At Least We Still Have Our Sense of Humor

It dawned on me while having an e-mail conversation with a relatively new friend (who has not ever seen the cabin) that some of you may have the wrong impression about what sort of place we're moving to.  I'll tell you now - dispel all your romantic notions that conjure up when you hear the word "cabin".  Because that ain't it.

Nothing says it better than pictures.  This, dear readers, is where I currently reside (actually, this was it about two years ago; now the trees are bigger and we have those limestone boulders):

And THIS is where we are going to live:

Mmmm, preeeety.

Last night, while watching the series finale of John Adams, I told Todd I thought we should name the land and house out there so we sounded more pedigreed.  Something lyrical and harmonious.  Without missing a beat he said, "Broke-ass Mountain."

I think I peed my pants I laughed so hard.

Comments

[Sakoro]

You know what, assuming you guys survive the snakes and whatnot, I think living in a smaller place and having less stuff will bring you guys closer together. I think it will also help the girls get to know and appreciate nature if they have several acres to roam and explore.

The cabin would look much more welcoming if the weeds were moved. (I know, I know, who has time when you've got two little ones!)

[Sakoro]

Err, that should say mowed.

[The Other Dawn]

Broke-ass Mountain. HEHEHEHEE *snort* hehehe.

[Dayna]

Kinda like the Beverly Hillbillies but in reverse. =) Sorry, if you don't laugh you'll cry, right? We did the living in a dive situation for 5 years so I can sympathize. Just keep in mind...it's just a house...it's just a house...it's better then a van down by the river.

[Mom]

While the accommodations can't compare, I looked at your archives from May 2007 and saw the picture of Hannah playing in the creek. 40 acres of exploring and splashing might help take the sting out of the smaller digs. I think in the long run it will be a blessing and make you a stronger team.

[Jenn]

Holy crap, several of our house could fit inside your current house. Just think of it as "cozy." Efficient! Rustic!

[Kathleen]

As a military spouse, I've moved a lot and have had to live in some very small spaces. You asked about kids sharing a room, but I've only got one kid, so instead I'll give you unsolicited assvice.

-Think of the cabin of a boat in that there must be a place to store everything. Nothing makes a small space feel smaller than clutter. Being able to put everything out of sight will save your mind. If there's no space for it, it goes. To help accomplish that...

-Be mentally prepared to let go of stuff. It's so easy for other people to tell you to do it and very emotional work to actually do. Have a friends support. Keep a camera handy to photograph the things you want to keep but just do not have room for. For what is left over...

-Be sure it has earned it's place in storage as storage is expensive.

These experiences have completely converted me into a small house person. Once our family moved into a 900 sqft house, I could not believe the time we saved on cleaning and the money we saved on utilities. All of our space is used well and we enjoy the things we do allow into our home.

It's not for everyone, that's for sure. You may all be more than ready to move back into your home in the future. But just stay open to the idea, you might be pleasantly surprised by what a small house does for your family.

[Jackie]

It will all work out in the end, just keep telling yourself that, over and over, it will all work out in the end.

[MrsSSG]

Ok I will say it - it is small and does not look great - it is going to suck big time to figure things out - BUT you WILL figure it out and you will be used to it before you know it. I am pulling for you!

[Sarah]

That's funny!

[Dana]

Where you 'currently reside'= what I will never live in or be able to afford in my lifetime; i.e. where I live this is where the snooty, stuck up, rich people would live.

The 'cabin'= what my current house pretty much looks like, only with more land/trees.

I'm still not sure what's so horrible?

[Dana]

In rereading my comment, I did NOT mean to intimate that you are either snooty or stuck up! Just that, while there are, yes, worlds of difference between the two houses, the 'cabin' doesn't look all that horrible to me.

[Stephanie]

The cabin looks cozy :-)
Ok, in need of some work- and surely not as glam as your current house. But cozy!
Another stray thought-how much land do you own? If it's substantial (I believe a commenter mentioned something about 40 acres?) then maybe some of the unimproved land could be sold, to help things out?

[Julia]

Dana, don't worry about offending me. The cabin is not all that bad, but I need some time to vent about all the material stuff we're giving up. I'll come around... eventually.

Stephanie, yes, there are 45 acres. But we don't own any of this. The cabin and a few acres belong to my grandpa, and the rest of the land is my parents. In another few years, if they decide to sell, it could easily earn them a few million. A nice investment, considering they bought the land when I was four and barely had two pennies to rub together.

I know a lot of this sounds bitchy, but it's part of my "process". Hopefully I'll be done with it shortly.

[Natalee]

As they say, "This too, shall pass."

I have to say, at least the kids are little enough for the move to not have such a huge impact on them, whereas if they were older (esp. teens), they would think this is the end of the world.

I think the military wife has some great advice. Good luck, and vent away!

[Andrea]

Your current residence is BEAUTIFUL and HUGE and would be worth many millions where we live; for sure, it will be a very different living experience, but if you go into it with the commitment to make it work, you'll be able to do it. Since we live very urban, my husband, two boys (2.5 and 9mos), and I live in an 850 square foot half-basement condo. It has 10'x10' of "back yard". But, there are so many advantages as well, like someone previously mentioned: no extra clutter (because you HAVE to keep it under control!), very low utility costs, and minimal rooms to clean! The boys have been sharing a room since the youngest was 3 mos. old, and while it took a few weeks for them not to wake up with each other's shenanigans, they are completely used to each other now and actually prefer to go to bed together. We do nap them in different rooms (baby in the MB) because sometimes the baby wakes mid-nap, cries for a couple minutes, and goes back to sleep; older son would wake up with that, so we decided to separate them for afternoon naps. Night-time, they both go to bed at 7:30. Younger son wakes up at 5am to nurse, but older son doesn't wake up. Everyone is up for the day around 6:30. It's working really well for us. While I do hope to have a slightly bigger house (maybe 1300 square feet) and a bigger, fenced yard, right now, this space is perfect for us, and yes, as other posters have commented, it has really brought us close as a family.

Think of it as an adventure and an opportunity (as best you can and after you're finished the understandable downer part!).

Good luck!

[Whit]

Aw. I only have good memories of the "Crick House." It'll work. And I guarantee if nothing else, you'll have stories to tell. And how valuable is that? Looking forward to a hot dog in the carport soon.

Broke Ass Mountain. Har har.

[Kim]

Process all you need.

My grandparents had a cabin almost exactly like that when I was a kid. One of us slept in the kitchen when we were there, the other in the living room. And there you heard Paw-Paw snoring, and you usually thought it was a bear. Fun times.

It sucks, but maybe it's a good kind of sucky process.

[Carrie]

We do what we gotta do, right? I will say that I grew up in a small (700 sq ft -ish) house with 3 bedrooms and a closet we called the bathroom. There were 8 of us living in it. 6 kids and 2 parents. To be honest with you, I never knew we didn't have any money or were living in a tiny house. The attitude was "this is our house and we will make the most of it". And it's the perfect time to start teaching your oldest daughter how to wash dishes! Once the freak-out phase is complete, you'll figure out how to make the most of it!

[Mandy]

I'd be freaking too.

From the sounds of things, it will be a temporary situation and as moms we can do just about anything for a little while, right?

I know that you're giving up more than just amenities to do this - you're giving up "home" for a while and that would be the thing that would have me in tears.

That said, if you can make it work to rent the house while you aren't in it, someone else could essentially be paying your mortgage while you are able to take care of your needs without struggling. Call it an investment. Call it temporary, but I think it will make you both feel better (you and hubby - the girls will be fine) if you sit down and write out a plan for how long this situation will be in existence, what you'll do if things don't look up for him within a certain time frame, etc. Then you'll be able to say "this is only for _ amount of time" that might make it easier.

(hugs)

[anon]

Just wanted to say, that I totally understand that it must be quite hard to move from house A to cabin B, but to give some perspective, I live in an urban area which has insufferably high housing prices, and what *I* dream of is moving from our cramped, yardless, way overpriced condo to something like cabin B. I long for my daughter to be able to walk out the door and into nature, every day. I bet you will find many things to love about the new situation! Of course, you will go through a "process" in leaving the big house, but I think you have a lot to look forward to in the new one. Best wishes. :)