We sold our home in just 3 days Oct. 2011. We had an offer on a short sale we planned to gut (which was taking too long in the end, so we pulled our offer March 2012). We finally decided in May 2012 we were going to build. We signed a 6 month lease initially with an option of going month-to-month after that. It is a small house with no yard, but it is in a great neighborhood near the kids' school. It doesn't require a lot of maintenance & our monthly bills are much lower, but we still have the privacy. I did look at apartments, but I felt we would be too squished. We were very lucky to find this house on Craigslist for an excellent monthly rent amount. The homeowners live in a bigger home they built nearby, so they are flexible with our situation. We sign 3 month leases at a time since the initial lease ran out. If we want to go month-to-month (which we will do when it gets closer to our build being finished), we will pay an additional $50/month, per the terms of our lease. They allow us a 30 day notice in writing. With the number of children you have (& pets) I would definitely try to find a situation like ours. I know friends who've gotten burned on CL rentals, but ours has been ideal. The kids have made friends for life while we've lived here. The neighbors are the best, & I will cry when we move into our new house, as I will miss these neighbors so much. The people we are renting from are lovely, too. They were initially going to rent the home to another family who could sign a 12-month lease. After we saw the rental for the first time, I told the homeowners we would take care of their home like it was our own. That sealed the deal! They called us 20 minutes later & said we had the house, as they trusted us more! I think being in limbo for such a long time will be a nightmare with 4 kids. If I was in your shoes, I would go nutty. Kids thrive on routine & permanency (my social worker hat is on). It might be a fun adventure at first, but it will eventually get old. Also, building is stressful enough. I don't think it will help your marriage, either. Plus, do you really want to be out of town while your house is being built? I plan to stop by every day I can. Not being there is very risky. Good luck with your decision & I hope you sell your home as quickly as we did.

Small town life sounds good to me. As does living in the country. We had a few acres when I had horses and other animals back in the 60s and 70's. Phoenix is soooo big, too much traffic, and I hate driving even if it didn't cause my leg to go on the warpath. I was born in a small town, in Ala. I don't really going places alone either, and won't go out at night except to family gatherings at one of my kids. I'm waiting the arrival of my toile plates I just bought. Tho heaven knows what I can find to do with them, but will try just because of all the support I've gotten here. Any table settings I do will be just for ONE, maybe two if you're lucky. LOL. I'm going to be a one-trick pony, sorry about that. I just can't do full tables for many reasons. I've been 'planning' my Christmas decor. Really planning this year. Thought it might take some of the load off me being so over-whelmed with it when I go to unpacking a zillion things in the middle of the floor while telling two cats NOT to help me. A zillion times! One sleepless night I started plotting different places to put things this year. I want my newly begun collection of Nutcrackers (started last year) pretty much together. But I think the purple one should go with the Santa. And I have two golf Santas and two golf Nutcrackers that should stay together. Last year they were with my two other special Nutcrackers, a policeman and a fireman. These have a lot of meaning! I'm going to put my Village in the antique china cabinet in my entry hall this time I think, instead of Painted Pony Cabinet in familyroom. Tho I still have to move over a 100 statues from BOTH. I was thinking of putting Xmas horses and reindeer in the pony cabinet. I have quite a few of both now. Anyway, its fun to mentally decorate. It also doesn't wear me out or hurt my body. LOL. I think I'll start my Village next week in fact. First I have to make room for all those dog statues to safely go on closet shelves for the next two months! Ugh. hugs, Karen

Well, I live single and I decorate every year. I think the trick is to make your own holiday traditions. For my part, I put up the tree on Thanksgiving Day as I watch the Macy's parade. I live in a tiny house, so I go the fake tree route, most live trees are too FAT for my floorspace. Anyway, I make myself mulled apple cider, grab the step ladder from the garage and get to work. By the time Santa appears on TV, the tree is up, lights on, ornaments and garland in place. Over the next week, I start pulling out and decorating the rest of the house. I do make real garland for my fireplace, I must have the fir-tree smell, but I get those cuttings for free from a local tree lot. I also have holly, rosemary and boxwoods growing in my yard to add to the tree cuttings. My one real splurge is real wreaths for my windows that I get from a local nursery. Candles in the window, a few knick-knacks out and presto! Instant Christmas. Being single can be a bit of a downer sometimes. So to keep myself in the spirit, I plug in the tree for at least an hour each night. Sometimes I splurge on a mug of cocoa. After the holidays, I repeat the cycle, except that I put the stuff up during the Rose Parade. Another thing that gets me into the holiday spirit is baking. Even though I don't have anyone to bake for, I make all kinds of cookies and take them to a nearby retirement/assisted living community. Of course some of the cookies never make it out of the house...heh!

It is a tradition in my family to go buy the tree and decorate it the day or weekend after Thanksgiving. We also go to downtown Chicago to see Santa and the windows at Marshall Field's(now Macy's). About 6 years ago we went the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was the only time we could that year. It was wonderful! No crowds and no lines. Since then we go every year the weekend before Thanksgiving. However too many people are catching on. Its getting a little crowded. But if you get there around 10am its not too bad.