It started as 4 under 4

(this is what I sent the show)

Dear Nate,

I have always been a little obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and now it feels like I am living through the looking glass. My name is Kristina Coulter and I am a new homeowner in Lake Oswego, Oregon a suburb of Portlandia.

This 1954 home we bought is unlike any home I have ever seen before. Our living room is entirely encased in wood (Alaskan cedar), there is a 9’ wide two-sided fireplace (yes, two-sided) between the living room and dining room so you literally can roast marsh mellows while sitting at the dining room table, we have an art loft with a stain glass window, but the most perplexing is the Trapezoid Room.

Sounds like a sexy night club, eh? Actually, it’s a glorified hallway. In this room there are six walk-ways, a window, and a staircase. It’s basically a 9’ x 25’ hall connecting the Master, the Laundry Room, a bathroom, the garage, the kitchen, the dining room, the backyard, and the entrance to the loft. The staircase has a Swiss Heidi-like banister and there’s hard reddish herringbone bricks as the floor. There’s a lemonade-stand window between the kitchen and the Trapezoid Room. Maybe appropriate as I have four children ages four and under (yes, 4-year-old, 2-year-old and 5-month-old twins).

Despite my four small children, I have spent an unbelievable amount of time with you,  Nate. In the past year I felt like I stepped into a wonderland: we found out we were pregnant with surprise twins (identical boys), my husband changed jobs, and as we packed up to sell our home and to move across the state, I was put on bedrest in the hospital where I stayed for eight-weeks until our twins were born. Nate Berkus, you, and Tim Gunn were my trustiest of companions while lying alone in a hospital bed for 55 days. Meanwhile insanity swirled around us. While I was out of the picture, my sweet became a single parent to our son Sam and daughter Alice (told you I was obsessed). He packed and sold our house, started a new job all while I laid in bed with you and Tim. Our twins Max and Charlie spent almost month in the NICU (though early, they are totally healthy!!). We’ve lived in a rental for the past five months but just bought a home in our new area for our now much bigger family. Ah, a home again.

We moved in 8 days ago and as you can imagine, setting up a home with littles everywhere is challenging. Actually there’s a child crying right now I should probably attend to. Wanna come to Portland and help me make our Trapezoid Room into a playroom for our kiddos?

If you wanna read more or see more pics of the house, check out my blog: 4under4.tumblr.com