Good, Bad, Ugly: Renting in Kansas

For the last year, we had a rental house in Kansas. We knew that we weren't going to get rid of our house in Missouri because we didn't know how long we would be stationed in Kansas. If he was given some random overseas assignment after few years here, the kids and I would've gone back to Missouri, for example. We're too far into this military life to keep selling everything and starting over. The rental in KS was always going to be temporary while we figured out what was next. This past winter, we essentially decided that we'd be staying here pretty much for the rest of his career so we decided to try to buy a house and settle in.

Our lease was June 16, 2025 to June 30, 2026, so we knew if we were going to buy, we needed to get it going in March/April so we could plan a move in time. Timing was weird also because Scott was out of town for multiple weeks in May and June. 

Here's my final thoughts on our rental, now that all is said and done:

right before we handed in the keys

The Good:

The company we used was really easy to deal with. I recommend them if you're coming to the Leavenworth area. Send me a message!

Great neighborhood. Good location. Easy access to pretty much whatever within 5-10 minutes. 

Lots of kids for Wells to play with. He gained a lot of independence and physical strength this past year. Age 7 was good for him. He learned how to problem-solve, climb a tree, and ride a bike too. He also, ahem, learned to defend himself using both words and actions. 

Fenced-in yard, 3 car garage, split level with a sub-basement, and basically as much storage as we could possibly want or hope for, so it was a real find for the price.

The Bad:

The steps in a split level can be annoying. This was our first experience in a true bi-level house and I'm blown away by the amount of wasted space because of all the steps. We were actually lucky in that we had a 3 1/2-car garage so the house had a much larger footprint and the bedrooms were really big. 

The kitchen had very little counter space and the counters and cupboards could've done with updating. 

The sliding glass door track was bent so the door was a struggle to open and close, and the ugly vertical blinds were also half-broken. 

I wasn't crazy about the washer/dryer....it's always nice when there's a set in a rental but they weren't the best. They left them for us to use but said they wouldn't maintain them and it was all up to us if we wanted them. So we used them and they weren't working great by the end of the 12 months. 

There was a tankless hot water heater. This wasn't the worst because apparently there's benefits but it was a hassle. An unpredictable hassle. 

The Ugly:

The backyard turned into a flooded, muddy mess when it rained. Dog paws were impossible to keep up with. The kids couldn't use the backyard for anything because we didn't want them tearing up the grass that we when we were able to keep it growing. They honestly needed a structural engineer in there to fix the slopes and grades and reconfigure everything behind the house. 

A lot of the drywall work in the bathrooms was new; they had been updated just last summer before we moved in. Unfortunately, it wasn't done well because within a month or so, doors stopped closing because the headers were bad and shifted. Drywall cracked up above the door frames. Scott initially tried to fix the doors but the problem was the framing inside the walls and he said you can't fix that without busting into the walls and starting over. So we lived with three doors that literally didn't seal/close/lock and now I guess that's someone else's problem. It sounds bad but I don't know that they could've/would've fixed it anyway. I don't think it's a priority for most landlords (the owner had done the work himself before the management company let us move in and they're not local). It would've been a very involved and messy process.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To be honest, the doors not closing in the bedrooms/bathrooms and the muddy backyard were my only real complaints. I didn't hate the place at all and absolutely would've stayed another year if this stint in Kansas was going to be temporary. As it is, we're settled in for now but never say never. 

If I were shopping the #NSale + shoe-buying

I haven't seen any Nordstrom Sale posts yet on the blogs, so I went over to the site to see if there was anything interesting. I never actually buy anything but it gives me ideas of what's out there...I'm positive this is first where I saw a Longchamp many, many years ago and then got one for my birthday that year.

Unfortunately, this year, there is not one single bag I would even consider buying. Usually they have a few nice ones but everything is "sponsored" by The Sak and my opinion is that The Sak makes the ugliest purses known to humankind and why is Nordstrom letting them take over the sale?

Take yourself to Nordstrom Rack instead and buy one of these cross-body bags ---I have it in camo bought brand-new with tags from Poshmark and I love it. I paid slightly more there because I really wanted the camo. I had a slightly bigger version in black that I bought in 2016 and I used it for years, but the strap is starting to fall apart after 10 years of regular use. 

Concerning shoes, I do have my eye on Ugg slippers this year. If they are still available when the peasants are able to shop, I might get these because it's a good deal. I saw them, or a style similar, at DSW for $95 last fall. This would be worth it. I haven't seen this color before and I like it. 

I do like these a lot: 

I'm sure I could find something more cost-effective when #fall comes around but I really am starting from the ground up with boots. I don't have any that aren't slightly falling apart. I haven't bought boots that aren't strictly snow or rain boots in probably 5 years. (I bought those great waterproof chelsea boots from Target last year and Maverick chewed up the back of one, so their use, now, is limited.)

I love this: 

I'm sure I could find a chambray shirt anywhere but I have truly worn out the one I bought at Aerie last summer, so I could use a new one. 

I haven't bought new shoes that weren't slide-on sneakers or sandals in awhile. Actually, it seems like I'm always buying new shoes but shoes aren't exciting to me. They serve a purpose. I don't care about them. 

I bought these in two colors from Walmart because they are easy for spring/summer/fall. They were $9 each when I got them...the prices fluctuate! I got camo and navy. 

I got these Reef sandals in Vintage Oasis, which I do absolutely love. 

I got these $12 slides from Target because I'm eeking another season out of my Bombas (I wear them around the house every day) and didn't want to pay $50 for another pair this year. I wanted to have some backups. These are better than the Arizona Birkenstocks (I literally threw mine away they were so awful...I tried to make them work for a few years; they were slippery and squeaky when wet--a texture-sensitive person's nightmare--and then the label wore off pretty quickly), but not nearly as nice as the Bombas. 

Then, since I'd bought two pairs of sneakers last fall and they have been worn day in and day out, I need a new pair. I'm that weirdo who won't pay more than $70 for sneakers though and they have to be actually comfortable. I discovered that the perfect walking shoe for my foot is the Nike Revolution. 

So I ordered these ones from Famous Footwear (I had a coupon) and then I ordered these Mary Janes to try and then I bought two pairs of wedges...while non-working/summer Kristin can survive with one pair of sneakers, I need a little variety for the school year. The total for all the shoes I've bought in the last two weeks is $170, which doesn't seem that bad? 

Again, Scott will say I have a lot of shoes (I don't) but they all have different purposes and shoes do not excite me in any way; they are a means to an end. Come October I will look for two pairs of boots I think...I finally threw away my much-loved booties from 2019 because they were way too worn down and stained and I'm pretty sure I got my $29.99 worth. ----just thinking about this stresses me out...I really do hate buying shoes so that's a conversation for another day. 

So many people, men and women, love buying shoes. I cannot be the only one who sees it as an actual task, right?

Linking up with Fashion Files!

Friday Favorites. Photo Catch-Up

1. Today is Wells' birthday! I'm not sure how he's 8 years old. 

2. It took a few days, but I painted the kitchen and the dining room area. It was pink before. Before that, as evidenced behind the refrigerator (which I still need to pull out to paint behind...), it was lime green. 

This is Sherwin Williams Eventide and I love it with the wood stain and I like the floor too. It's a distressed looking tile. We are going to replace the cabinets this fall-ish and I'm looking for a color; some sort of creamy gray? I don't know. Not white, not gray, not cream, but something in between. 

I was trying to decide between all of these for the wall color. 

3. The days were it rains are my favorite days because it's usually not 101 degrees in the shade. 

5. The most I'm willing to venture into outdoor play before 5pm is to get the mail. 

6. She still wants the race car cart. Wells isn't too heavy but he's officially too tall for it. 

7. Right now the kids are sharing a bedroom so we set up bunk beds (I mean, I didn't, Scott did) that were in our house in Missouri. Saves a lot of space. 

This *gestures around* is my organization project to tackle next week. Being a military family means repurposing everything all the time--this rug had been in our master bedroom in our Kansas rental. 

8. I haven't posted memes in forever. Here's what I found in my screenshots:

(That sums it up)

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

Reliable Read Alouds --Chapter Books

 

Since I went back to work, I'm looking at what read alouds I can cover this coming school year. In the 4 months I was in my position this past year, I read them First Light and When You Reach Me. Both I HIGHLY recommend for the 4th grade crowd. Since our students "loop" and we do combined grade levels, I won't read the same books again. But I've read these to other classes in the past and they're always a hit. 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane- This is a masterpiece. It's so incredibly sad and and makes you ponder in an uncomfortable way. I"ve read it to multiple classes and don't know if I can do it again. I read it to 3rd grade two years ago.

Penny From Heaven- Also a masterpiece. I've read this to myself more than once and also to one 4th grade class in Alaska. There's a lot of history that goes along with it, so it takes some explanation. I think this might be great toward the end of the school year. 

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain- Wells read this with me two years ago and my 3rd graders read it as a little novel study this past year. Very historical in its context so it takes some explantation, but it's absolutely perfect for sequence, problem/solution, drawing conclusions, making predictions. Short and sweet. 

The Report Card- Andrew Clements is the master of the school story (and has a book called The School Story) but The Report Card is engaging and brings up all kinds of questions surrounding "does school really matter?". I read it to one 4th grade class in Colorado, I believe. 

Turtle in Paradise- By the same author of Penny From Heaven, but is shorter. It's more nuanced and needs more explaining (takes place in Key West in the 1930s) and has slightly more adult themes (poverty, not knowing who your father is, a derelict mother who sends you away so she can enjoy her honeymoon). But it's about kids on an adventure and the students always think it's funny. 

Real quick:

Can we talk about how book covers used to mean something? Now everything is identical with a gamified look. Gag. 

Bunnicula- I've read this EVERY year I taught 4th grade. It's such a favorite of mine and I'll read it this fall. 

Number the Stars- I prefer to do this as a novel study (I own a set of 30....), so maybe in the spring? I did read it aloud to one class in Alaska and they adored it. But I think I've done it most years I've taught 4th grade. 

Bob- I read this to one 3rd grade class in Missouri and they really enjoyed it. So did I. It's pretty new. It's got a magical twist and kids like that. I think I will do this in January? 

Because of Winn-Dixie- I have read this more times than I can count and I don't actually like it (funny, right?). It's such an important story for the 8-9 age group and we will probably read it this year. I might start the year with it. I just absolutely can't stand it LOL. 

The Mayflower Treasure Hunt- I read this during November while I teach them about the first Thanksgiving and I pair it with What Was The First Thanksgiving?

If you have any middle grade read aloud suggestions, I'm all ears! I'm always looking for something to add to my library. 

What to Buy/What to Skip

BUY: I bought Sutton these shoes from Target--The See Kai Run Basics line from Target is superior to the regular SKR website. Half the price, better quality in my opinion. 

SKIP: I wanted to get her these Adidas but $45+ seems like a lot for 4 year old shoes? She doesn't need Adidas. She just needs quality shoes. 

(These were $60 on Amazon but I really love them.)

SKIP: I splurged on this two years ago, used it less than 5 times, and hated it. It makes your hair greasy. Do not recommend. 

(bad pic but I already threw it away)

BUY: I've been using this since 2007 to control flyaways in the front. Cannot recommend enough. 1/3 the price of the B&B invisible oil too. 

SKIP: Aldi creamer is terrible. It's why I still have to shop at Walmart even though Aldi is cheaper, overall. 

BUY: V8 Energy Drinks are really tasty, if you're into that kind of thing. I don't do energy drinks very often. 

SKIP: Bloom tastes like a chemical cocktail by comparison. (We bought these for a trip.)

SKIP: Bubbl'r is the worst of all. I'll never understand how anyone can drink them. They taste terrible. (This was free at Target one day.)

My villain origin story on hating Bubbl'r: They sold them in the school cafeteria during elementary lunch (2 years ago). I tried to explain that they have caffeine --it says equivalent to a cup of coffee on the can-- and no one would listen to me because the upcharge on these made the school money. My 8-9 year old students would be sipping Bubbl'r on their way out ot recess and then they were unmanageable and falling asleep by 2pm. Again, no one cared. 

BUY: I have this issue where I buy bulbs of garlic and forget I have it or don't use it all in time and it goes bad and then there's garlic paper all over the cupboard. I saw this for less than $2 in the store last week and thought it was a fantastic compromise. Totally worth it. I just keep it in the fridge. 

SKIP: Don't buy these chicken nuggets. The texture is the most unsettling experience. If you want this brand, buy the regular nuggets and if you want dino nuggets, buy any other brand. Gag. 

Currently. In July.

Sparkling- The pool is sparkling. Honestly, this is the summer of swimming and every bit of energy is going into this swimming pool. 

That, which you can see in this picture, is a hole in the liner. We are now sure the owner knew about it. The tell-all on this house is coming soon and let's just say it'll have more tea than Collin Gosselin's upcoming book. 

Grilling/Cooking- These are my two go-to dinners for summer. Both just require grilled chicken: Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad and Grilled Chicken Orzo Salad. 

Heating Up- In lieu of complaining about the heat, I will...complain about the humidity? The sunshine? The UV ratings? 

I truly believe summer seasonal depression should be classified in the DSM-V. 

One month down.

Using- Or, trying to use my summer break effectively because I have a lot I want to do before August, but mostly I'm just dealing with this kind of stuff every day: repeating myself, preparing snacks, and arguing with small children. It's hilarious because I used to think summer would be easier when my kids were a little older. Nope. The last easy summer I had was the one where Sutton was a baby. 

My iPad screen shattered this week so the 4 year old has had no screen time :) I absolutely refuse to buy her a tablet. 

Celebrating- The state of Kansas added the certifications I completed in Missouri to my Kansas certificate. They weren't super nice and friendly about it but they couldn't argue so I'm counting this as a victory. The Seal of Literacy was two full years of work. Even though they don't put this on MO certificates (yet) or call it THE SEAL OF LITERACY, it's the same coursework. They are requiring it in KS now, so I'm glad I was able to transfer it. 

I have a lot of posts coming up next week: books, product reviews (what not to buy), and a recap of our Wyoming trip. I've been very out of sorts the last couple of weeks with traveling and feeling deluded about the fact that it's 95 degrees every single day. 

Happy 4th!

Linking up with Currently!

Summer Reading List (for kids!) and Why I Went Back to Work

 

free to download in my TPT store

We've absolutely lost the art of asking kids to read real books. 

In May, I found this great Youtube channel with a feature called First Chapter Friday. The host reads the first chapter of a classic-ish fiction book to kids in order to hook them and get them to want to read the whole book. Since I was only with my 3rd and 4th grade students for 3 months this year, I was only able to read them two chapter books as read alouds. I told them if I "had them for more time", these are the books I'd recommend because everyone should read them by the end of 4th grade. So I made a summer reading list! 

All of these can be found on the Youtube channel and I hooked those kids with these first chapters, for sure. Some of my students had already read a few so they were able to check those off the list immediately. 

 In addition, we watched the Disney version of The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler because I was using a novel study for it with a student. They absolutely loved it. And we also watched Rikki Tikki Tavi....We saw a fictional story about a character called Mongoose Man taking down a snake (long story) and I was like yeah, mongooses are the natural enemies of snakes and so we had to watch Rikki Tikki Tavi. They loved that too! (We did not read it...it's usually a middle school short story.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought I wrote a little bit about stopping homeschooling and going back to work but maybe I never did?  And to say I feel like a hypocrite and a fraud would be accurate. Or rather, maybe I only talked about it on Instagram? But, regardless, here's the explanation:

In January, we realized that we're likely going to retire here in Kansas. This is where he's stationed, this is where he'll finish his career (99% certainty) and we might as well settle in, right? We decided we'd buy a house and plan for next steps, such as what am *I* going to do? What are the kids going to do? All those big life decisions civilians usually have years to ponder must be made within weeks in the military life. 

I started looking around and thinking that I'd go back to work in the fall but there is no full-day pre-k in the state of Kansas' public schools. I'm not completely sold on the public schools at this point as a teacher and as a parent anyway so, okay, that's fine. But I couldn't take Wells to school if I got a job because there was nowhere for Sutton to go. Then, I couldn't work if I sent him to school anyway because Sutton would still be at home. It was a lot of inner turmoil. I could write some Big Thing about why I lost steam with homeschooling but, honestly, my kids just love going to school. I don't know what else to say about it. The co-op was a struggle because it gave them a taste of that organized learning and they wanted to go every day. Our co-op was only 3 times a month! It was a problem, you know? 

I had toured a private school last fall because I wanted Sutton to go to preschool when she was 4 (this coming fall). A fun fact is that private education is USUALLY the only place you can find full-day prek. Then Wells was like "why can't I go too?" --that's when I knew homeschooling had a shelf life for us.

There were signs.

I found out through a mom friend that this local private school would be hiring soon so I decided You know what, I'm gonna send them a resume and maybe get hired for next year. And, because it's a private school, I needed to see what the salary/tuition balance would look like. It's not like just enrolling your kid and pulling a paycheck. They have classroom size caps and all as well. It would have to be mutually beneficial to everyone for this to work out. 

Long story short, the principal called me the next day and asked if I was interested in next year or if I could start right away. They had an immediate opening. A teacher had left in October unexpectedly and the principal had been teaching the class. After a series of interviews and discussions and so much paperwork, I was hired. 

Wells was in the 1st/2nd grade class, Sutton was enrolled in all-day prek-3, and I had a class of ten (10) 3rd and 4th graders who hadn't had an assigned teacher for 4 months. The learning curve was STEEP. I mean, mountainous. It was the Swiss Alps. The first day I drove home thinking what did I do? and I legitimately regretted it for like 7 hours. But Wells and Sutton were SO HAPPY and JOYFUL and loved their first day and I knew I just had to keep going. (e.g. imagine 10 year olds who hadn't had structure or management or someone reliable day in and day out to teach them ->> that's a hard crowd to win over).

In addition, Scott was gone a lot this spring so it was a lot of pressure on me but it gave us a purpose each day. He also left this entirely up to me and I knew I could never ever (ever) complain about getting up early and going to work because he always offers me the out of you don't have to work if you don't want to. Alas, I like money, so I would rather contribute financially to the family if I can (sorry, it's the truth). 

Funny story: I did spend a lot of our homeschool mornings getting up between 8-9am while he took care of the kids' breakfast, etc and when I told him I was going to start getting up at 5am again, he didn't believe me and thought the very idea was hilarious. So it became a personal challenge of yes, I can do this. 

I started right after Valentine's Day and February/March/April was a blur. In May, I started plotting out/planning for next year. I won't go into deep details about everything I've been doing there --only other teachers would find it interesting-- but I am blown away the way the school has taken us in and made us part of their community. My kids are so loved and cared for there. It's not that different from our last school actually; Wells and Sutton have this ability to become the friendliest strangers anywhere they go. It truly feels like we've always been there. 

So, the short answer as to why I went back to work is that we decided to just settle in here. It's part of military life: if you never unpack, you never unpack. You have to unpack and build something for yourself wherever you go. I think a lot of spouses make the mistake of never doing that and are permanently miserable because of it. A spouse/friend gave me that advice years and years ago: you have to unpack, even if you're only there for a year and your husband rolls his eyes and complains about putting nail holes in walls. There's no alternative if you want to actually experience life along the way. 

Monday things.

1. 

Marines using crayons because that's where they rank in the academic level of things is one of my favorite military jokes

I can't even begin to dive into the details of everything lately, but this carousel on Instagram spoke to me: 

2. We went to a birthday party at a bowling alley yesterday. Wells got a strike the first time he ever threw a bowling ball. 

3. Our friends PCSed to a new state yesterday so we had one last weekend of swimming and playing. 

4. I placed an Aerie order last week and got 3 t-shirts and a pair of shorts for $60 total. Use the app! Shipping is free and you automatically get 10% off, in addition to any other discounts. 

The Easy Shorts were/are $15 and are perfection.  I got a medium and they're very comfy. The Everyday Tee is about $10 right now and I got this one in a small. 

My new room already had a mirror on the back of this door. 

5. I love these hydration packets. They're affordable and they are actually what my acupuncturist used to recommend back in Colorado. In the summer, I tend to undereat and under-hydrate because I have no routine. I started feeling it last week; I get very dizzy and almost develop a vertigo after spending days in the sun. Especially if I'm stressed and overwhelmed. This has happened to me for years, unfortunately, so I'm trying to just stockpile electrolytes this summer. 

I found my Simple Modern tumbler and was using it last week for the first time in a year+. It does NOT keep drinks as cold as a Stanley. I hate to say it, but Stanley wins. I don't have a Hydrojug, but I have a HydroFLASK and that thing is still the GOAT. Owala is somewhere in the middle.