It's All About Timing

Yesterday evening was an interesting one.  First, I sorted through the mail and opened a few bills.  I scanned our Charter bill and immediately picked up the phone to place a call and figure out why our bill was $50 more then what it normally is.  I was able to score us a pretty great price for service upon our move to Wisconsin, $80 for our cable/Internet/DVR.  I felt as though it was a fair price because as anyone that has had Charter knows....... they are HORRIBLE.  Sadly, they are the only option for a cable provider in this area.  Hopefully this will change in the future.  My problem is not ever the customer service, it is the interruptions/down-time in service.  Yesterday I called to negotiate our cost of service.  I explained that I did look into satellite options, and the price was about $20 less then the new monthly price of our services.  I also explained that I have NO problem WHATSOEVER paying for something when it is WORTH THE PRICE.  I then documented all of the calls that I have placed with Charter over the past year, and further explained that it affected my productivity (seeing as I have a home office for work).  The first customer service rep I spoke with told me sorry, and there was nothing he could do.  I immediately called back knowing I would speak to someone else, and told customer service rep #2 that I would be cancelling our services.  I went on to give the same rationale and reasoning that I offered to C.S. rep #1.  C.S. rep #2 asked if anyone had worked with me to find a price that would work for me, ummmmm that is why I am calling.  He then offered up a price that was $20 less then the new monthly price, easy as that.  Victory was mine!

I cooked up a mean batch of Jambalaya for dinner, I was so excited to dig in and enjoy the dish after all of the slicing and dicing involved in the recipe.  I kept smelling poop (baby poop), my first though was that it was smeared somewhere on me.  This is not unusual considering the fact that changing Henry could be compared to wrangling a small farm animal.  I have a very keen nose (I get this heightened sense of smell from my mother), I proceeded to let it lead me to the source of the smell.  Henry was wearing a very light blue onesie, and I noticed that he had a nice little discoloration up the backside.  Yup, this was RIGHT BEFORE I was ready to sit down to enjoy my meal.  Upstairs we went, so as not to gross Jake out (he does not handle #2 well).  I then proceeded to change what was arguably the WORST case of diaper blowout to date (with either child).  I washed up and came downstairs, all the while hoping I could muster up the stomach to dig into dinner.  Seeing as I had powered through the workday with minimal breaks for putting actual forms of nourishment into my body (other then puffs); I regained my appetite pretty quickly!

Cheers to little victories!

Tour De James

I am missing my firstborn something FIERCE right now.  James has spent the past 4 days with his grandparents!  Two days with the in-laws and two days with my Mom.  I am planning on it taking a solid 8 days to get him back into his routine (namely having rules and not being the center of attention). I am so happy that he is able to have this time for himself.  I fondly remember the days of visiting my Godparents; my days were filled with fun adventures, ice cream and other treats, shopping excursions, mani/pedi spa afternoons, and a complete lack of agenda!  I NEVER had to compete with Winnie for attention; it was ALL ABOUT ME!  James' trip has been filled with a trip to Noah's Ark, boat rides on the Mississippi, a parade, the carnival, and lots of swimming and outdoor activities!  Since he has been gone a total of four days, it will take EIGHT to get him used to the land of rules and schedules again. You always take the days spent with grandparents and multiply it by two.

On the flip side, Jake and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time with Henry.  I also cannot believe that I actually ever thought having one child was a lot of work.  I have found myself looking for projects, or things that need to be completed around the house.  I did also manage to finish a book, AND read a magazine!

We attended the art show on the capitol square this weekend; amazing pieces.  I didn't purchase anything, but I would like to do so next year.  We bumped into some friends from James' school at the fair, and we all had a good chuckle about dealing with one child versus two!  They were up all night with their little boy (James' age) because he had a bug bite while their 8 month old had a night of uninterrupted sleep.  Sounds eerily familiar!  It is almost as if kids conspire as to who is going to keep the parents (or in our case, Mom) up at night!  Sleep and I will become reacquainted someday in the future, until then I will just enjoy having little boys that need me!

Holiday Weekend Hangover

Getting back into the groove has been VERY hard after a fun-filled and exhausting holiday weekend.  We stayed local (for a change) and attended a 4th of July bash at our friends' home in Sun Prairie.  Water balloons, hot dogs, brats, beer, sparklers, snakes, and plenty of good conversation.  It was a lot of fun, when we weren't busy entertaining the children!  Our friends' home looks like something straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog, so I would be lying if I said that I wasn't constantly following James with my eyes (while holding my breathe) to ensure nothing was destroyed (or basically treated like our furniture at home- as a launch pad for human rocket ships).

We also spent lots of time playing on the new Slip N Slide (which is way more fun then the Slip N Slides of the past that I remember).  The weather was nothing short of perfection, so we took advantage.

On Saturday, James and I made our first official trip of the season to the Farmer's Market on the Capital Square.  It is always such a fun experience, and great way to stock the fridge with fresh produce!  James is also the perfect age, no more running away from me (meaning no more monkey backpack/kid leash required.....which always results in plenty of dirty looks).  Don't judge peeps, until you know how damn fast a Toddler is!  Saturday afternoon we attended a surprise 30th B-Day party which was also lots of fun.

By the time Sunday rolled around, we were all tired and in desperate need of NAP DAY.  Jake and James washed the cars, and I cleaned out the fridge (the fresh produce always inspires me to do so).  Then everyone in the house slept, except me.  I started the new "Revenge Wears Prada" book.  It is exactly what I needed, nothing deep but delightfully entertaining.  I am already halfway through the book and anticipate I will have it finished before the end of the week.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, now get back to work!