http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/elaine_edwards.html
Here is a really nice article, tell me what you think! I am babysitting today and have been busy busy busy--sorry I haven't posted in a while, we are in a sort of transition right now. We went to Waldorf Co-Op yesterday, Campfire scouts Monday, and the children are happy and well. Charlie slept through the night last night and the night before, which was a good treat for all of us affected by my exhaustion levels. I like my job and we had fun on Halloween, even if our neighborhood was kind of scanty on the number of houses handing out candy. I have been looking at new houses when I get the chance in the evenings, but so far they are all gross with stinky cigarette carpeting and general grossness and creeps-ville vibes, so I rush home thinking we have the best house in the world, even if it is too big and we cant afford to spend $400 a month to heat it this winter, or the rent. Of course it is cool and pretty and big, that's why we moved here in the first place.
Daddy doesn't ride his bike too much to work anymore, since it has been so cold or drizzly, but this leaves us without the van. Somedays he takes it to work in the morning, then when he comes home for lunch, we can all drive him back and then have a vehicle for the rest of the day.
I still hold strong to my fantasies of more outings and more happy sidewalk cafes with the kids, eating bagels out of town, going to museums and nature centers, new libraries and new adventures, but it hasn't happened too much lately. This is a huge reason we want to move, to be able to afford the things we really enjoy--outings and doing things other than just paying bills and telling the kids "we cant afford" EVERYTHING in this universe.
My children don't care too much about square footage and copper pipes. They care about swim lessons and family trips, art class and camping, ice skating and new paints and brushes, baking cookies and pies, COSI and the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, having clothes that fit and snowpants and boots that actually keep out cold and water. We are not poor, but we do need to move. For alot of reasons. It would be nice to get into a place where the landlord cared if you had a working cold water faucet in your bathtub or if your 2nd dryer broke or if you needed a copy of the lease to apply for scholarships and financial aid and health insurances.
I haven't gotten a check from my new job yet, I do in a week or so. This will make all my long hours seem like they are actually FOR something, and it will give us a better idea of where we are at for the next few months. But I still say we need to move. We have no car payment, no credit cards, just this big house and its big energy bills, and we know there is a better way.
Very lovely surprise: it is SNOWING! I hope it sticks.
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6 comments:
What a great article!
I've always thought that it'd be the coolest thing ever to get a big RV and travel all over the country for a couple of years. Now that'd be some cool schooling!
I think you're on the right track with looking for more affordable living accommodations so you can spend time with your family doing cool stuff! It's obvious where your priorities are - and I'm certain that the kids will appreciate being up at the top - they won't care how many square feet you're living in!
Oh - and I'm really not mentally prepared for snow to stick yet! Ahhh! It does look pretty flurrying around, though :-)
Here's an idea for the winter heating bills...could you propose to your landlord to insulate the attic (you supply the labor and he pays for materials)? That's the worst culprit in high heating bills, and it's fairly easy to insulate either by blown-in cellulose (when you buy the insulation the home improvement store generally loans you the blower for free) or fiberglass batts. We did this in a few of the houses we've lived in and it made an immediate difference in the comfort of the rooms.
Great update. Good luck on the house hunt. We'd like to find something a bit more affordable, too. We'd like to buy, but we're not sure if we're ready for that yet. Besides, moving is awful!
Perhaps I should follow your lead, and update my blog, too. We'll see.
i want to move too, but i want to do the opposite of what you're looking at. we own now, but are ready to rent again. we are soo tired of putting $$$ into updates and they never cost what you think they are going to, and always take longer than expected. i know it sounds crazy, but we just want to rent again! and weneed something bigger.
she's right about the attic insulation. we qualified one year for some program that the state paid for i think. they blew insulation and did some other little things around to help w/ energy costs.
Kris! We owned our last home but are VERY happily renting now. We want to do this for at least the next 5-10 years. Some say that renting is "throwing your money away", but we felt that owning our particular home was. It was a money pit from hell and the potential catastrophic repairs that were just around the corner were way out of our league financially. Like I said, we are SO happy to be renting. If the furnace/roof/driveway/plumbing needs something, all we have to do is call the landlord. When we want to move, we move. The economy can do what it wants to do and we are safe.
Rixa, the insulation idea is a great one, but we just need to get out of here. If for some reason we cant, though, we will DEFINITELY look into this, without a doubt. Embarassed to say the thought never even crossed our minds!
Trish thanks for understanding-- and for letting me go look at the cutey house Thursday ;)
Kelley, be so careful buying. Just be so, so careful. We felt "kinda not ready" and yet we did and well, that is a long story Ill tell ya someday! Just dont believe any of the LIES they tell you about it being a good tax thing or a good investment or a buyers market. Bottom line is, its all yours, and you might be truly stuck there. For me, that gives me the claustrophobic shivers. Just be so careful!
Hi Joy :) Your kids are gorgeous! I was going to vote on your poll, but we put the kiddos down "around 7 pm" which isn't a choice! I loved meeting you, and rest assured you'll have a new commenter now ;)
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