Patricia- your story made my day! Sounds like something my father would do. I would love to wait on paint, but DH is insisting we do it before the new floor is in, which is happening well before the furniture is moved. *sigh* I guess he will learn about that part of decorating if we have to repaint because our color pick looks horrible with our furniture. anele- I was thinking about a creamy color I suppose, though I am so tired of living in a vanilla rental box. The biggest problem I'm running into with the couch is that many tones (even some non-neutrals) are making the couch appear yellow. So I'm still playing around with it. The other issue is that whatever color we pick for the living room will need to go down the hall (see my flooring x-post in this forum for a few pics) since there isn't a good place to transition the color. I will probably make yet another thread about paint after I take some good pictures tomorrow. holly-kay: I think I'm going to sneak the cow in and put her in the office with some fun, bright curtains! I think DH will let me get away with a little more in there :)

Well, I don't know this for a fact, but whenever I read about a saintly person, I suspect that there must be SOME place they can go complain about their washing lepers' bandages, giving everything to the poor, ha! And Allyssa, you are in a very challenging situation fraught with emotion that will indeed call upon you to be a bit saintly - but the results down the road could be very rewarding. This little guy is probably going to go through harder times before things get better. To your great credit, you sound very wise in understanding that he's been through some awful stuff and he's going to have some acting out. I agree with the other posters - counseling for him and maybe the whole family would be a great start. About your baby-to-be, I don't think there is any supernatural reason why that isn't happening, but stress can supposedly make it harder to conceive. Whatever you can do to take care of yourself and to feel more at peace couldn't hurt, both in getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy. And whatever it takes to feel like your daughter isn't getting the short end of the stick in any way. And how are you and your DH doing? Is there a strain between you at all? One other thing strikes me about your post - your sense that you don't want to overstep the mom boundaries. That is very sensitive and perceptive. I would say that your basic stance with SS right now could be "I know I can't replace your mom, but I am a mom, and I'm here for you." And down the road, the mother-son bond may well grow. Bottom line, don't beat yourself up. You sound like you have a lot of wisdom and understanding about what your SS is going through, and the challenges to your family. Having someone to talk to is so important! Hope you get some help here. Best wishes.

Please all you DIY's. do you realize in order fog the glass each fixture, and remember we're talking about 12 of them, they have to be disassembled? [...] Additionally, since the these are LIGHTS, the light bulbs will show any inconsistencies in the application of the DIY materials. Tragically tedious, yes, but when you're super picky, sometimes there's little choice left but to take matters into your own hands (especially when you're tired of waiting months/years for companies to make something that really appeals to you). :-D Heck, I've gotten to a point to where I'm considering buying components/light kits/wiring and creating my own darn lights, lol. Or forgetting the wiring entirely and just tossing flameless LED candles (that use remotes and timers) atop various wood pallets/frames/hollow globes or in metal birdcages/lanterns/candle holders/whatever. I'm tellin' ya... PICKY!!! lol It's a painful curse, it really is.

Here's a simple picture showing how difficult this all is. The paint shown is the same grey paint. But it is showing up as a bunch of different colors depending on the light. They all do this. This is why we risk losing our minds. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/How-to-pick-the-best-gray-paint-colour.-Showing-Benajmin-Moore-Shoreline-by-Kylie-M-INteriors-Edesign-blog.jpg