Cost of raising a child

I read somewhere recently that in 2011 the cost of raising a child to age 18 is $226,900. Wow. That is a big number. That is a lot of wipes, diapers, gym shoes, and prom tuxedos.

Oh if it were just that simple.

This dude showed up on Sunday after Trent went to the sink and there was no water.

Now being a town kid, I don't have a lot of experience with wells, but when Trent came in and said it was 785 I was pretty sure he didn't mean $7.85 but figured his decimal placement was just off and he meant $78.50. No, no, he meant $785. Ouch. How does the need for a new motor in the well figure into the cost of raising a child? I'm blaming the exponential increase in the dish washing on the baby bottles.

Remember that tornado shelter we had to have as a safe haven for the baby? $2500. How about the kitchen table so he had a place to eat? $1100. Are those figured in the cost of raising a child?

And today we started down the road of converting a fireplace ...

Our house it 100% electric, which is fine on most days (those days not being the days the electric bill comes) but in Oklahoma along with the excitement of spring and summer tornadoes comes the drama of winter ice storms. When the ice storms come, the power poles snap, and those of us with just electricity to heat our homes get very chilly. Yes, it gets chilly in Oklahoma. Google it. Last winter while we only lost power for a day, Trent's parents were out for 10 days. We cannot be without heat for 10 days. Not with a CHILD.

We have a cheesy electric fireplace that I have never liked anyway, never mind the fact that it doesn't put out any actual heat even when we do have electricity. We decided to convert the existing electric fireplace to propane.

That sounds easy enough.

The fireplace dude came today. We have to knock out the current tile, take off the mill work, pull out the electric firebox, then call him to come back and measure to see if we have enough depth for a propane box. And my question was this ... what in the H-E-double hockey sticks do we do with the big hole under the mantle if there isn't enough clearance?!? Does this seem bass ackwards to anyone but me?

Fireplace dude assured me there would be a solution (and if that solution is to put the electric fireplace back in I will be in jail - where they probably have a generator in case of power loss). If all goes well, the solution is to order a propane fireplace insert, knock a hole in the wall of our closet and build a surround around it. Then we need a propane tank installed outside the house. Then we need to have the gas men run a gas line from the propane tank through the attic and down to the fireplace. Then fireplace dude comes back and hooks it up. Then it has to be retiled. And that pesky mill work has to be replaced. Easy enough my buttocks.

My guess is Ryder will be 4 1/2 when this project is complete, and it will come in somewhere around $37,932 before it is all said and done.

Add that to the cost of raising a child to 18 why don't ya.