Monday, July 21, 2008

My kids sleep on a shelf!!!

And they love it! They all woke up smiling this morning and said that they were comfortable all night long and LOVE their new beds. :) They were very easy to put together, except for the one part that was bent.....it looks like it was bent during manufacturing. It still works fine though and doesn't pose any danger to falling or anything, and it is not noticeable unless you know to look for it, so I don't think I'll bother with taking it back. So here's what we did to make them:

I bought a huge shelf from Sam's Club that is 24" deep, 72" high and 77" wide. It has four adjustable shelves, so I used the beams from one shelf as side rails for the top and middle. I bought some foam from Hancock Fabrics that was already pre-cut and wrapped in plastic (so I didn't have to wrap them myself!), and they fit perfectly on each shelf! They were 3" thick, 24" wide and 72" long. I was going to leave extra room and not cover the entire shelf with a foam mattress, but they are a perfect fit, so I think I'll just leave them. So, now my kids have triple bunks! I plan to add a hanging pocket of some kind onto the wall beside each of them so they can have books and other quiet activities to do when needed. I also want to add reading lights for each of them, ones that will shut off automatically. (Any suggestions?)

The plan is that in a year or so, Jack will move to the bottom bunk, Jacob will move to the middle and Jayla will have her own room and her own bed. (We already have a bed for her but nowhere to put it!)

Here they are enjoying their new beds! :)



I caught a picture of them before they woke up this morning. :)


Jonathan moves around a lot, so his sheet is nearly off, Jayla doesn't move at all....her sheet is almost perfect, and Jacob, well, I need to wash another sheet for him, but he was obviously all over the place too and didn't even come close to staying on his sleeping bag! LOL!