Red - I can't *believe* someone could be so crass as that young couple! DH and I eloped so I never registered. He was going to move in with me when he got out of the Army and before he started college, though it was only going to be a couple of months we were engaged so just figured we'd go to JP to make it legal and have ceremony/celebration later. Well, he started school in one state in January and I did not get a job there til July, he was driving 1000 miles round trip every w/e to see me and our phone bills were horrendous. I was thinking we should just annul. But it worked out, 3 months after I moved we had a very small "renewal of vows" ceremony in church across the street from my parents' and took 23 people (incl his parents and 2 of his sisters who flew up from TX) to dinner. His dad got to see the ocean for the first and only time - he died a month later. If we had waited until we were sure we'd be living in the same state again (after living together for 2 months in a 1-BR apt then separating so he could go to school) to plan a big wedding, it would have been probably another 6 mos - 1 yr and his dad would not have been able to be there. We shocked everyone by getting married only a week after we announced our engagement (so we didn't have e-party or shower either!), and I would never have the "guts" to have a huge wedding and registry and expect gifts after doing that, but I didn't want to live with him even for 2 months without benefit of marriage. And then when it turned into a 1st anniversary before we could put anything together, it just seemed ridiculous to even consider registering - my mom just told people as they RSVPd that we really didn't need anything since I'd been on my own for 8 yrs. Some people gave us gifts, some checks, and some people like my ILs were a gift in themselves, just to make the effort to be there. DH had just the 4 on his side of the family, my uncle (who DH had lived with until he found a place on campus with 2 other guys) was his best man. Only 1 of my siblings was there, my mother's sisters and their DHs, my father's parents and some of his aunts and uncles I was closest to, incl. my godmother (his aunt) and my beloved godfather (his other aunt's DH), all now deceased. I think that to this day my father's brothers resent not being invited along with their teenagers, but I was trying to keep it small b/c most of DH's family wouldn't be able to make it (and the fact that we had *no* money!). We were also able to spend more time with the people we loved the most than we would have had if we had had a large reception with all the inherent craziness. Yes, sometimes I regret not having had the "traditional" wedding, but even if we had waited, I wouldn't have wanted to go into debt to have a party. And we wouldn't have wanted to wait til DH was out of college. So we did what we did, we managed on my salary and his summer jobs, the summer he graduated we bought a condo at auction and fixed it up, sold it 2 years later, bought a house, started a family - you know, all the usual "traditional" stuff even with that unconventional beginning. I'm not saying that you shouldn't get married while you're in school (DH was, my DB was when he married first wife in her parents' back yard - in fact, his 2nd wife he married outside too LOL). I'm not saying that you should be as cheap as we were. But I think there has to be *some* consideration of practical matters such as ahem finances and what the heck are you going to do with all this stuff you're asking people to buy you when you're living (with your spouse and your 2 dogs - of course, I don't think the dogs are restricted to the BR) in your old BR in your parents' house? Of course, I'm old-fashioned in thinking that if you bothered to earn a degree (or two) in a field that you might actually try working in that field (if only to earn $ while you figure out what you *really* want to do) before deciding to start your education all over in a different field? Anybody remember when you were expected to be a self-sufficient (barring an accident or layoff or something) adult - if not a *parent* - by the time you were 30? Well, they have a couple more years... End of rant - sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

I only have 2 children, a 14 yo girl & 17 yo boy...and we have 3 bedrooms & a playroom upstairs (master is down.) My son's room has its own bath, but we actually added another door so it also opens to the playroom. So glad we did this! Our daughter has a Jack & Jill with the guest room. She has her own very large vanity with a sink and drop down counter area where she can sit & apply makeup. Her large, walk-in closet in is this dressing area as well. There is a door to the shared toilet/tub area, which of course connects to the vanity area of the guest room. The guest room vanity is much smaller, a single, and the guest room closet is just a small walkin in the actual guest room, not the vanity area. If we had 2 teen girls sharing this set up, the one in the guest room would definitely get the short stick! Since we custom designed our plan & knew we were only going to have the 2 children, our set up works just fine. Dd was 8 when we built, and we knew the teen years were coming. Teen girls just have so much crap! Personally, if I were you...I'd make the two older ones involved in the process. I bet they would prefer sharing a J&J to having a hall bath. Make sure they understand you are not getting involved in any fights & that they have to figure out a system. It will be good practice for college where many dorms have this type of set up now. The little ones can have the hall...and when your littlest dd becomes a teen, the other girls will be adults & she can have the J&J to herself!

It closes into a recess that has the same effect as a door jamb. Sounds awesome to me! My builder-grade hollow-core doors all permit light and noise to come through. I never really noticed until my daughter complained of light penetration into her bedroom (from the hall) at nighttime. Sure enough, I go in there when everything's dark, shut the door, and it glows. Maybe you have better trim/jambs/doors than I do? lol I've never lived with pocket doors -- doubt I ever will because I hate doors on tracks -- and the ones I've seen are from a few decades ago, but are your tracks on the ceiling or the floor? If on the floor, are they a pain to clean? Tracks on the floor would be another reason for me to dislike pockets. ;-)

With all due respect, each child would have privacy with just one bathroom, just not their own dedicated space. There ya go ... bringing common sense into the equation. My four kids currently share one bathroom I was one of five kids, and I have LOTS of memories of "not enough" ... but none of them revolve around our single shared bathroom. In fact we adults share a bath with our spouses, so why can’t the kids? Again, common sense. Consider, too, that one day you're going to pay big bucks for these kids to live in a college dorm, where they'll share a bathroom (happily) with about a dozen people.