atheymd, While I agree with most of the other posters about the siding issue, I also know that for some, siding isn't just an option, but is the only option. My in-laws have a sided house and they did vinyl siding that looks like shingles and it's really nice. I think the main idea with any old house is that you keep as much of it original or as it was as possible, but give a nod to being in the 2000's as well. We live in a 1898 house and are not planing on getting rid of electricity to go back to gas lights. Also, in our current economic climate, it's actually cheaper to side a house than paint. While I would rather see people keep the original siding to their house or replace it with the same things than side, I'd actually rather someone side the house to free up time saving the inside, which it sounds like atheymd is doing. I'd ask people to definitely mourn, definitely educate, but also encourage- Love the house- and I so love that it was your grandmothers, what a treasure for you and your family! I hope you'll share interior photos, I'm sure it's amazing on the inside.

Are you a stay-at-home mom? Yes If so, a) what age was your child(ren) when you began to stay home with them? since birth. I graduated nsg school 6 days before she was born but I've never put it to use YET why do you chose to stay home with your children? I find being at home keeps me very busy & fulfilled. I've never understood SAHM who claim they are bored. I have 1 daughter, 3 dogs, a home & my husband's business I do much of the work for plus I made sure to start involving myself & my daughter in school & plenty of activities. Gosh if I never have to work I would be so happy BUT chances are that when the last of my kids is in fulltme school I'll at last work part-time. are you financially secure enough to be home and not work? Like everyone else we could always use the extra $. We don't have a retirement a/c set up, we have to buy our own very expensive health ins., we havn't been on a great vacation in several yrs, we no longer go to fancy dinners, our home could use allot more remodeling, our cars are old but in good condition & paid for & I am always comparison shopping BUT we have no debt despite every month praising when we've paid the last bills. Our daughter is in private school & already takes 4 sets of lessons at age 3 & when we have our day trips or do happen to go out we truly go all out & enjoy, plus since I have no family help at all I have been lucky enough to be able to pay for a mothers helper or sitter for those times I need to catch up on the home, errands or the business paperwork or go to my many medical appts (I was diagnosed with MS a yr ago). All in all I'm happy, but my husband is self employed & he'd like to make a switch right now & he can't b/c we don't have enough $ in the bank nor another income. I had a stay at home Mom when I grew up & feel there is nothing better. I think that while kids are young I prefer being aorund for safety & to be involved in all the firsts, then they start activities & who else is going to chaperone them everywhere & then later on I want to be around so they have support & hopefully I can prevent them from making some bad choices that they might make had they not had any parent at home during the day after school. what are the ages and gender of your kids? daughter age 3 & working on #2 Michie

Oh wow I feel for you as this can't be an easy decision. So many things to keep in mind. If you move to the cheaper place will you still be able to work there? Do you work from home so it doesn't matter? What are your chances of your DH finding work where you move vs. where you are at now? Are the houses you see on realtor.com really typical for the area so that they would need minimum maintenance or are they of the type that will need it and thus priced lower. Ie trading one for the other. Maybe a condo/townhome would be a better option, however until you calculate the costs and compare it might not be too bad. Also did you factor in taxes and insurance when calculating the cost? When you have a mortgage you will need insurance. What are your monthly costs right now ie taxes and insurance? How much would the essential repairs cost you where you are at now? Ie non-cosmetics. What would taking out a mortgage to fix the current house cost you? How does that compare. Also could you include some costs to fix up the cosmetics. Maybe if your DH is handy he could do some of that work to save ya'll money while he is unemployed. I don't know about costs in your area, but if you went with mid grade updates etc. in my area you could have all the things you need fixed for less than 70K. You might want to price things out in your area and then compare fixing it up to buying something else. If the equity you have in the house is a lot more than the cost of fixing it up and if the cost is a lot less to fix things it might be worth staying. Not sure how the loans work if you could take out a mortgage on a house you own or if it would have to be of the 2nd mortgage style like a Home Equity or ... ? Also keep in mind that there are costs involved with buying and selling real estate when you figure the numbers.

I also had my kids in the 70's also. It never occurred to me to be anything but a SAHM. The thought of having anyone other than myself (and that includes grandparents)bringing up my children and instilling my values was incomprehensible to me.They got enough of that from friends and school. This is very timely because today I happened to attend an event where several people happened to know my DS. It was just a "it's a small world" type of thing. I was so proud to have several people come up and tell me what a fine man he is and how they have so much respect for him. This was coming from both his peers and elders. I was told a few positive things about him that even I didn't know. I'm still floating on a cloud of pride. Now my DS did not have an easy time of it as a kid. I know my being there made a difference. DD wants nothing more than to stay home if she is lucky enough to become a mom. In today's economy she will have to work. She hopes to work at home but even if she can't she and her DH are planning for sharing the stay at home time if necessary. They are determined that they the parents will raise their children not some daycare or sitter. I also that being a SAHM isn't always the best for the child. I knew moms who stayed at home but in reality they invested in themselves more than their children. They used grandparents and sitters so they could pursue their own hobbies and interests. As parents who were involved at school scouts etc. DH and I saw kids of working moms who still took the time to invest in their kids coming out ahead of those with self-involved stay at homers. So it's not always black and white.