Thursday, May 26, 2011

Virginia Sales Tax holiday now through Tuesday

Check out this link here. Virginia is a sales tax holiday for specific items from now through May 31.

Now, I need to read yesterdays post

I need to sit down and reread my own post from yesterday. We need to count our blessings. We are ok. Breathe. Repeat.

A neighbor is selling her condo and I was talking to her realtor today about the economy, the market and basically where things stand. It was a very disappointing conversation.

Basically he said it will be 5 years before the market returns to where it was when we bought in 2005. Our son will be 8 - let's just state here this is a concept I simply cannot grasp, it seems like he was just born and he is afterall still in diapers. His still yet to be born sibling will be 5. Staying here this long is simply not an option.

So I am likely going to have to return to the paid workforce before I want. I love being home with my son, having playdates and watching him grow. I am so close to finished when it comes to becoming a certified teacher, but this will be put on hold if I go back - even part time.

My husband says if the worst that happens is I have to go back pt than we are ok. He is right. We have been very fortunate that I have been able stay home as long as I have. I have cherished every minute. But I feel that if I do go back Baby #2 is somehow being cheated. But s/he will never know the difference, unlike our son who hated going to "school" when he was 2 1/2. We have kept in there now once a week just to keep this option open AND because its good for him to get social skills -- not to mention I need a day to do house administation tasks like bills and the like.

I still hate that we are getting screwed. Why wont any bank help us??? We are the good people, not the ones who took out too much. Not the ones who miss payments. You can add the realtor from yesterday to the people who suggested we miss payments. Ugh!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Count our blessings....

That's what I emailed my husband yesterday after learning a friends home had been turned upside down by contractors hired to fix their lead problem. She and her husband and two small boys (both under 4) are now living in a 1 br high rise because the contractors broke pipes, flooded the basement and made the kitchen structurally unsound. They are in month 2 of the high rise and she guesses it will be another 2 months at least before they can move back home. The good news is her son who had the lead issues which brought about the move in the first place, has been cleared by his doctor.

This definitively qualifies as an emergency and she said they have depleted their savings but its a no brainer.

I have three other friends who come to mind who are single mothers. How they have managed to raise so far healthy, happy and well balanced kids almost entirely on their own, as well as maintained their own sanity amazes me. They are my heroes. This is not an exaggeration. I hate it when my husband leaves on a business trip for 4 days. I hate it when our son has a virus during the workday and I am home alone dealing with his puke. I know God doesn't put anything on our plates we can't handle, but man these ladies seem to be carrying more than their fair share...and all I can say is good help the fathers if I should ever see them, especially if I have enjoyed adult beverages of late. These men are pond scum as far as I am concerned.

I have friends who are in loveless marriages, and other friends whose only time with their children is in the car on their way to and from work. One friend recently nearly cried as she described her daily commute and lamented hardly ever getting to see her son awake.

So here we are. I am still madly in love with my husband and he proves every day that despite my growing belly, my constant nagging to pick up his socks and shirts from the floor in any given room and my alleged-bed hogging ways, that he feels the same. We play with our son in the morning before he goes to work and at night when he gets home from work. We eat dinner together most nights and there are even some days when we drive into his office and have a picnic lunch so our son can look at the bells outside -- something that fascinates him. We have a good car which is reliable and safe for The Monkey and his baby sister/brother due in September.

I have been thinking a lot lately about our blessings. Between the tornadoes in North Carolina (which I experienced first hand when I was there and had to run into an unknown brick structure to escape, while my childhood friend affectionately refered to as DA stayed in the car because she "felt safer") Alabama (did you read the Sports Illustrated story, I am linking it here but I think you have to be a subscriber...if not, go to library its incredible!) and now Missouri, as well the above stories about our friends, I am reminded everyday we are ok.

Yes, I will complain endlessly about our 800 sf, it drives me crazy. And I hate that we have so much C-R-A-P in our house but cant seem to pitch or part with. I hate that we are beholden to the weather and the community gods in hopes we can have a birthday celebration for our son at a local park and not have to worry about others taking the grill first. I hate that I can hardly ever host playdates because I feel our place is so cramped.

But with all that said, I would not trade with any of my friends right now. Those that have bigger houses, more money or live in an area that is less expensive. It seems in life we all have our challenges. Our challenge is keeping sane in 800 sf and trying to keep our head above water. So far we are surviving (even if barely), but compared to the challenges of others, I will take this in a heartbeat.