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Jul. 18, 2006
Bam, Bam, Bam...
That's the sound of me banging my head against the wall. My two weeks to get everything done is slipping by and everything is NOT done! Hopefully, it will soon be the sound of loft beds being assembled but so far, the only sound I hear is that of a belt sander and it has been running hour after hour after hour for two solid days.
My husband and I share one imperfection (most of the others we divide up between us) - PERFECTIONISM. A trait quite common to first borns but it can be mighty annoying at times...
A little background - things had gone so badly with plan A that I really began to think that it just wasn't the right thing at all. IKEA was not only out of (or no longer carrying) everything I had planned to buy, but everything else that might have sufficed was gone as well. What they did have left at the store 2 hours away was now more expensive than it was when I budgeted for it. This series of unfortunate events made me think that maybe God was intervening to save us from some trouble down the road. There was never any question that the beds from IKEA were not quality items but we hoped they would get us through the next 10 to 15 years.
Sunday morning dawned early as I couldn't sleep for all the worrying about what we should do. We could drive the 2 hours to IKEA and pick up the beds we had wanted for the boys or we could pick up the blue beds for everyone and be done with it. This was a fairly simple solution but it raised several issues. The coordinating pieces (desks/dressers) had been discontinued and I would have to find substitutes for them elsewhere. The dressers that I had already modified for the girls would not look good with the blue beds and that was disappointing. Desperate for another plan, I got on the net and searched for loft beds.
The first thing that popped up was a set of very simple plans complete with testimonials about how a single mom with her 9 year old made the entire thing in one day for $120. This was intriguing to say the least. The construction was obviously far superior to the flimsy little beds from IKEA. It seemed simple and it would probably save money - not too much on just one bed but spread out over 4 beds, it was a significant savings. I woke John up to tell him the news.
He was less than impressed at first. Neither of us are particularly handy but we are definitely 'do it yourselfers' of necessity. We have done several fairly major renovations in recent years - all with good results. We can read well and follow directions and most the time, that is all it really takes. We decided we would buy the lumber for one bed, get it built and if all went well, go for 2 more. The baby isn't ready for a loft bed yet so by building them ourselves, we can add a 4th when the time comes.
Off we went to Home Depot. Hours later we returned with all the supplies in hand. The sanding began. The lumber was admittedly rough and we had heard this type of wood can cause splinters so John started sanding. He sanded for 5 hours on Sunday before I got sick with a fever and he came in to care for the baby. Yesterday he started sanding at 7 AM worked all day in 103 degree heat until 11 PM - ate breakfast and lunch in the garage, came in for about 15 minutes for dinner - took no other breaks and still the sanding isn't done. This is where perfectionism starts to wear on a person. He still thinks he wants to make all three beds but we are waiting until one is done to finalize the decision. One thing is sure, we won't get the other two beds done before the kids come home.
We have pushed back their return date from Friday to Sunday or Monday - hopefully we can get one bed built by then. I still have plenty to do inside the house and have decided I can't wait until the decision is made on the beds to finalize dressers/desks/curtains, etc. so I am trying to find solutions that will work with either scenario.
The baby misses her siblings terribly and so I have to fill the gap for her and the housework is piling up so I better get off and get started.
Have a great day!
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My Blog
A few years ago, when our oldest was 4 and her two brothers were both in diapers, my in-laws were a few days into a visit from their home 3000 miles away when my father-in-law noticed that the rug under the dining room table was in serious need of vacuuming. He is not prone to domestic duties (his wife is a great housekeeper) but seeing the need, he decided to try his hand with the Hoover. As soon as 'Grandpa' declared his intention to get out the vacuum, four little feet ran for the toy box to get vacuums of their own. We had one toy vacuum and we improvised a second from a 'popper' push toy. The baby, who was not yet walking, was right in the thick of things on all fours, never one to be left out. Grandpa, trying to maneuver the self-propelled 'Wind-tunnel' around the 10 foot rug while avoiding the table legs and dodging his three little helpers, remarked in exasperation, "I just wanted to clean the rug, I wasn't looking to start a three ring circus." Welcome to my life!
About Me
My name is Tiffany. I am a 40 year old mother of 4. My husband, John, and I planned to homeschool even before we married 18 years ago but it would be several years before our oldest would be ready to start on this journey. We had our children in alphabetical order, quite by accident at first, but once we got started, we figured we had to keep it going. They are Alyssa 10, Brendan 9, Chase 6, and Emily 4. Our 4th baby, D, miscarried at 13 weeks. We have no intention of making it to Z.
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Enjoy the silence.
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Jul. 26, 2006 - Untitled Comment