No babies, no houses

As I mentioned a few days ago, DH and I are on a "no house, no baby" path right now. Obviously, with him being out of work, the LAST THING either of us need is a house to pay for and take care of, or a child, which also requires care and money. And the stress that comes with either! Yikes!

But still, when I hear that someone bought a house (and I literally just got an email from someone about their closing right before starting this blog) or that someone's expecting, I get a little twinge inside.

Yeah yeah, we all get envious, especially at what others have and we don't. And it's not logical for DH and I to think about either scenario. Half of the time I'm GLAD we don't have kids yet, especially on a Saturday afternoon when I'm just running into the grocery store for something quick and I see some "little darling" in the midst of a temper tantrum and I'm wishing that God would either strike that child temporarily mute, or that his mother would slap him. And no, I'm not an advocate for child abuse...and I do understand that little kids have meltdowns because they just can't communicate effectively enough yet and they get FRUSTRATED...but I am an advocate for parents being responsible for their children. Yeah, mom at the grocery store last weekend who let her little shit race around with his heelies, almost tripping me, I'm talking to YOU. Free-range children, now on sale, in aisle 9.

I think it's that little voice in the back of my head that worries about when I'm finally ready to have a baby, I won't be able to. Or I'll be old. Or DH won't be in good shape (damn accident).

I'm also afraid that I'll have to leave my baby at some horrible daycare place and that the fucked up economy in this country will force me compromise the level of parenting I want to give my child/ren. I wish DH could have babies, I'd let him have one right now and I'd keep working.

But a house wouldn't make me compromise myself too much yet. I'd love to have one right now. I'm just so glad that we didn't get too serious back in the fall when we started looking, with DH out of work now.

I don't get why people were allowed to buy houses that cost SO much more than they were making and now these same people are whining about being foreclosed on? HELLO? You saw how much you were making, you were a fool to believe you could afford half-million dollar McMansions on salaries of $50K. Too bad you couldn't LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS like the rest of us (many who don't have homes) are doing. The banks are just as much to blame; how the hell did they think these people would be able to pay this stuff off??? And now, the system is ruined for a lot of people, who were hoping to get a mortgage, because now the banks are being stricter on who they lend money to. Thanks so much!

Luckily DH's accident brought him a windfall and he has a large sum of money waiting for the right house at the right time, plus monthly payments for the rest of his life. I probably sound like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth, but we try to live like the money he got from his accident doesn't exist. We don't want to go crazy spending like there's no tomorrow, especially since this money might have to be used to care for DH someday. All of the payouts from his accident were going into savings, but while he's unemployed, the monthly payments are going into our checking account to cover the cost of living.

But I still want my house. Nothing too big, but not too tiny either. Just enough room for me, DH, the cats, maybe a dog...and eventually, we'd add a baby to the mix. A nice yard. A basement. Our OWN laundry facilities--no more sharing! No more quarters! A garage for our cars, so we don't have to shovel snow and chip ice off in the mornings!

Maybe someday...