No Internet This and That

I should be writing about Josh's birthday, but we currently have no Internet and my phone is being really stupid about transferring files from my laptop (where all of the birthday pictures are), so here we are.

Why no Internet? The lawn guys came and aerated the lawn this morning. And although Metronet swears up and down that they buried the cable deep enough it's hard for me NOT to find a connection since the Internet/cable/phone went down right after the aeration. Grrr.... This is what I get for trying to take care of the lawn and maintain our home. So now I'm waiting for the repair man to come.

I'm actually sitting in a camping chair in the garage, feeling rather hillbilly about it. But it's so beautiful outside and the garage is shady but still gets the breeze. And I guess I'm not that hillbilly because I see neighbors hanging out in their garages all the time. *gasp* Perhaps I am now a real Hoosier!

Spencer came home and was NOT happy about the internet/cable situation. Because, you know, I did that on purpose.

He was also extremely put out when I said NO to his request to go to Italy (ITALY) on a school trip for Spring Break. I did not laugh. Out loud. But when he pouted and I realized he was not joking -he really thought he had a shot at this - I told him that 1) I have never been to Italy, there's no way he is going to go before me; 2) he is in middle school and I don't think he'd really appreciate international travel until he is at least 14; 3) there's no way he's going on a trip like that without a parent and there's no way EVER Lance or I would ever travel that type of distance with middle schoolers. Ever ever ever; 4) I have a self-imposed $20 limit for school field trips. This trip cost at the very least 100 times that.

Side note to the above reasons:
1) This is not quite true. I once had a layover in Rome's airport. I wandered the terminal, listened to a lot of fast Italian, and even ran into some Mormon missionaries. But this does not mean I've really been to Italy.
2) This is solid logic. Don't fight me on it.
3) This is also solid logic. We are not lunatics.
4) Even if Spence paid for the trip himself he wouldn't get to go. (See reason 3.)

Anyways. I'm sure I've dashed all of his hopes and dreams and have ruined his life forever. It was bound to happen some day.

Nevermind. He's forgiven me because I'm letting him play on computer on a weekday.

Tess has been pretty cute today. For starters, she played in the bathtub for close to an hour, singing and talking to imaginary friends. It was darling.

Later, she learned that just because balloons have strings doesn't mean they will start flying. (Try explaining helium at a pre-k level.) It was tragically disappointing.

At lunch she learned about regular sized carrots. I'm not sure where she's been the last few years - or perhaps I've only bought baby carrots or always cut up bigger ones for her - but she was genuinely surprised at the size of the carrot I was peeling. "It's a GIANT CARROT! HAHAHAHAHA!"

On Saturday I went to Sam's Club specifically to upgrade my phone. I did it there last time. Got a great deal and it was easy peasy. This year? Not so much.

The phone lady was about to ring me up when I said "Wait, I couldn't find a price on that. How much is it?" She then explained that AT&T had changed their upgrade policy and that now you just made monthly payments for phones. And that payment for me would be $38 per month.

WHAT THE WHAT?!

I balked and asked if that was just at Sam's Club or all retailers. She said it was everywhere and that it was because they got rid of 2 year contracts. She was kinda talking to me like I was an idiot. Yeah, because non-idiots pay that much for phones.

I told her I don't upgrade my phone often enough to "lease" a phone, and that I didn't care about the 2 year contract. Then I did some rough calculations in my head and exclaimed that even if I only kept the phone for a year it would be more than $450! So not worth that price.

She snarkily replied that this phone was a miniature computer, so the price was reasonable. I said I already had a laptop and a smartphone and that the price was far too much and walked away.

They didn't even have it in white, which made it all the easier.

Later I went on the AT&T website where I upgraded my phone for $250 (Plus a $45 upgrade fee. Growl.) and got free expidited shipping so it should be here today or early tomorrow.

Stupid Sam's Club. If the rumors are true that they're going to build a Costco in West Lafayette you are in so much trouble.

Josh and Cole will be home any minute; time to wrap things up. Perhaps they'll expect a Spring Break trip to France? One can only hope. I'm on a roll...