June, where have you gone?

Can it be true? Is June really nearing an end? Have I really only logged two blog posts this month?

This must be a personal record. I will need to double time it to make up for lost posts!

One reason for my absenteeism is that I just returned from a week-long stint in Washington, D.C. Taking in the sites of our nation's capitol and surrounding area whilst dragging two youngsters around with me has left me exhausted and not much energy for the this weekend's birthday festivities. The purpose of my visit was to see family in Springfield, Virginia and take Jack and Paige to see some big city sights that we don't get to experience in our own small town.



I'm feverishly trying to get unpacked and settled just in time to welcome out-of-town family on Friday and finish any last minute details in preparation for Jack's pirate party this Saturday.

Therefore, it may take a bit of time before I can take a deep breath and post photos from our trip and the birthday boy's big day. Not to mention, I left my camera battery charger in Virginia, so I must conserve battery power for the birthday party, so I can actually document the occasion. Please bear patiently with me!

Ben did manage to finish up the last of the Batman bedroom painting {that my mom and I started} while the kids and I were gone. So today my parents and I added the Batman decal and bat signal sconce to Gotham City.

Here's a sneak peek to whet your appetite.

We painted 3 of the 4 walls Benjamin Moore Stratford Blue - 831. It's got a purplish undertone and looks more like periwinkle blue, which matched the tones in the sheets and bedding purchased from Pottery Barn Kids. It's a really rich color, which looks awesome during the day, but I need to find more lighting so it doesn't look too dark and cave-like {maybe that's not a bad thing here, though} at night. The red lampshade will eventually be replaced by probably a navy one. And PBK has this lamp that I'd love to have to go on the dresser.

The fourth {headboard} wall is our Gotham City skyline. Copied directly from PB Kids. I couldn't find a tutorial online, so my mom just used the image from the website as a guide and penciled out the whole city freehand {with a level and straight edge of course}. We also added a 3-D building to the soffit in the right hand corner {not sure this is the right term, just can't figure out what to call that funky protrusion}. We will be adding more details to the mural, such as windows and probably more details in the cityscape.

The room still isn't totally finished {at least to my liking}. So, promise I will post more photos down the road when the room is {more} complete.

Sorry for the horrible iPhone pics and quick post. I've got lots to do and very little time, so that's all you get today.

Be back as soon as I'm rested {in my new bed, which sleeps beautifully by the way} and recovered with plenty more photos and an update on all of the other activities that have filled up our month of June.