I think it's strange how doing something random one day can trigger a memory from something that happened a long time ago. Today I was watching my little girl playing dress up, and it threw me back to my fifth or sixth birthday. We had a dress up party and then had a parade around the neighborhood. Even my little brother dressed up in one of my mom's dresses and floppy hats of the era. I don't remember much else about the party---but it would have been 31 years ago...what a memory!
I'm sick again! It doesn't seem like it's all that often that I can write that I'm not sick! This is the third illness in as many weeks! Today, I have my "sexy" voice. That just means that the congestion has moved to my lungs, and my voice is finally beginning to be affected. I haven't been to the doctor but I'm wondering if I should be looking into a Blueair purifier. Could something in this air be making me sick constantly?? I'm the only one in the family affected with constant sickness, it just makes it hard with four kids being left to tend to themselves while mom is incapacitated!!
Does anyone know how to get a soon to be three year old to leave the bathroom faucets alone? I swear, once he learned how to wash his hands and brush his teeth I've walked into a flooded bathroom daily. I've even decided to put chain locks at the top of the door. Low enough that the older kids can get themselves in, but too high for his little hands to reach! Sadly, I'm sure if I do that, he'll use his "Spidey-senses" and find a way to climb the wall to unlock the door! Any ideas??
Speaking of my brother and sister in law...they've always been people we love to hang out with. We always tried to schedule our Orlando vacations together. Two years ago we hit Jackson Hole together. They are just fun people that we enjoy immensely. Sadly, they live across the country from us, so unless we are planning an exotic get-a-way, we don't really get the chance to spend as much time with them as we'd like. When we lived in Arizona, they were the ones who came down every year to see us. Since we've moved here to Chicago, they haven't come once. Not that we can complain, we are the ones that moved!
My brother and his wife are looking at new homes. They are relatively well off, and if they can sell their current home, they are in the market for something amazing. They found a million dollar house that they want and can get for 1/2 price due to the housing market. This house is huge and has a ton of sinks throughout. There is even one in the formal dining room--I've never heard of that! Each bathroom has two and in two of the bathrooms they each have their own vanity. I hope they love it--it just seems like more to clean in my mind. But their kids are older than mine, so I'm hoping they'll be able to help out!
The weight loss pills I've been taking haven't been as bad as I've been worried about. Usually I get a fuzzy head, but I have worked to keep the dosage low enough that I don't get the side effects, but high enough to actually help. The normal dosage is 8 a day and I take 5, so it's not that much lower but I feel great! My big 2 week weigh in is Sunday--so I'm hoping it will show something amazing!
We are heading north in two weeks to the Land of the Waterslide! Kind of funny how the Dells are considered the capitol of waterslides. I have made an appointment with the kennel for the dogs and am trying to figure out what dog supplies I need to take for them. The people that run the place say that we can bring whatever we want. The last time we took their favorite toys we got them back in less than usable condition. I would take their puppy beds, but they will probably be doused in disinfectant and most likely garbage by the time I get them home. So I'm thinking a favorite toy is all they are going to get--I'm a bad mom!
My parents were on a cruise recently in South America. As they were walking back to the ship my mother had an uneasy feeling about two men following them. Unlike me, who would have walked faster or ran back to the boat, my mother made it look like she had wanted to look in a store they had just passed and turned to face the men head on. Brave lady! She could see in their face they were taken a back, and she and my dad waited at the window of the store until she saw them men ahead crossing the street. As they sat at dinner that night they found out that several people had been mugged on their way back to the ship. No, there is no proof that these men would have mugged my parents, but my mom has a very good "gut feeling" and I'm sure they were up to no good! My dad always uses a Pacsafe waist wallet, but I'm not sure they wouldn't have known where to look. Many tourists use many different items to hide their valuables, and I wonder if the muggers know just where to look. I'm just glad my parents made it home safe and sound, and with all of their belongings!
Last year for my father in laws birthday we gave him a California wine club membership. I knew he enjoyed it, but you know men, they never gush about things. So I didn't know how much he liked it. With his birthday coming up soon, I was talking to my mother in law about possible gift ideas. I didn't realize he was listening to our conversation (most men don't) but he leaned over and asked for the same gift as last year. I guess he's really enjoying it, and that was all the "gush" I needed!
Are you anything like me? As I clean the house I put things that don't go in a room in a box and then move that box into another room and keep adding to it. Then we sit and take the items in the box and put them away. I'm usually left with a ton of items in the box that I don't know what to do with. CAT5e cables, different craft items, kids things...but I don't have a specific place for them. So they sit, until the next time I clean and the box gets added to. By the time we moved to this house the box was full of stuff. Some items I had been looking for, others just junk. I'm wondering if something doesn't have a space...should I just throw it out?
I'm trying to find somewhere fun to take my husband for a romantic weekend away! Ok, so the Hockey Hall of Fame may not be that romantic...but he'll be really excited! My question is this, for travel between the U.S. and Canada do we need a passport? Or is it still just a drivers license? In Mexico you used to just have to say your country of origin, but now they require much more paperwork. I just don't know if Canada is the same way. If a passport is required, then I think it will be the Baseball Hall of Fame this year!!
My Aunt Peggy has been working off and on as a day trader for many years. She does pretty good for herself and if I was a bit more adventurous with our money, I would join her! I'm not sure what the difference is between a day trader and a futures broker, but this is an area I want to learn more about. We don't have any investments other than our house and honestly, I don't think it's making us that much money! I don't even know where to start. Maybe I should go back to school and get a degree in Finance.
We are leaving on our trip north in less than two weeks. The kids are excited and I actually have everything I need for a great week away. I do want to find another micro sd for my camera. Since I won't have my computer in Wisconsin, I won't be able to download my photo's and clear my card to take more. So it's just easier to take a couple and bring them both home full. That way I don't miss a minute of the fun!
Are you as clueless as me? My husband's birthday is coming up on the 25th of the month and to surprise him I found an amazing deal on a flat screen TV. These are something that he's always shown interest in, so I know he'll love it! I called my brother in law to have him help me get it home and set up. Everything was going really well until he asked me for a mount. Eh hem!! What?? Apparently you need to have one of those cool mounts from Peerless to attach the thing to the wall! Well, I didn't have one and I didn't want my husband to see his gift if it wasn't in it's place showing off it's perfectness! So I sent the thing home with my brother in law who will pick up whatever I need and come back tomorrow when my husband is at work to finish the installation! Yep...I'm a ditz!
My son has a little digestion problem. Little isn't really what the problem is...but he requires the use of enzymes to help his body digest all of the foods he takes in. When these enzymes are lacking he will literally clog the toilet every time he uses it! I have been out of his pills for a week or so, and had forgotten all about them, until I walked upstairs to see that not one, but two of the toilets are clogged! So today, with my GNC coupons in hand, I'm heading off to the health food store to purchase his enzymes. I'm hoping this is a problem he grows out of, but I'm thinking it may be something he'll be dealing with for the rest of his life. Poor thing!
My sister and her husband have been talking to tons of mortgage lenders over the past several months. They just bought a house last September and their mortgage was written so oddly that they've been working to refinance it ever since. Sadly, with the housing market the way it is, no one is getting loans. They have $50,000 down and still can't get a loan for $200,000! What in the world? Even if they didn't have perfect credit, the down payment alone should give any lender some confidence!
Some family friends own a horse farm nearby and just welcomed a baby horse. My kids were so excited to be able to get up close and personal with this new little guy. He's a bit skittish, but when his mom is around, he's fine. What darling animals these babies are. It made me want to take one home! Mind you, I don't live in an area zoned for horses. I don't have property big enough for horses. I don't own any saddles or other tack items necessary to care for a horse. And the biggest lack...time and energy to care for such a beautiful animal! So I will just have to spend time up at the horse farm to get my fill!
I have been online looking up travel guides for different destinations nearby. That is what's nice about living in the Chicago area. We are only an hour away from Wisconsin and Indiana, and only 2-3 hours outside of Michigan. Throw Illinois into that and we can have a summer full of fun destinations while not going crazy with the gas budget! We are going to be spending a week in Wisconsin, just North of the Dells. There is a campground/water park that we visit every year. The kids can't wait!
My goal for this month is to find affordable term life insurance for myself and my husband. There isn't much left in the budget monthly but this is an expense that I think is necessary. We have four kids and with either one of us missing from the picture, the other will be left with nothing. We'll need enough to pay off the home as well as provide for some educational expenses for the kids. I don't need millions of dollars, but enough to keep us afloat while we get our bearings back. My husband would be the worst off, he would need to find child care so that he could work, and that alone can break any budget!
