Sunday, June 29, 2014

There were 3 in a bed(room)

Yesterday we gave our apartment people our 30 days notice to leave, and even though I've cried a lot about how squished we are and how much space we don't have and on and on, I'm going to definitely cry when we leave. (For those of you who aren't up to date on our life situation - we live in a 1,082 square ft. 2 bedroom apartment with 3 kids, 2 cats, and 0 outdoor space, not even a balcony.  Come to think of it, it's probably a really good thing that we don't have a balcony.)

That, however, is a post for another day.  Since we are leaving, I thought I'd document a slice of life right now so that someday I can look back on these crazy times and laugh.  (And then cry.  And then laugh again.)

And so I present...3 kids, 1 bedroom:



The girls beds are crib mattresses on wooden platforms that Stephen built, and Emeric has a full size crib.  I'm actually really surprised that these pictures look this nice.  We just replaced the 2 stained and ripped pink Ikea sheets that have been used for the girls since Ava was born (almost 5 years.  I'd say that was $7.99 well spent) and got actual bedding sets for them instead of the random pillowcases and blankets we've hodgepodged together up til now - and we also painted over the insane murals the girls have been slowly coloring for the past year.  So I guess that helps a lot.


Still, the decor feels admittedly lacking to me.  See the picture frames over the beds?  Those have been hanging there not since Christmas, not since last Christmas, but since Christmas of 2011.  Hey, even a broken decor system is right once a year.

At bedtime, the first idea we found that worked was to put Emeric to bed at 7pm, Clare in bed at 7:30, and Ava at 8.  This has recently been moving towards a more flexible bedtime ritual of "get Emeric to sleep when he's tired, and after he's asleep get the girls to bed."  They are all usually in bed at a very reasonable time, but don't be too jealous - any time after 5am is fair game for wake up.  And when one of them is up, alllllll of them are up.

Well, hey.  At least one of them still naps.

I have a feeling about 50% of the people reading this post are horrified that 3 children are sharing one bedroom and feel this is a barbaric practice.  The other 50% are wondering why I am traumatized by this experience (like for instance - my grandpa, who shared a room with 6 of the men in his family and slept in a double bed with both his father and his twin brother during his childhood in Canada when the chamber pots would routinely freeze overnight.  Just kidding - I don't think he reads the blog!)

I also have to give some props to Ana for inspiration for this post - apparently she's in the same 3 kid to a bedroom boat as we are.  When I read her post about that, I was slightly overjoyed that we weren't alone in our endeavors.  And then I wished she would write a little more about it.  And then I figured that if I wanted to read a post like that, I might as well write a post like that.  (But hint, hint, girl...write that post. I still wanna read it.)

Anyway, we're moving next month to a real house with a real yard and 3 - THREE! - bedrooms.  They are pretty tiny rooms, but it's gonna feel like heaven on earth to us.  Stay tuned for the continuing saga...

13 comments:

  1. Single bedrooms are highly overrated if you ask me. Our kids are doubled up (boys together, girls together) and we would triple them up if the need arose. Stack 'em up, I say! I shared with my sisters growing up, and it never hurts to learn things like compromise and how to share space. They have to learn it at some point! Better now than in college, I say. We also do crib mattresses from IKEA on the floor, but without the fancy platform. I'm considering putting them on raised cots sometime in the next year or so, just to gain some under-bed storage since we have no closets in our ridic. house, but then again, maybe not. Just another place to stow junk and clean under. :) Happy packing!!

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    1. Hahaha I do feel so fancy having a platform now!!! (But another confession - it's just a square wood box that hasn't been painted...so only slightly fancy ;)

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  2. On the plus side, they can't possibly make a huge mess in their room when it's sparsely furnished! Cecilia keeps asking when we'll move the twins into their room... I mean, we have an extra bedroom that we could use, but it's kind of nice keeping it open for guests!

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  3. It does help to have more than two bedrooms, seems to me, so that one can stick a baby somewhere different from where the kids and adults are sleeping. The big thing as far as I'm concerned, however, is having more than one toilet. Even 1.5 bathrooms is hugely, enormously, wildly better than having just one toilet. Your mileage may vary, of course.

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    1. That is what I am most looking forward to - being able to section off whoever the "troubled sleeper" is at the moment!! My grandpa that I mentioned above had 10 kids in his family, 4 bedrooms, and his mom had one of those rooms for her and whoever the baby was at the moment? Thinking back to the newborn days, I think that sounds like a FANTASTIC idea!!

      And when I was 18, there were 6 of us under one roof with one bathroom...but then my parents wisely added an addition :) You are so right - the toilet makes ALL the difference!!

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  4. Oh no!! I am the worst ever, because after a few nights of this we totally gave up and put Lucy back in her other room for the time being. I could not handle how sleep deprived she was due to the girls waking her up well before she usually does. You are an absolute champion for doing it and I would love love love to read YOUR post on it, I would eat that up. We are definitely going to make the switch before baby boy comes in a little over a month, sooooo I could really use the inspiration and education. Teach me your ways!!!!

    p.s. your apartment is the cutest ever.

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  5. My dad: 2 bed 750 sq ft house w ONE bathroom and SIX boys (dear grandma, how did you deal?). Me: 2 bed, 800 something sq ft apt with 2 babies and I'm like AAAAAAAHHHH! I'm dying!

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  6. Well...let me tell you.
    We currently have 4 bedrooms...
    Ours, Madison's, Peyton and Flynn's and Rhett's.
    Does anyone sleep in their own room?
    Hardly...
    Madison sleeps in Peyton's room in Flynn's bed.
    Flynn of course sleeps with us. Because come on...she's still a baby. She's only 4. And a half. Rhett never sleeps in his room. He roams. Sometimes he sleeps in our room. On the floor. Sometimes he sleeps downstairs.
    Bedrooms are highly overrated. : )
    So, you are doing just fine. : )
    Hugs!

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  7. Where are you moving? Is it closer to Annandale??

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    1. Technically, yes!! But practically, no... :( I wish I was feeling better...I would love to come see you guys!!!

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  8. We have a tiny two bedroom home with five children, four and under. We are crowded, but it is definitely do-able. We also don't get to take the kids out in our yard. We live near a busy street with no fence, so we have to take them elsewhere to play.

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    1. Wow! You're showing that having five young kids in two bedrooms with no yard is possible—but it sure doesn't sound ideal!

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  9. You will have already checked out some air mattresses and considered getting only a single sized or double sized air mattress. A queen size mattress is the optimal size for a mattress because it can fit on person nicely and without them rolling off. You also definitely could not fit two people on a single or double sized mattress. If you have considered a king-sized mattress, mull over how difficult it can be to fit a mattress of that size into any cramped space ( like a little camping tent ). Queen size mattresses fit nearly each where, and can accommodate more than one person. here

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