation for 7 years and you can thank your lucky stars you figured it out in less than a year. Your daughter is young and you can spend some time in counseling and might even think about working on your parenting skills too. Before, you said you were lax in discipline, so now might be a good time to shift your focus on improving things in your life. When I was a single parent, I was also too lax and inconsistent. It's so easy to parent out of guilt too. My kids were pre-teens when I began to force myself to be consistent and push the guilt to the back of my head and it's been tough. I still struggle with guilt because they know how to make me feel guilty. Good luck.

I don't care for any of the paint samples on the walls. They only highlight the pink tones in the paneling by being so gold or brown/gold. I also wouldn't do burgundy, as you have so much of it already in the room. I would first consider finding a color that is the same as the background color in the paneling - a soft creamy ivory tone, and just use that. The entry area feels kind of dark and closed, so a light color there would work. I would then take the same paint and paint all the ceilings, both in the entry and the living room. The white ceiling only works to make the walls look even more pinky-peach in contrast. By painting out the ceiling in the paneling background color, you will lessen that considerably. I would get a larger area rug for the entry, something with a creamy field and burgundy accents, which again will tie into the LR but keep the entry lighter in feel. I believe I see a cabinet of some kind in the entry area where the coats are? Be sure you have a lamp there for some warm lighting for the entry. I would take the four small flower pix on the paneled wall in the LR and hang them in the entry in a grouping. I would change out the mats to a neutral, to show off the flowers themselves - you don't even see them in the burgundy matting. The frames are fine. By bringing some of the burgundy onto that entry wall, you will introduce the burgundy color in the entry that will then lead the eye into the LR. I would take the larger piece in burgundy matting and use that over the fireplace - having two pieces of art on that fireplace wall that are matted in green kind of makes it feel like you were trying to match the art, but they are not hanging together so it feels disconnected. I would take all those balls out of the tall vases on the fireplace and puit them in a bowl somewhere - they are lost in those vases. Then find some tall, fountain-like grasses and greens to put in the vases for softness. It seems like you have so many great family photos. I would have them all framed in complimentary frames and use the large paneled sections behind the couch to hang them in a striking grouping. By using those instead of the burgundy matted collection, you will stop highlighting the color of the paneling, and instead will have a varied grouping of photos that will become the focal point. I would also move the photo screen and tuck it in a corner or near something so it doesn't feel like it is just floating in the room by itself. I love the little chest you have by the entry, but I don't like it there. It is heavy and dark, and feels like a barricade to the front door area. I would remove that and leave that entry open. Maybe you could move it over to the other side to where the little green bench is now? Try to get some pillows for the couches that are creamier in their background color, to lighten the feel of those pieces. They could still have a print or a stripe, but should have a lighter overall background that brings in the wall color. Something like this, tho this particular pillow may not be right, but the idea of a lighter background is the key. crewel pillows I don't see much ambient lighting in the room - at least in the views we have, only one lamp on an end table, and that is too small. Put that lamp on the little chest that I had you move over to the other side of the room. Get a bigger lamp for that table, perhaps another lamp to sit on the sewing machine (I think) that is behind the couch acting as a console table. More lighting located lower and that is warmer will also affect how the paneling is perceived, and will keep the eye more focused into the center of the room and away from the walls. I think your room has lots of wonderful things going for it. Settling the entry will help, and then tweaking the LR space and its accessories will make it all feel finished and cohesive.