Okay, never had it done, but have been very interested in trying it. I think I will have to wait because I am going to have a baby in 6 weeeks. Not sure if you can wax while pregnant?! (Or as pregnant as I am anyways...) Now here is a question for you... I am all confused on what I should do for the delivery of the baby, as far as "down there" grooming goes. I can't even see down there anymore, a bit scared to use a razor right now...considering consulting DH, but not sure if I trust him using a razor down there either!!! LOL! Maybe NOW is the time for a wax!? Suggestions?

So if we were to do a 1.5 story with the master on the main level, where would you put that, behind the garage then? My thought process would be to first determine priority of room placement in the most ideal location for the use of the room and then if conflicts between room placement develop then rank by how much time is spent and how time is used for each room as well as the importance of that use compared to the importance of the uses for the other rooms. If watching the sunrise from your bed pays off with more enjoyment than having the sunrise and morning sun striking your kitchen, then plan accordingly. For instance, do you plan on using your master suite as a parental get-away from the kids, using it during the day or will your non-sleeping uses be restricted to evenings only, meaning that any views from the rooms would be lost to the darkness of the night? If the views are not important, I'd bury the master suite near the garage in the above sketch. If however, views and day time use are important, then I'd move the master to the east/south/west walls, perhaps right off the entry or in the back off of the kitchen. I'm not necessarily saying to put the master off the entry or off the kitchen, though you could, I'm just using these as examples that reference the above sketch. The way I'm designing my own home is to use a very self-reflective process which tries to understand how I actually live my life rather than trying to contort my lifestyle into architectural trends which presuppose how people SHOULD live their lives. So, to continue on the questioning, why exactly do you appreciate a main-floor master? Is it so that you can avoid stairs? Is it so that you can hear the comings and goings of the kids at night as they try to leave the house, is it because you don't want the kids too near your bedroom, is it because you don't want noise transmission from the master to be easily heard by the kids, and so on? Once you can articulate to yourself why you want something then you can find the best solution for your plan, rather than adopting a cookie-cutter approach. For instance, what I found amusing in some plans was a main floor master with a child's bedroom directly over it on the 2nd. Now, to me, if the goal was to reduce noise transmission from either the child's room to the parent's room or vice versa, the separation by floor, while having intuitive appeal, would fail to achieve the mission. The example I used in an earlier comment was to have a master suite separated by a stairway corridor AND a children's hallway which together create a 7'-8' dead zone, possibly with some walls other than the master and child's bedroom walls also added in between. There are no common walls shared, there is a huge dead zone in between and the goal of reducing noise transmission is, I believe, better served than a downstairs master with an upstairs child's bedroom directly over top, sharing common ceiling/floor as well as sound transmission paths down the walls. Of course, if sound transmission has nothing to do with the appeal of a downstairs master suite, then what I've sketched out is a solution to a problem which doesn't exist, or doesn't matter. I was thinking the master/office space on one side and then the kitchen, dining, great room on the other. That makes sense to me. Would you move the great room from the center of the house below to the front where the dining study is and move the study to where the great room is? Lots of configurations can make sense, but they must make sense in relation to how you envision yourself using the space and the particulars of your lifestyle and preferences. I'd say grab some graph paper, or even blank paper, and just block out the rooms and see how they interplay with each other, note how you foresee traffic patterns within and throughout the space, imagine daily routines taking place within the space. Once you have an idea of how you live, or how you want to live in the new space, then get the graph paper and try to get a better handle on size and furniture placement, and traffic patterns and by the end of this process you should have a very good understanding of how you want the space to be configured. I did the same for my house and this has resulted in me doing away with a formal living room from the now traditional LR/FR combo pack and reallocating the space elsewhere in the home, such as combining the entry with the LR space in order to create a larger sense of space/volume, has led me to create a larger kitchen than would be warranted in relation to the size of the informal living room, has led me to other design changes that likely violate what trained architects use as benchmarks for how homes should be designed. Thank you for the garage tip also - I thought 24x24 was rather large? We will be getting an oversize door for sure. I'd say measure your cars, block out a 24 x 24 space on your lawn, use cardboard boxes or something else to fill the space of your cars, then throw in the other junk you're likely to store alongside the walls of the garage, and see how much space you actually need. Try to get out of your car and see if the door bangs the wall or the other car. A 24 x 24 garage is actually pretty good considering that many designed give a 20 x 23 or something similarly ridiculous.

To all, Thanks for all of your great suggestions! Things are REALLY looking up. I haven't heard anything from the company where I applied for the job, but my connection has put in a good word with Human Resources on my behalf. **My business has taken an unexpected turn.** I think that I may have found my niche. I was once an office manager for an insurance agency and I am now offering my services to Independent Insurance Agents. I currently have 3 clients and the prospect of a 4th. The potentials for growth in this market appear promising. Kathy, thanks for your suggestion to read the Tightwad Gazette. I once owned the 1st one and I don't have it any more. I consider myself to be "reasonably" thrifty, but as mentioned by amoretti, I need to brush up on my frugal skills. I now realize that I may have to become more "ruthless" in my pursuit of frugality. The advice that I have received here and that I have read under the "money saving tips" is very enlightening. My husband and I definitely have room for improvement. I have also managed to get my DH to see that I really need him in order for my business to be a success, and that the two of us working together towards the same goal will help our family to be more financially successful. I am now beginning to feel his support. Thanks for your hugs and words of encouragement. I think that this forum is one of the coolest things that I have found this year!

Kaiser, our Rottie, is the sweetest guy. He's only 15 months old, so still very puppy like attitude. He loves to go to PetSmart, only problem he gets really excited when we first get there. Takes him a few minutes to realize it socializing and shopping time, then he calms down. Majority of the people scoop their little dogs up, grab their kids, and head the other direction when we are shopping. The people that aren't bothered by him will come up and ask to pet him, he immediately puts his "hand" out to shake when they ask. He loves to go to the bird area and watch the birds in the cages. One day we were watching the birds and a little girl that was about 5 and as tall as Kaiser walks up (no parent in sight) and asked if she could pet him. He immediately shakes and gives her a kiss. Still no parent. She tells me she likes him and he smells good, continues to pet and kiss him. Still no parent. She wraps an arm around his neck and they both watch the birds about 5 minutes go by. Finally, a parent frozen in place and wearing a horrified expression. I introduced us and explained that I watched her daughter for the last 10 minutes and Kaiser kept her company. She began to loosen up a bit and explained she was terrified of them because of their reputation. The little girl explained to her mom that he was the "most nicest dog ever" and refused to leave until her mom shook hands with him and gave him a kiss. Mom did and spent about 15 minutes loving on him. Little girl kissed him and hugged him bye. It was such a sweet moment, with the little girl loving on him and a mom that left with a little more knowledge and a changed opinion.