Boat Hacks

Both boys woke up crying like we hadn't fed them in years this morning. At the same time.  It might be one of those days...

Except that I totally rocked it thanks to some of my twin hacks and I could potentially end up with one whole hour to myself.  I'm typing that sentence and not saying it out loud for obvious reasons.  Right now as I type I am even happily eating my breakfast (sunny side eggs and buttered bread and cinnamon coffee) which I made for myself.  I rule this hour.*

Now that we've settled into being twin parents a bit, we're also settling into the modified boat more too.  While most non-boat people (liveaboards) have wondered (scoffed?) how the hell we're going to do this (psst..we're DOING it!) Brian and I have sort of just rolled with the punches (mainly the snow storms and frozen water lines at the marina) and just figured it out.  Because that's what we do.  And while figuring it out is certainly harder than just "being", it's not much different than what those of you on land are dealing with.  In fact, I dare say we were better off.  We had no driveway or sidewalks to shovel, no parking spaces to save, no roofs to worry about caving in, no oil tanks to fill at an outrageous cost.  Yes, living aboard during the winter may seem extreme to most of you, but really, it's quite cozy 95% of the time.

And then there's the space issue.  Ah, yes...the space.  We don't have a lot of it.  And that's the issue that's hard to get past.  And I'll admit that when these boys are older (2-ish) we'll probably find that we want more.  But right now I'm finding that being contained in this small space is actually making things easier on me during the days when I'm alone.  Because everything is close by.

Forgot a bottle in the kitchen? 
     No problem!  Just reach over and get it!

Ran out of diapers in the diaper caddy? 
     Just walk two steps and get more!

Want to take a shower while the babies nap, but worry they'll not be OK without you?  (This is one thing that a lot of you told me I couldn't or wouldn't do...bathe!)
     It's OK, the bathroom's RIGHT THERE!

You get my point.  So far, even with two extra humans and lots of extra "stuff" on board, we're doing fine.  And don't worry-we're still not those people who will refuse to change our surroundings because we're too proud, in the event that this stops working.  But this is our home and I don't know many people who would easily give their up either.

OK, so do you want to see a few baby related "boat hacks"? Really, they're mostly nursery pictures:

We still haven't managed to finish the nursery 100%.  What remains is purely cosmetic and while I'd love to have it done because, obviously, it's 100% functional and is working beautifully.  If you didn't see the posts about the nursery's construction, click HERE. 

Brian put up a lee-cloth of sorts at the end of the crib.  While the babies aren't completely rolling yet, they are rolling a little, and it's enough to worry that they could have rolled right out of the bed if it wasn't closed.  Later, when they are bigger and rolling completely, Brian will install a gate here.  It'll be exactly like the side of a traditional crib.  The lee-cloth is seen below in white:

You'll also notice that I decorated the walls with decals.  Our original idea of a jungle with sleeping monkeys in trees (with their names on the wall) went out the window when I couldn't find monkey decals in the right size that didn't look possessed.  Instead, we have elephants (which I love anyways) and giraffes with some birds and a tree.  Not bad...I still have one wall to fill, on the left.  When I find something I like that fits, I'll add that and call it done.

Sorry for the poor lighting.  I can't find a bulb that fits the damn IKEA lamp we bought for the nursery...except for at IKEA, which is far away and there's no way I'm going there with babies without Brian!

 

This is the shelf on the back of the seat.  As you can see, it's still bare wood.  This will eventually be covered with cream vinyl which matches the cushions in our main living space.  And there will be a cushion with pretty blue and green stripes on it, once we cover that too!

Cute, no?

And here's a real boat hack.  The swing.  Which is actually a hammock, for actual babies, on land.  When I saw it online I knew it'd be perfect, and it is!  We ditched the frame (in storage, so we can donate/sell it later), added heavy duty carabiners and hung it from the handrails on the ceiling!  Thanks to my awesome Aunt Carol for getting us this super cool swing.

I'd write more and finish less abruptly, but...duty calls!  Time to feed babies again!  Have a fantastic day everyone. :)