in 33 minutes. To say I am excited is putting it mildly. We have been in the process of buying this house since November 7th. We've hit snag after snag that has postponed us week after week. Today it all finally ends. I admit I've had a perma-grin all day long, I've danced around the house, and the kids and I've blared happy music since 8am. The nightmare comes to a close and I am so pleased! :) Just thought I'd share.

Me too. :)

There are as many answers to this question as there are women I imagine. I personally wear it because my features are so pale that nothing really stands out on my face, which does not fit my personality at all! When I have eye make up on (really the only kind I wear) I feel like communication is better between myself and those around me. Why? Because my expressions become more clear to them (as in they can actually see my eyebrows move up and down). Plus it's fun. It's fun to open a box of random colors and say What do I feel like today? Am I a little bit daring? (pick the green eye shadow)? Am I looking tired? (DON'T choose the brown eye liner!) Am I feeling fresh and happy? (Grab the mascara and lip balm). While I am first to agree that our culture values physical beauty I also know that some women would play in the make up for the fun of it. Just as some boys would be drawn to sports even if our society didn't highly value it.

I wear mascara and color in my eyebrows at the minimum everyday, unless of course I am caught up in a really good book, then I forget it all. If I'm going out I also add eye shadow (light brown neutrals). The only lip stuff I wear is a simple clear lip balm.

I am naive. :) 48 hours into my research allows me to be naive a bit. All of my questions thus far have been asked based on questions I have seen on other message boards. I've never known anyone to spend any sort of time outside the US nor I've never traveled outside the US. That kind of keeps me in the naive category. However that is why I am asking questions now. I don't know what country we want to go to, when we want to do it, or any other sort of important information. Once we narrow down which country we want to live in, I am sure as we continue on my questions will become much more intelligent. We do plan to take a couple of vacations before moving anywhere. As for midwifery- No, I don't plan to save anyone. In fact a couple of non-profits I have looked at go abroad specifically to train women in the skill so as to help their own communities. I would rather, as you say, train someone to fish than give them a fish.

I was just going to post this! Last year (I think) she was getting 40k visits a month. So with all those people visiting she is making only about $200 a month. She has been blogging for many years and has a very active following. Now that said, she has only recently monetized her blog so who knows what the potential could have been. I've been watching the monthly updates to see how she does. :)

Thank you all. I have read multiple places that the culture shock coming back into the US can be very hard. You all mentioned this in one way or another. Why has that been your experience? I hadn't thought of the residency/university connection. Our oldest is only in 6th grade but this plan is years down the road anyway so that is something I will need to consider the closer we get. I read a post on another forum that broke down the budget for an expat in Mexico. In that post police bribes were included, which honestly I thought was something done only in the movies. If you've lived in a less welcoming country, have you found this sort of thing (bribes) actually has been part of your life? I have never learned another language (well beyond required HS classes) before. How much does a language change between say Rosetta Stone and the actual spoken language in a country? I wouldn't feel comfortable moving without having a decent working knowledge of the language. Cost of living obviously varies widely around the globe, how have you figured out how much to have in savings, income, etc? We would be debt free but a family of 6 is hardly cheap to support :)

Dh and I have been talking about moving abroad at some point the future. I've always wanted to live in a 3rd world country helping with medical care (specifically midwifery). While dh has never felt a strong pull to international life, he has recently felt that the adventure would be worth it. For those of you who are expats would you please share some of the pros and cons? What experiences were you prepared/not prepared for? What country has fit your family best? Where would you never want to go again? What has your work situation been like? How has it effected your family? What do you wish you knew beforehand? I am just starting the research process so anything you can share would be helpful.

lol Today was the first day I've ever heard it. Obnoxious yes, but something the kids all started happily dancing too. I am sure it will have more air time at my house. Here is the little video that introduced me to the song today for those who don't know it. PS. You can learn to Hustle (the dance) in the process

I love these two suggestions! I've always wanted to go to Napa Valley. Do you have any recommendations on places to see/stay? That ranch is a few hours away from us (we are in Idaho) but still far enough to feel like a true getaway. Thanks for the suggestions!

This August we will celebrate 15 years. Dh has 9 days worth of vacation this year and we actually have a cash fun set aside. Now we just need ideas on where to go and what to do. These are our conditions: No rafting or beaches (I'm a red head and just can't take all the heat and water) Big cities aren't that enjoyable UNLESS the cultural experiences really out weigh the crowds and traffic (major anxiety here) West of the Mississippi would probably be easiest on our budget although I'm open to any place We don't have passports So what would you recommend? What did you have a lot of fun doing? Where should we go?

I keep seeing mention of Moving Beyond the Page. I will have to check it out. I've never heard of Lightning Lit before. Thanks for the info. I like the page you created. She benefits from organizers like this as she really likes to know what is expected of her right off the bat.

My dd isn't all that interested in reading. In the past we haven't done a whole lot with our lit studies, mainly just read, talk a little here and there and that's it. This coming year I want to step it up a notch but not too far, or she will shut down and not read at all. We will be studying Ancients at her request. What would you recommend?

Next month we are buying a computer that will be solely for the kids. We won't be hooking it up to the internet until we finish a remodel. In the meantime we want to have some computer games for the kids to play. The websites they enjoy the most are American Girls, A. Pintura, and BBC history games. I'd like to stay somewhat educational but it's not mandatory. What non-web based games would you recommend? Where is your favorite place to purchase games?

Yup me too. :) I think this just made my night. BTW- I've blogged for close to 10 years. I seriously blogged for 2 years. I made $57. I know it works for some but I could never figure it out. I read all the info out at the time, researched blogs, listened to marketing stuff and none of it worked. That said, it was a couple of years ago so maybe it's being spelled out better now.

Thanks everyone. Dick Blick was at the top of my list already :) I'll check out the others mentioned too.

I want to purchase a wide variety of supplies and papers for the best deal. I'd like some place that has good customer service just in case a problem arises. Where do you recommend? ETA- I am looking for decent quality also. No crayola stuff.

COngrats! I'd be celebrating too. Way too go. :)

Eww that is bad. Although, if we don't close soon we will be in the same boat. We already gave our notice on our rental. We will be cutting it very close (3 days).

I am so tired of this ordeal. It's been going on since Nov and what do you know, our closing date was yet again extended today. I want to pull my hair out, scream at the top of my lungs, and swear enough to make a sailor blush. The run around is ridiculous, the re-requesting of documents, the requirements...... I am going to loose my mind. This should have been done weeks ago. I want to crawl under the covers and come out only after the movers (aka my dh) have moved me and the bed to the new house. It's a house people not the freaking Pentagon!!

That is the plan. The woodstove insert that is present now was added years ago but never fit properly. It hasn't been used in nearly 2 decades. I hope by removing the insert it will help take a lot of the visual weight away. We will just use the existing firebox (after it's been inspected) and use the screen that's already there. As for the rocks, they are actually lava rock which is very porous and dust attracting. Some of what looks like color on those rocks is actually 30 year old dust. :) Hows that for allergy free! I'm not sure of the room size, maybe 10x14? I think that's a fairly close guess. I think we may have decided to take the rocks of the top half to help take some of the weight off..... not sure. :)

:) Painting is number 1 on my to do list. A creamy white on the ceilings to brighten it a bunch (there are two sets of french doors opposite the stove). We haven't decided if we will paint the beams or not, it will depend on the wall paint color we decide on. The flooring will be removed and replaced with food floors in a warm cherry/walnut color.

We are waiting to close on a house that hasn't been touched since 1973. It's a beauty complete with harvest gold appliances and patterned carpets. Of all the projects in the house, I am stumped by only one- the fireplace. The surround is lava rock and it's located in what will be the dining room. The current weight of the surround makes the 9ft ceilings feel more like 6 ft. I can't decide if we should tear it all out and start over, give it a makeover, leave it be (gah!). So tell me, what would you do to this poor old beast?

I'm a ginger who can say the heat/cold tolerance is very very real! I have about a 5 degree range that I feel comfortable in, once outside of that everything turns off and I turn into a zombie. :) I frequently google which locations of the globe have the most days of 67-72 degree weather a year in hopes that one day I will live in comfort (It's Iceland btw). My c-sections were intense to say the least. 3 of the 4 I felt the first cuts and nearly kicked the doctors face. As for the bleeding? My postpartum bleeding lasted for 12 weeks with all my kids. 12 freaking weeks! All that said, its taken me over 30 years to say this, I totally love being a red head. Sweet old men come up and tell me I am a beauty, old women pet my hair over the produce isle, and kids point out all my spots. :)

We decided on age 16 if they kids want to. Mainly for practical purposes like driving, income from working, etc. I think dating before marriage is important. I dated many guys (mostly friends) before meeting dh. I came into our marriage without reservations because I'd had the experience of knowing what I wanted in a spouse. Dh on the other hand dated little to none until we met. He had a much harder time transitioning to marriage because of it. I never dated with the eye on a potential spouse. I always dated to have fun with someone whose company I enjoyed. Dating was a way of knowing what I wanted later. I don't think that everyone is a potential spouse and I never would have considered all my relationships in that way. I never planned to marry so I never had a list of things I wanted or didn't but even if I had I can see now they wouldn't have been entirely useful. In my teen know it all world, everything was black and white. Little is black and white in a relationship and that isn't something you learn until you've had experience. For the most part I think dating in the teen years is best done in a group because it's just more fun, however I am not opposed to couple dates. We've already talked about sex at my house and will continue to do so as they get older. If that is a choice they make, they will go into it with all the knowledge they can (re diseases, contraception, etc). Do I want them to be intimate as a teen? No, but that isn't a choice I can make for them. I can only prepare them in all ways to make a choice they can live with later on.