The final countdown is on. We're counting down to a few things
1) The school year will be starting Aug 29th! This is both fantastic and terrible at the same time.
2) We'll be done asking for your dollars Aug 31! See above statement
3) Someday we won't have kids in diapers!!! This is only fantastic.
So, starting today, we have 10 days left to see if we can get any closer to our goal. Please visit our
YOUCARING site if you have a dollar to share! I will do my best to post something fun every day to encourage new visitors to our blog or just to entertain old visitors :) Thank you SO MUCH for all of your support and generosity throughout this hectic last year. Thanks to all of you, we made it through multiple hospital visits, totaled vans, and three crazy moves. I am going to repost our very first blog here as a reminder of the hell and highwater we lived through and even more so to remind us of how much love we have received from so many people.
At this very moment (well, maybe not the moment you're reading it as I hope things have changed), we have been blessed with $3,619 to put towards a house. We have struggled this summer to add on anything and in reality, will need to put a little back into this fund as a month without salary has been tough, Our hope, our plan, our dream is to find a home by August 31 of 2017 so that we can put all of your dollars where they belong and have you over for one hell of a shindig ;)
Before I go back in time, here are a couple of gems from today. Lili was explaining why she wants us to buy a house... but then a bee interrupted, so we had to try again. If you're offended by poop talk, don't watch.
Well, one year ago I decided to try something different... and amazing things happened!
POST #1
"Do you think I can find 150,000 friends to
donate a dollar so we can buy a house?"
My husband's response didn't really matter (he doubts my ability- or maybe it's my popularity) because I had already decided. As I watched my twin daughters trying to eat each other's faces and heard my 2 year old yodeling from her room, I decided that this sounded way too fun not to try. It's also the only way we'll ever be able to live anywhere beside in our van by the river.
What prompted this ridiculous idea? Apparently, we're getting kicked out of the house we have been renting for 2.5 years. Yes, yes, we knew it was for sale when we moved in, but we were expecting our first baby and we had to move out of the shoebox cottage we were living in and this was the best place we could find. Our landlords have been awesome to us, but the new guy, we'll call him "Walter", is apparently not so awesome and wants us out ASAP (as in yesterday). I'd like him to come hold some babies while we pack...
"Why can't you buy your own damn house?" you may be asking... I don't want this to be a pity post, as a dear friend of mine
ahem, Thomas suggested, I just want this to be a really fun thing to try to do, but I suppose you should all know that deep down, it is a pity post because
A) We are teachers in public schools and we spend too much of our time and money on our "kids"
B) We have twin 6 month old girls who spent 2 weeks in the NICU
C) We have a 2 year old... she eats a lot
D) Add B&C together with the fact that we had unpaid maternity leave and unpaid summers and then let's add in
E) A family of 5 requires a minivan and not that rusty old Element we were counting on driving for 29 years
F) Three kids under 2 require an ungodly amount of diapers and twins eat TOO MUCH formula
G) Student loans, hospital bills, emergency surgeries, daycare, and then those life things like groceries and gas and
a freaking beer once in a while.
H) We also have incredibly bad luck that lasts for months at a time and depletes any kind of savings we might have had - car breaks down, dryer breaks, stroller gets run over, kid gets strep twice, mom needs unexpected surgery, van gets totaled, etc. etc.
I) will just finish it on this lovely vowel from the alphabet and make it simple: I need a dollar... dollar...a dollar is what I need... because we need somewhere to live!
- Guys, my husband just walked by and nose snorted at me. "You really are starting that, huh?" *Nose snort.
While I was lying in bed at 2 am barely breathing so as not to wake a twin or toddler, I had ideas galore rolling through my mind. What can I do to make people want to give me a dollar? Well, first of all, it's a dollar. 4 quarters. 10 dimes, you can find that in your couch crack, and most people don't really want anything in return for a buck... but- you might- so, what can we do in return for your dollar? Because if your dollar really does buy a home, then these things are on the table (that will be in our awesome dining room- I've never had a dining room!)
1- Homebrew. Anyone who donates is welcome to come have a homebrew! I don't really want anyone to give more than a dollar because, well, that's the fun in this, BUT, if you do and you give the most, Aaron will brew you a keg of your own- or he can make a batch of wine for you. (He doesn't know this yet, but he'll do it).
2- Baked goods. I'm again selling my husband's craftiness for your dollar. He makes awesome everything- sourdough bread, bagels, pies, I'm pretty sure that he wants to be Martha. I also make decent cookies. Your choice- awesome Aaron stuff, or decent Diana stuff.
3- A room to stay. Ever need a place to crash in Milwaukee? Well, if your dollar built our home, then technically, you're part owner, right? Of course, this also means you deal with 3 crazy girls crying, screaming, dancing, and following you around like shadows- and this also means you must be trustworthy because we have a family to protect... but it would be really good practice for the Brewery/B&B we hope to have one day (watch for that blog in 30 years)
4- Yeah, 4... I like even numbers. If we really get a house funded through this, then every year I will hold a fundraising event to raise money to donate to a non-for-profit that helps put people in their own houses. Sweet, right?! Pay it forward is how we roll.
Well, folks. I am going to keep thinking of how to keep you coming back and sharing this with your friends. Because, I did the math in my head last night, and if most of us have like 300 FB friends, then I only need to find 500 friends to share and get each of their friends to give a buck! That seems so easy. I had to try, I had to...
So- tell me what you'd like to see on this blog to keep you coming back for more. Videos of my crazy kids? Me yelling at my husband? Baking videos from my husband? Individual "Thank you's"? Jokes of the day? House shaped cookies sent to your door? Making all of your dollars into a dollar house before it goes to the bank... except then we might get robbed, scratch that.
If you can give us ONE DOLLAR, you can do it by
Wepay on our YouCaring site, or if we know you and trust you, by mail or in person :)
Thank you for your time, thank you for helping me prove my husband wrong--- because that's the goal of all us wives--- and thank you for helping my family find a home <3
and then I decided I shouldn't feel guilty about selling things... especially since the leftovers will still go to my students anyway. So if you're in the area and in need of baby toys or 18 mo girl clothes, come on over!