Bunk Bed adventures!

   My daughter, an only child, has bunk beds. She did not always have bunk beds, she used to sleep in a crib when she was little, and that converted into a toddler bed. But once she outgrew the mite sized beds and moved up to a twin bed, we began the journey of the bunk bed.

   At this point you might ask - Why? Were we planning on having more kids? Was there a spare kid that we stored in the attic during the day that we let sleep in a bed at night? Did my daughter have an imaginary friend that had a big presence in our house?

   No. Someone gave us a white metal bunk bed frame with ladder.

   Well, we really didn't want that to go to waste. So creativity stepped in. The first bed became a princess bed. We bought a new twin mattress (the best bed in the house to this day), set up the bunk bed frame without the top bunk, added a big mosquito netting hung from the ceiling and centered over the bed to drape over the tall top and bottom rails of the frame work, put a few ribbons into the mix and we had a Princess Tent Bed! Perfect for a number of years. Sure wish I could find a picture, but the albums are way out of order and I gave up the hunt after about 45 minutes of searching. You can probably find pictures in magazines to give you the idea.

   Then our little princess began to outgrow this and was looking to have a top bunk bed to sleep in.... So the bed moved up to the top rails, the bottom remained open and a small desk and reading chair were placed under the bed. Now she had a dorm style decor which gave her more room for all the stuff she kept in her room.

   This worked for a little while, but that darn kid kept growing and the bed we used wasn't really designed for top use only. We did toy with the idea of purchasing (gasp, that was hard to get out) a bed designed for this type of use, but as we don't have particularly high ceilings, this wasn't going to work very well. Unless you wanted to slither into bed each night, then slither out in the morning....we deemed this not very safe.  At the same time a second twin mattress made its way into our house, so we changed the room yet again and added a bottom bunk with lots of pillows and now had a bed for sleepover guests and reading nook.

   Our adventures with bunk beds didn't end here. We then received a NEW hand-me-down bunk bed set to replace the old (which in turn was handed down). We continued the guest/reading bed space motif as it was working quite well. Heck, what better space to store the 200 pillows and stuffed animals that have come to reside in our house. The bottom bunk also provided a great fort area, easily put together using blankets and sheets tucked into the frame of the top bed. The fort even had its own window as one of the windows in the room was alongside the bunk bed.

   The problem with the new bunk bed set is that it was much more difficult to make than the first one we had. Way more difficult. Wrestling elephants in the Himalayas would be easier.

   Here is what neat-freak mommy would love to see everyday:

Top bunk with Kid in it

Bottom Bunk

Ahh, so tidy, so inviting, so MADE!

Beds are supposed to be made every morning. 

Beds are supposed to be neat. 

Beds are a reflection of the peace in a room.

   

Storage for stuff

   But here is what neat-freak mommy sees every day that sends her mind into mental lock down:

The occupant has left the bed

 Looks as if the occupant plans on coming back very, very soon to take a nap.

 

Reading, finger printing material and doll cloths nook!

   The bottom bunk is actually made, just storing stuff temporarily. The top bunk is too hard to make. At least that is what my daughter told me. So I thought I would show her! I would make the bed after she went to school and let her see how it should look.

   At least that is what I thought. I climbed the ladder to the top and figured out which end I had to be at for proper bed making. Then I pulled the sheets, but my foot was in the way. I attempted to tuck, but the railings on the side of the bed were too close to get my hand down there. I thought perhaps if I pulled the edge of the mattress up, I could drop the sheets and comforter between the mattress and the rail. Now my hand was stuck between the mattress and the bed frame. Freeing my hand, I decided that I had to tip the mattress up, without remembering that I was on the mattress, on the top bunk, pretty far up from the floor.... I managed to remain on the bed (barely) and not kill myself.

   Perhaps, I thought. I was going about this the wrong way. I climbed down from the top bunk and decided to push the mattress up and then pull the sheets and comforter down along the side. That is when I discovered that the mattress weighted about 800lbs and the frame was still to close to the mattress! Who bought a full size twin bed for a bunk bed frame? I mean really, these were normal sheets and a light comforter, there should be no reason that they cannot be easily tucked in.

   So I tried another tactic. I stood on the ladder and attempted to throw the sheets to the top of the bed, covering the mattress, frame and all. Mostly. However I forgot that the pillow was on the floor from my earlier wrestling match with the mattress. So down I went and put the pillow on the bed. There. Bed was made. Only took 1 hour and 45 minutes. Should be no problem for kid to do before school. RIGHT.  Ok, I will be content with tidied up bed that at least has the sheets pulled up.

   As for the bottom bunk, that will be a conversation I have with my daughter. Along with the conversation about all the flat surfaces in her bedroom. 

   So you might ask, just how did I get the pictures of the top bed actually made? The bottom bunk, obviously, is easy to make. Thus it is always made, albeit a bit untidy. 

   When we first received the new set of sheets and comforter from my daughter's fairy god-mother for the new bunk bed, I washed them and gave them to daddy to make the bed. It had been a long day and I was making dinner. I took the pictures after dinner to send to the fairy god-mom. Daddy is over 6 feet tall and has great upper body strength. I suspect that he lifted the mattress out of the bed, made it and set it back in place. Or has a magic wand.