My Brood of Wild Beasts: April 2011

Love the view from our new hole

I tend to be very sporadic, with little rhyme or reason to anything I do…

So, I suppose it’s time for an update.

Life is still life. It’s still good, and still busy, and still confusing…
Everyone’s doing good. Nothing really to complain about; other than insignificant woes that needn’t be mentioned.

How’s that for a vague summary?

Really, though, life is pretty good.
John recently got a new job (at the same company, just a different position) and we have decided to build a house. Very, very cool. It’s just a few miles from where we live now, but it’s right on the school boundary border, so the kids will have to switch schools. We’ve been preparing them for a while now, so they are actually really excited. And, it’s even official; I went this morning to register Eli for kindergarten.

Venturing into the hole, Tad, Eli, John, Moe

In the fall I will officially have 3 of my 4 little shadows in elementary school: grades 6, 2, and K. We’ll live just under a mile from the new school, so there will be no bus. I’m kind of sad because it’s a bit too far to walk, especially in the winter. I’ll end up driving them to and from, most days. But I expect when the weather is nice I will walk there and then walk them home; it’ll be good exercise for the whole family! Then we may work up to bikes, or having them walk home without me. I’m still a paranoid mamma duck, so I like to keep them under wing, but I can gradually ease into something like that.

I’m super excited. I was sort of bummed when I found out that Eli has to go to afternoon kindergarten because of where we live, but it’ll be ok. I’m thinking that because I will only have 1 little duck at home that I can manage teaching preschool to Moe. That’ll be fun for the two of us, and it will also save me the extra expense. Maybe we'll even work on potty-training! That would be another saved expense, and I would be officially done with diapers.

We’ve been expecting a move for a while, at least this last year, and I’ve spent a lot of time getting ready for it. I completely cleaned out and cancelled our storage unit, went through almost every single box in our house, cleaned out my food storage, and got rid of a ton of stuff. We had a huge garage sale in the fall, and between that and dumping the rest in either the trash or at DI we’ve probably cut our “belongings” in half. It feels so much lighter and relieving to be done with all that junk. Now, when it’s officially time to move, the whole process will be a breeze (or as much of a breeze as moving could be).

Moe and I, in the hole

They started digging the hole for our foundation last week. I’m really hoping the house will be finished by the end of June; and if all goes smoothly that is possible. But it’s more likely that it won’t be until the middle of July. We’re so ready to move, emotionally, that it will be hard to wait. But, with summer coming up we will have plenty to keep us busy. We will, of course, stop by our construction site daily, along with picking out different features and colors for the house. Then there are all the normal summer activities, like swimming, sand, and sun.

Along with getting ready for a new house I’ve been working on a new hobby: baking and cooking from scratch (and trying to do it for next to dirt cheap). A house is a huge investment, and is going to stretch our budget to a limit we haven’t had to deal with for a long time. It is a good stretch, but it’s still a difficult one to get used to. One of the few areas I have any control over in our budget is food. I’ve made it my personal mission to minimize our food spending to unrealistic expectations. We will have enough for our needs, but every extra bit I can save will be that much more we can put aside (for emergency, or to pay for our yard—which we won’t have until next year).

Looking out of the hole, Eli

With all of that I have spent a lot of time focusing on (or you could say obsessing over) learning some new basic cooking skills. It’s been kind of fun. And it’s been a good experience. It gives me something to focus on, to feel good about, to share with the family, and I feel like it’s healthier and tastier when you choose what goes into your food.

Anyway, these are the more interesting things that have been going on for our family. I've tried really hard to find ways to simplify our lives, so we can enjoy a peaceful home. De-junking was a huge relief, along with paying off debt. We’re all learning to save money and live within a tight budget. As far as spiritual simplicity we set a goal to learn all 13 articles of faith, as a family. Our family night activity each week is to sing the article of faith songs and learn a new one each week. We're looking forward to a party at Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate accomplishing this goal (so far we're on #3, so it'll take care of planning family night for quite a while). And I've simplified (and frugalized) my hobbies by spending most of my time teaching myself to cook---it's entertaining, already a daily necessity, and saves money all at the same time!

Life is good…and so if food!

I started a new blog to keep track of my food adventures. I'll likely spend most of my internet time over there, instead of here...You should stop by and follow along, if you get a chance. I even give you permission to laugh at my insanity, inexperience, and unavoidable disasters.

Here’s the link:

Scratch That. I'm Eating

http://www.scratchthateating.blogspot.com/

Here's a few things I've posted on my food blog:

Homemade Hamburger Buns