I have these moments now and again which in the grand scheme of things is not a big deal because 1) I have the money set aside for splurges and 2) 97% of the time I'm very good.
We paid 50% on a kitchen table and chairs (nice wood - don't ask me which one...) and a bench/ toy box thing for the kids (in a GORGEOUS turquoisey distressed-type finish, but not true distressed which I hate - I still don't get why people would pay when I could let the kids loose and it would achieve the same effect in about a month) which will be delivered the week we're back from holiday. It would have been ready sometime this week but best for me to manage my expectations and also not have a lot of waiting around happening, because then I get REALLY crabby if people don't pitch up within 20 mins of the time they said.
I also emailed carpet people and he was quick (I'm a quick decision maker too) so I'm paying tomorrow and those should also be done before the end of the month.
NICE!
Now I just need to plan the next holiday - that's the kind of spending I LOVE!
One big thing D and I need to decide on (we said in the first quarter) is whether to buy a new house or renovate and add on. My insides twitch a lot at the thought of renovating but I twitch MORE at the thought of going into GINORMOUS debt. Because let's face it - I'm quite fussy (at this point D would laugh and say "quite?!") and the type of houses I like are at least three times what we paid for this one 8 years ago.
Connor and I went to see a house - STUNNING - newly renovated so everything brand spanking new but CHARMING, it was the same size as our current house and the only thing I was very excited by was.... NO POOL! (I hate our pool with a passion).
I keep thinking about a really OCD person I know at work who also renovated and when I said "how did you do it?", she said that she just told herself if I put up with this for whatever it was (6 - 8 weeks), I'll love this house forever. And she does. So that inspires me.
Any big money decisions/ purchases for you this year?
Anyway, enough money talk. After all, I still have half a holiday to pay for plus car rental!
We started a new thing with the kids on New Year's Day - rest time.
This is 45 minutes, all of us in different rooms, doing "quiet" activities. D sleeps, the kids never do but they either read, play with lego, a puzzle, etc. and I potter quietly (wrap gifts/ write cards/ tidy up/ Project Life/ that sort of thing :) or play with photos. One day I unravelled 2014 (filled in Susannah Conway's workbook).
So far so good.
Do you make your kids rest?
PS this is all in an effort to get some "me time" during the day. Vital for the introverts (D) and lovely for me so I can get some things ticked off my lists :)
Big money decisions for 2014- recuperate from 2013!!! No thanks to someone's lack of financial planning and "spirituality" our entire savings was wiped out. Best I not think about it as it makes me very sad and upset at the same time :(
ReplyDeleteMoving right along - I love love love all things house related - house hunting, renovating etc. Can't wait to see what you decide on the house front.
Enjoy your time off and do get some much needed rest
We are planning to replace our current paving around our pool and replacing it with some rather gorgeous tiles I have seen. I also want to splurge out on new furniture for my bedroom. A leather bed and I am looking for a large sturdy wooden dressing table...and there is the planning of one holiday abroad.
ReplyDeleteOh the house stuff, I'll be following closely.If you like the neighborhood, I vote remodel and it a home you'll love forever. I am far more opposed to moving then I am to the hassles of remodeling. I can shuffle a few rooms of furniture around the house temporarily, but the entire house?! No thanks! Then there is the hassle of settling a new home. I'd realllly have to loooooooove the new house.
ReplyDeleteI'm torn over our house. The house itself I am ok with. It it large enough for us, and we aren't home much. I would enjoy a different layout, and perhaps a spare bedroom again, but I can certainly live comfortably here. It's the location that is doing me in! I don't like the neighborhood. I can't sell because of the neighborhood. We aren't even based in this town! I'm hoping for new windows this year, maybe a new shed and deck out back. With all this money I hope to continue saving with the eating out ban I've let myself browse some furniture sites... :)
I'm so sad you don't fuss with the pool. It seems like such a waste. Get the kids swim lessons and let them wear themselves out all summer! Our ladies love our tiny pool!
Yip we have quiet time. Jack naps and the bigger two must be calm and quiet.
ReplyDeleteGosh David and I have 2 pages of things we want to do this year - most of them are in the house - but this year is also the year we make a decision about moving or staying. If we buy, it probably won't be this year but the decision must be made this year.
I haven't tried this rest time business, sounds awesome but I don't actually think we have the space for separate room rest times at this stage. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy folks did a lot of adding on to their house over the years - it's a real pain in the backside. Concrete and brick dust over everything, contractors almost never get it exactly right the first time. For us that meant it took a lot longer because my dad's not shy to kick down a wall if he doesn't think it's 100% straight and level as per plan.
Good luck either way!
I would spend a fortune on the house right now if I had the money but we really need a new house with a bigger erf (and I really need a pool LOL!) and I need a new car -mine is costing us way too much money now. We have an hour rest time on Sundays and most Saturdays where you need to lie down with a book. Sometimes someone naps, mostly not
ReplyDeleteGosh, I would LOVE a pool at home. Everyone says it's expensive to maintain though. Also. It means that I'll have more visitors. We have plans to fix our bathroom this year and to pave the outside area because we simply ain't gardeners!
ReplyDeleteWe DO rest. For at least 2 hours. It's not negotiable. Joshua reads. Joel builds a puzzle or draws. I read or nap. Lance reads or naps.
I understand hating the pool because it is such a mission to keep up but going through the hot weather now I'm actually grateful for it, and Nicky enjoys it too. Good luck with the house hunting!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I need my me time, which just happens to be when he sleeps...
I end up taking my me time at night after everyone is in bed. Then I don't get enough sleep though... but my twins don't nap or rest any longer :(
ReplyDeleteHOW do you not like the pool!! We love our pool!!
ReplyDeleteI could not sit through house renovations hey, I am not a fixer upper, I want to move in and everything must just be sorted and pretty and nice :) We don't have quiet time, but the kids pretty much do their own thing and leave me alone for hours during the day while they play together so I haven't had a need to instill such a rule. In fact, if I can avoid them napping during the day, I do, because it interferes with bed time. And my kids cannot lay on a bed and NOT sleep.. I keep telling Liam to just lay quietly during the school day and NOT sleep during quiet time but he can't help it haha! When he naps at school, he can lay awake in his bed until 10pm easily. He is waaaay past day time naps.
Our house is a little small, but the complex we are in is so sought after that houses don't even go on the market, there is a list of buyers waiting (because secure complexes are rare in Cape Town). In a fairly stagnant market, our house has doubled in value. For that reason we are riding it out for now. I feel that with renovations you often don't recover the money you spent not to mention the hassle factor. My sister had an armed robbery after her renovations, and the domestic worker (the only one home at the time) swears it was two of the builders who held her up. They also gained access through a door that was in one of the rooms they had built on.
ReplyDeleteI love your "rest" idea, this is something that is a good life lesson for your kids. Learning to have some quiet time is a great habit for anyone.