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Jul 21, 2012    |       16 comments

Housing

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Warning:  The below is a stream of consciousness!  Have your coffee—or wine–before you read! 😉

I am guilty of looking way, WAY ahead and by July 21st, I’m already thinking about September 1.  It is my nature and while I am getting better about being in the moment, the part of my brain that is thinks ahead is still there.

As I’ve explained in a past post–our housing situation is unique (I can’t really think of the right word and unique doesn’t quite hit it…but you’ll see what I mean).  Steve owned a 3 bdrm, 2 bath home prior to our marriage that he lived in with his ex-wife and the boys.  He bought the house in 2007 right before things took  a downturn and he listed it for sale right around the same time that we met.  With no great interest from potential buyers he decided to take it off the market and we lived in it from our marriage in December of 2009 until September 2010.  There were several reasons for the move–we were driving 20-23 miles one way to work, the kids’ schools (all private at that time) and all extracurricular activities, the traffic was truly horrendous (an hour plus during rush hour to drive those 23 miles), a challenge with combining 4 children (3 boys and 1 girl) in the 2 available kids’ bedrooms…so we converted another living space to a third “kids room” and did the best we could…and one of the biggest reasons I think (with hindsight) is I underestimated what it was to move into “their” house where a maternal figure had already lived.

Steve’s boys were 15 and 11 when we married.  My son was 10 and my daughter was just 5.  It was a lot to ask of all of them to become step-siblings at all–let alone to ask them to overcome the housing challenges.  The tension and understandable “territory” issues as well as the feeling like a “visitor” was making the already difficult blending seem insurmountable.  After a short discussion we listed the house for rent (on our own–no real estate professionals involved initially just to see what would happen) and then things really started happening fast.  We were SO blessed to be contacted by a couple with no children and no pets (great qualities in a renter) who have now been in the home for near two years.  They have been phenomenal renters.

The blessings kept flowing in September 2010 and we found the perfect rental house for our current needs.   The neighborhood we are in could not be a better fit for this family!  Our office commutes are now 5 miles, the kids’ schools are either by bus or just 3 miles down the road and we have no traffic. The house is 4 bedroom, 3 bath and the positive impact on our household was worth the expense of a move just 10 months after we married!  Our rent is $1795 per month and we are in an excellent area.  I don’t want to own this house because it is much too big (and has foundation issues) and we envision being in something much smaller (and single story!) but it is perfect for where we are right now.

So, why this long drawn out story?  September 1 is the 30-day mark for our tenants to give us any notice of move out…and shortly thereafter is our deadline to give our landlords notice of our intentions…the tenants have expressed an interest in buying the house but we don’t know if they are financially able to right now…and if they can give us what we need to break even on the house and not have to show up with $10,000-$15,000 at closing…if they do want to buy and are able to do so, then we face another tough situation because we will get nailed by federal income tax if we don’t have a mortgage deduction but we don’t want to buy a house to fit our needs at this moment because we still have a houseful of kids…and we aren’t in financial position to buy a house anyway!  We can’t even afford to MOVE right now!  Whew.  Are you as worn out by reading this as I am by thinking about it?!  So little of it is within my control and I know that but the end of July last year and now this year is when this voice in my head starts talking about this stuff!  I feel better sharing it and will hope and  pray for the best.  Fretting over it won’t change anything.

Upon reread I am laughing at myself because my writing tonight really does come across as the frantic thoughts in my brain!  That’s a scary place for me alone and now I’m dragging all of you with me!  Ha! I’m particularly struck by the overuse of (parentheticals) in this post but I am laughing about them….a funny read for me!

Jul 17, 2012    |       23 comments

A Dental Kind of Day

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Today was a double dental appointment day for DD and DS (the two from my previous marriage).  Our first stop was the oral surgeon for DS who is 12 1/2.  He’s been under orthodontic care since Kindergarten having had a severe cross bite that was caught early.  We’ve done 2 rounds of the palate expander, one round of braces and a good year with a retainer.  Now we move to the extraction phase with a crowding issue up top and two missing permanent teeth on the bottom.  We will have the baby teeth pulled on the bottom so that the permanent teeth can move into place.  I had never heard of permanent teeth missing below the baby teeth but the orthodontist says he sees it on occasion.  We could have left the baby teeth but then as he aged he would likely face problems asking baby teeth to do the job of permanent teeth for life.

Dental professionals—particularly specialists–always have that little “financial room” that you go to after seeing the doctor.  I always laugh in those little rooms as I picture someone elsewhere in the office calculating the financial damage this is going to inflict.  We have excellent health insurance and with all of the recent talk on this issue–we do not take that for granted.  I was bracing myself for the worst as DS opted for IV sedation…instead of “laughing gas.”  Imagine my excitement when the news came back at a total of $60!  For four teeth?!  I still can’t believe it but the dental insurance covers extractions at 100%.  The $60 is our portion for the IV sedation.  We are blessed.

Our next appointment was with the orthodontist for DD.  It appears that she got all of the worst dental traits from both parents!  She too has a cross bite but because her upper teeth are “still erupting” we won’t start treatment until early 2013.  Now…the orthodontist’s office REALLY amazes me when it comes to several things.  First of all…it is the only medical provider that runs on schedule almost 100% of the time.  In the near 8 years we’ve been going to this orthodontist, they were running behind ONE time.  Why is it that I know it has been only one time?  Because they called me and told me to come in 30 minutes later b/c they were running behind!  I almost hugged the receptionist when I walked in the door.  I’ll save my rant regarding “professionals” making patients/clients wait for a Friday rant…but talk about a pet peeve!  And I don’t just bark the bark about this issue…I am vigilant about NEVER having someone wait on me at the office or otherwise.  Loathe tardiness….LOATHE.

The other great thing about the orthodontist is how they approach finances.  Now, we might have about $1,500 in insurance coverage to put toward orthodontic care but for today’s discussion we did not consider that (because my ex needs to look into some issues surrounding the plan).  So, worst case scenario for her top teeth only (the lowers look very manageable and likely won’t need treatment until she’s much older) is about $2200.  Now, that’s a lot of money certainly but here’s what I love…it’s all inclusive!  There are no additional charges for however long the treatment takes to accomplish what the doctor said (and we agreed to) would be accomplished.  They offer no interest payment plans but we’d get a 5% discount if we pay in full.  I split that $2200 with my ex-husband 50/50 so we are looking at $1,100.  The payment plan (again divided by 2) is a $590 deposit and then 12 payments of about $135 per month.  The treatment is going to take near 2 years they think.

I share this not really because of the financial aspect–we have 6 months notice and can make adjustments to the budget and hopefully pay in full and get the discount.  Instead I share because I just like the system that orthodontists have going on!  I know an orthodontist office is no primary care physician’s office and the two are oranges and apples (really!  I know this!)—but it is so refreshing to see things so organized, well-managed and known.

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