Rent vs. Buying

The past month has been a whirlwind of chaos as we decide where our next adventure will take us.  My husband got a new job so it looks like we are going to stop moving around the country on a month-to-month basis and settle down in Pennsylvania for at least a year while we also gain our parenting-legs with a second child.

We have owned our own home in Massachusetts for so many years now that we just naturally assumed it was the next step for us to find a new house to settle down in so we aggressively started looking.  Although the housing market is still not recovered in most of the country, it turns out that the area of PA we were looking in was just as a hot market as it was back in our prior MA area.  We underestimated that solid houses were selling within days of listing and predominantly over asking price.  It caught us off-guard and we lost out on a couple of possible new homes.

But God always has a plan, right?  Turns out that the rental market for three bedrooms is competitive as well, but we found exactly what we needed - if not much more!!  Plus renting with a one year lease just seems to be a smart decision when we are not only new to the area but unsure if my husband would even like the new job he starts.  Renting is also a great option for us because we are about 2 months away from when our new baby is to arrive so we can get settled in and I can start nesting  :)

I think we all have weighed the risks and rewards to renting vs. buying - what experiences have you had?

Lehigh Valley Zoo

We visited a zoo in what felt like the middle of nowhere this week!  A drive through the countryside of family farms leads you to a very minimally marked gated entrance.  Up the windy mountain and then back down into a secluded valley, built as if to almost exclusively create an oasis home for a small zoo!  This zoo was perfect for taking younger kiddos because we actually could see all the animals available in a morning before afternoon nap time.  There were many informative signs about endangered animals and nature preservation to raise awareness, a diverse population of interesting animals from a varying environments, and even a playground for kiddos who wanted to get the extra energy out.  And after you leave the zoo, your car is led on a "safari tour" through a nature preserve that takes you through a shallow river (the water comes up a few inches over your tires - a cool effect as if you are truly in the wild!) and the park houses bison and elk (behind a fence), a scenic overlook of the zoo, and parking areas for hiking trails and picnic spots!

Penguins

Eagles

Kangaroos

Endangered Wolf

Camels

Looking into a wolf den

Snack bar and gift shop

Overlook of the zoo

Nature preserve with bison & elk

Crayola Experience

Crayons and markers and fun... oh my!!  We used to call this place the "Crayola Factory" when I was a kid but now it's more of a museum and visitors center for kids - called the "Crayola Experience!"  Centered in the heart of Easton, PA,  Crayola has created a four floor discovery museum for little and big kids alike.

We bought our tickets online ahead of time to save a few dollars per person because our 2.5 year old toddler is too tall for passing (i.e.:lying) about her age anymore.  But if anyone reading this has little tykes, children can explore the Crayola place for free  :)

Upon entering, there is a display of the worlds largest crayon.  It's 16 inches in diameter and weighs 1,500 lbs!  After the Crayon census of 2000 showed fan favorite color was blue, this worlds largest crayon was unveiled in 2003,  it was collectively made of left over crayon bits sent in by children across the United States.

The main attractions are on the second, third and fourth floors and let a child's mind run wild!   You can name and wrap your own crayon, play on two separate indoor playgrounds (age appropriate 2-4 and 4-12), create art projects, puzzles, and paintings, and even melt crayons into a shape crayon too. In my opinion this place would be overwhelming if visited on a busy or rainy weekend day, but since we visited on a Monday morning the place was practically empty so we could visit each station at leisure and without standing in line.  Our Tiny Tot even made a few friends to play with while visiting which always makes it more fun when sharing discovery experiences with friends!

A Tent-Home Away from Home

Traveling as much as we do can take a lot on adults let alone children and dogs.  The one question we seem to get over and over again from friends and family is simply, "how do we do it?"  I could write an entire book on answering that very question because it depends on if your asking how we doing this emotionally, physically, financially, etc.  There is no simple answer for how my husband and I continue to bounce around and explore the world around us, but I can say we must make a pretty good team otherwise we would have crumbled within the first two weeks.  And this especially takes a toll on our toddler and dog.

Little Doodles is our almost six year old Schnoodle and she loves to run!  The first two houses we have rented didn't exactly have a back yard where she had any space to run so we always had to take her for walks or to a park for some fun time.  She is constantly anxious, acting as if we will abandon her at any moment and it's so sad to watch her when she shivers, shakes and pants uncontrollably.  She has unfortunately shown some serious medical issues caused by her anxiety in the beginning of wintertime and we have needed to take her to a veterinarian twice now to keep her healthy (luckily we think we've figured out the problem and she's now doing great!)  Believe it or not, she still seems to love long car rides so the traveling part isn't the problem, it's the constant new environments for her that are making her uncomfortable.  The best answer we have had yet is giving her her own consistent 'home': a portable tent!  Tents are the greatest and she has always had one since she was a little pup to lessen her anxiety and make her feel cozy and safe.  We call it her happy place!  She had two tents in our home in Massachusetts, one upstairs and one down and because they were getting torn and tattered through the years, we decided not to keep them when we sold our house to move.  But living in vacation rentals has taken it's toll on her and we've realized just how depressed she is without her tent.  So we splurged on a really sturdy one and she's acting like a pig in mud lately!  Talk about clearing the rain cloud over this cute lovable pup and replacing it with a home sweet home!

Our two year old is also having transition difficulties.  Most toddlers at this age are working hard on potty training and sleeping in a big girl bed.  Not having a stable environment makes those difficult tasks seem impossible.  Sleeping on a regular schedule is also become hard as well because she has to adjust to a new bedroom each month, accompanied with whatever blinds are on the rental windows, or if neighbors let their dogs out to bark before 6am (yes, we find it pretty obnoxious as well.)  I think our biggest savings grace has been daylight savings time because we didn't transition Keiki to the new time change.  Now she wakes up an hour later around 6:30/7am, takes nap at a more reasonable hour around 1pm, and then goes to bed about 7:30/8pm which gives us more time for bath and reading books in the evening and overall it's a more delightful schedule to all of us! But even though we have a better sleep schedule under control for this tiny tot, she still is more clingy, whiny, tantrum,   mood-swing prone then a typical toddler because of always moving around to what she loves to exclaim with excitement, a "new house!"  With the constant changing environments we thought maybe she would like a tent like our dog has so she could have a designated space to call her own.  And a tent is great too because it can collapse and just move from place to place with us as we continue our adventures.  Instead of the hyped, overly-expensive marketed ones out there, I simply went to the outdoor department at Walmart and bought an actual kids camping tent for $17.44.  Although it's pretty huge, it's perfect for creating an area for pillows and blankets for what Keiki likes to call her "cozy home," as well as give her space to spread out to play with puzzles, read books, jump around, and play with dolls, stuffed animals, and cars too.