The Tale of Two Bunk Beds

Let me begin by saying that Lion and I have never assembled bunk beds. We have never slept in them or really had anything to do with them. And now that you know this you will probably understand that bed assembly turned into a real fiasco.


Step 1 - Bring all the pieces into the room. This went very well without any hiccups or even scuffing a wall.


Step 2 - Prep pieces. Glitch #1 - We were missing two nuts for the bolts that held the bed rails to the headboard. Lion made a run to The Mighty Home Depot. If I may interject a side note? We were in Home Depot every... single...day last week. Did I mention that they owe me stock?


Step 3 - Assembly. It went perfectly! And then we lifted the frames up to put one on top of the other and realized (Glitch #2) that both headboards needed to be on the top bunk in order for one to go on top of the other. We had them assembled as two twins instead of in the bunk bed configuration.


Step 4 - Disassemble and reassemble in proper configuration. Add slats and base board and matresses. Insert Glitch #3. When we went to put the ladder on for the top bunk we realized that we had put the side rail on the wrong level. There was a setting for bunks (upper) and one for twins (lower). We had both on the lower.


Step 5 - Take top bunk back down and completely disassemble and reassemble. Put back on top of top bunk. Double check ladder and side rail and put on base board and mattress. I discovered that I can't be in the top bunk (suspicious creakings) to make the beds and I'm too short to make them from the floor. If you are ever visiting and you need the step ladder, it's in the girls' room.


Step 6 - Bring in the dresser. Move O's clothes into the proper dresser. This got really entertaining because when he saw her stuff moving out, Rhino couldn't help fast enough! I've never seen shoes fly but they sure were yesterday.


The bunk beds took us a full 4 hours. I was so shaky and tired by the time we were done I was ready to declare that I would die in this house before I would ever move. I still may.

The Great Switch-a-Room: The Big Reveal!

The Great Switch-a-Room Day 9: Are we Done Yet?

The Great Switch a Room Day 7: Paint FINALLY Goes Up!

You've been stalking all day to see if there was an update right? Sorry it took so long to get here but if you could see my hands right now you would know what I was doing.


Poor Lion. He wanted so badly to help me paint but he was lacking the finesse and patience to get the same sponging result that I was getting and he liked my version better. He went so far as to completely clean all the paint off one stripe and try from scratch only to frustrate himself more. So he grudgingly moved out and waited patiently for me to finish. And friends, I assure you that there is absolutely NO sarcasm here. He really wanted to paint for his two little princesses and I'm getting a little faklempt that he wasn't able to.


Now, I ask you, how many days did it take me to tape off the room? Three? Ask me how long it took me to paint. Three hours. No kidding. Three hours and only a quart of paint. So now we have a full gallon (because you had to add 1 quart of glaze to the paint) of Pepto pink paint with glaze that we have no clue what to do with.


I suggested that we give it to the exhibits and let them go nuts in the playroom but Lion vetoed that. It's not like I don't also have avacado green and sky blue that they could play with too and if you consider that the room is already Big Bird yellow with Emerald City green carpet, how much worse could they really make it? But I digress.


Tomorrow we go snag the new knobs for the dresser and the curtain and valance for the window and then we are ready for moving day on Sunday! Saturday will be dedicated to taking all the other furniture out of the room and cleaning the carpet.


I'm starting to get really excited again. We are getting close to the finish line in this marathon and I have to tell you that I'm glad we didn't move in last weekend. The room is going to look so much cuter now. Lesson learned - slow down and be flexible. But don't tell Lion! He'll never let me live it down!


By the way, those of you who are wondering why we switched from vlogging mode? I'm saving it all for the big reveal on Monday! You won't even get pictures except maybe of some bits and fragments of things I buy for the room. Oh yeah! Who knows how to drive her blog traffic?

The Great Switch-a-Room Day 6: By the Numbers

No vlog today because all I could really show you is a blue and white jail cell. No kidding! With all the tape on the walls to mark out the stripes it really looks like a blue and white cell. I find it funny because this project is feeling like a life sentence right now.

So to pick up my mood a little before I head in "there" for my 14 feet of servitude I thought I would give you the rundown of how this project has been going - by the numbers.

1 - the number of people currently working on the project.

31/2 - the number of rolls of painter's tape that have given their lives.

3 - the number of children who have provided non-stop interruptions.

2 - the number of drinks that have been spilled on the carpet to date (why do I feel like this is not done?)

851 - the number of times I shot myself in the face with the laser level today.

1,704,269 - the number of times I have climbed the ladder or have asked my children to please get off the ladder.

45 - the number of minutes I searched for my pencil after one of said children's interruptions.

1 - the number of laser levels that fell off the wall while I was searching for the pencil.

6 - the number of funky pencils that are in junk drawer

0 - the number of funky pencils in the junk drawer that are sharpened

35 - the number of minutes I searched for a pencil sharpener to sharpen a new pencil since the other one went on strike.

18 - the number of times I passed the bathroom mirror before I noticed that the "missing" pencil was stuck through my pony tail.

436 - the number of times I was able to pound my head against the wall before I passed out.

Did I mention that I'm ready for this project to be done? There is one more wall to tape off and then we launch into sponging mode. How many times to you think I'll lose my sponge? And where will I find it?

I probably don't even want to know!

The Great Switch-a-Room Day 4: Paint Prep

Will this project ever end?!

Mom Tip Monday: Unexpected Projects

Those of you who have been following my Great Switch-a-Room know that I have been confronted full force with an unexpected project. I thought it was only appropriate to share some Dos and Don'ts of unexpected project management.

Don't: Panic. That's what happened to me yesterday. I had my brain set on "moving" and it simply did not happen. Looking back (without the aggravation factor) I should have expected to have to clean the bed frames. I mean, what mom isn't going to clean something before she puts it in her children's room? Duh!

Do: Slow down. Unless you are up against a deadline imposed by someone else, you can be flexible. I wanted it all done YESTERDAY but it wasn't going to happen. I had to back off make a list of the steps that needed to happen before move in and create a plan of attack.

Don't: Lose your temper. It just gave me a stomach and headache and really made everyone's day miserable. And there was no reason. After Lion and I both stepped back and looked at the project ahead of us, we reached a compromise within a 3 minute conversation. Before that we were just standing in the garage shooting daggers at each other.

Do: Tap into your creativity. Even if you don't think you have any, a walk though Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond or JoAnn Fabrics will start the thinking and provide a little inspiration even if it is just in colors. Then prepare to reign yourself in. I have about a million ideas floating around in my head but the reality is that I will only be able to execute on paint, window treatments and art on the wall.

Well, now I am off to prep the furniture for cleaning. The kids have agreed to help so it should be an interesting afternoon after we pick up the Orangutan! By the way, the girls have decided on pink so Mom has her eye on some cute polka dot panels at Bed Bath and Beyond and I'm studying up on sponging techniques. Wish me luck!

The Lion's Take on Redecorating

Dear Lion, I warned you I was going to do this! Deal!

We have lived in our house for three years. Ask me how many rooms we have "decorated." How about half of three. No, I don't mean a room and a half. I mean we have half decorated three rooms. We painted the Orangutan exhibit - but no curtains or pictures on the walls. We painted the Rhino exhibit (when he was in a solo exhibit) and put up a valance and border. But when Marmoset came she evicted him to the Orangutan exhibit and I painted her exhibit. Again no pictures, but we do have a valance up. And then you have the Lion Den. It got painted but the one picture that was up before the painting still hasn't gone back up.

We're not so good at this decorating thing.

Well, the washing machine died yesterday so we are off to the great orange heaven (aka Home Depot) this weekend to get a new washer. Aha! The perfect chance! So I zipped the Lion an e-mail that went like this.

"Hey. I was thinking. Can we get some KILZ and paint for the bathroom while we are at Depot this weekend? We have the gift cards from Bed Bath and Beyond and Steinmart so maybe we could redo our bathroom for the cost of paint. I've been watching the mildew and the peeling ceiling for a while now so we need to do something.

Just an idea. I'll do the work."

That was a pretty generous offer I thought - especially considering all the little nooks and crannies and cutting in that need to be done.

The Lion's response? (And I'm pulling this right from the e-mail!)

"IT’S NOT MLDEW ITS CHARM"

My response? You can call it penicillin, love but it's still mold.

Let's hope I don't end up with this on the bathroom wall.