Thursday, March 26, 2015

DIY Murphy Bed (Wall Bed)

We have always wanted a murphy bed in our guest room.  We only get visitors about once a year and it just didn't make sense to have a room with a giant queen sized bed taking up most of the room and no one used it hardly!  With a family of 7, we need all the space we can get!!
I had researched murphy beds throughout all these past years and to purchase one ready made ran anywhere from $1000-$3000!!  Yikes!
So then I researched DIY murphy beds and I either didn't like the look of it (thought it looked cheap and like it belonged in a dorm room) or by the time you purchased the spring kit and everything it was gonna run almost $1000 anyway!
I finally found this blog post and was inspired!  She made it seem manageable and my husband was on board!

So without further ado...how to make your own DIY Murphy Bed!!

We started by making the bed, measuring the mattress and figuring out how big of an area you need to hold the mattress.

Then you take that platform and use it to build the wall out, so to speak.
So my husband set the bed platform in between the new "walls" to make sure it fit without too big of a gap.


Then he built the bottom that the bed will actually sit on and the top frame.

So here is the bed just sitting on the base (not attached yet with the door hinges but just sitting on top of the base).

The next thing we did was build the shelves on either side of the bed.

From there comes the tedious finishing work.  You have to put wood faces on everything.

As you can see, the top piece is basically a flap that will come down when bed is up for storage.  When bed is ready to come down, you lift it up a few inches and pull the bed down and then let it flap back down.

When we pull the bed down, the legs (which are just a piece of wood, like a 2x6) swivel out and voila you have bed legs!

Now as you can see when the bed is down, this is what connects it to the base...heavy duty door hinges.  We used 4 to be extra safe.
 Now with using these door hinges, versus the expensive spring kits, it cuts back on the cost considerably (door hinges are like $3 or $4 each versus the spring kit which is like $300) but the full weight of the bed is not reduced at all so it's heavy pulling it down or putting it up...it's a 2 person job.

But as you can see there is storage space back behind where we store all the bedding for the bed.

When the bed is all closed up and not in use, we drilled a hole on each side to secure it completely...we used 6" bolts...



And that my friends is our DIY Murphy Bed.  I hope you enjoy it and feel free to ask any questions!



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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

DIY Cloud Dough

I had seen this idea awhile ago on Pinterest and loved the idea.
It's super simple, only 2 ingredients!

Here's what you need:
flour
baby oil
large mixing bowl

Combine 8 cups flour with 1 cup baby oil and mix to combine

 Combine it until you can form some in your hand


I then added it to our sand & water table on the back patio so I didn't have to worry about messes indoors! =)

She loved it!!


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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Kung Fu Panda Noodles

This recipe has been a favorite for my kids for a few years now.  Ever since I saw it on The Pioneer Woman and tried it out we were hooked!  Soooo simple and sooo delicious!  My kids instantly nicknamed them Kung Fu Panda noodles for short! =)  Here is the recipe from The Pioneer Woman's blog...
  • 12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon Hot Chili Oil
  • 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Preparation Instructions

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.
Sprinkle with green onions and toss.
Serve in a bowl with chopsticks. Yummy!



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Thursday, June 6, 2013

Coastal.com

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Coastal.com for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When my 2nd son was 3 years old, I found out that he needed glasses.  I was very surprised as I have always had perfect vision and I mean come on, he was only 3!  But one of his eyes turned in and his pediatrician noticed it and sent us on to a opthamologist where he was diagnosed and treated.  

So glasses it was, and glasses it still is...6 years later! 

Luckily my boy has been a champ at this and is just used to it and never really complains about it.  He even had to wear an eye patch for awhile to help his bad eye!

Well as I am sure you can guess, glasses with a little child get lost, broken and mangled quite often over time!  I have used coastal.com to order replacement glasses and it is VERY convenient!  They deliver right to your door and they have thousands of options and you can save up 70% off from a traditional store!  They offer free shipping, 366 day returns, so many different varieties, and it is super easy to log onto your computer and order instead of hauling everyone down to the eyeglass store!  Go check out their eyeglasses or contact lenses and see for your self!

My son picked out  both of these glasses for his wish list!  He's such a stud!!

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day

We wish all of our readers a very safe and enjoyable Memorial Day today!
Take a moment to reflect on all those who made and still make our freedom possible!

Happy Memorial Day


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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Mombo...the new nursing pillow

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

So I've recently found out about this new Mombo pillow and I must say I'm impressed! For my two boys I was obsessed with the Boppy pillow for feeding and having my babies lay down to sleep. However this new Mombo seems like the Boppy but with nice new added features. First off, it has a vibrating feature which would be very nice to soothe your little one while feeding or laying down.  How cool is that, to have a vibrating feature right there while you are snuggling with your little one!   My babies have always liked the vibration movement.  It also has one side that's firm and the other that's softer.  What a great idea to give you the choice of firmness!  And also to give the option of what your baby wants.   Some babies are pretty particular, yes I have some experiemce with  knowing this!  =)  Also some of their covers have these little taggies like the one shown below which I think is awesome if you have a baby like mine that were obsessed with taggies! I think it is adorable when my baby reaches out to grab a taggie and rub his fingers over it.  And sometimes mine likes to just suck and chew on the taggies.  Definitely weird, but whatever keeps him happy!   I definitely am getting one of thesemombo nursing pillow for my next baby!

These are sold at Babies R Us and come in so many colors and fabrics! Check them out!best nursing pillow

Go check them out on Facebook hereComfort & Harmony on Facebook and make sure you like them to stay up to date on products and offers.  They are also on Twitter Comfort & Harmony on Twitter so check them out there too!

I love how all these new products keep coming out to make life so much easier with little ones!  No, it isn't a "necessity" but it sure is nice and makes life easier when you are getting hardly any sleep and dealing with diapers and clean ups all day long!  The Mombo is a welcome relief!

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Juice Box with Wings!

Sooo...does anyone else get really frustrated with juice boxes and little hands squeezing the juice all over the place??

I was seriously to the point where I refused to buy juice boxes.  It didn't matter how carefully I explained the correct way to hold the juice box.
"Just hold right here at the top like Mommy."
Then BAM...their little chubby hands grab it and juice comes streaming out!

Well, a friend was over recently and I brought out juice boxes (it was a special occasion so I had splurged).  I over hear her say something to her daughter about holding the wings.
"Say what??"

She then proceeded to present the most genius idea I had heard of!
Pull the tabs out at the top of the juice box like this.

Then tell your child to hold their juice box by its wings!!

Voila!!

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