Mobile home love vs small mindedness

Three years ago when we bought our home we got a Lot of looks. Those looks that come from people that are stuck in the media driven stereotypical frame of mind....that mobile homes are where people live when they can't afford a stick built home, for whatever reason. This really pisses me off!

Here's the thing, my husband and I "chose" a mobile home for our first house together. We have also chosen a mobile home for our next house in Florida. Here's why, in the years we have been able to pay cash for two homes, eliminate all debt that had accumulated in our pre-3namehouse lives, and live comfortably in the mean time. How many couples (in their 30s) in this country can say that?

So I leave you with this thought...

Stick built home with a thirty plus year mortgage, that you have to kill yourself in job you hate, to pay it off....

Or a stick built home that happens to be mobile that can afford you to work a less demanding job and spend more time living.

The awesome that comes after a hystorectomy....

I get to be an AUNTIE!

 

 

 

 

 

This angel here is a product of my lil sister and her man.

Isn't he fabulous! This is bean.

 

This lil girl is Miss E....the beautiful daughter of my youngest

brother and his lady.

 

Aren't they wonderful? Two weeks apart...I can't wait to watch them grow!

 

 

Welcome to the family lil ones!

Our living room is shrinking!

So, this is what I have been doing the past month. In my OCD, over pre-pared brain it makes since to bring everything to the living room as it is packed so it takes less time to walk it to the truck on moving day. The kid and I are finishing up on this end, while husband is hard at work with training for his new job and getting our new house in order in Florida.

Transplanting humans

Morning world!

Now that all of the parents and grandparents have been personally told, I can reveal our next big adventure! (as my mother calls it)

3namehouse is moving! Not the blog, but it's humans. We recently sold our Ohio home and are pulling up roots to and heading south!

January 2013 we had taken a family trip to Florida to see family friends. And while both my husband and I have been to Florida in the summer, neither of us had been there in the winter. Let me tell you! As a kid who always had a snow storm on her birthday...I was in heaven! It took me 37 years to have a pool party for my birthday, who wouldn't want that?! After lots of discussion on the flight home about "having to go back to normal life" in cold Ohio. It was mentioned by offspring "Why do we have to go back?" This question planted a seed in Husband's and my brain. Now, in my entire life I had never pictured myself moving from Ohio. I pictured traveling and visiting far off places, but move? Well, never say never.

After a year of planning and putting the house on the market. We are ready!

It's been a long road coming. I will write about this later. Lots of ups and downs, highs and lows...it is a work out for the emotions!

In six weeks I will be writing from the beach. I am SO looking forward to the changes and new opportunities that await our lil family.

Side note: Does anyone have any advice on moving across country with a herd of dogs?

When Florida became more than a vacation...

Last January we went to Florida for my birthday to visit friends that had moved there the year before.  We all had a fantastic time. On the flight back home my son said something that would change our lives forever.

"Why do we have to go back?" he questioned. Me in my post vaca stuper mumbled something about our "REAL" lives and work and school. But his question stayed with me. And my Husband. Once we got home terms like "What if....in Florida" were flying around our house.

So here is the big question...WHY CAN'T FLORIDA "BE" OUR REAL LIVES?

We were all thinking the same thing.... it was more than a dream that needed spoken.

A family meeting the week after we got home, our dreams became a spoken idea. It was unanimous, we wanted to move to Florida! Not just talk about it....actually doing it...moving to Florida?? It was fantastic and scary all at the same time! Plans were made and put into motion...

Pay off debt (or at least as much as possible) before the end of the year.
Purge all non-essential items that would not be making the move with us.
Tell friends and family our plan.
Put the house on the market.

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK AND CHECK!

Now we just wait for a bite on the house, Husband to finish up his Military duties and the Kid to finish 7th grade. It's going to be a long ass winter in Ohio, but if all goes well, it will be our last!

On a personal note, "Why move to Florida?, What if you get down there and don't like it?, Won't you miss your family?" - These questions have been thrown and my Husband and myself repeatedly. Here's the thing -  We want to spend our birthdays and holidays on the beach! - We can always come back if it doesn't work out for whatever reason. - Of course we will miss our families & friends, but we have to do what is best for "our lil family"...And what kinda of role models would we be if we didn't show our son it was ok to act on a dream instead of spending your life wondering "What if I had".

Us lately...

We have been doing a great deal around our little house lately. Lots of changes are going on!

Meet Maizey. She is the newest member of our little family. Weighing in at just 4 pounds she has still proven she can hang with our bigger dogs! I will be writing more about her in the coming weeks - and explain why against all logic we got another dog.

Offspring is pulling straight As in school (as always). He went to his first dance this past Friday. Man my boy is growing up.
It was a costume dance....Can you tell who he went as? He had a good time and seem relieved that he could mark that off his "firsts" list.

My cousin Rob got married a couple weeks ago. It was beautiful! Welcome Kasey to our ever growing family. I wish you both the best!

Offspring got to shoot his new-to-him rifle for his birthday.  The pop cans didn't stand a chance!

We went to the Pumpkin show in Circleville! Had a blast watch Bug and his best bud AJ ride the mechanical bull! Besides sitting for 2 hours in traffic to get there...we all had a great time!


And I have an announcement, but you will have to see the next post for that...

Raising children with Simple Desires

This is my finest creation. We call him Bug. He turned 12 last Friday.

 Three years ago, if you would have asked him what he wanted for his birthday - he may have responded with a list of toys he didn't need or things he wanted because one of the neighborhood boys had one.

Minimalism suits my boy. From the beginning I have been upfront with him about my goals to de-clutter our lives and listened openly to his suggestions and input along the way. It took him a bit longer to get on board applying minimalism to his own "stuff"...but I saw a change in his "wants" fairly quick.

He stopped asking for things on a regular basis and he adhered to the new house rule (one-in-one-out). He has also taken to searching ebay and shopgoodwill.com for secondhand items he desires.  He has passed up the chance to upgrade his phone this year..."my current one does everything I need, Momma". HE HAS BEEN LISTENING!!

This year when I asked my son what he desired for his birthday. I received a list of 5 things. Most he has been saving his money for. There was only one toy on the list and the rest he could use for many years if not the rest of his life. I was told though that he would prefer a birthday party over anything. One like we had when he was very little. With the whole family! This is to be his last birthday in Ohio. We are moving south this coming spring.

So, That is just what we did! A surprise party at the park! All the grandparents (there are 5), family friends, cousins, aunt & uncle, his best friend (see pic below) and his parents (Papa, Momma & his Dad).

After a Friday night of storms and wind, the skies cleared 20 minutes before the guests arrived! It was the day I imagined all week long. He thanked us multiple times that evening. And he promptly went home and purged 10 items to make room for his new micro stereo, toy Barrett and the vintage Hubley cap gun he had been watching on ebay for months!

HAPPY #12 MY BOY! YOU MAKE MOMMA PROUD!