Top Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To About Our New House

10.  I can keep all my math manipulatives in one spot.


Not only the rulers and compass and pattern blocks, but empty gallon jugs and 2-liter bottles and a yardstick.  Then I won't have to empty the rest of the milk into a tupperware container every time we do a lesson on units of volume.

9.  A mudroom.


When we built this house, there were only two people in our family who were walking, both of them adults who value prompt snow boot removal upon entering.


Now, not so much.  Our current floor plan requires walking up the stairs and across the living room before coming to the logical boot-removal location.  Ditto for wet shoes or muddy bare feet.


Hopefully our new floor plan requires effort to avoid prompt boot removal.


8.  The kids' bathrooms are inside their own rooms.


Which means they have less excuse to wander out "for a drink" every time an adult walks by.

7.  Lord willing, a bottom-freezer refrigerator.  


Now, this is one small evidence in how far I've come in contemplating our new house.


Buying a lot was Jason's idea.  Building on said lot was Jason's idea.  Using a new floor plan was Jason's idea.


I don't like change.


But see how far I've come, that I'm not only looking forward to a different house, but voluntarily considering a different style refrigerator than I've ever had!


After extensive research which basically involved quizzing my mother-in-law on her new fridge, I have come to hope that with the freezer on the bottom, not only will the ice cubes stay in their receptacle, but my frozen foods can be filed neatly in categories instead of shoving them into a frosty pile and hoping they don't slide out and clonk me on the head when I next open the freezer.


6.  A deep freezer in the pantry.


The great hope here is that I will use it more efficiently when two doors and a flight of stairs aren't separating me from my freezer.


Every time I have to catch a frosty landslide (see #7), I think, "I should move this stuff to the big freezer."  And then I consider the flight of stairs, and how my children will all burst into questioning tears if I descend it, and probably try to follow me, thus risking their necks.  And then I cram the food back into the fridge freezer.


Likewise, when I make my grocery list I think, "I think I put extra chicken in the freezer once; I should check.  Or..... I could just buy more."


If I get a deep freezer within 15 feet of my refrigerator and I still don't use it, I'll need to seriously confront my laziness problem.


5.  The main bathroom (that Other People use) isn't the one where my kids bathe or brush their teeth.


Oh, the mercy of God, on me and my guests.

4.  I won't have to label all our science experiments with "do not eat" signs for Jason.


It should be a pretty intuitive rule of thumb:  if it's in the school room, don't eat it.


3.  Separate areas for play, school, and civilized society.


The school room will be a recognizable, designated location for activities like coloring and writing.  The playroom will be the place for noise and scattered toys.  The living room will be the place for polite conversation.  Of which we have so much here.

The point is, as much as I love homeschooling, at our house now, there's no telling where the quiet area ends and the noisy toy-scattering begins.


A new floor plan won't change human nature, but maybe it can help compartmentalize it.


2.  No sink in the school room.


When we first talked about floor plans, I thought a sink in the school room would be great for science experiments and cleaning up after art time.


Obviously this was before Caleb.


Here are some things that are pertinent to school that do not mix well with a sink:  science reports, spelling books, sheet music, my phone, my laptop, crayons, library books.


Possibly a straitjacket would be a better addition to the school room than a sink.

1.  No food in the school area.


By extension, no crumbs stuck to papers, no putting books down in sticky spots, no putting everything away only to get it all back out after lunch.


Honorable Mentions go to...


- A master bedroom at the opposite end of the house from the kid bedrooms

- A playroom on the main level (and therefore, hopefully, monster-free)

- A small, flat yard

- A private master balcony

- And of course, the sense of giddy hope that comes with a fresh start