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2 kids, 2 adults, 1 queen bed, and no personal space. I regret not splurging on a king-size mattress while my kids were little.

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For Christmas one year, my husband and I bought our then 2-year-old son a Nugget Couch. It was amazing, and more comfortable than our mattress. Wait, was our mattress really that bad?

I was pregnant and had thought it needed replacing (after all, it was over 10 years old), but the play couch pushed us to make a mattress purchase, which, on some days, I think we rushed into without considering some important things.

We chose a queen mattress, the same size as the one we were replacing. At the time, the king seemed like a luxury we didn’t need. And we certainly didn’t need to spend the extra money, either. Now, I see things differently.

Adding a second child changed the dynamics in our bed

When it came time to shop for our new mattress, my husband casually mentioned upgrading our queen bed to a king, but I had little interest, and we never discussed it much past that.

I’ve always felt like king-sized beds were too spacious. At hotels, they required scooting over to reach the center of the bed. Who wants to do that?

We went with the queen, and things were fine for a while. After all, when just one child toddles into our room and climbs into bed, there are cuddles and coziness. However, when two children wind up in our bed, there are feet in each other’s faces, and everyone winds up a bit uncomfortable, especially now that they’re 4 and 6.

Sometimes a child will wind up lying sideways. Once, I might have suggested that someone sleep at the end of the bed, where one might picture a dog or cat (neither of which we own). The extra space a king-sized mattress would provide sure would come in handy now.

We play games on our bed

My husband started a game with our kids where he pretends that our blanket is a “hungry house” that will eat up and envelop them. The kids also love it when we pretend they’re airplanes and toss them into the bed, where they squirm like rollie-pollies. These activities take up a lot of space, and having more room to roll around and play would be a plus.

Once in a blue moon, our kids will decide to bring all their stuffed animals into the bed and make a suffie mountain, or play hide-and-seek under the covers. Then there are the nights when our daughter climbs into our bed and announces herself with a doorbell sound. I cherish these silly moments of connection and know they won’t last forever, so I want to encourage them as much as possible now.


The author poses while skiing.

The author says her family spends a lot of quality time in the bed she and her husband share. She now regrets not splurging on a king-sized mattress when she got a new bed. 

Courtesy of Anne James



I feel like I missed our chance to upgrade to a king-size bed

Now, four years later, I question why I didn’t consider my husband’s suggestion to upgrade to a king-size bed seriously. As an item that’s only replaced every 10 years or so, and with a higher price tag, it’s a big decision.

It seems too late to change mattress sizes now since we’d need both a new bed frame and mattress, and it doesn’t make sense to replace ours, which works perfectly fine.

At some point, our kids will stop crawling into our bed. By the time we’ll need a new mattress again, I likely won’t feel the same desire or need for a king-size bed. But if I chose again with younger kids, I’d get a king.




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Head of LA homeless nonprofit charged with pocketing millions, splurging on luxuries including a Hermès jacket and a trip to Vegas

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Authorities have found that some funding to combat homelessness in California has instead ended up in Greece.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has accused Alexander Soofer, manager of LA-based housing organization Abundant Blessing, of “a years-long scheme to defraud the City and County of Los Angeles and other public entities providing funding for homeless housing.”

According to a complaint filed on Friday, while paying his staff “minimal wages” and feeding residents at his housing sites “ramen noodles, canned beans, and breakfast bars,” Soofer pocketed at least $10 million “through bank accounts associated with other businesses in his and his wife’s names” for personal expenses after “fraudulently obtaining” $23 million in public funding.

Federal officials said that between 2018 and 2025, Soofer’s organization received more than $5 million directly from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and over $17 million through other nonprofits.

Investigators found Soofer’s misuse of funds includes $47,000 in luxury home purchases from stores like Restoration Hardware, $15,000 at Hermès, $15,000 at Chanel, $1,000 for cosmetic dermatology, and $4,500 for a four-night stay at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Authorities said they have yet to determine what Soofer bought at Chanel, but listed his purchases at Hermès as including a $1,250 pair of men’s Paris calf-skin loafers, a $910 pair of women’s Chypre sandals, a $455 Chevaux en Symetrie tie, and a $2,450 men’s trotting jacket.


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The same Hermes trotting vest that the authorities listed in the photo section of the complaint.

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In addition to luxury brands, the complaint said there is at least one property under his name associated with the misappropriated funds. That property in question is located in Greece and relates to “a $475,000 check issued from an Abundant Blessings bank account.”

The case against Soofer feeds into concerns that California’s efforts to combat homelessness may be ineffective and inconsistent despite large spending. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, as of 2024, the state had over 187,000 homeless people, representing about 24% of the nation’s total.

State Auditor Grant Parks wrote in a 2024 report to Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers that, when his department analyzed five housing programs that received approximately $13.7 billion in combined funding, only two were “likely cost-effective.”

Parks also added in the report that, between fiscal years 2018-2023, California cities lacked reliable data to track cost efficiency and outcomes needed to fully understand why the problem didn’t improve, despite the billions spent by more than 30 housing programs.

The attorney’s office of the Central District of California referred Business Insider to the press release and did not comment further. An attorney for Soofer and the Governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.




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