The Lei of the Land

Most of my readers here know my first name is LeiLani. My real name. I can’t make this shit up. My parents hated me. (All true.) A lot of friends call me Lei. At work it’s either LeiLani or Lee. Just don’t call me Lani or Lonnie. I hate that shit.

We did Christmas yesterday in the itty bitty box we currently call home. And it was crowded by a lot of itty bitty people, a few adults, and food. Lots and lots and LOTS of food.

To answer you, Dangerspouse, I love the new pans. They’re ceramic on aluminum, and as compared to old-school non-stick, it’s night and day. I love love love LOVE them. I swear instead of washing them, I could almost wipe them out with a paper towel and put them away.

A few obligatory munchkin pics:

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The first of the littles is our latest, Aubrey Michelle. (It seems we’ve broken the all-boys streak that held the family for so many years.) The next two are cousins, about a month apart in age, and diametrically opposed in personalities. The redhead on the left has a character big as Manhattan. The dark-haired sweetie is more shy. The third picture is our 10-month-old and he was Mr. Social Animal, up in everybody’s business. Our furbaby alternately wanted to lick him and hide from him.

The middle picture is perfect in its irony. With a house full of food, what did they want to eat? Cheerios from a cup.

Everybody’s a critic, I tell ya.

The little guy on the right was our resident thief, however, stealing food from each and every plate within reach. Bread, potatoes, cooked veggies, he ate them all, running from person to person. I think his favorite was the stuffing, with an apple-juice chaser.

There were many presents, a wrapping-paper explosion, and much excitement from the littles. (Not all our grands were there – several were multiple states away, including our oldest who’s now a member of the Air Force.) Miss Redhead got a tea set. Given her personality, I was doubtful – the suggestion was from her mommy – but she let out a squeal and hasn’t put it away since.

Little Miss Dainty, on the other hand, wanted her action hero. In her age category, the action hero of choice is Paw Patrol, and more specifically, Rocky. Because Rocky is the hardest Paw Patrol member to find. But Grandma came through and she was tickled pink. Er, green.

The little walker boy got his very own ball pit. Well, he got the ball-pit balls, and grandma and grandpa provided the box “pit”.

The kids took turns gravitating to each other’s toys. There were brightly-colored balls everywhere. Miss Redhead’s tea set pieces got absconded with more than once – much to her righteous indignation. The only ones kept off limits were the Paw Patrol toys. Little Miss Dainty is a spitfire when it comes to her action heroes, as it turns out.

I usually don’t accrue many gifts, nor do I expect them. My nice shiny new ‘puter got returned (albeit it’ll be replaced), and Miss Spitfire and Miss Aubrey’s mom and dad (my youngest son) gave me a package from Bath & Body Works. My husband said since my computer plans went up in smoke, he’s taking me clothes shopping after Christmas.

However, I had my new pans and towels thanks to the gift card from work, and the mini-laptop from my sister, so I still felt extremely spoiled.

Guys, I KNOW clothes shopping are horror stories for most men. My husband is no exception. I seriously tried to talk him out of it. He wouldn’t budge. I plan to suggest something I want more – and trust me, there are plenty of things I’d rather have than more clothes. I just gotta narrow it down and let him know, “Hey, would you mind if I get… instead?” and he’ll mop his brow in relief for dodging the bullet.

EDITED: Well crap – forgot to mention one other thing, with reference to the “land” part. I’m looking at land parcels where we can eventually move, either with this mobile or a larger/newer one. And yes, I’m ridiculously okay with living in a tin box. This part of the world doesn’t see major earthquakes, F5 tornadoes, etc. We do get snow, depending on location. There are a lot of off-grid locations which nowadays is a lot less of an issue. Between solar, wind, and generators, power isn’t an issue. A septic tank is a simple fix. Internet these days can come from satellite or the phone company. The one BIG expense will be water. You’d have to drill a well, which is a big-ass expense. But when you can grab land for as little as $1200 an acre, you can afford to put $20K into drilling a well.

The area I’d like to look at is near Williams, AZ. It’s off the I-40 and on the edge of tall pines. The climate is cooler than Phoenix by quite a bit. The area does get snow. But there’s a town (Hello Eagles song!) and a little further over you can drive into Flagstaff if you need something more than an itty bitty spot can cover.

The other option is near Show Low, though there we’d have to build a home – no mobiles permitted, other than as a temporary spot while building. But the land there is still on the cheap side (most under $4K) and utilities are available. It’s even a lake community.