A project, an irony, and an I told you so

I wanted to redo Thomas' room this summer.  Make it a room fit for a pre-teen middle schooler.  I made him a promise.  Then the summer happened, and we had fun, and we got busy, and, well, there sat his room. The week after our vacation, the oldest four stayed in Forth Worth with grandparents, so it was perfect project time.

When we picked out Thomas' crib twelve years ago, I thought we were so smart.  We bought a convertible crib that would turn into a full size bed.  Yes!  From cradle to college and you never have to buy another bed!  Reality: All that crib ever turned into was a rundown, chewed up, jumped in, climbed on skeleton of its former crib-self.  

Me: Jeremy, Isaac is two.  Let's convert his crib for Thomas, and move the twin bed from Thomas' room to Isaac's room.  It's perfect.  Really.

Jeremy: Isaac is not ready for that.  Also, I don't think we have the convertible kit anymore.

Me: Oh, come on.  He is so ready.  All the others were out of the crib at this point (except Lucy, who would probably still be sleeping in it if Isaac hadn't made his appearance).  And, yes we do.  It's in the closet. You're not getting out of this.

Jeremy:  I'm not trying to get out of anything.  Isaac is not ready.

I didn't listen.  And I took his Isaac is not ready as I'm not ready to train a kid to stay in his room at night and naptime.  No problem.  I'll do it.  So, it was onward and upward.  I taped the room.  I did some drywall repair.  I painted...  

We took the crib apart.  I found an awesome idea on Pinterest for displaying track ribbons with, lo and behold, old crib rails.  Perfect, since converting the bed didn't require the side rails.

Jeremy put the bed together.  There was some muttering.  But, things were coming together perfectly.  I ordered the biggest Fathead ever of D.K.R. Texas Memorial Stadium.  Hook 'em.

Jeremy:  I don't know how sturdy this bed is going to be.  It's old and tired.  And I'm missing a huge screw.
Me: Oh, I'm sure it will be great.  Thomas won't be jumping on his bed.
(then two minutes later)
Me:  Help me put this Fathead on the wall.  Let's stand on the bed to do this.

Which of these four things do you think did NOT happen?
1.  We broke the bed.
2.  Jeremy went into hysterics.
3.  Jeremy jimmy rigged the bed with a bandanna so I could at least take a picture and so Thomas could have that Extreme Makeover moment when he got home and we moved. that. bus.  Or when we opened the door.
4.  The magic home repair fairy came and with the flick of his wand, made all things new.

Thomas loves his room.  But, alas, the bed could not be salvaged.  So his brand new mattress and box springs remain on the floor.  What about little brother?

The first few days with Isaac were perfect.  I knew he would love his bed.

Then he figured out that he could climb down.  And then he figured out how to open his door.  Then he was caught roaming the house in the middle of the night, and waking up before the sun.  All of a sudden this experienced mother of five was sleep deprived and didn't know what to do.  I was rocking a toddler for an hour and a half in the middle of the night all to avoid the dreaded family bed.  We tried locking the door. Houdini got it open.  I took some tights from Rose's closet and tried tying his bedroom door to the bathroom door.  They were too stretchy and he squeezed through.

All the while, Jeremy was playing the I told you so card.  I mean, come on.  Give me a break.  If I'd known the convertible bed would (literally) be a bust, of course I would have reconsidered.

After being up half the night one night, and then refusing a nap the next day, Little Man crashed on the couch after 60 seconds of Good Luck Charlie with his sisters.  And I made sandwiches for dinner.

Well, we finally turned the door knob around.  We can now (gasp) lock him in from the outside.  But we're making strides.  He goes to sleep with the door open.  We close it and lock it when we go to bed so he won't roam or wake up his RoRo or me at one or four in the morning.  I unlock the door when I get the girls up for school, and he's usually there, waiting for me with a smile on his face.  Boy is an early riser.

Parenthood is a never ending learning experience.  Just when you think you know your way with the little people, they throw you a curve ball.  Just when you brag that your kids are fabulous sleepers--each and every one of them...right...  One of my favorite quotes goes perfectly with this story...

There are two kinds of people in this world.  Those that are humble and those that are about to be.