Why I Love Where I Live

Looking out my kitchen window at 12:45 pm, I saw something. It was a mule deer, eating my pear tree.

The Shoe Snob

I'll admit it, I am a shoe snob. I can't wear cheap shoes anymore. They make my feet hurt. So I go someplace like REI and buy shoes that cost $85 instead of $8 like they would at Payless. Not too long ago, I made the trek to REI and bought these shoes. Since I am a snob, and I like comfort, I also fork over an extra $20 and buy Spenco insoles (because I don't think that Superfeet are as good). Just because I like comfort, though, and that almost always comes at a price, don't assume I won't snag a bargain when I find one. Last week I was shopping for sandals for my Frugalgirl1 and I happened across a pair of New Balance slides, marked down to $22 from $50. Besides being a titch too narrow, they fit, so I bought them to replace my old Merrell Primo Breeze slides that had worn holes through them. I wore them for a few days, but yesterday decided to wear the new Merrells instead. When I put them on, they fit looser than I remembered, and felt higher on my heel than usual. I even commented on the difference to Frugaldad. I figured that wearing the new slides just made the sneakers feel different. At the end of the day, my feet were SO tired! My legs and back just ached! I switched to the slides for the rest of the day, and when I took off the Merrells, there were no insoles in them. I had taken them out, and put them into last year's shoes to work in the yard on Saturday. So I went the whole day in shoes with no insoles. Duh. Like I said, how can I be expected to remember anything with my massive sleep deprivation?

Sleep Deprivation

I read somewhere once that the primary caregiver of a child loses over 700 hours of sleep in the first year. Since you also lose sleep when you're pregnant, and I have 4 kids, I figure I'm thousands of hours behind. How can I be expected to function without forgetting at least something?

Here's an example. Last night I had my 2 middle children in bed already. I sat down in my recliner to nurse the youngest and the oldest had just gotten out of the shower. I sent him to bed and told him I'd be in to sing him a song as soon as I finished nursing the baby. I finished feeding her, put her in her crib, and started doing something else. Half an hour later, Frugalboy comes out giggling, "I've been reading for a HALF HOUR, MOM!" I totally forgot to go in there. At least he was doing something quiet and intellectually stimulating.