“…because we get to cuddle.”

Several days ago our four year-old son was laying in bed with my wife and cuddling.  They were telling each other “I love you” and hugging each other.  My wife was really just enjoying her little boy.

As they were talking he said, “I like living in the trailer.”

“Why?” asked my wife.

“Because we get to cuddle more!”

His response was unrehearsed and nothing we ever discussed.  He was genuine in his response and sat beaming as he said it.  Our son captured, in one brief sentence, the greatest benefit we have yet received by our lifestyle.  We now have greater proximity to each other physically and emotionally.  While he noted the increased time being near each other due to our small space, he hit on the underlying desire our children have to share those significant times together.  I have spent many mornings lying on the couch holding three little boys before we get ready for the day…I love it!

“Oh baby it’s cold in here”

In our last house, our master bedroom included a converted one car garage as part of its space.  Because of this, the heating and cooling in that room was always inefficient.  During the winter, the clock on my nightstand would frequently read 51 degrees as we woke up and never rise above 65 without a space heater.  Well, the trailer has had its heating issues also.  Cooling was not a problem (electricity is included in our rent payment and the A/C is refrigerated air).  Heating as the temperature drops has been a different story.

We have relied heavily on space heaters as they run on electricity.  The furnace uses propane for which we must pay and I believe it is rather inefficient.  So far, the space heaters have worked quite well and keep us comfortable through the night.  The boys are the warmest due to the heaters being pointed directly at them and we are a little cooler as is our preference.  The problems arise when we turn off the space heaters and are gone for large parts of the day.  Several weeks ago, we were gone from morning until after dark and the larger space heater was turned off.  When we returned home, the coldest area of the trailer was 49 degrees.

Since then, I have been very good about leaving the heater on while we are gone so that the chill is kept away.  Today I was diligent about having the heater on and pointing in the right direction.  As we left I double checked it and ran out the door.  That is where I went wrong.  I guess the door slammed, but it did not catch and shut.  When we returned home, ten hours later, on one of the coldest nights of the year the door was opened as far as it could.  We quickly realized it was bitterly cold, but still a little warmer inside than outside.  Actually, I came to that conclusion because my breath made more steam outside the trailer than in it.

I turned the furnace on and got to work trying to thaw everything out.  That clock with the thermometer in it read 32.5 degrees and suddenly it felt much cooler.  Thankfully, 290 square feet can become comfortable rather quickly.  Sadly, three hours later the furnace is still running, but the temperature has increased by 31 degrees.  Finally, it has reached a good sleeping temperature.

Goodnight from the trailer!

Gettin’ ready for Christmas!!

When we made the decision to live the way we do, one of the stated benefits was going to be more family time.  The trick about that is one must actually do it.  I can say, with some certainty, we have yet to set aside time to just have fun as a family.  We have been moving, e-baying, sorting, just being…we have been very busy.

Tonight I decided we needed to just do it.  We have several hours every night that we are not using to clean the house, work in the yard or have a second job, so what are we going to do?  Get ready for Christmas!  Our older boys helped us cut and decorate 25 strips of construction paper to make an advent paper chain.  Everyday, we will tear off a link and read the scripture about Christ which we wrote on it.  The boys loved the time spent on them and our rewards are being seen.

This weekend we will play the part of the Griswalds and go get our Christmas Tree.  I am still not sure exactly where we will put it!

Moving Day!

We recently decided to move.  Why move?  Well, the short answer is, “We can.”  For any reason we can, within a matter or hours, totally uproot and move our home anywhere we want (and where the law allows).  The long answer is that we thought it would be nice to be near my parents during the holidays, save the $585 we pay at the campsite and…many other reasons.

One cold, and soon to be storming day, we decided to move on my lunch break.  It took a short time to empty the holding tanks (that is where the black and grey water are stored), throw everything into the back of the suburban or into the trailer, pull in the slide-out and hitch-up the trailer.  Then we were on the road, but it was just my lunch break so my wife and kids planed to wile away the day at the mall while I finished working. (BTW, it is a great place to park)  This was quite memorable for my wife as her home now really was at the mall!!

  

Less than an hour after dropping them off, the clouds rolled in thick and snow started coming down hard.  The trip down to my parents would be quick but if the snow started to accumulate, as it appeared would happen soon, it could be treacherous!  Therefore, I made the decision that we had to leave now.  My wife had previously offered to drive the trailer down herself and the thought of following through with that made me physically ill.  The sudden responsibility I felt and fear for her life would not allow me to let her take everything (belongings and children) by herself.

I very carefully maneuvered the city streets and pulled onto the interstate headed out of town.  Driving through familiar roads I felt comfortable until a dump truck in front of me began to brake hard.  I applied my brakes and the trailer brakes promptly locked up.  I had visions of everything we own being strewn across the freeway and our true state of homelessness.  Then, the truck pulled away, and all was now safe.  As I pulled south out of town, the snow slowed, the clouds thinned and parted.  Not only was there no snow on the roads south of town, the sun was shining.

While I could have worked all day, we made it early.  We were able to park before the sun went down and enjoy our first evening out of the city!

Storage is a premium!!

Sorry for the time since the last post!

So, when we made the cinnamon rolls, the oven worked!  It actually worked wonderfully and the rolls turned out great.  There was a problem though.  Our problem is storage!

You see, we have no closets.  Relative to a house, our storage is quite limited.   We have storage under and behind our couch.  We have small closet-like units in our bedroom along with equally small nightstands.  There is storage under the seats of our dinette and only a few other spaces where “stuff” can be kept.  Even our oven has become a place for storage.  What?  You store something in the oven, how stupid!  Well it really isn’t that bad.  I have to light the pilot on the oven every time I use it, therefore, I will have to look in the oven before I turn it on.  It really is a great place to store pans, a iron skillet…and a postal scale?!

 

Well, the scale was a total loss.  I thought I had got it out in time, and it just looked a little warped.  Actually, all of the parts on it fused together.  Despite the computer turning on, it would not register a weight.  It just kept thinking and thinking and eventually it went dead.  Anyone know where we can get a new scale?

Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!

This morning (Wednesday) we woke to the pitter patter of rain gently falling on our roof.  Actually, the enormous drops sounded as though they were going to pound through as we lie in bed.  Then they slowly became further and further apart eventually disappearing.  I soon found that the rain had not stopped but turned into snow.  This was not just any snow, but big fluffy feathers of snow.  It was so proliferate a snow that after a five minute walk with the dogs, I was covered with approximately half an inch of it.  However, thanks to our generally temperate weather, the snow melted the moment it touched the ground.

Despite the lack of accumulation, the older boys were quite ecstatic when I returned from the walk.  They had pulled all the blinds open and sat with their faces plastered to the window.  The oldest smiled as he told me, “This is what I was hoping for.”  For them, the snow was a sign of the fun to come.  For me, the snow was a cause for concern.  How do I winterize this thing?  I imagine frozen water pipes, chilled children and holding tanks full of putrid…stuff freezing cracking and slowly draining their contents.  Well, it looks like I do not have a lot of time left to get ready for winter!

How do we look?

Tonight we had some friends and their two boys come over to the campground to enjoy an evening of vacation with us.  It was quite enjoyable as we sat around the campfire and roasted marshmallows.  The crisp cool air and the warmth of the flickering fire combined to make it a very pleasant time.  With our friends, we discussed our lifestyle, the “rigs” we have seen, and life in general.

Together, we have five boys.  As they roasted marshmallows and looked for things to throw into the fire, they occasionally became a little loud and giggly.  Occasionally, I would glance over to the RV two spots away and see a gentleman looking at us.  He did not look particularly annoyed, but he continued to look our way anytime the sound level exceeded that of a whimper.  Being a responsible parent, I accordingly reminded the boys that others were in the campground and trying to enjoy their evening.  The requisite peace ensued, briefly.

As my wife and our friends went inside to warm-up and admire our humble abode, our neighbor slowly sauntered my way.

“May I ask you a question?” He implored.

“Sure.” I hesitantly responded as I was sure I was about to receive a lecture regarding campground etiquette.  My parenting seems to be questioned quite a bit as my boys are quite vocal in their opinions and generally expressive.  Therefore, I was readying myself for quite the attack.

“Would you like some things we have?  We are just going to throw them away.”

“Uh.” It was all I could muster as I was dumbfounded by his question.  He continued to explain how he and his wife flew in from New York and rented an RV.  Tomorrow they would be leaving and had more than they could take with them.  Mustard, salt, crackers, and sour cream were all unopened and to be thrown away if we did not want them.  That was not to mention the toilet paper, paper towels and pillows (we will wash those, of course) they would bring over later as they may need them tonight.  I gratefully accepted all they had as it would just be trash in the morning.

As I returned to our trailer, I proudly presented the spoils of my venture and was met by my wife’s continually positive comments.

“Wow, we must really look poor!  They are giving us stuff.”

She was wrong, I think.  They were flying out in the morning and mustard exceeds the limit of fluids allowed on a flight, their suitcases could only hold so much toilet paper and the rest would just be going into the trash.  Therefore, we were not a charity case.  They did not feel right just throwing large amounts of useful odds and ends into the dumpster.  And I will keep telling myself that every time someone offers this poor family food, clothing and other assorted handouts.