I have a 2 1/2 year-old son and we also struggle with working in the yard at times. IT is better this year here are some things I have done... Let them water your containers or play with water. Drexler now tells me the flowers are crying because they are thirsty. I then give him the hose and let him have at it...last night he was right. One of my pansies was thirsty! Get excited about things. Right now EVERY DAY when I get home from work my son asks to go pick the strawberries. We go out and usually a new one is ripe (can't wait a few more weeks). He is still working on not picking the green ones, but he'll learn. Teach them what is yummy. Last year we planted carrots in a container and he would go out and pick a carrot out, wipe it off and eat it. Clean soil, no chemicals and hey he was eating carrots. Teach them to love flowers. How does it smell? How does it taste. Have them help you pick out what ones to pick. Drexler and I will do this together, go into the house and put them in vases and then talk about how pretty they are. I have a small vase by my bed that he empties out every day and replaces the water in...and then the flowers. A bit of a pain, but he is learning to appreciate my yard. Don't freak when they step on a plant, but do teach them to be nice to your plants. I have a large yard and Drex has hurt some of my plants, but we talk about how to treat them. Teach them to watch for bugs and to be interested in them. Ants can keep a kid busy for at least fifteen minutes. Tell yourself you will most likely not get a lot accomplished with your helpers so when you do accomplish something it feels good. Make them an area that is all theirs.

Lots of good ideas here. Thanks! Joann - thanks for the picture. That is what I was envisioning, but I like having an example. I never considered green as the main wall color, but I like the idea. I'll have to find a subtle green though. I don't want the color to be too loud. I love the image of the stripes provided by dawnp. That is very do-able for me. I will involve my son in the selection, after I've narrowed down the choices. He picked the bedding, but has told me that he wants rainbow walls (not gonna happen!). I think he'll like the stripes in the example from dawnp. Maybe I can find some nice tans and greens for the colors. Les - we originally had the furniture as you suggested, but when you entered the room the edge of the chest made it feel blocked. But I do like the idea of creating a space in the corner for activities. Once we paint I'll play with the furniture arrangement again. Maybe it would be better if I placed the chest against the wall to the left of the table, rather than on an angle. What do you think? I'm on the hunt for a small book shelf. I'll also look at removable decals that would be fun for the next few years, but can be removed as he gets older. I'll look at shagreen once I find my samples. Thanks bestyears. This is why I love this forum! I've been looking at his room for a year now without any direction. Now I have it! Thank you everyone. I'll keep checking back in case anyone else has further ideas or opinions.

ajsmama, thanks for your comments. the house was built in the 50s and the problem is not with the bedding touching the outlet but with it being only one of 2 outlets in the room, we will need to plug into it and it's an older outlet where the plugs sag out of it. My dh doesn't want the plugs from a light to be jammed against the bed, and since my son is only 3 1/2 we need a bedrail and a wall for him not to fall out so bed needs to be against wall...I guess we could have another outlet put in at some point, but not now. Polly929, I will be getting rid of the dresser soon and getting a long one to put in it's place against the wall the head of the bed in on. The curtains we have do come in red (Pottery Barn Kids)and you can't really tell but they are navy blue with colorful stitching in stipes. I just noticed they have curtains which match the bedding (see link) what do you think about that? Shannon01, the door is on the same wall as the bed. The closet wall is to the left of the door and the closet is not very long but takes up half of that wall. In the picture with the bookcase, the wall to the left is where the closet is, pretty much within inches of the left edge of photo. I like your ideas. I think I will keep the bed where it is. As for toy, we have a playroom so he doesn't really need any storage for them. Just books. And we just bought this bedding he picked out in January when he changed from a crib to a big boy bed. So that stays. Making a headboard out of the cards is a fantastic idea! Valinsv, thank you for considering the real reason behind my son's feelings. We actually have had a big year with lots of changes. We moved in October (just up the street, so same friends etc but still a move), I just had a baby, and he moved from a crib to a big boy bed. I'm with you in not wanting to make too many changes at once. The problem is that ever since we moved in here, his room has been in constant flux, now with the bed so I guess this is my last ditch effort to get it right. But I agree too much change is no good. So I think the biggest thing is the paint color. I will paint it a wheat/khaki. I will keep the bed where it is and move the animal cards down to make either a headboard or put on the wall next to his bed. And I will get a new longer dresser for safety reasons and put it next to his bed. But like you said, first the paint and then wait to see. We don't have room for a chair but we do cuddle up for a long while on his bed and talk and read at night. The problem is I don't feel warm and cozy in there, so there may be a real issue of design to address as well as being sensitive to is growing independence and feelings of fear. Wow. This has all become much more complex than when I began but it's good. I'm going to involve him in all of this too so that should help. So tell me what you all think of matching the curtains to the bedding? Here is a link that might be useful: Madras curtains

Mayflowers: "There's high gloss white tile from floor to ceiling on all four walls. Mirrors add shine. Painted woodwork in a bathroom would probably need to be glossy to make it washable." The white tile I have is high gloss, but I think, it doesn't exactly appear so. You see, the tile is not completely flat. It has a very slight wave in it. I think this reduces the "shine." At the same time, this window is north facing, so there is no sun streaming in. It also is a frosted window, so that also diminishes the amount of light entering the room. (Therefore reducing the shine?) You also say: "Painted woodwork in a bathroom would probably need to be glossy to make it washable." My husband is quite the handyman. He says that we would be able to find a durable paint without high gloss. We are a family of four, but only one of us showers in there. So perhaps the paint would hold up well enough. Also: "Right, the grain shows through unless you smooth it out with filler. That's an option I hadn't thought of and would work with your door style to give you a look of "just bought" cabinets." I could use filler when painting the trim white and see how well it covers the grain. I think we could do that. Then when it comes to the vanity, the cupboard and drawers, we could consider gray paint (only if the trim worked out well). But I like the idea of staining the vanity, cupboard and drawers. That would be more work. Staining is always a bit tricky---it's difficult to get just the right colour. I am wondering whether a grey wash would work. That would be easier. Nosoccermom says: "I could see the vanity in a grey stain but would keep everything else in the color of the tiles and tub." So just doing the vanity in a grey stain/paint is something I would definitely consider. I think I would need to paint the trim in the room white and work from there. "But I agree that painted oak cabinets will always look like "painted oak cabinets." Hopefully not. "However, do your cabinets/wood work have the regular strong oak grain?" Unfortunately, yes. Here are a couple of closeup photos where you can see the grain of the oak.