FSBO

This one almost had us :) It's a for sale by owner (which was a little tricky since we have an agent), beautiful neighborhood with an police officer at the entrance to the development (which has its own name, so fancy!) The house is beautiful inside, the finished basement is just about perfect for school and guests! So much more space than we have now, plus a three-car garage. Very well maintained, the bedrooms were all gigantic, storage space everywhere, one of those grand prom-like staircases as you walk in the door, similar decorating style as me (so not a lot of paint color changes), a potential music room on the main level, seriously--so many great features! On the not as exciting side . . . it's the same age as our home, and the a/c is beginning to get picky. The kitchen needs a major update, including a gas line, because I'm not a fan of cooking on electric :) The master bath has the same tiny shower we currently have, needs a new toilet, needs new tile, could use a countertop update (but it did have two sinks!), and perhaps most importantly . . . the yard was really small with neighbors a fist bump through a window away in the back.

We made a verbal offer (kind of) over the phone, and discovered our offer plus no closing fees, plus no agent fees was already on the table--with the same contingency that their house had to sell before they could take ownership. So, then this crazy whirlwind of WE HAVE TO LIST NOW TO SELL BEFORE THEY DO!! went into effect, plus we'd have to raise our full-price offer another $5,000 to cover the things the other buyer said they'd allow for . . . and here's the kicker, the seller hadn't even had her open house yet. I have no doubt in my mind, that this house would be one we'd have to fight for financially, and though it was so close to perfect, it wasn't. It needed updating--pretty much in the same way our house needs updating (kitchen, bathrooms, possibly carpeting on the main level).

So, we stopped sleeping well. We were kind of frustrated with each other. Buck was doing all this banking stuff to get a lender, talking to several different companies, building information packets to send, trying to find time to shore up our deck; I'm thinking of packing the whole house, but first cleaning it enough for pictures, talking to neighbors about a for sale sign going in the yard, waiting for paperwork from our realtor, texting and calling the owner of the house we liked . . . just stressful and exhausting emotionally. So I asked some of my girls, spread out across the country, to pray for us.

Saturday morning, I was out walking in (careful) circles on our deck--okay, rectangles. I'm looking at the blue birds flying by, thinking about the deer we see on an almost daily basis, realizing that we own the bank of trees at the top of the second hill (where I still have never ventured) . . . and I thought . . . "We could buy a mobile home, double-wide and park it up on that hill." (This revelation made Buck laugh, when I told him later :) I kept pacing . . . I felt like God was saying, "Hey, you're smart. Get creative." Oooh, thanks for the compliment, God! Okay--we have all this space. We can't really add on, but . . . TINY HOUSE! We could build a tiny house in the backyard as a classroom, kid hang out space, and extra sleeping space for when guests come over! Well, tiny houses also come with sinks, refrigerators, bathrooms--stuff we don't need and, whoa baby, the price! So then I switched to--tricked out shed, concrete pad, dry wall, shingling, solar system--great projects for the kids to learn on! We could match it to the house, landscape around it, make a cute little path from the deck . . . Buck is not so sure this would add value. However, he's now excited about the idea of possibly adding a sunroom in place of our falling apart deck. This would be our classroom and add square footage to the house without ripping down walls and getting nutty.

So I feel like God gave us a chance to breath a minute and think through what we already have, what He's already given us. We could put a storage shed on the hill and put a garden in next to it . . . that opens up the current garage, and gives us a chance to be farmers. Buck says we could put a chicken coop on the back of the storage shed or we could get a hutch for bunnies. We're starting to see our "temporary" situation, as a place we can actually live for awhile. It's interesting how that works :) In fact, when I talked to our realtor about all this (she was in total agreement with the pace being too fast), I said, "It's kind of  your fault that I am reconsidering--you walked through our house going, 'Oh this is great! I forgot about that. You have this room down here?!' and it made me see our space differently."

So what's next? Hmm, not sure. I know we're not having showings tomorrow :) Buck sent a message to the lenders saying, "What if . . ." to try to get the scoop on a refi or a line of equity for carpets, countertops, a four-seasons room off the kitchen? He's not closed to the idea of selling though either, if something perfect pops up on the market. We just don't have to decide today (especially since it's a holiday and everything is closed anyway), and that makes me able to relax again. Still--we are up and move in a flash people, no waiting around when a decision is made, so hold on to your hats . . . who knows what's next!

Last Day of School!

Like . . . five days ago! I guess with all the house-hunting rigmarole I plumb forgot to announce the completion of our two semesters of education. And now that I think about it, I should probably finish up the grading too, so the ladies know how they did this year. Sheesh! What a week! :)


I feel like we did a spot on job of getting finished with their curriculum this year! Most courses are designed for 160-180 day school years. Ours tops out at about 150. Nevertheless, we finished all their history, Bible, and readers (one read-aloud left for the summer). The boys completed Health in one year (it took the girls more than two years to do the same, because I never wanted to do the workbooks either :) The girls completed their British Lit and American Lit courses, their Beginning Web Design course, and their Language Arts. Caelan completed the typing program we bought in Winterset (she could tell you how many wpm she can type now, but I can't remember what she told me :) We finished our science curriculum--Weather, Geology, Archeology, and Astronomy.

For summer school, Caelan is going to do a high school prep Language Arts course, the girls are going to get rolling on next year's Family and Consumer Science curriculum. Everyone has math to complete. The boys will have some handwriting and a bit of Language Arts to wrap up. So we have a few things to keep them busy :)

Yesterday Brennen said, "Tomorrow's Monday, school day!" I said, "Um, no!" :) We're going to take a full week off before we start heading back to the classroom, but I appreciated his enthusiasm.

Who knows, maybe next year we'll have a new classroom--the kids are thinking one-room, prairie style in the backyard with red paint and a bell on top. I dig it! Ha!

Edits

This is me, just about every night. I'd include the picture of my phone (used to look up obscure vocabulary), but it's hard to use a phone to take a picture of a phone--ironically, cell phones don't do selfies of themselves :)

Here's what you're looking at:

1. A book, that I really enjoy, that I need to edit for language, moral structure, and inappropriate situations. Now, not all of these things get blacked out by the (2.) Sharpie you see in the middle.

3. Some get sticky notes from the plastic bag above (which also contains chapstick and a variety of book marks). These sticky notes might explain a Biblical principle being upheld or disregarded. They might give a historical context or point to a specific Bible verse that addresses the situation. They might just express my feelings on the subject--"Ew!" "Ummm, not cool." "Wha?!"

The sticky notes are semi permanent. For large patches of edits, I mosaic them on a page and then use the (4.) tape to stick the edges down. Could the kids still peek? Of course. Do they? I hope not. I add my version of what's underneath in summary form on the sticky note. It moves the story along :) Some stuff is just crappy and shouldn't be in there--it doesn't help the story, it doesn't advance the plot, it's just poop on a page--I should add a roll of toilet paper to my kit :)

5.The scissors are to cut the sticky notes that I write notes on to fit the edges of very narrow page margins. This can be tricky, scissors are my friend.

6. Pencil--the pencil comes in when I'm enjoying the story and don't want to stop to edit. It also comes in handy when I'm reading on the treadmill. I just scratch a nice pencil line through a word or phrase I dislike or put a star with a quick note of something I might like to add to a section. Later, I go back with my Sharpie and my sticky notes and fix everything up! On rare occasions I'll pull out the (not pictured) stapler and just seal off a section completely. This occurs less frequently so it didn't get photo props. Oh and in case you're wondering, the Sharpie, the tape, and the stapler are reserved only for books we've purchased. I'm guessing the library would frown on my edititing *assistance* with their collection, ha!

If My House Were a Candle . . .

. . . it would smell like baking :) I guess thinking about leaving, I get nostalgic and start to realize in just how many ways this house has been hand-picked by God for us. Our girls love to bake, we have three ovens. How many houses have three ovens? I've been so busy not-liking things about it, lack of space, ugly carpets, ticks . . . I haven't looked as closely at the good things. Now, my brain is spinning. We can fix some of those things, can't we??

Anyway, here is a sample of the big baking bonanza! As another fundraiser at work for the CMN campaign, Buck's office is holding a bake sale. Our girls baked, and baked, and baked some more . . . and then got very tired of baking and didn't want to plate their goodies for transport. So, I summoned my super-human will-power skills and filled plate after plate of cookies without licking so much as a finger :) Buck said the homemade cinnamon bread with frosting (not pictured) sold out in 7 minutes!

Could we give this up?

We are looking for something outside of town . . . our current only option (which is beautiful and spacious with just a few cosmetic update-type things) is in a beautiful neighborhood on a fairly small yard, surrounded by neighbors. I'm going to hold onto that picture til we make a for-sure decision. Anyway, we probably couldn't pull out Graysen's homemade cardboard deer with the red-spray-painted heart and watch the boys celebrate as they hit their prey. That's a pretty cool option to have!

House Search Update

Well, let me just tell you . . . this process is intense! It's fast, it's full of "ifs," and it is set up like a carefully constructed trail of dominoes--for one thing to work, another has to tip into place, and that sets off a chain reaction of epic proportions. I can't imagine being a real estate agent--there's too much stress, too many picky people, too many panicked texts . . . "DID YOU GET THE DISCLOSURE YET?!!" Lol--whew, not for me. So not for me that I'm having second thoughts on this whole house-hunting thing. It may be time to get creative, folks. Anyhoo, here's our latest lookings :)

This one almost had us :) We looked at it twice. Super unique floor plan, beautiful bathrooms--especially the master, practically dreamy. It also had a massive walk-in pantry, hidden behind an unassuming door by the fridge--so cool, like a secret passageway WITH STORAGE (a grown up's version of childhood dreams :)! Pretty wood floors, etc. etc.  On the other hand, the yard was small and steep, letting the dog out would require a lot of stair running, bedrooms were just a smidge larger than what we have now. But our biggest draw AND concern was the basement. 15? 20 foot ceilings, 1500 feet of unfinished, bright, plumbing-roughed-in, electric-in-place, future-sale potential! We could build a classroom, a workout gym, another bedroom, a 5th bathroom--wowza! However . . . there was dampness in the basement. Not standing water, but dampness on all the seams and some through the cinder block foundation. To fix this meant landscaping, hauling in dirt, swimming pools of sealant. Also the price was cray-cray high. So, we tampered our excitement and turned our focus elsewhere.

This was just a hop, skip, and a jump from town and the land was great! It had a little meadow next to and behind it. A MASSIVE, luxury chicken coop all set up, railroad-tie landscaping (reminiscent of my childhood :), bow and arrow targets and tree stands set up throughout the property, fun trails for the kids to wander, a few trees to climb, a garden space roughed in, a baseketball court, swingset, three-car garage/workshop, dog kennel . . . seriously cool! Slightly intimidating--well water, septic, propane. The house . . . an older *farm* house, well kept, but so small! We'd have to do school in the basement that's like a real basement. This is also where the second shower was located in the laundry/bath/utility room--not going to work for us. Bummer!!!

Fundraising by Face Shaving

I always knew he was the king :)

Throughout the day we received pictures of the "Shave Buck" money raising challenge!

Buck actually shaved Buck to maintain the chances of looking somewhat professional throughout the day (rather than, like, half a moustache missing and a lamb chop--that's what they're called right?--on the side).

This was as far as they got! We haven't seen him without the goatee in forevs--without the moustache, only twice ever!

He trimmed off the rest at home, and this is where we settled (though he trimmed a little more). He might shave it all off or let the goatee fill back in--that little below the lip thing is called a "soul patch." First I've ever heard of it, but we looked up some celebrity versions online and his is right there with the Brad Pitt version :)

Here Fishy, Fishy!

It's nice to have neighbors who have family who have a pond within driving distance for some good old fashioned fishin'! :) Buck and the children set out this weekend to see how well their hooks, lines, and sinkers worked on the fish of the farm pond. Not too bad it turns out! They all caught a bunch, and threw them all back because they are little and live in a farm pond :)




Meanwhile, I faced a massive pile of end-of-school-year paperwork and grading. It took me all four? hours they were gone and then some to get to the end of it--and that was just the work the kids have done since our recent spring break!! This teacher needs a secretary ;) But the solo time was certainly a huge help towards getting my administrative work completed. Good fishy!

Van A/C Breaks--Get a New Van

House A/C breaks--get a new house?! Lol! Not exactly. Our air conditioner is working just fine with its annual Freon refresh, but I did joke with my neighbor that swapping properties was our logical next step ;) As it turns out, I might have been on to something.

When we relocated originally, it was for two years. We have lived here for four years. We decided to ask "new boss" how many more years he thought we'd be in this neck of the woods . . . jaw drop . . . he said ANOTHER three to six years! Wha???

So that means our original plan of two years is now stretching toward a decade. Hmmm. I'm not putting any bets on the time frame, because it is constantly changing, but this was interesting information that we thought we should consider acting upon. Namely, by trying to track down some more square footage to have space for the growing youngun's through high school.

Our first home was 1,400 sq. feet. This one is 1,800 sq. feet. We'd like to get above the 2,000 mark, just for the sake of being able to see the floor again :) But the market is crazy fast right now, so we're not doing anything but looking unless something magnificent appears.

G$ is so cute, he's taking along a notebook to write down what he likes and doesn't like about the properties we tour. I'm glad, because he thinks of things that I hadn't considered--and you thought buying a van was hard for us, lol! Can you imagine the process with six opinions and a whole HOUSE?! When we have more than one day to decide? When we know the neighborhoods and distances to the activities that we attend on a nearly daily basis? When our wishlist (of course!) far exceeds our budget? :) It should be interesting!

But just for fun, like we did with our vehicle search, here's a glimpse of what we've glimpsed (short list, we just started touring yesterday, hee hee :)

The drive to this (somehow) in-town acreage was BEAUTIFUL! With all the trees and flowers blooming, it was like driving into a fairy land. The kids were oohing and ahhing all the way. It looks a bit stark in the photo, but now that everything is green, they should really go back and get more pics. About the house, there were things we liked and things we didn't (of course). Mainly didn't--figuring out propane, septic, and still paying a ka-billion in taxes. Plus, the layout, though fun with a little secret crawl space between bedrooms, didn't really give us the right kind of *more* space that we need. Buck was worried about the dehumidifiers scattered throughout the house--and the kitchen was pretty much a gut job. Just too, too, too much fixer upper for us, but the land was perfect!

This house was hello 80's! It would be fun to fix up and brighten up, because all the needs were cosmetic. However, the kitchen was sooo tiny, and we can pack out a kitchen with one grocery trip. We're talking, need to move a wall to have enough storage in the kitchen. The bedrooms were more spacious than ours, but needed much brighter lighting. Also, the yard was pretty steep in the back (no flat lands like our current spot) and it also had potential septic issues. New carpet was great though, and there was a whole extra room that we had no idea what to do with--imagine having that "problem"??! :)

Buck has his eye on another property that we were supposed to go see today, but the family is having some personal issues, and that delayed our viewing. I actually wouldn't be surprised if that house gets taken off the market, but we'll see what happens. There is not a lot available right now, and what is available is sold in hours. Our real estate agent thinks our house would sell before it is officially listed, which is amazing. I guess we'll just see what God wants us to do :)

Senioritis?

You know how when you're a senior in high school and that glimpse of summer freedom, of after-educational pursuits, is so close that you can almost reach out and grab it? And you know how, with senioritis, you tend to let a few other things slide--say school attendance, homework assignments, chores and obligations at home?

Well, I'm afraid I have senioritis--also school related, different kind of *senior,* lol :) My poor, old brain is so befuddled with all the end of the year needs-to-be-dones that I might be having a few senior moments myself--for instance, when Graysen was unloading the dishwasher the other day . . .

"Hey, Mom. Why is the garlic in the measuring cup drawer?"

"Umm, I guess that's where I put it when I was making dinner last night?"

Close to the fridge. Same room at least, right? 

Hee-hee, what am I going to do with me? :)

Give a Man a Fish . . .

. . . and he he's not hungry for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will never starve (my paraphrase). But follow the instructions given by a WalMart *pet specialist*--and the man just might starve the fish! How long ago did we get Smaug? Months, right? He's not a very interesting pet. Just floats, barely moving, day after day. We often question whether he's still alive, but the slightest movement assures us he's still with the fam. Well, folks there's a good reason for that . . . forehead slap!

The pet people said to feed the fish ONE pellet ONCE a week. That's what we've been doing. The kids remarked, "Wow, this little container of fish food will last us ten years!" I'm thinking, "There is no company on the planet that can stay in business selling pet food once every 10 years per family." Aloud, while checking the web for beta info simultaneously on my phone, "Hey, what does food container say for how often the fish should be fed?"

Oh.My.Goodness. This poor little creature! He's supposed to be fed as much as he can eat in five minutes EVERY DAY! No wonder he hasn't been swimming around--he's conserving the meager calories we've been unknowingly providing him all this time. No wonder when he eats, he looks like he's chewing (and gagging) . . . he's trying to get his digestive system to reactivate. Never have I felt like such a jerk about a FISH! :)

I'm actually largely impressed at his fortitude--he's been surviving on prison rations. You should see him zipping around now that he has some energy to burn :) I think even his tail feathers (yes, I know fish don't really have feathers) are starting to look less raggedy and sad.

Speaking of sad--our window toad did not return this year for another season of classroom learning. I'm kind of bummed. I miss the little guy (or gal) sticking his (or her) froggy fingers on the window and begging to come in from the rain. So, Bombur is no more, I guess. Along with Gandalf and Pippen. But three cheers for Smaug who survived the homeschool experience! :) And rumor has it, there's a guinea pig coming down the line . . .

Life with Boys

"Why is there blood on my sword?"--Graysen

"Why IS there blood on your sword!!?"--Me

"I don't know where the blood came from."--Graysen

"Well, someone must be bleeding??"--Me

He shrugs, then joins his brother outside to continue playing with the souvenir weapons they purchased with their business money at the renaissance festival. But the day is hot, so they soon rejoin us inside.

"Let me see that sword. Where is the blood?"--Me

"It was still wet, like a drip, but I mostly wiped it off." --Graysen

Sure enough, there's a blood stain on his wooden sword. Huh. Then I look down . . .

"What did you do to your leg?! That's where the blood is coming from . . ." --Me

"Huh. I don't know." --Graysen

And that is life with boys :)

Words with Friends and Children

Aww, brotherly love . . . but wait! They are actually plotting to play big point words against me, their dear mother! And they do win often, more often than my English major cares to admit ;)

Caught! They caught me taking their picture while they were plotting big words against me :) The lovely tongue thing is courtesy of the knight we booed at the renaissance festival . . . booooo!!! :)

Mother's Day

I awoke to an oatmeal breakfast with finely chopped add-ins. Because we had church and then Buck had work, I was presented with gifts shortly after breakfast. It was a jewelry kind of day and everyone gave me thoughtful, cute gifts. Gabby gave me a Mama bear bracelet with four baby bears etched in, Caelan and Brennen gave me a bracelet with all the kids' names engraved on the band, G$ gave me another book in the Mitford Series (my fav!), and Buck gave me a necklace that opens like a locket into which I got to put each of the kids' birthstones inside. Technically, Graysen's is supposed to be rose-colored, but they sent three purples instead of a pink, so he's pale lavender :) I also added in a September stone for Ellie Joy who would have been born then, nearly 10 years ago. I'm happy God gave us Graysen in October and that I get to see my little lost ones in heaven some day!






After church, we decided to go through our puzzle and games collections. Wow, we have a lot! You can see in the pic of me with the kids that the stack used to reach nearly up to Caelan's shoulder! We did a bit of weeding out the ones we've put together numerous times, the ones missing pieces, the games that they've outgrown, and I was happy with the result :) Many of these will get donated to a friend's upcoming garage sale (I just can't handle garage sales on my own . . . so not my jam :)

We luv puzzles!!

Games are great!!

But look at that freshly cleared corner with all the games ON the game shelf!!!

And all those other games and puzzle stacked NEATLY in the closet! Maybe organization is a good Mother's Day gift for me ;)

Let's see, I also took an hour and 15 minute nap, read aloud to the kids for awhile, ordered pizza delivery (I woke up from my nap and the actual first thing my brain thought was "taco pizza" hee-hee :), I helped the girls finish a puzzle (27 pieces missing, what?!!), and start another, now I'm blogging, about to get my chai, and hang out with Buck who came home a little early from work. A very nice Mother's Day--I didn't clean a single toilet (though I did dust and vacuum, but I like to vacuum :)

Medieval Times

In school this year, our history lessons took us way back to the dawn of time and then catapulted us into the Middle Ages. We spent a good deal of time reading about the Romans, Viking invasions, and the settlement of England. But how much more educational is seeing history in action? Much, I must say! So, when we learned of a renaissance festival within driving distance, and decided to make a day of it.

Here's what was educational/historical:

1. The blacksmith forge (although his thoughts on mother-in-law gifts, maybe not so educational).
2. The pottery lady, spinning pots on her wheel. This was cool because we read a BUNCH of books about pottery this year.
3. The jousting and games of contest. I'm comparing these to the Medieval Times dinner shows we've seen, so yeah, pretty spot-on historically ;)
4. The costumes of the royal court as they wandered the faire (probably, I'm no fashion expert, but they looked pretty fancy to me).
5. The turkey legs that cost $10 each--a lesson in meal acquisition finance (hooray for modern day ATMs).
6. The choir of renaissance singers, they sounded truly lovely!
7. I'm really trying here . . . colorful flags and sword-fighting lessons (but you had to sign up really early, they were booked until late afternoon!)
8. The town crier who stood in a tree house and bellowed activity announcements throughout the day (well, the schedule thing was maybe not authentic, but it was quite helpful!)
9. (I'm shooting for 10 authentics :) The Viking and courtly games we played on the lawn--kubb, chess, throwing a spear at an apple (possibly an inflatable apple?), a tic-tac-toe deal with ribbons.
10. The for-sure inflated prices of vendors during faires and festivals in that day and age . . . and our own :)

Things that were not so educational/authentic:
1. I think renaissance is code for "undergarments optional." This goes for the scantily-clad ladies and the kilted men--there were a lot of kilted men.
2. Lots of phony British accents that slipped and slid, but were declared with gusto!
3. A mermaid?
4. Oh who cares, it was a festival! :)

We did enjoy ourselves on the bright, sunny day. Everyone got a bit of their first burn of the season. I did sunblock, but the timing is always tricky on the reapply. The festival was quite large and the boys especially liked looking at all the wooden and metal swords, daggers, shields, masks, etc.

Graysen spearing an apple like William Tell! (That's the apple guy, right? :)

I think we can recreate this Swedish Viking game at home! Vikings invented it because "they liked to throw things at other things" according to our instructor :)

The queen and her court

The announcer fellow and our "knight" for whom we cheered during two tournaments.

The lady won the first round--she didn't joust :)

After the jousting match, our knight won, so as his prize, he got to take his picture with Graysen. It was very special for him ;)

The pottery lady could spin out little pots an mugs at lightning speed! I bet she could throw 300 a day at that rate!