not that you asked...

Bunk bed update: You need a Dave.

Well the update on the bunk bed situation is that we scored some on Craigslist over the weekend, so HERE WE GO. I'd been scouring Craigslist since before I posted that last entry, but I wasn't finding anything under $300 that wasn't metal (we wanted wood) and in some cases, people were asking over a THOUSAND DOLLARS for furniture that was outdated and not in the greatest shape, not to mention that those ads also usually included lots of CAPS LOCK typing about WE WILL NOT DELIVER and DO NOT EMAIL TO ASK IF THE ITEM IS AVAILABLE and even some YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO HAUL DOWN THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS, BRING AT LEAST FOUR PEOPLE WITH YOU. It was all very harsh and angry-sounding; it made me feel conflicted about the fact that someone was so emotionally attached to their furniture that they felt they had to charge exorbitant amounts of money for a 25-year-old set of bunk beds and then they had to go and be BELLIGERANT and VERY BOSSY about exactly how the deal was handled.

Anyway, on Sunday afternoon Dave and I were at my parents' house, cleaning out our cars (his is going up for sale this week) when I saw someone posting what looked like a beautiful set of bunk beds for $25, and only about 20 minutes from my parents' house. I emailed them and waited an INTERMINABLE amount of time for someone to email me back, and was then told that a few other people had inquired, and the bunk beds were on the porch and were first-come, first-served. They were missing the hardware to put them together, but Dave and I decided that for $25, they were worth the risk. The only thing was, would we be the first people to get there? I seriously SERIOUSLY considered backing out of the opportunity at that point – I could just imagine us getting there and having to duke it out with some other family who pulled up at the same time and we'd be digging in our pockets for coins to flip and then it would be best out of three and then five and then probably fistfights in front of our children and OMG I DO NOT LIKE CONFRONTATION, so obviously the smart thing to do was to just send Dave. By himself. While I sat at home and wrung my hands and fretted over losing the greatest find in the history of Craigslist.

There is something about Dave, though. Somehow he is always at the right place at the right time – that kind of thing. I don't believe in karma, but I guess if you were going to use karma to describe whatever it is that he manages to do, it would be that. He is the kind of guy who pulls over in rainstorms to help strangers change flat tires and the kind of person who gladly pays straggly looking guys hanging around Home Depot to drive our purchases home in their straggly looking vans because they need the money more than we need to save it. And he is not going to TELL YOU that he does this – he would never boast or brag; in fact, you'd never know he'd done ANYTHING in the rain except for the fact that he came home soaking wet, and even then, you have to ASK – he's not going to advertise his do-gooding.

He was gone for more than 35 minutes when I finally called him; I couldn't stand waiting any longer – the house he was headed to was only TWENTY minutes away. And when he answered, he asked if he could call me back and I could hear some old woman talking to him in the background and I immediately thought, WELL CRAP, we missed it and he is helping SOMEONE ELSE load it into their car. Because that is exactly what he would do, because he is EXACTLY that kind of person. But then he calls back and says that not only do we get the bunk beds? BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE OUR MONEY. The bunk beds are free! FREE! This ONLY happens to Dave. ONLY TO DAVE. If I had been there, there would have been confrontation and a bidding war and probably punches thrown, meanwhile Dave gets a freaking DISCOUNT.

 

Apparently the people selling the bunk beds moved and left a bunch of stuff on their lawn and porch that their neighbors were monitoring for them. Dave said there were honest-to-goodness HOARDERS roaming the lawn, picking through boxes of junk and trash and then just stuffing entire boxes of it all into their hoarder cars and that it was disturbing and bizarre and that's another reason why I am glad I chose to stay with the kids. IN HINDSIGHT.

So now we have perfect-condition, all-wood bunk beds, but no hardware and guess who doesn't even care about that? DAVE. Because he gets to go to Home Depot and putter around and look for bolts and screws and dowels and all kinds of other little pieces to make the puzzle fit together and he is happy as a pig in mud to do that kind of thing. This is like the IDEAL PROJECT for the two of us to do together: I got to “shop” for three weeks straight to find the perfect item. Then I got the awesome adrenaline rush of GETTING said item, for a very impressive discount, as well as the thrill of posting a CRAIGSLIST WIN to Twitter (sorry for the gloating, I couldn't help it). Then he gets to putter around Home Depot feeling up gadgets and inventing reasons he needs new tools and it costs us nothing, at least, not yet. (I imagine the hardware will set us back twenty or thirty bucks? Maybe?)

Anyway – Dave. You should get yourself one like him.

So. Bunk beds. Is our summer OFF THE HOOK or what?

It's been a while since we did a Big Project around the house, and when that happens, I tend to get a little antsy, which is why I've suddenly decided the kids need bunk beds.

Oh, sure, there are actual CONCRETE reasons why introducing bunk beds to our home would be a good and perfectly safe and satisfying idea. For starters, Lucy is growing (as children seem to do) and since her 30-odd stuffed animals take up an entire foot of real estate at the head of her bed, she's running out of leg room in her toddler bed. This kind of thing happens and it really shouldn't surprise me given that her next birthday – although still five months away – will raise her age to a seemingly impossible FOUR ENTIRE YEARS OLD. We'd also love the extra floor space it would open up in our small house. And the kids sleep in a bunk bed at my parents' house, so I feel completely fine about bunk beds when it comes to safety; of course, there's also the very important thing about how my children are three and five and still (STILL!) do not get out of their beds EVER EVER EVER unless it is very obviously morning and the clock says that it is past 7am, and even then it's just Asher. Lucy just lays in her bed awake until we go in after her. I KNOW HOW LUCKY WE ARE.

The kids think it's awesome to sleep in the same room; they think it's THE MOST AWESOMEST THING EVER to go to Dave's parents' house and sleep in the same BED together – they would love sharing a room. And apparently I conditioned them during their infancy/toddlerhood to ONLY SLEEP IN BEDS, so even if they're exhausted and cranky and miserable, they will NOT drop off to sleep in a car or on a couch or in front of a movie. And even though that's PRETTY ANNOYING at times, it does mean that once they're in their beds, they're pretty much ready to go to sleep and they don't mess around. So I think they'd transition without issue.

But even though Lucy will need a bigger bed at some point and even though opening up more floor space would be nice and even though the transition to two kids sleeping in one room would be a pretty simple affair, I kind of wonder if I'm just bored and want to get bunk beds so I have some kind of project to keep me busy. I'M SO BORED LATELY, YOU GUYS. I'm the kind of bored where you'd THINK I'd be blogging all the time and Twittering away and instead I'm the kind of bored where I'm doing nothing so I have nothing to really inspire me to blog. We're having a great summer, and the kids and I are really enjoying each other most days and I'm reading a lot of books (A LOT OF BOOKS), but... I don't know. I'm in this place where I'm not stimulated intellectually (in other words, ain't no freelance work in this joint, like, AT ALL), and not that we're destitute or anything, but I realize that if I was able to generate SOME income, it would be incredibly helpful.

It's this weird place to be – I will have some free time on my hands in the fall, but I can't find a job that fits into that tiny mold. I could probably find something I like to do OUTSIDE the home, but I'm not sure finding childcare would make it worth it. I feel compelled to contribute SOMETHING to our household, and yet I also know that we are technically fine WITHOUT me contributing, as has been the case for the last seven-ish months, though at times it gets a little tight. I also know that sometimes the fact that I feel compelled to contribute makes Dave feel a little icky (he is the kind of man who identifies strongly as a Provider, and I am fine with that) and sometimes I wonder if I feel compelled because I want to see that money go into our savings account (as much of it could) or if I just want the freedom to shop more. I don't NEED to shop more, let's be clear.

So it remains to be seen whether The Great Bunk Bed Project of 2012 has been born out of necessity or boredom, though it appears to be a bit of both. I just need to find SOMETHING to keep me busy before I start thinking that I might as well have a third child or something. You know, just delay the inevitable Going Back to Work Full-Time thing as long as possible. NOT THAT I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT. (HA HA HA YES I HAVE.)

Anyway, if you have bunk bed recommendations or tips or tricks, send them my way. I know about changing the top sheet of doom (and that I will probably rarely do it), but do you have any other ideas about bedding or where you got yours or what I should look for when it comes time to buy some? Hopefully Craigslist will pull through for us, but you'll kindly remember that I had to RETURN SOMETHING I bought on Craigslist, so if I could find something new for the approximate price I might pay for something on Craigslist and avoid the horror that is making another poor decision, that would be preferable. Also note that these don't have to be SUPER NICE beds – we plan on moving in another couple of years, and I don't want to buy really nice stuff that might not go in our next home. I'll be happy if they last, yes, but chances are that when we move, we'll split the kids up into their own rooms again and we already have a full-sized bed in storage for Asher and hope to give Lucy our queen-sized one so that Dave and I can get one of those fancy king-sized beds where you can roll over for days and make snow angels and almost never touch anyone. SHUT UP, WE ARE STILL IN LOVE. We are just kind of tired of each other's hot breath on our necks.

And now here's a picture of Lucy. If Survivor is still on in 2030, she'll be an excellent candidate to win the whole thing.