GillianG's Profile

First, I'm so sorry for your loss, and so impressed with your resourcefulness!

The good news is that kids love small spaces, so it will seem like an adventure to your kiddo and special to have a small, fun space!

We recently moved into a small (although not as small as an RV of course) apartment for a year and my two kids share a tiny room with a bunk. For the bottom bunk, I made a playhouse curtain for my daughter that we hang up in the day and then take down when she sleeps at night. It is attached with a strip of velcro on the inside on the top bunk rail. Four months in and it is working wonderfully. We needed light to go in so it has "windows", but that would also work to help bring light out as in your case. Here is a picture and a basic how to:
http://driedfigsandwoodenspools.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-make-bottom-bunk-as-cool-as-top.html

Also, just a hint that I discovered for making bunk beds. If you turn a twin blanket sideways and tuck the excess under the mattress on the wall side, you child can lift the outer edge and climb under, but it won't always be slipping off or getting bunched up. Since they are smaller, the blanket is still plenty long for them to tuck under at night!

Best of luck to your family!

we have two undercounter summit fridge freezer combo's in our house and love them. We cook a lot and only do a weekly shop and for our family of four it's still enough space. Now, granted, we have two instead of one but still, it's smaller than a normal sized fridge. The freezers do freeze, that was one of our musts and we have considered getting a freezer for the basement for excess garden produce (up till now I've just canned it all) but the difference that the undercounter style makes in the open feeling of our kitchen is worth having to adjust our grocery buying habits. In fact I think it has saved us money over the past two years that we've had them as we only buy what we need and not just a bunch of extra junk that catches our eye. It's not for everyone, but it's great for us.
http://driedfigsandwoodenspools.blogspot.com/2010/01/6-month-mark.html

When my son was in Kindergarten I bought a legal box for his artwork and have been popping my favorite and his favorite things in as we go. Now, mid way through 3rd grade, I'm in the midst of editing it into a coffee table book. It's fairly easy and reasonably inexpensive to do with a site like Lulu and a good way to display the art. I also have an ornate gold frame in my kitchen that holds a rotating piece of his art. It's a fun contrast and he is very proud that his art is in the "fancy frame"

Oops, wrote that on the husbands computer and forgot he has an account. That was me :)

Carbonara any time of the year, curry shrimp in the summer (we keep shrimp in the freezer almost all summer for quick meals) Stew and quiche in the winter.

Also, breakfast for dinner (pancakes, waffles, bacon eggs etc) is another easy favorite that we are always ready for

We bought one at an unfinished furniture store when I was pregnant with my son (who is now 8!) and painted it bright red with alphabet blocks for handles. Since then it has been deep blue, bright green and a more mellow sage green depending on what his, or his sister room decor is. The handles have been changed out and back several times as well. It's always been the best kids chest of drawers, as you say, lots of little drawers for lots of small items. One of our best furniture investments!

Up until this year I've always used pectin in jams, I too like the low sugar pectin the best, it gives a more true flavor than the regular stuff. But this spring I went the pectin-less route and used grapefruit juice in with my strawberries. I really liked the result, which was looser than a pectin jam for sure, but not much, and had a fantastic flavor.
This is the recipe I came up with
http://driedfigsandwoodenspools.blogspot.com/2010/05/full-cupboards-and-excitement.html

I also tried a powdered pectin a few weeks ago that is made from ground grapefruit peel. My first try with it turned out perfect, the second time I cooked longer than I should have and had a thicker jam than I wanted, still good, just thicker than I like. Cant remember the name of it though....

Ummm, the Palace of Fine Arts. I got married under that dome. SF is one of my favorite places on the planet. And that's saying a lot.

I always love these but I think I'd have to go out an buy light bulbs if I wanted to make one!

BBC's Cbeebies is a lot like PBS but has totally different games. Both my kids love it, even though my daughter has no idea what the shows are (my son used to watch BBC when we lived over there). We pretty much restrict both kids to PBS, Starfall and Cbeebies. And really, even for my eight year old, that is plenty.