That Really Chaps My Hide! ... and other stuff

Do you know what really chaps my hide? (Where does that phrase come from anyway? I should look that up.) It really bothers me when I call to handle a problem with a phone bill, and the costumer service person won't even talk to me because only my husband's name is on the account, even though I've called and done things before and I'm the one who makes sure the bills get paid in our house. Here I am, trying to be a responsible adult and take care of things and they won't let me. Ugh!

And something else: when I'm talking to a different company about an incorrect charge and the customer service rep thinks they can start lecturing me about being responsible for paying my bill. Um, excuse me, would you like to look at my previous payments for the last 4 years? Have I ever been late or not paid the full amount? Hello!

And a third thing: I'm getting so sick of seeing news reports and articles about ways to save money and trim a budget. Every time I think, "I should read that, because there might be something in there I don't do." And every time I'm disappointed because the "tips" are so dumb. There is never anything new; nothing to help our family. I already buy store brand food, I already stopped buying frozen meals because they cost so much, I already use coupons on sale items to double my savings, we only drink water or milk to save there (plus it's healthier for you too), we rarely eat out because it's too expensive (maybe once a month), etc... I don't know, part of me is glad to know we don't have money oozing out of our hands through means as those, but the other part of me realizes how different we must live from so many others.

It just chaps my hide!

On a lighter note, the weather has been rather warm the last couple days (mid 70s - the roller coaster weather here will never cease to amaze me), which has been perfect since Emily has grown into her bike we bought prematurely when she was 4 (it was too big back then, so we had to get a smaller one and stuck the bigger one in the back of the garage) and Jacob now has a Big Wheel! (Do you remember those?! Haha!) They've had lots of fun riding bikes outside.

And Matthew is starting to move! Thanks to the motivation of some baby banana fruit puffs, Matthew realized he could do an army crawl (on his tummy, pushing with his toes and pulling himself forward with his arms) and after a couple days of practicing with the puffs, he started to army crawl towards toys today. Billy has promised to help me get the video on here so you can see, so hopefully it'll be up shortly. My boys - they only move for food. That's how we got Jacob going too (crawling and walking)!