Since Time Warner made me clean my kid's room, and now they have all this inordinate amount of space to actually play with their toys, and act all crazy running around and dancing, I think it's high time we start to fill up all that space with actual furniture.

Specifically the furniture that has been lurking in our hallway, and the "bonus room," which is really not a room at all, but more like an extra wide hallway, or part of the dining room, or part of the living room.

Dresser in the Hallway

Of course, it only makes sense to put the beds back in the room as well, so we can finally have our room back to ourselves.

Obviously the simple thing to do would be to move the beds they are currently using back into their room.  Right?  But when can things ever be simple?


The very evening of the day I cleaned the kid's room I put the kids to bed (in "the family" bedroom) and came back out to watch a little TV with my husband and write about cleaning the kid's room.  A minute later my daughter trotted out of the bedroom happy as a little clam.  Um, wait.  I started to think I had lost my mind a little.  Did I put her in my son's bed?  Because I could have sworn I had put her in the crib . . .

Upon examination I assured myself I had not in fact lost my mind.  My son was in his own bed and he offered willing testimony, as an eye witness, to the Princess's escape act.

She had held onto the side and "walked" her feet up the slats until she could swing her leg up and over then "walked" her feet back down the slats on the front and jumped down.

Well, no problem at all.  We knew this day was coming.  We will just convert the crib to a toddler bed.  And all we need is that one little board to do it.  Simple.  Just need to get that board.  You know the board that I had stored under the crib, until the kids found it, and started wielding it like a weapon.  The one I took away from them and put up someplace where they wouldn't be able to get it.  Someplace where we wouldn't lose it.  Someplace where I couldn't possibly forget . . .

Does anyone else remember where exactly that someplace was?

One bed down.

My son has been sleeping on a toddler bed so obviously we could just get him a new bed and switch her to his bed.  He will outgrow it at some point anyway.  Probably sooner than later at the rate he grows.

Sadly, there was a bit of an incident recently involving certain children jumping on a certain toddler bed and breaking out the bottom support slats.  We have been making due by using a cardboard box to prop up one side of the mattress.  It hasn't been the best fix.

Ok, so I know the obvious solution is to fix (like real fix, not cardboard box fix) the toddler bed and either find the board for the crib or make one.  Right?

But . . .

I am really loving all the space the kids have in their room right now to play.  They don't have to drag all their toys out into the middle of the living room floor to play. (Not that it stops them . . .)  Before the slab leak they had no such space in their room.  Two dressers, one toddler bed, one crib, a shelf, a changing table (thank goodness we are not putting that back in) and a toy box took up every bit of space in that room.  It worked fine as a bedroom but not really that well as a bedroom/playroom.  I would really love a solution that makes more efficient use of the space.

Something like . . .

But without the hefty price tag.

So, I started to think more along the lines of this.


With my son up top on the twin bed and the toddler mattress down below.


Then I could add a little night stand and some other things depending on how much space it leaves.

Then I found plans to build that bed and I thought, I bet my dad could do that and we could save some money!  It just so happens he is planning a trip to visit us at the end of the month, and is going to be helping me with my bathroom cabinet, so why not add another project?

I also came across these plans.


And my heart went pitter patter.

I talked to my dad and he said if there are plans he should be able to build it no problem.  I told him there was an easier plan and a more difficult (ultimate fantasy bed) plan.  He said the more difficult one shouldn't be a problem.  Just send it so he could take a look and get started.

In the spirit of counting my chickens before they hatched (delusions of grandeur) I started planning it all out.  I even selected bedding for each bed.  The Peanut reeeeaaaaalllllly wants Sponge Bob, (sigh) and the Princess wants everything.  She is good with anything pink and flowery. (Do you see why we call her the Princess?)  I am thinking Hello Kitty for her.  Of course my original whole set idea was somewhat squashed when I saw whole set prices so I am thinking fleece blankets.  Their room gets cold at night! :)
I also planned on putting those glow stars on the bottom of the upper bed so the Princess could have a starry sky in her little fort.  The two of them would have a blast playing in there when they are not sleeping.

I have also gone back and forth trying to decide on a paint color.  First I was thinking green because it's gender neutral and would look good with the periwinkle wall color.  Then I was thinking I could do a whole red, yellow, blue super hero theme.  Make her part Wonder Woman and his Superman.  This is mostly for my husband trying to sell him on that particular bed.  This was also before they picked their bedding choices.  Then I thought maybe I should be more practical and use paint I already have which brings us back to green, or maybe blue. (not superhero blue, lighter brighter blue)

Then I talked to my dad again who basically said that bed wouldn't be a problem to make at all . . .

With a few modifications . . .

In about a year . . .

After he gets a workshop . . .

Right.

Ok, so plan C . . .

Which is really the most logical solution.

Mattresses on the Floor

The kids are loving it.  It's like camping.  They love sleeping together and we have had relatively few bedtime issues, surprisingly.

The beautiful quilts were made by Aunt Jamie :)

It also avoids creating dents in the floor.

It's a good solution for now.

One day . . .



What?  I can dream!