Help Me, Please!

My husband wants this...

I don't want this...

...this...


...this...

...this...
... or this.


But I also don't want this...


I don't know what to do! He just sent me several emails telling me how great Boxers are and that they are clean and good with kids (I was hoping he was wanting to adopt a full grown, potty trained male... no such luck. That sounds better than the dog as long as he does dishes). I don't know anything about the breed. All I know is that I will be home with the dog all day and will have to take care of it and the other little ones and a dog just doesn't sound fun to me at all (even though I had dogs growing up). But, David does so much and all he has ever wanted (other than a motorcycle and he already had that) is a truck and a dog to put in his truck. I feel so selfish, but I just can't do it! Especially not with a new house. My philosophy is to wait five years, but in his mind he has waited long enough. What to do, what to do? Does anyone know anything about boxers? Or how to help me????

The Not-So-Young and the Restless

I used to watch that show religiously because my mom did when I was growing up. I remember being jealous of Nicky and Victor because they got all of my mom's attention and I just had to deal with poking her in the arm until she finally realized I had been yelling her name for a half hour. The actors and characters on there are not so young any more, and neither am I. Isn't it sad that we have to get older? I mean, I am grateful for the things I have, but I am noticing that parts of my body are not what they used to be (not that I ever looked great, but at least they just giggled instead of giggling and hurting).

So, what is this post about, you may wonder? I actually was not planning on writing about The Young and the Restless, just the restless (please forgive my randomness). My mom has suffered for years with restless leg syndrome. If you have never had restless legs, be grateful. I know there are millions of worse ailments and diseases (I am not trying to downplay something like malaria with some weird muscle thing), but it can be really annoying. You cannot get comfortable, you twitch, you feel like you have to constantly stretch and move, and you cannot sleep because you can't stop moving. It's annoying. She says it's the worst on planes because you cannot do anything about it. I have had it several times throughout the years and it is enough to drive you crazy. I don't know what causes it, but I have a theory about something that helps... bananas. I don't know if it is because there is a fair amount of potassium in bananas, but that seems to keep it away for me. Well, we didn't have any bananas last week (I rarely ever get to make banana bread because we go through them so fast). Three bunches is not enough for the girls and I (David hardly ever eats them because he is afraid he will get his hand bitten off). Anyway, because of this, I had myself some restless legs.

One day last week, it was so bad that I woke David up at 2:00 am and he couldn't go back to sleep. I knew I was having a rough night, but I was able to get a good share of sleep. Earlier this week, I wasn't so lucky. I had a really rough night and was never able to get into a deep sleep. It was exhausting the next day. The next night (after a horrible evening which involved me getting seriously ill from some food samples at Trader Joe's and then walking into a half open door... brilliant, I know), my legs started up again. I fell asleep with the girls watching a movie and when it was over, I put them to bed and was kicking, stretching, and twitching. It was awful. I had already cried several times that night and knew I could not survive another day without sleep. I just started crying and praying. I didn't know what I was going to do (as you can tell, years of watching soap operas has made me quite dramatic). Then, a thought popped into my head. A little over a year ago, my sweet friend Kimberly told me about a little trick she had learned for restless legs and I was willing to try anything. So, at 11:30 at night, I was running around the house trying to find... a bar of soap.

See, Kimberly told me that putting a bar of soap in your pocket or under your sheets while you sleep can help calm restless legs (they actually have pills for it, but what can't you get a pill for these days? I like to listen to crickets... there's a pill for that). It sounds crazy (just like putting Vick's on your feet to stop coughing, but it totally works), but, like I said, I was on the verge of a breakdown. So, I wrapped the soap in a Kleenex and set it under my leg. Instantly the restlessness stopped. Now, I don't know what it is in the soap that worked, or if it was just a mental thing, but I don't care because it worked. I immediately calmed down and went to sleep. Amazing.

So I am dedicating this post to Kimberly for her awesome advice. We are excited to see you in a few months and for your son's birthday party! Thank you for being a great friend over the years and for saving my family from watching their mother rip all of her hair out :) And, if you have this problem, you should try it. It worked for me, and I have horrible luck (and am very dramatic).

What Can You Get For a Dollar These Days?

A whole lot of fun! I went to yard sales last weekend (there is a HUGE neighborhood north of here and they only allow the residents to have yard sales twice a year. They divide them up into four sections and they can only sell on their specified weekend. It is a huge area. Crazy). Anyway, I went a few weeks ago and scored a few goodies then. My friend and I went back and the first one we came upon, I purchased some lovely skates for a buck. It has been all the rage in our house. I wish they would have had another pair. Of course, as you can tell from the pictures, they are enjoyed more without pants. I have no idea why. David and I thought this was hilarious and I had to take some pictures. She will forgive me... someday ;)

Still a little unsure...

The baby got some books... for a dollar.

In all the gear.

This looks like a picture off of a box in the 70s (hot pants included). I absolutely love it!

Oh so happy!

Miss Happy wearing her new skirt, cheer leading outfit (it's the Steelers, sorry), and new Barbie computer (clothes were 50 cents and computer was a whopping $2).

Also sans pants, but happy!

Better Late Than Never...

If I had a quarter for every time I said this phrase, well, I would be hanging out with Bill Gates. Procrastination should be my first, middle, and last name. Other than that, I am perfect, of course. Uh-huh, right. If you believe that, then you believe in Bigfoot (fortunately for me, my husband does, so I am almost perfect in his eyes. Ha ha). I am a little late with the Easter pictures. I am very sorry. My girls have been sick for almost two weeks and now I have it. It's always lovely waking up from a glorious nap to realize that you can't swallow because your throat hurts so bad. I guess it's the retail gods punishing me for spending my money at yard sales instead of in their stores on Saturday. What can you do?

We had a great Easter this year. We had the typical meal: mashed potatoes, ham, deviled eggs, salad. Wait, that must have been at a different house. We had veggie lasagna, salad, homemade French bread, and pink lemonade. It was wonderful. We are all about breaking tradition, and eating vegetarian as of late. David stayed home with the baby (because she was pretty sick), but the girls and I went to church and celebrated the true meaning of Easter (and no, it isn't the return of Cadbury Eggs). We had a great meal and then, to top off the great night, our girls got sent to bed at 6:40 because they were out of control. Well, it can't all be perfect, or even close to perfect. I think they ate a whole lot more candy than I realized and were completely out of control. So, they went to bed leaving us with the baby. She, of course, in her oh so mischievous ways, took two chocolates out of the basket, melted them with her hands and was alternating between sucking on them and wiping them on the carpet on the stairs. Thank goodness for baby wipes!

Well, here are some pictures from the day (pre-sugar high). My mom made the dresses and the barrettes. The baby has one too, I just didn't want her to get snot all over it :)

Oh, thank you, Easter Bunny!

The girls got Barbie Thumbelina dolls from the old Bunny.

Craziness.

This is quite an event in her little life. I almost NEVER give this baby sugar. I have seen the brain damage it gave my other two and have been trying to spare us her the pain and suffering that we they have gone through over the years ;) Plus, she really flips out after sugar and won't go to sleep... at all.

The goods.

Why Am I Reading the Book?

Who Does This to Their Child??

Me! I do! I put pictures of my baby taking a bath in the kitchen sick while she has a nasty cold, dirty face, and has pulled the dirty dishes into the bathwater with her. I do that, me. Poor kid, someone should tell her that her hair is sticking straight up. It looks kind of ridiculous! :)

P.S. See the nasty cut below her eye? Yeah, that actually wasn't my fault (isn't that nice to say, for once ;) I was out hitting some yard sales (thank you, David) and came home to a bloody faced child. Apparently Miss Happy (I believe in an attempt to impress her little neighbor friend) decided to put iLyn on the couch and leave her there alone. iLyn, surprisingly (she is usually so careful), did a nose dive off of the couch and managed to hook her face onto the dollhouse. She was a trooper, however. She barely cried. I am just thankful she didn't knock her eye out. Least to say, Miss Happy's friend went home immediately after that one.

Converter Box Kafuffle

It is official, we are probably some of the only people I know to not have cable. No, we are not up to date with Project Runway, Trading Spaces (is that show even on anymore), or any of the other shows that people watch on cable. We are cable free and I couldn't be happier. I have rediscovered my love of PBS and realized I only really watch two shows on TV. We have talked about getting it several times and I am the one to keep putting my foot down. I love not having it. I have a bit of an addictive personality so I know I would just be sucked in again and I just don't want that to happen. If they just offered ESPN for David I would totally do it, but alas, they do not. It has been wonderful, up until this point...

We have been dreading the whole "analog to digital" event. I got the coupons last year to get some boxes, but I didn't want to do it and then, before the February deadline, I pulled them out and realized they had expired. Really?? So, least to say I was very grateful when they bumped back the date to June. We just received our new coupons, but I didn't want to go just yet (I don't really agree with this whole thing. In fact, I think it's ridiculous. So what if our TVs are well over 10 years old and one doesn't even have the right connections for a DVD player. Why should we be punished??) Unfortunately, when I couldn't watch Dancing With the Stars last Monday night because our local ABC channel decided they were not going to wait until June, I had to cave.

I went to purchase two boxes and an antenna. The boxes cost $49.95 each, but we had a $40 off coupon for each one. Then, I purchased a $9.95 antenna. With the coupons the total should have come to, with tax, about $31-33 dollars, right? (Do, do, do... okay, $9.95 x2+$9.95=$29.85+ random tax...) So you can imagine my shock when the total came to a few cents under $40. What? I had to have the lady call a manager over to tell me. Her explanation was, "Yep, it's $39.76." Almost ten dollars in tax, seriously? After I am sure I annoyed the crud out of the people in line, I turned to the lady behind me and told her I was sorry for taking so long. She was nice and then told me that I have to pay the tax on the total before the coupon (she must not have cable either... that's one more person!). What?? I don't believe I have ever paid tax before a coupon. Have you? Is that right? I was (and still am, can't you tell) a little more than completely disgusted over this incident. And, I will tell you why... not only did I pay almost 33 percent in tax on three items (I don't count the before the coupon, what craziness), but the digital converter box, although it does make one of my girls standing in the corner so we can see Michael Scott better obsolete AND we now get many more channels, loses 1/3 of the picture because the digital picture doesn't fill up the TV screen, gives you a boxy digital effect when the signal is down, gives you no signal, I have to use more electricity because the box has to be plugged in, and (my favorite part) completely fades the color if the TV has been left on too long (we have a PBS station that just plays classical music, I do love that). Back to black and white. I despise it and have rebelled against it. I only use it if I have to now.

I am all for the government making my life easier, but this has not. I would rather have to stand on my head to get the picture clearer than have to go through this every time I want to watch The Office. It's a joke and extremely frustrating. But, what can you do? I mean, I could just watch The Office on the computer and give up the TV, but then I wouldn't be able to watch Masterpiece on PBS. It's a toss up, but I am definitely not pleased :0P