We are facing a little dilemma here at 1928 Bungalow. Brandon works full-time as a public school teacher, and I am a public librarian. I worked full-time until the girls were born and went part-time after maternity leave ended. Until now we've been able to avoid the cost and trauma (for me, mostly) of putting the girls into daycare. We debated over nannies and child care centers, checked a few prices, decided we couldn't afford either option, and ended up convincing my sister Kathy and my mother-in-law Patrice to take turns and come each week to watch the girls. I have an odd schedule at work and basically work a week straight every other week (told you it was odd), so it works out that each of them only has to come twice a month. But both of them drive two hours to get to our house and stay 1-3 nights each visit. For FREE. They agreed to do this for "a few months" meaning, maybe three months. That was, well, a year ago. And they still come. Yeah.
So now that we've abused their goodwill for way too long, it's time to find another solution. If I return to work full-time (which may or may not be an option) and we pay for full-time care, then I'll bring home (factoring in things like car expenses, etc.) roughly $125 a month after all expenses. This would be in addition to us getting rid of some luxuries, like cable and maybe...yes...internet. If I stay part-time and pay for daycare, we'll be losing money each month...somewhere along the lines of $300+ since I can't find part-time daycare for kids under 2 years old. If I quit and stay home full-time, we'll be anywhere from $60-200 short each month.
22 August 2010
21 August 2010
the warm fuzzies
We have lots of projects in mind (but no money!) for the near future, but one of the more pressing ones is the fact that the girls' room is poorly insulated. We got through last winter with an oil-filled space heater, but I'm guessing that before the end of this winter, the girls will be out of cribs and into toddler beds (pray for our sanity), so a space heater won't be a viable option any more. We think their room used to be an old porch, and it doesn't have a brick exterior or a basement under it; the rest of the house has both. So...what are our options?
Being a die-hard DIYer, Brandon suggested pulling down all of the drywall, installing insulation, and replacing the drywall. My brother suggested we get someone who can cut holes in the wall and spray in foam insulation, which sounds expensive, but we haven't checked yet (not even sure where to start). Brandon's mom suggests insulating from underneath and just dressing them warmly ("They survived last winter," she says, "when you didn't put enough clothes on them and they were tiny." One of those times when "I told you so" is totally warranted...as per the books we kept the girls' room at 69 degrees and dressed them in light layers to reduce the risk of SIDS. Later we realized they probably woke up so often because they were cold!)
We're open to suggestions and advice, so throw us some ideas!
*update: Here's a description and photo of what we're considering. This Old House says that foam is the most expensive, but best for air quality.
Being a die-hard DIYer, Brandon suggested pulling down all of the drywall, installing insulation, and replacing the drywall. My brother suggested we get someone who can cut holes in the wall and spray in foam insulation, which sounds expensive, but we haven't checked yet (not even sure where to start). Brandon's mom suggests insulating from underneath and just dressing them warmly ("They survived last winter," she says, "when you didn't put enough clothes on them and they were tiny." One of those times when "I told you so" is totally warranted...as per the books we kept the girls' room at 69 degrees and dressed them in light layers to reduce the risk of SIDS. Later we realized they probably woke up so often because they were cold!)
We're open to suggestions and advice, so throw us some ideas!
*update: Here's a description and photo of what we're considering. This Old House says that foam is the most expensive, but best for air quality.
09 August 2010
thoughts for the future
I've been thinking about my blogs lately and wondering if merging them together would be a good idea...sort of a mish-mash of frugal living, green living, old house DIY, and my (hopefully) humorous observations on life with toddlers. But I wonder if my current houseblog (right here where you're reading) and my baby blog (currently a bit more private) are too topic-specific to crossover well. Honestly, the DIY portion of 1928 Bungalow has been on pause, or at least in pretty slow motion, lately, so I'm not sure there's much damage I could do by talking about life with toddlers more often ;) And I have a feeling that these things mingle together in other people's lives as well. If you have any thoughts on this, let me know...
07 August 2010
a bit of time travel
Love this. From a collection of Farm Security Administration (FSA) photos from the 1940s. These photos are in their original color (yes, color!) and some of them are quite breathtaking. Thanks to ThirteenEleven for alerting me to their existence!
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| House in Houston, TX |
More info on the photos can be found here.
02 August 2010
monkey see, monkey do
(cross-posted to Welcome to the Twindig, our baby blog)
Last night I was sweeping up the floor food (food that is dropped, flung, or otherwise ends up on the floor during mealtimes at our house), which is always a challenge because the girls want to "help." Usually this means they try to catch the end of the broom and try to eat food off the floor while I say no over and over. So I was pleasantly surprised when Hadley picked up the dustpan, brought it to me, and tried to hold it where I was sweeping. Adorable! And like I said, while I often try to explain to them what I'm doing, the only thing I usually say when I'm sweeping near them is "No! Put that down! Please don't eat that! No!" so it was kind of amazing to see how much they learn even when we aren't actively trying to teach them.
And because I'm thinking of it, I will share Nolan's List of Top Ten Sweepable (and Not-So-Sweepable) Foods:
1. Banana. Not sweepable. In fact, if it is not immediately removed from the floor by hand, it will melt and then harden into a sort of goopy, permanent lacquer.
2. Rice. Not sweepable, although the sweepability of this particular food (unlike banana, see above) does improve with time, but the amount of time it takes to stop sticking to your floor is kind of lengthy, and in the meantime, you might be embarrassed if you have unexpected company.
3. Broccoli. Not terribly sweepable, unless left on your floor for an unimaginably long time (like days). Even then, it just gets kind of rubbery.
4. Pasta. Some varieties of short pasta are more sweepable than others. Long pastas, such as spaghettis, should be illegal to serve without a fork, even to young children. It does become sweepable after a short length of time, however.
5. Bread, biscuits, etc. Very sweepable. Unless...it has been chewed and then spit back out. See banana above.
6. Cheerios. The world's most sweepable food! Unless...well...see bread above.
7. English peas. Even when freshly dropped, these little beauties are easily retrieved with a broom. Their sweepability improves with time; however, caution must be used to ensure stray peas do not roll into remote corners.
8. Mango and other fibrous, juicy fruits such as pineapple. These guys are not terribly sweepable, and in fact, are difficult to remove from most surfaces, including shirts, dresses, and diapers. Time actually makes these fruits more difficult to remove.
9. Milk and juice. Not sweepable, and make other foodstuffs unsweepable as well. Time is not your friend when it comes to milk and juice spills. Not. Your. Friend.
10. Blueberries. They're round and they roll, right? Totally sweepable...unless...they have been smashed in half or an attempt has been made to eat them by sticking one's finger into the center or the insides have been sucked out and just the skin is tossed aside. Otherwise, not only are they sweepable, but could theoretically be rinsed and served again. Not that I would do that, of course...ahem.
Last night I was sweeping up the floor food (food that is dropped, flung, or otherwise ends up on the floor during mealtimes at our house), which is always a challenge because the girls want to "help." Usually this means they try to catch the end of the broom and try to eat food off the floor while I say no over and over. So I was pleasantly surprised when Hadley picked up the dustpan, brought it to me, and tried to hold it where I was sweeping. Adorable! And like I said, while I often try to explain to them what I'm doing, the only thing I usually say when I'm sweeping near them is "No! Put that down! Please don't eat that! No!" so it was kind of amazing to see how much they learn even when we aren't actively trying to teach them.
And because I'm thinking of it, I will share Nolan's List of Top Ten Sweepable (and Not-So-Sweepable) Foods:
1. Banana. Not sweepable. In fact, if it is not immediately removed from the floor by hand, it will melt and then harden into a sort of goopy, permanent lacquer.
2. Rice. Not sweepable, although the sweepability of this particular food (unlike banana, see above) does improve with time, but the amount of time it takes to stop sticking to your floor is kind of lengthy, and in the meantime, you might be embarrassed if you have unexpected company.
3. Broccoli. Not terribly sweepable, unless left on your floor for an unimaginably long time (like days). Even then, it just gets kind of rubbery.
4. Pasta. Some varieties of short pasta are more sweepable than others. Long pastas, such as spaghettis, should be illegal to serve without a fork, even to young children. It does become sweepable after a short length of time, however.
5. Bread, biscuits, etc. Very sweepable. Unless...it has been chewed and then spit back out. See banana above.
6. Cheerios. The world's most sweepable food! Unless...well...see bread above.
7. English peas. Even when freshly dropped, these little beauties are easily retrieved with a broom. Their sweepability improves with time; however, caution must be used to ensure stray peas do not roll into remote corners.
8. Mango and other fibrous, juicy fruits such as pineapple. These guys are not terribly sweepable, and in fact, are difficult to remove from most surfaces, including shirts, dresses, and diapers. Time actually makes these fruits more difficult to remove.
9. Milk and juice. Not sweepable, and make other foodstuffs unsweepable as well. Time is not your friend when it comes to milk and juice spills. Not. Your. Friend.
10. Blueberries. They're round and they roll, right? Totally sweepable...unless...they have been smashed in half or an attempt has been made to eat them by sticking one's finger into the center or the insides have been sucked out and just the skin is tossed aside. Otherwise, not only are they sweepable, but could theoretically be rinsed and served again. Not that I would do that, of course...ahem.
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