On Thursdays, I’m posting a favorite from the archives. This was from July, 2010.
Our family sleeping arrangements are endlessly on my nerves, because they aren’t exactly conducive to sleep, and because having a kid or two n the bedroom is not leaving us the space for that little activity that got us into this situation in the first place. (You know what I’m talkin’ about. FILLING OUT HOMESTUDIES. Bom chicka bow wow.)
The only solution I can come up with is that we need a fourth bedroom. Except, I don’t want to move, and we can’t afford an add-on. One day, I started hunting around the house trying to figure out how we could bunk one of these kids somewhere else. The garage seemed a little neglectful. An airstream wouldn’t fit in the breezeway (I measured). The coat closet was a contender . . . but finally I set my sights for a little bit of attic space I assumed was above the closet in the boys’ room. I just knew there was some space up there that we could create into a little loft for Jafta. We had our contractor friend come over and he agreed it was likely, but didn’t have time to confirm. A few weeks went by, and I was itching to get this project going.
Yesterday, I got a wild hair and decided to take a hammer to it myself. I didn’t consult with Mark on this plan. The kids and I were having a quiet day at home, and I just decided: today was the day. I grabbed our biggest hammer and told all the kids to come watch mommy bust up a wall.
The boys were THRILLED. They were dancing around and cheering me on, and couldn’t quite believe that I tearing up the house. I think my status as "coolest mom ever" was forever sealed in their minds. I chipped away at that drywall, and the attic space was exactly what I thought it would be. When Mark came home, I showed him what I had done, and after he got over the fear shock at my spontaneity, he was actually pretty excited. We started scheming how we could create an entrance to the space without blocking the closet int he bedroom, and decided that the linen closet in the hallway would be the perfect place for a hidden ladder.
The next morning Jafta was so excited to find the passageway from the hallway. He thanked me profusely for "making him his own hideaway" – and I just think it’s awesome that he credits me with building the whole thing. Although Jafta is very insistent that we build an elevator in the hall closet space. I told him I wasn’t sure we could do that, and he explained that it would be very easy. He even drew me the architectural plans:
Jafta’s Hideaway Elevator Renderings