In our last home we had a family room and a living room. Growing up some of my aunts had this set up and it was understood that the family room was for kids, the living room was for adults. So, I thought this would be the case in our home. The living room had no television–which in itself discourages children from entering–and “fancy couches”. When we moved into our new home we got rid of the family room furniture and kept the “fancy couches” for everyday use.
As I was chatting on the phone with my mother this morning I looked over to see my youngest son stabbing the arm of the couch with a pencil. This reminded me of a couple things.
1–Mothers are not allowed to talk on the phone while the children are home. (Which means mothers are never allowed to talk on the phone.)
2–This is not the first time the “fancy couches” have fallen victim to assaulting children…
When my oldest was around 4 or 5 (definitely beyond the years of writing on anything other than paper) he drew a monster truck on the back of one of the sofas with a yellow marker. It was about 2′ x 3′. The couches were rather new at that time and I was absolutely flabbergasted! Luckily, I learned that Magic Eraser sponges will not remove marker from fabric but they will lighten it enough that a monster truck will not be visible to most visitors.
This information came in handy when, years later, my youngest son proudly appeared in the kitchen covered from head to toe in marker “tattoos”. After showing me the handiwork on his body, he led me to the living room so I could see how he’d also tattooed the arms of the couch. Nice.
The cat has since scratched holes in the fabric. My husband, in an attempt to steam clean the ottoman, dumped a gallon of so of detergent on it. The entire set has gone from being the “fancy couches” to family furniture. And, I think, maybe they’re just a little more comfortable as a result…
