The bunkbeds are done!

I hoped for success with this project, but I have been so giddy as I’ve actually seen it come together!  (Ask my kids.  I was actually jumping up and down.)  A real carpenter would probably laugh at me, but I’m pretty proud of myself.

 

I cut the boards Saturday and put together the bed on Monday.  On Tuesday (the girls’ birthday), Cary helped me sand it and I started staining.  At some point, I realized that I wasn’t going to finish it that day.  And I really needed to get ready for the birthday party that would happen the next morning! 

FYI, possible side-effects of building a bunkbed while also trying to take care of 5 children may (and did) include:

• a house that looks like a small but powerful tornado was unleashed within

• a lack of bathing, resulting in undesirable body odors

• mild sleep deprivation

So I stopped staining and started trying to reclaim my home, shower, go shopping, bake cupcakes, make food, and prepare games for the party.  (More on that later.)

On Wednesday, we had a nice party and I took some time to just be mom again.  Cary helped me finish the staining that evening.  On Thursday, he helped me put on the polyurethane.  Today I installed the hardware for the plywood mattress supports and Cary sanded the boards so they fit just right.  I was so glad to have his help!  It is hard to find time for things like this while taking care of the kiddos I did most of the work while Emma was napping and after the kids were in bed.

The girls are thrilled with their new bed.  The only problem was that no one wanted to sleep on the bottom bunk!  We had some tears over that, but will be switching bunks fairly frequently for a little while to give everyone a turn.