We still own our home in another state that we are renting out. We want to keep it because we have a lot of equity in it, it's a perfect rental, it's only 5 years old, and we only have 12 years of payments left. However, we spoke with the bank today and we can't get preapproved for another home in our new state. They want us to talk with them again in the spring when we have another year's tax returns (with our higher salary) and more time with our renters paying rent. So, it looks like there is a good chance we will be renting again, but we can't stay in this house. It's just too small. Our lease is up next summer, so if we can't buy, we'll be looking for another rental. We want it to be somewhere we could be long-term. We are just having a problem feeling settled and grounded while renting. I know many people do this, though, and I think it's hard for us because we DID live in the home we owned. It's been hard to go back to renting. To those of you who rent long-term: How do you make it feel like your house? How do you make things feel permanent? Is there anything special you look for in a rental home? My husband was sweet on the way home from the bank. He reminded me that I could go back to work tomorrow and we could buy a nice (2nd) house, but that we've made the decision to homeschool and it's important to us. He said he's ok with renting longer if it means our kids are getting what they need. That's huge for him!

We are 4 people living in 700 square feet with a little extra storage in the unfinished basement. We survive just fine, but we know it's only for two years. I could not do this forever. Our last house was 2200 sq ft and that was plenty big enough.

We have two 10 year olds and only 1 bathroom right now. Our last house had 3 1/2 bathrooms and it was waaaaay too much to clean! 2 is plenty, although I do like having the extra half bath for guests.

Sorry. It's easy to get bogged down comparing yourself to others. We are renting a tiny two bedroom house now and it's been a very humbling experience. It's also made me think about our values and priorities a lot. My only piece of consolation would be this: You do NOT know those other families' situations. When we lived in our new little neighborhood we had a simple life and I worked full time. I was constantly shocked at how much money our neighbors would spend and they had a SAHM. I felt like we were working SO hard and we should have...more. Well, it took me a few years and many private conversations to learn that most of the families I envied at the time were up to their eyeballs in DEBT. SO MUCH DEBT!!! While this wasn't the case for some families, I was truly shocked at how common it was. So now I try to remind myself that we all have different priorities and situations. Starbucks mom in her SUV could have just paid for that with her fourth maxed out credit card (true story) while the simple family down the street has a dad that could retire young and well. We just never know, so try hard not to compare yourself to what you see on the *outside.* It isn't always true- or better. :)

Thanks for this!! It's hard to know which sites are legit. This helps a lot.

Yeah, that's what we are afraid of. Japan is just top on our list because he's lived there and speaks the language, and it is a culture with which we are very familiar. It's just the most appealing to us right now, only because I think it's where we can really envision ourselves living. We are definitely open to other places, it's just hard to know where to start. My dh was a graphic designer- mostly web with SEO managing, but took a regional sales manager job within his company last year, which is why we live on the other side of the country now. I guess we are either looking at buying another house and settling down here or making our next jump in the next year or two, so it really has us wondering if this could be the right time. I just worry about long term finances, so it would have to be a good job...

Hmm. Not very patient. In fact, when I saw the page about the waiting list, we stopped the online process to think about it. I don't really want to be put on a list and wait for a call out of the blue. Best case scenario, he'd just get a job through a company in Japan, I suppose. I'll check out third culture kids, thanks!

Thanks. We have done this and are trying to decide if we should move forward with the testing.

Thanks for this. That is something for us to consider, especially because I have a child who does better at home than in a school environment. Hmmm.

My husband and I have been exploring ways for our family to live overseas, travel, etc. and this was a path that came up. It's not something we've ever considered and now we are chewing on it. Does anyone have experience with this? My dh would be interested in working as a Consular Officer. Any other ideas on how to live abroad without risking everything financially? :) My husband speaks Japanese and lived there several years ago, so we've been toying with Japan... Just thinking out loud! Thanks for any tips!

We live 3,000 miles away from our families and we are regularly punished.:) I would be the opposite of mad if my girls chose to live far away. I hope they want to have adventures and broaden their horizons! And hopefully we'll be in the position to come visit often!

Rose was the first thing that came to mind!

Sigh. Now I have to go clean my house...

:iagree: this is me. Girls get back Friday and we are starting Monday because we need to start before I lose my mind!

I taught in CA, in LAUSD, and we were NOT allowed to publish photos of students or put any pictures online (blog, FB) without a signed release form from the parent. It's serious stuff.

I am 5'3 and sometimes the petites are too short. I like pants from: Aeropostale (these always seem to be the right length, but I have to be careful about the low-rise thing) Anne Taylor (I have to get size 0 and occasionally a petite) Old Navy (hit and miss and I feel like their quality has gone down in the last 5 years)

OMG. This is the kind of stuff I would have NEVER known. I learn something new every day!

I do NOT have the patience to homeschool!!!! And yet I do. And I struggle. And I learn. I have more patience to homeschool than I do to deal with public school right now. :) That's usually what I tell people.

Our days are shorter in the sense that my kids don't have to be on the bus at 7AM and our afternoons are spent having quiet time. We also can decide to cut the day short, or chop it all together. This year we are only doing 150 "school days." Shhhhh. My girls are best friends and we have grown infinitely closer as a family. School does not solve bickering. We do a ton of hands-on learning, as much as I despise the projects- mummifying the chicken, etc. But we also do a lot of interest-led learning that wouldn't be happening if they were in school. We travel a LOT. That's one reason we continue to homeschool. I think we are up to 20+ states, including Hawaii and we went to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. So field trips? Yes. I think it really depends on the family and the reasons they choose to homeschool. For us, public school would never compare to homeschooling because of our family's needs. Does that mean we don't have bad days? No!!! We have lots of them. But, even our worst days are a HE** of a lot better than our bad days when we were all in school, and I remind myself of that frequently. I don't think it's lies at all. We just get frustrated. If someone were to ask you about being a parent, wouldn't you talk about how wonderful it is, even with all the hardships? You wouldn't tell that young person, or even new parent, all of the horrible things about parenting because, in the end, it's worth it, and you hope they avoid some of the mistakes you've made. That's my two cents. :) Good thread though!

How odd. If it's a destination wedding, maybe they are counting on a lot of people not being able to make it? You'd think they'd do it a few days before Christmas if they only had that holiday window. Maybe they got a really good deal on a venue! I bet there wasn't much competition for Christmas Eve. We had ours the weekend before Thanksgiving, but that's because we were still in college at the time. It was either that or Christmas break. We couldn't *wait* any longer. :lol::lol::lol:

This is cool! I think I'm going to purchase the printouts as well. What a find!!!

When I did hiring for my school, the resumes with mistakes on the cover letters were the first to be trashed. You have to start somewhere and if you really want a job, you'll get someone to proofread your letter if you are not capable. My husband's boss uses NO punctuation in his emails and it makes him sound like a complete moron! Funny...I was just looking at a cookbook I had signed by the author and she wrote, "Your a sweet girl!" I got a laugh out of that!

I got married in college at barely 21 years old. I pay all the bills, but only because I'm a control freak. My husband and I are equals when it comes to decisions though. However, he looooves looking at things like our 401ks and I can't stand it because there is not much we can do about quarterly changes and we are so young, it's not like it's going to affect us anytime soon, so I would rather not look at it! I actually think it's more concerning when I hear a woman say, "My husband won't let me." I hear that a lot. I think that is weird, although I realize some women just use it as an excuse to get out of things or not have to explain something, which is just fine, I just always read into it as the husband being controlling.

Great, thanks. I think I'll just buy a second one then. We do better with structure. :)