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This was absolutely not the post I had planned on writing this week. You see it all started on Saturday morning at around 12:30am. Everyone in our house was sound asleep but I started hearing the annoying beep of our home alarm system. I think I heard it twice — but I really didn’t want to get out of bed to find out what was going on. It was making the type of sound that occurs when it loses power — not like someone breaking in or anything.

Then Payton started barking. Oy! Now I had to get up. I figured she was just barking at a cat or something, so I hushed her and blindly made my way out into what seemed to be an exceptionally dark living room. I got Payton to stop barking but I could see lights moving around outside the window. It freaked me out and suddenly I heard a loud BAM BAM BAM on the door.

As you might imagine that freaked me out even more! I looked out the peephole in the door and saw a bright light shining straight into it. I headed back to the bedroom to get my husband and ran into what felt like — oh, I don’t know — Freddy Kruger or something! I was terrifed and I’m pretty sure I screamed but somehow I didn’t wake the boys. Chris ran out and could see there was a police car outside, some of our neighbors and a lot of bricks and other rubbish.

To make a long story short (actually this is going to be a long story, who am I kidding) a drunk driver had apparently hit our mailbox, plowed through the brick work around it, slammed into a powerbox and then hit our neighbor’s mailbox. Of course, it was no fun waking up in the middle of the night or being scared half to death by my husband but I am a pretty positive person, so of course I was looking at the bright side of the situation.

First of all, things could have been so much worse. No one was hurt. The driver and his passanger were not injured and thanks to that powerbox being hit – it saved our neighbor’s cars (and maybe even their house) from being struck. Though we were without power for a little bit, we did get a new powerbox – which I had been wanting anyway - I just didn’t know how to go about getting one. Also, we met some of our neighbors that we hadn’t introduced ourselves to yet – and they were super nice.

Poor Chris spent Saturday cleaning up the mess. We went to Lowe’s to get a mailbox and post and he – along with our neighbor – installed the newest mailboxes in the neighborhood. It was a pain but like I said before, it could have been so much worse — even tragic. Thank God it wasn’t.

The boys asked questions about what had happened and who hit our mailbox and all of that. We explained that someone had made a huge mistake and this was the result. One of them asked if the person responsible was put in jail — and we said “yes” at least for a day or so. Later in the day A asked what jail was – the boys know it’s where “bad guys” go like in their superhero books and things like that but I don’t think we have ever really explained what happens there. Frankly, I think they are too young to know all of that anyway. Chris told them “It’s like a really long time-out for adults.” That seemed to be easy enough for them to understand.

Look, I have done some stupid things in my life, so you aren’t going to see me throwing any stones! When I found out it was a young kid — it made me all the more sympathetic. Sure, I was irritated that it happend but I can’t even begin to imagine what it felt like for that guy to wake-up in a jail cell  first of all and then to realize he was being charged with DUI. My prayer for him was that he would learn from his lapse in judgement and would think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking.

Then, I received a knock on my door the following day at around 4 in the afternoon. Anyone who knows me well knows that when Chris isn’t home I don’t answer the door unless:

1. It’s someone I know.
2. It’s an elderly person or a kid.
3. I think I could take the person in a fight.

I guess my mom was really good about teaching me about not opening the door to strangers. Plus – as  I explained in a previous post – I also watch a bit too much Dateline, which probably makes me a little paranoid as well. However, I answered the door without looking out the window or the peephole (again unheard of for me) and there stood a young man who I was sure was going to sell me on some kind of deal that I just couldn’t resist — but no. He simply stated his name and said he was the one who caused all the damage a couple of nights before. I was pretty shocked and I think he realized that. He asked if I could come out so he could speak to me. I told the boys to wait inside but they stood at the screen door and witnessed the entire conversation.

I’ll call him Walter because that’s the first name that came to my mind and I don’t want to use his real name. So Walter – with a sprial notebook in one hand and pen shaking in the other - sincerly and humbly offered me an apology. He explained that he had come over to see if he could help us clean things up but he noticed that we had already taken care of everything. He offered to pay me for anything we had to pay out of pocket. I thanked him and told him it was okay and we would just deal with the insurance company.

He looked me in the eye when he spoke but his head was slightly bowed. I knew that it took every once of courage for him to come and face my neighbors and I. I also know from experience how hard it is to admit your wrongs and try to make amends to people who know you — but to face complete strangers takes an exceptionally brave individual.

I was so moved by his gesture! The mom in me wanted to scold him and hug him at the same time — but I did neither. Instead, I got a little teary as I told him that it meant a great deal to have him come all the way to our house and apologize. I told him he was lucky that something worse didn’t happen — that he could have been seriously hurt or hurt someone else. I also let him know that I really appreciated him coming over to make things right. I shook his hand and thanked him again. As he walked away - A who had been standing there so quietly with his brother – said “Mom, was that the guy that hit our mailbox?” I told him yes and we went inside to have a talk.

I told the boys that sometimes people make mistakes — that Walter had made a big mistake but he was very brave to come and ask for our forgiveness. Walter’s actions may have caused me miss a few hours of my beauty sleep but he gave me a priceless moment to teach my children a valuable lesson. I explained to my boys that if you make a mistake in life, you should face it head on and make amends whenever possible even if you aren’t sure the other person will be willing to forgive you — you have to at least try. I also let them know that when someone wrongs you – especially when they approach you with such sincerity – and asks for your forgiveness, you should give it. I think they understood. I hope they did.

And as for Walter, I wish him all the best and pray that this was his wake up call — a reminder to NEVER to drink and drive.

Thanks for Reading!

Christie


I haven’t written for Kids Ain’t Cheap for a couple of months now. I was on hiatus while Brian was busy moving and making improvements to the site. I am glad to be back and I can’t wait to jump back into doing my weekly posts here.

So what exactly have we been up to this summer? A lot of things — including becoming very coupon savvy, which I promise to write about in a future post.


Union Station

My family and I also did a little traveling. Our first trip was to Kansas City, MO and then down to the family homestead in southern Kansas. I had never been out that way before and it was such a treat! Not only did the boys and I get a chance to meet family we had only heard about; we also got to spend a lot of time with my husband’s grandparents. It was wonderful!


According to A — he got a whopper!

Kansas City was amazing!  I loved the old buildings and rich history of the city. We visited Union Station. It was so neat to hear Chris’s grandfather describe what is was like when he stepped foot in it for the first time at the tender age of 17. We then visited a family fun place called Deanna Rose Farmstead. It was almost like stepping back in time. There was a one room school house – very similar to the one my husband’s grandfather attended in Kansas. The boys got to fish, ride horses, bottle feed baby goats (yes, it was as adorable as it sounds), see all kinds of animals, go on a hay ride and a lot of other fun things.

While we were in KC we also enjoy lunch delivered by train. I kid you not — a train drives on a track above the restaurant patrons and drops off the food. If you want to see what I’m talking about visit Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant. Just scroll down to see the video; it’s pretty cool.


N – in the 200 year old chair.
Now that’s great craftsmanship!

We then took a road trip down to visit the old family homestead in southern Kansas. It too, was rich in history. The home that we stayed in, is over 1oo years old. The boys each had their photo taken in a 200 year old chair, which made its way to Kansas via covered wagon. There was a lot of family around, fun times to be had, great food to eat and interesting stories to hear.

Back at home the boys and I have been spending a lot of time at our local parks. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I only knew of a few parks in our area but we have explored quite a few this summer. I had no idea there were so many fun parks! We have enjoyed meeting friends and even going on our own. Parks are definitely budget friendly and kids have so much fun!

We have also participated in a summer reading program through our library. The boys don’t know how to read on their own – but our local library has developed a fantastic way to let younger kids participate. Each month you go to the library and get a flyer with about 20 different activites to do with your child and they also want you to list all the books you have read together. The boys love it! After they have completed a form I take them to the library, where they proudly walk up to the librarian and hand it in. Then they get to choose a prize from the prize box. It’s all very exciting — and free!!!

Our next trip was to Idaho where we took in a baseball game, ate yummy food and spent time visiting with family and friends. It’s so nice to relax and enjoy being with family. We always look forward to our Idaho vacations. Since my husband and I are both from there it is also interesting to see all the things that have changed and the things that have stayed the same.

Wow! I can’t believe summer is almost over! We still have some other things planned but the boys start school in a couple of weeks. Even though we haven’t had a lot of summer weather out here; I am really looking forward to fall. It’s my favorite season!!!

Stay-tuned for articles which will include recipes, not so crafty crafts, information about couponing and other ways to save money, I’ll probably talk a little about football (just because I love it), and much more!!!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Thanks for Reading!

Christie


I can’t believe Harrison, my oldest boy, is going to Kindergarten in one week!  If you read my last post you know there are a lot of changes going on.  Shortly after Kindergarten starts, we are going to be moving to a brand new house, a brand new school district and a brand new Day Care.  It’s a lot of changes for these two little guys to deal with.  Luckily, our new school district is letting Harrison start even though he won’t be living in the school district for a few more weeks.

I spent part of today looking for tips on getting kids ready for school and I found this list of articles to be pretty helpful.  Have any tips of your own?  Please share them in the comment box  below.


If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you may have read one of the posts about the years we spent fixing our credit, the months we spent slaving away fixing up our house and getting it ready for the market and then finally listing it for sale.  It’s only been on the market for 2 months but all that work paid off.  I am very happy to report that we have accepted an offer on our house and will close in time for Harrison to start Kindergarten in our new school district.

That was a big concern of ours.  Harrison isn’t as sociable as his younger brother and we really didn’t want to have to start him in one school district and then pull him out and have him finish in another school.  I know at that age it’s not a big deal but as parents, we didn’t want it.  We wanted Harrison to start on even footing with the rest of the kids.

In this current housing marketing, we couldn’t be happier with how quickly our house sold.  We live in a semi-detached house on a busy road.  It’s a great starter home but still, being right on a major road, we had our work cut out for us which is why we put so much effort into getting it to look as good as it possibly can.  Based on the feedback we received from the people who walked through the house, it definitely paid off.

What was even more special is when we got the news.  We were on vacation with my wife’s family when our Realtor called.  We were down in North Carolina at the Outer Banks.   It was great, throughout the week people came and went but most of the immediate family was there.  Her Mom, her sister, her sisters children, her cousins, her aunts and uncles, it was great.  Some husbands would find that to be a nightmare but I love her family and get along quite well with them.   My own parents didn’t get along with their in-laws and I always hated it.  When I met my wife I told her pretty early on I wouldn’t get serious with anyone if I couldn’t get along with their family.  Luckily for both of us, we both get along with each others family splendidly.

So, what does that have to do with us selling our house?  Well, we are buying my Mother-In-Laws house and what is even more special is most of the houses in the area are the relatives we were on vacation with.  Stephanie comes from a good farming family.  They aren’t all farmers but some of them bought pieces of the farm property and built houses so they all live on beautiful pieces of property surrounded by loved ones and country landscape.  We got to immediately celebrate the news with the person we were buying the house from and our new neighbors all at once.  It was great and everyone was so excited.

I can’t wait to move on to this next chapter of our lives.  Let’s just hope everything goes smoothly with settlement.


I stumbled across this on the UC Berkeley Parents web site and thought it was pretty funny.  Whoever posted it on that site, found it somewhere online and it was unattributed so I don’t know who the author is.  It is definitely worth a repost though.

  1. If I like it, it’s mine.
  2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
  3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
  4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
  5. If it’s mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway.
  6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
  7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
  8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
  9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
  10. If it’s broken, it’s yours.


I am sure you have heard me ramble on about how much my oldest son loves dinosaurs.  He is only 5 years old but he is so passionate about them.  He reminds me a lot of how I was as a kid.  I used to get super passionate about everything I got into and it just took over my world.

At the start of Summer, we saw an ad in our paper for a Summer day camp that we could not pass up.  It’s put on by a company based in New Jersey called Roving Nature Center Day Camp and they offer a few different options.  The one we signed Harrison up for is called Jurassic in the Park.  How perfect is that.  A week long Summer camp (half days) for 4 – 6 year olds that focuses entirely on dinosaur fun.  Today was his first day and he was just so freaking excited to tell us about it at.  I can’t wait to hear about how much fun he has the rest of this week.  Best $100 we spent so far this Summer.