flea

We learned this weekend, thanks to my FIL, that we're eligible for a first-time homebuyers tax credit of $7500. Which means that, if we elect to take it, we'll pay no taxes for this year, and will receive a check of whatever's left after the taxes are taken out. So, we'd get all our Federal taxes back (like, $3000, maybe) plus a check for anther $4500 or so, in April. The money has to be paid back, at $500 a year, starting two years from the time you take it, and if you sell your house at a profit, you have to pay it all back. If you sell your house at a loss, it gets "forgiven."

I'm not sure how I feel about this; I'm not sure if we'll take it. On the one hand it feels a bit like free money. We could use it to pay down some of the principle on the mortgage, or do some home improvement work. I feel a little strange that we didn't know about this when we bought the house; we're usually up on stuff like this, you know? So, on the other hand, I feel a little suspicious about "free money" from the government.

We also received a substantial gift of money from my in-laws, so that's another responsibility. They are scrupulously fair about giving gifts to their children. In this case, they wanted to celebrate mr. flea's completion of his dissertation, but they also wanted to give a substantial sum for mr. flea's sister, whose marriage is in trouble. The money is a secret from her husband, and is to serve as her emergency funds should things go wrong there. So that casts a little bit of a pall over the gift to us, in my mind. Also not sure what we're going to do with it - so many possibilities. Mortgage, student loans, long-neglected IRAs, college savings, furniture, home improvement. When you start to slice and dice it, even big money suddenly feels not-so-big.

I am sick sick sick, just a stupid head cold but runny-nosed and annoyed. mr. flea went to work anyway, but came home at 5, which was good as I was getting very tempted to smack the testing daughter. Bad things she did today: get a stool and get into the high cabinet where I had secreted her Easter candy and eat some (I moved it higher and she keeps asking where it is); find some week-old frosting in the fridge and eat some (I ate some secretly and plan to throw the rest away; it is on top of the fridge and she keeps asking where it is); be too aggressive/rough/loving but too much in his face and annoying him with her brother approximately 50 times; knock him over causing bonk one time (by mistake); be too physically clingy on me another 30 times; kick her brother after I yelled at her to get off of me (after asking politely in escalating tones four times) one time, which earned a Big Old Time OUT. But I sure as hell wanted to smack her. Did I mention it pretty much poured rain all day so we couldn't go anywhere and I hadn't made social plans? And I had an argument with my mother this morning about her intrusiveness into my parenting? The woman has NO BOUNDARIES AT ALL. Seriously, she thinks she has a right to have input into how my children are raised. And there's absolutely no reasoning with her. As arguments go it was dispassionate and polite, but then she called me back this afternoon just to tell me how much she loves me. I refrained from saying, "I'm glad you love me, but I'd rather you respected me."

I did all the financial stuff: 3 months of reconciling Quicken, 3 weeks of receipts entered, bills for the month paid, re-filing of state taxes now with added W-2s. We have an only mildly filthy house and clean clothes and Funny Videos is on in 15 minutes and then I am going to bed.

I'd be drinking if a) we had anything but beer and vodka in the house and b) I wasn't sure it would actually make me feel worse.

Heh. It occurs to me I should send Casper to my mother for a couple of weeks. It would serve both of them right. Except I know Casper's acting out is all about the Dillo's motion and new demands, and she's only 3, and my mother has no real excuse.