I can't believe that I can say that our three-bedroom house is too big for us, but I can. And secretly (or not-so-secretly really) it makes me happy. But now that I know that Fetus/Skeletor/Betamax is a boy, we have more bedrooms than we need. We have three bedrooms: one for us, one for the boy children (I'm a firm believer of sharing rooms), and one for...what?
Currently this extra room which we call the "Goon Room" (nope, can't explain that one although I think it has something to do with Little Bunny Foo Foo), is our "guest room." Too bad we never have guests, huh? Since my friends who used to live in North Carolina moved back to Utah and since Emily moved back to Colorado from New York, no one ever comes to visit us. Of course my retired parents could, but they seem to think trips to St. George and Alaska are more fun. (Did it work, Mom and Dad? Did I shame you into coming out here more?) My sister has four kids and flying and driving seem like an awful lot of money and work. And when Chuck's family visits, they all stay with his parents. (And yes, that includes times when all six out-of-town families come at th same time. No one wants to be left out.) So what to do with this spare room?
I don't need a craft room; I have my crafting space downstairs and I like it there. We don't need a playroom nor a storage room. Laundry is downstairs. Don't even suggest having more kids. I'm at a loss.
I had a brainstorm the other day that we should turn it into a library. You know, like with desks for when the boys do homework (yes, yes, I know this is years away, but I'm a planner); a place where we all can read and keep our books. It would be a fun, comfortable room. Kind of like a study, but not so serious or dark. I'd put comfortable chairs, a big table, and all our books in there (which would be an upgrade from having to rotate Rhett's books between his room and the Goon Room closet). What do you think? Would you or your family use a room like this? What would you want to see in it?
P.S. Right now, I like the name Max, amongst others, for the new little one. Seeing as though Rhett is a nickname from the end of his given name, we were discussing names that have Max at the end (rather than Maximus or Maxwell). The only one I came up with is Betamax. Pretty awesome, right?
P.P.S. Whoa. I had no idea that Little Bunny Foo Foo had so many versions! I'm liking the one where his head gets chopped off, although that may have a too-mature theme for my little guy. Maybe when he's 3.
P.P.P.S. Remember when I blogged about us getting pregnant and our struggles to do so? I thought I was being silly for spoofing TLC's "A Baby Story" or "A Wedding Story" by calling my series "A Conception Story." Turns out I wasn't. Can you believe this? I'm just shocked. Shocked I tell you!
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Maximilian or even better Maxim as in Maxim de Winter, another great literary character.
ReplyDeletethe library sounds really great. have some big, comfy chairs and bean-bags, lots of shelving of books, some cool lamps. sounds delightful.
ReplyDeleteBUT first of all i think i would use the "goon room" for a nursery. seriously. where will you put little betamax? cuz i wouldn't trust a 3 year-old and a newborn in the same room at all. so maybe the first year you use it for betamax and then put the boys together and convert it to a library? that's my thought.
and you're a genius with "a conception story." awesome.
I agree with children of the same sex sharing a room. My boys have shared a room since our second was born (at first b/c of space and then b/c we feel like it is best). When we got a home with an "extra" room we decided to keep the boys in the same room. They LOVE sharing a room. They spend time together at night telling each other stories, they are both heavy sleepers (since they have had to learn to sleep through the other ones noises). Plus they think it is totally normal since mommy an daddy share a room ;0).
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your library idea. Do you ever look at the pottery barn magazine (way to much $$$ but great ideas)...when I read your blog I thought of this: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/shop/kids/playroom/playroom-anywhere-chairs/
(ps: I am totally blog stocking you, your ideas are just so great and I love to read your blog)
I've always liked Susan Susanka's idea of an "away room". A place that's separate from the rest of the house and quiet. I think the library as a "no technology zone" with just books and maps and maybe music is a nice idea.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to have kids share, but with our 4th, I've actually kept her in a solo room and had the other 3 share. Recently I've changed this up and keep going back and forth on who to put together. We kind of have an extra room syndrome since we have a 4th room that is often in limbo as an office/hobby room or a playroom/bedroom. I feel like I'm always switching things up. One change that I do like is I put a long 6ft foldable table up in the "big" bedroom and use it as a kid craft table and lego table with a storage cart next to it. That way a child can have some fun alone time if need be and the dining table doesn't have to be constantly transformed for art projects.
Something to keep in mind though is you never know the personalities of kids. My youngest two brothers had to share a room from the time they were little and it wasn't until they were in their pre-teen phase that we realized how much contention existed in our family because of this. When they were separated from sharing the same room, they were much much better friends and brothers. So you never know.
But of course when they're little it's fine and more convenient. It just depends on how firm a believer you are in sleep and sharing rooms. It may turn out that big brother wakes up more with baby bro and while it may be a short phase it might coincide with utter exhaustion of new babyhood and prove more than you can deal with. Or big bro wants to play in his room or needs to change his clothes while baby bro is napping. All very little things and may not apply to your situation. But scenarios to keep in mind.
and when we had our first two in the same room, it was actually the other end of a huge attic bedroom so we could hear what was going on. I would be nervous about what a curious 3yo might throw into baby's crib or even climb in to play. One reason we don't have 3.5yo Nea sharing with 15mo Hazel yet. But soon.... maybe that's being extra cautious but really I like that Hazel sleeps and naps so well on her own.
sorry for babbling on so much!! And on a kind of similar note, have you explored http://ana-white.com/ ? Since you are a DIYer, you probably have. she has great plans for building shelves, furniture, storage solutions, etc.