Some Wiggle Room For Our Little Shoe!

Today, marks another step in the right direction for our future "boot" and getting out of this little "shoe."  True it is one step out of a few that have been occurring and will be occurring over the next two years or so; but it brings us one step closer towards getting our larger house and yard just the same.  In the meantime as our family is about to grow to a family of six, we are finding other means and methods to make some wiggle room for our little shoe (a.k.a. our house).  And if any of you do not understand my choice of words in regards to our house, please read the previous blog post.

Anyways, in order to make this house work for a family of six for a bit, we have made some plans and begun some projects to help increase our space.  For example, it works out for us that we are expecting another son; and so we will have Scot and my master bedroom, one bedroom for the girls and one bedroom for the boys.  The girls are already in bunk beds, but the boys will not be able to do that as of yet as they will both be too young to have a top bunk in their room for now.  Therefore, as Little Man will use the toddler bed he is currently in when he hasn't decided that sleeping on the floor is a better more comfortable bed, A Mac will be sleeping in a micro- or what is known as a mini-crib.

We have some other plans as well, but I will talk about them as we go.  In the meantime, we have started our kitchen renovation.  My kitchen is cute but rather small.  The cabinets are old and nasty, so with the desire to replace them and a great deal that Scot found, we purchased new cabinets (paid in full with cash) and have begun our project which includes a new microwave over our oven and stove top freeing up much needed counter space for food prep for a family of six!  Even amongst the orderly chaos, I am excited about what has occurred already!  The kitchen reno also forced us to purge things, which is a vital aspect of living in a small house. 

We did not take before pictures, but you will have to take my word on the added counter space and kitchen renovation benefits.  Also, our new entertainment center that I posted a picture of a while back provided us with much needed additional storage space.  With its larger size that extends the living room wall and the shelves and drawers, there is much more space to store things than having the wasted wall space that we had previously. 

Like I had written earlier, we have other projects planned.  We have plans for our bathroom, each children's bedrooms, dining room and utility closet/pantry.  Some plans may include a piece of furniture in just the right locale or some may include a little bit more of an extensive adventure; regardless, it will add wiggle room to our little house, which has become known as our little shoe.  I will try to remember to take before and after pictures as we go, as long as you don't laugh at some of the before pictures!!  LOL!   I will be glad to show you how just a little bit of saving, planning and patience can afford you a lot in the end. 

Oh and one idea that we used with this renovation that may come in handy for you is as follows: knowing that we were going to spend a certain amount of $$'s at Lowe's, Scot went to Kroger where we are Kroger Plus customers and bought Lowe's gift cards that would go towards our rewards so to speak.  We used the gift cards at Lowe's where we were already planning on spending a chunk of change and well we got gas points on our Kroger customer plus account, and so I went to Kroger gas this morning and got...drum roll please $2.00 off of each gallon of gas I put in my tank today!!  YEAH BABY!  All Scot's idea and doing by the way... gotta give the credit where credit is due!!

In a Shoe

So a few weeks ago when Scot was talking to one of his friends about our upcoming arrival of our newest addition to our family, and after hearing that we were not planning on moving out of our little town home just yet, this friend remarked that we were like "The little old woman who lived in a shoe, who had so many children she didn't know what to do..."  I honestly didn't take too kindly to that statement although I enjoy this person a great deal and he is a great friend to my husband and he said it with humor; however, it struck a nerve with me just the same.  There were, and are, a few reasons as to why I didn't like that statement and other such statements like it or about my fourth pregnancy that I have received from others.

First and fore most, it is nobody's business what and how our family looks like and what we choose or decide for our family.  Or that God chooses for us for that matter.  Also, EVERY child is a blessing.  The fourth child is as much a blessing as the first.  Some people are way more concerned about wealth and comfort living that they are shocked to hear about a family of six. 

Secondly, we are where God wants us to be right now. And although Scot and I dream of one day having a larger house and actually have seriously looked at two larger homes recently where other buyers had beaten us to the punch so to speak, God has shown us that it just isn't our time yet; BUT it is our time to have our fourth child regardless of the size of our house.  Although our house and yard are small, and we will be a family of six in a three bedroom house, not one child will be with out a bed of their own, or with out their own seat at the dinner table.  They will all be clothed, fed, loved and enjoying their own things.

We are determined to keep going with our Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University plan, which I highly recommend to anyone dealing with debt and the desire to wipe it clean honestly by paying all lenders in full since it was us or you who decided to use money that wasn't yours/ours in the first place.  For the first time in our married lives, we see the finish line in sight.  All debts, which would also include this house, will be paid in full in five years or less.  To feel the breath of financial freedom upon on our necks keeps us wanting to move forward with our current plan even if it means we are crammed a bit in this house for a time.  So many people buy houses like they were cars or toys.  Stay put for a while and enjoy what you have.  Every body always wants more.  Scot and I have also come from a place where we used to live pay check to pay check.  Where even one time I over drew our checking account by a 30 cent charge at Kinko's and was then fined an additional $30 overdrawn fee.  We enjoy being able to pay cash for things that we never once believed possible.  I no longer have to call Scot and make sure a purchase was feasible that day and that we had sufficient funds in our bank to pull off a small shopping tab.  And now my kiddos are able to do extracurricular activities now, and we don't want to risk taking that important aspect for them away by jumping ship too early to find something bigger just because the world believes more is better. 

Also, our utilities are so manageable in this house.  Small house with two if its walls insulated even more by two other separate houses and their adjoining walls.  When I hear what other people pay for their electricity, especially during a cold snap, or a hot spell as we are in now, I find myself shocked at their bills and I find myself thankful for this house.

Sure, we sometimes are on top of each other in this house but we manage.  And when school is in session, the house gets quiet as half our kiddos are gone for the majority of the day and week for that matter.  And when they are home, we are able to easily chat about the day and I like it that way.  Now I know I don't have a place to run to when trying to talk on the phone as some of you do.  You moms know what I am talking about.  As soon as that phone rings it is like the kids alarm to come over and try to get their mother's attention and disturb her.  My mom used to go into her garage to hide from us children.  I don't have that luxury.  I used to go into our tiny downstairs bathroom but it is so small that the kiddos can still knock and disturb me or are privy to the content of the conversation, which sometimes I do not wish them to be.  I have now tried to go outside on my front stoop, but that depends on the weather and the conversation for as I learned recently during a very heated conversation with a loved one that neighbors are sometimes with in ear shot.  So yes, there are a few exceptions but all in all our house is fine for us for now until we have taken care of other financial obligations.

For now we are in this little house and if anyone believes otherwise, I kindly ask you to keep your  unwanted opinions to yourself.  If you think we live in a little shoe then fine think that way.  I much rather live in a little shoe with my wonderful, beautiful, four children dangling out from every end of it and peering out the windows waving than in a stuffing, fancy high heeled shoe anyways.  Someday we will buy a large boot, but for now I will take this here lil' shoe... just don't call me old!  ;-)