My good husband, a carpenter and builder by trade, finally took my hint (constant nagging, some might say) and created some frames around our large poster art of the boys in the living room. Thankfully, the boys can no longer swing the pictures back and forth on their hooks, knock them off the wall, or otherwise attempt to destroy them (they were my birthday present this year, and they weren't exactly cheap). It took a whole Saturday of his effort (mixed in with a little football watching), but the results are amazing. Apparently I owe him one.
And, more importantly for most people, we now have an official guest bedroom! Our friends Haley and David and Claire enjoyed it for the first time this weekend. The room has been largely empty for a while, in that void between what was once a sort of den (our bookcases, periodicals and some extra furniture that doesn't work any where else) and a potential play room (mostly empty, but big enough to blow up the big bouncy slide if we wanted). It also has been storage for a while, getting random big toys and items dumped there until more permanent homes could be found. I won't mention the two full-size baby cribs and mattress that are still currently stuffed into the closet (disassembled, of course). Who hangs up clothes when they're staying overnight anyway, right? That's what we're hoping.
The very large extra television was a nice addition, and one that made Connor seriously lobby to make the new room his the night he helped Daddy move the bed and other furniture into the room (he was very cute, "helping" with his new Handy Manny tool set). After they were done putting the room together, he climbed up on top of the bed and leaned back against the pillows, watching football and saying "Night-Night!" Of course, he could have just been tired, as we did most of the rearranging late one evening while the little guys were taking a bath (we pulled the extra bed out of their room since they have never, ever - not in the year and a half that they have been in big boy beds - used more than one bed to sleep in).
And, conveniently enough, we have one of the old pack-and-play cribs in there. I've had it out for a while, just in case it was needed on some of our recent play dates that involve younger siblings who might need naps. Baby James has tried it once or twice, but hasn't really found it to his liking! Baby Claire enjoyed it this weekend though, even if it was blue and several years old! We even have a second one out in the attic, should anyone require two of them!
And, then there's the only downside to the guest bedroom. There's an open stairway up to the third floor where Daddy keeps his gym equipment (and that's mostly used for storage as well). You access it from the hallway, but you can still look down into the guest bedroom if you walk up. Our visitors had fun this weekend with it, as David enjoyed peeking his head over to see what Haley and Claire were up to from time to time. And, honestly, going to the third floor is an extremely rare occurrence in our house. You're privacy is pretty safe (unless Connor decided to venture up there in his new found independence).
So, if you're in our area and in need of a place to stay, we now have an option other than the couch (with the pull-out bed) in the middle of our living room. The television is a bit smaller, and you just might have to share a bathroom covered in foam bath letters and baby toys, but at least you don't have to worry about someone wanting to watch Chicken Little at 7:30 a.m. in your bedroom!