Un Moving Day

After lots of house hunting and really being disappointed by what was on the market (and the rental rates) we decided to negotiate with our current landowners. So we are staying put for another year.

I grew up as an airforce brat. We moved a lot. The longest I've ever lived in one home is 6 years (and that was as an adult). When the itch to move comes on it's hard to scratch. The only cure is to rearrange the house.

My living/dining room is an awkward L-shape. I decided to cut it off and make it rectangular. I turned the end part of the L into office space.

We homeschool and I try not to make my house feel like a classroom. This is hard, sometimes impossible, but we do what we can.

I also cleaned off the back deck and rearranged the furniture.

It feels really nice comfortable again. I don't have the moving itch. All is well.

House Hunting

The next house I looked at is very charming on the outside.There is a screened in porch (to the left in the picture -out of frame). The white part of the house is an add-on living space. It looks cozy from what I can see through the windows. ha! I have an appt to do a walk through tomorrow.

It has some storage and a very large backyard. The neighborhood is as old as the house, but it seems nice and quiet. The rent is more than we were looking to pay, but I think the location will make up the difference in gas savings.

Cons:

- The landlord is looking to get someone in the house before April 1st.
- It is located within city limits. I've learned that I can have chickens in the city. There are a lot of hoops to jump through.

Fuzoodles

I knew we were going to be spending a very long day in the car, house hunting. So we stopped in at Walmart to pick up some activity books and snacks. I could not find where they moved the coloring books. They were not in the toy section or on the book isle. I did find these funny looking things. I've never heard of them before. I wavered, thinking that only Jeremiah would have fun with them. When Joshua said he'd like to have them too, I tossed them in the buggy.

We have had so much fun with them, that I'm thinking about picking up another set. Maybe the one with the animal pieces.

I finally said, "Okay, let me see what I can do." Ta-da!

Ishmael was not feeling well that day, so he didn't come with us. He stayed behind with his big sister. The boys brought in the Fuzzoodles to show him and see what he would make.

I bought a little storage box and we keep them in the car. They were well worth the splurge.

House Hunting

We are looking for a new rental home. The pickings are very slim. My goal is to find a house in the country with enough land to garden and raise chickens. I'd like for the house to have a comfortable kitchen and plenty of storage. We still need to live close enough to Leon's job to not kill the gas budget.

The first house we looked at was only 4 minutes from his job, but it is in the city. It has a very large back yard with enough storage space.

There is even the bonus of a very nice deck.

Cons:

-teeny tiny kitchen (the washer/dryer go in the kitchen to make up counter space)

-monthly rent is about $100 more than we can afford

-it is in the city, so no chickens
-it is next to a working railroad track