The Real Housewife of Valley Forge...

Ed's first day at his new job went really well. He came home with a new iPhone (lucky guy!), a new computer and optimism for his future. He also came home to a wife who had slaved in the kitchen, had every hair in place, lipstick on perfectly, pearls and heels on, and a hot meal ready to come out of the oven. The children were dressed and sitting politely at the kitchen table, ready for our first family meal. He dined on Spinach and Cheese Ravioli in a Blush Sauce.

I was a regular June Cleaver.

We made sure to take a picture...because this will never happen again.

Ever.

*wink*

I'm actually not feeling so great today. There are times when I have a flare of my Rheumatoid Arthritis and it actually feels like I have the flu. I feel totally worn out, tired and my whole body hurts. Believe it or not, I am writing this from my bed while the boys are napping. I'm just "off" today.

This morning Gavin and I went on an excursion! He accompanied me to Babies r Us to look at a potential double stroller. The one we have is a Graco DuoGlider front to back. It's nice, but it's pretty tough to push - especially when I'm having a day like today. I am wanting something lighter - and I'm also wanting something where Gavin doesn't have anything to bite on. In our current stroller, he is constantly wanting to mouth the tray and I don't want to encourage that.

So...Gavin tested out the Baby Jogger City Mini Double stroller. He liked how comfortable it was - and loved when I put the enormous sun shade down over him. It made him laugh out loud!

I liked how roomy it was - it would give Gavin plenty of room when he gets taller. I also liked that it wasn't too wide. I strolled through aisles and in between clothing racks easily. And, it folds down really flat for a double - another plus. Best of all, it was light and easy to push. If anyone has this, I'd love to hear your reviews!

Here's my free tip of the day. If you're buying a big ticket item at Babies r Us - like a stroller or a swing or a high chair - get the Buyer Protection Plan. It's the best thing going. I bought a double stroller two years ago. Ended up not liking it. Called the Buyer Protection number and they said, "No problem! Go buy the stroller you want - send us the receipt for the new and the original one - and we'll send you a check for what you paid for the original stroller!" They don't even ask why you don't like it...and they don't ask for it back! We ended up buying our current double and selling the original on Craig's List! Following me so far?

So, of course I got the Buyer Protection again for the second double. I've had it for almost a year. Used it a lot. I just think it's getting hard to push - and it's bulky in the car. So, I call today to the Buyer Protection place. I strike up a conversation with the nice woman on the phone. I'm expecting a business as usual conversation, but we somehow start talking about Gavin. She's intrigued by his story. I tell her I don't want to put him in a stroller that encourages him to mouth anything. Then she suddenly says, "Can you hold on a minute?" When she comes back on the phone she informs me that she re-did my plan. While we paid $249 for the double we have now - she refigured it so it looks like we paid $349. So when I go to buy a new stroller - I have up to $349 coming to me if I use all of that. I have no idea why she decided to do that...no idea at all...but it sure was nice of her!!! Now I can upgrade our double stroller with the extra hundred bucks without feeling bad about it! And we can either sell or keep our current double! Not a bad deal, eh?

When we got home, Gavin and I went into the Hyperbaric Chamber. He hasn't done it in a while. It turned out that the first time Miss Katja went in with him it hurt her ears too much so she doesn't want to go in again. Since then it's been tough for me to fit in in - there was always something going on. I decided to take him in as much as I can - when I'm sure I couldn't be pregnant - until we come up with a better plan. I don't mind going in with him at all - but my arthritis does. I may or may not get benefit from being in there with him - only he gets the oxygen through his mask and it's the oxygen that is so healing. It's okay, though, since I know how good it is for Gavin. As usual, he was such a good boy while we were in there.

Well, I better get out of bed. The boys are awake and there are leftovers to prepare. Now, where did I put my pearls...