Speaking of Dryers....

For those that don't know, I have two sets of washers and dryers. One set came with our house when we bought it and the other set came with us from our old house. With a family of eight, it is wonderful having two sets. The one dryer that came with this house was old and finally died about a year ago. We bought a new one and Rich paid for a five year warranty on the dryer. Last week, as I was washing clothes, I noticed that the "newer" dryer was making a squeaking sound and the clothes weren't getting dried after an hour plus time elapsed. The other dryer made the same sound before so it was disconnected. Then, one washer was spinning and made this burnt rubber smell and the other one I unplugged before because the hose was leaking. When I turned it on (the hose was still leaking), it wouldn't agitate or spin the clothes.

Now, I didn't have any washers or dryers that worked properly. The clothes were so backed up that Rich and I both made separate trips to the laundromat. Rich went to Lowes and bought a new washing machine and paid to have it delivered the next day....when the guys came to set it up, they couldn't get the leaky hose off, so they lied and told me it wasn't the hose - it was the pipe. Without thinking, I just let them leave and I told Rich about it later and asked if I should call the plumber to fix it. Rich got mad and said the guys lied to me and treated me like a dumb woman...which pretty much was the case.

He went to Lowes and complained to the manager about what the guys did. Rich told him it wasn't so much that they lied about it at all, it was the fact that they treated me (his wife) like I was stupid. He complained so much that the manager gave him 25 dollars in cash to make up for the cost of having to run to the laundromat (which doesn't even begin to cover the money we spent there). The other washing machine Rich is going to see if he can fix for me.

So then, he calls about the warranty on the dryer. The warranty clearly states that ALL parts and ALL labor is FREE. The company comes out to look at it and the man tells me that I need to pay him $28 for the parts to fix it. I didn't see the warranty paper that said everything was free, so I wrote the guy a check. He then tells me that the parts will be delivered to me and when I receive them, he will come back and fix it.

In the meantime, Rich gets so mad that he is paying for parts that he didn't have to pay for that he goes back to Lowes and tells the manager that he wants a new dryer for free and he doesn't want the same piece of crap dryer that broke, he wants the one that matches the new Maytag washer he bought me. The manager makes the deal that Rich can have the dryer and pay the difference of cost. He also transferred the five year warranty to the new dryer.

So, for Valentine's Day Rich's gift to me was a brand new washer and dryer set. But the story doesn't end here......

Yesterday, I get a call from the company about fixing my dryer (that I no longer have, because I have a new one now). I tell them that I don't need them to fix it anymore because I got a new one. The woman tells me that they want the parts back - the parts that I had to pay for, that I shouldn't have had to pay for. I told the woman that they're my parts now, because in the first place my warranty said ALL parts were FREE and I got gyped into paying for them. I'm not sending them back (because in truth, those parts are what we need to fix the other broken dryer and Hell, I paid for them right, they're mine now). The woman tells me that they are not mine (how she figures this, I will never know) and when the man comes to "fix" the dryer I will have to hand over the parts and he will give me an invoice, AN INVOICE, not the cash that I gave him, but an invoice to refund my money - which would take 10-15 days for me to get. How screwed up is that?!? What a freakin rip off!!

See Ya Later Alligator!

The other day, Nathan was helping me do the laundry. I had washed his teddy bear that he calls "Beary". As I was handing him clothes to put in the dryer, he saw Beary. He told me that he thought Beary was dry and I told him that his beloved toy wasn't dry. Nathan holds Beary up and says "See ya later Beary" as he put him in the dryer. It was the cutest thing I think I ever heard.

A Couple of Favorite Songs

I love Bon Jovi, I never get tired of hearing their songs. And no matter how old they get, they just get keep getting better looking (in my opinion). So here's a few of my more recent faves......






Had to add this one, because Jon looks HOT!!!! And Amanda likes this song - she really has no idea how great and awesome this song is, does she? She had to be there, to sit in front of the tv and wait for it to come on MTV and then when it finally came on all you could do was sit there watching it drooling because the guys were so hot. Yeah, she really has no idea, huh?

My Health

Just wanted to put this all out there for those that have asked me about it. I have HYPERthyroidism. I've had it for years. I was taking pills for it (3 pills, 3x day), but I hated taking them so I stopped. So in effect, I caused this to get as bad as it has. I was chalking my symptons up to other causes:

My eyes bug me all the time, I have blurry, double vision - I thought it was because I'm allergic to our cat - but it is my thyroid

Anxiety, irritabilty (me being a crab), I thought it was anxiety from being depressed - nope it's my thyroid

Non existant menstrual cycles, I thought it was because I had a tubal, but it was my thyroid.

Muscle weakness in my arms and legs (causing me to fall down stairs or having my legs give out from under me), I thought I was clumsy, but my muscles are weak and tired from my thyroid.

My hair falling out in clumps, my nervousness, and hand tremors, my heart palpitations, can't stand being too hot, me craving calcium rich foods (cheese, millk etc) the way my eyes always hurt, and feel irritated, my itchy skin (rash on my arms and legs) and unexplained bruises---- it's all from my thyroid. Who would have thought that something so small could control and screw up so many things.

If you are close enough to me, you can see how my neck looks swollen, it's actually my thyroid that's enlarged (a goiter). And sometimes my eyes will look weird too

Since seeing the endocrinologist, I will to have to schedule some new blood work and scans, since my other tests were old and then he will make a decision about what treatment to go with. So far, he thinks radioiodine therapy will work the best. Basically, instead of having my thyroid surgically removed or take another type of pill, they will do the therapy to "shrink" my thyroid. I have never done this before. The doctor said everything is done by outpatient (which works out great with the kids). He did say I won't be able to hold the kids or kiss them or work and have anyone too close to my neck a few days afterwards. There is also the risk of me becoming hypo (thyroid). So, say a prayer and think good thoughts that everything will all turn out okay........

Brothers

I posted some snow pictures on my photography blog, but I wanted to post a few here as well. I thought it was really cool to see the boys working together for a common cause. If you don't have any sons, then you might not understand the dynamic of how brothers work.



Anthony being the oldest is idolized. All the younger boys follow him around everywhere he goes. Anthony usually lets his younger brothers pester him until he can't stand it anymore and needs some time to himself, usually when he's doing his homework. Anthony lets the younger boys wrestle and play with him. In this sense he has sort of taken over his dad's rough housing, since Rich can't do it anymore. Anthony is a wonderful big brother and an awesome son.




Zachary is sensitive and usually the most quiet out of the bunch. He is a great helper and he is often doing every one's chores as well as his own. He is the clown, constantly cracking silly jokes and his laugh is so infectious. If you heard him laughing, you couldn't help but laugh right along. He is also the task master, he will make sure everyone gets up and out the door for school every morning. He makes every one's lunch as well. He is a wonderful boy filled with much joy.



Nicholas is the typical boy who was used to the spotlight when another little boy came along. It is very hard for him, even still, to see his little brother getting more attention than him. He is the most bull headed person. No child of mine has ever been as stubborn as him. It takes forever to get him up in the morning and ready for school. We give him alot of slack though, because he was our sick baby. We love our little man with all our hearts, he has endured more than any child should.



Nathan is the most adored child in our house. Everyone loves him, everyone plays with him, everyone dotes him with affection. He is adorable. The most beautiful little spirit resides in him. He is very curious about the world around him, wanting to explore everything. He is also the clingiest little one I've ever had (even compared to Sarah). He cries everytime I leave for work and breaks my heart with his tears and sad goodbyes. He is the miracle our family needed to be complete.





There are lots of fights and wrestling and sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between the two. There is also alot of love and the knowledge that if you really need your brother, you can bet your life on the fact that he will be there with you. That's the kind of love that makes my heart happy to be the mother of four brothers.

I hate snow!

Ok, so I don't hate it per say, I do like looking at it (from the inside of a toasty house). I hate driving in snow, it freaks me out. No, I'm not one of those drivers who go ten miles an hour, but it does scare me when I don't know if there is ice under all that snow.

This morning when I got up, I realized that I have to go to the store to buy our normal daily things (bread, milk, etc.). I looked out the window and my car's buried, the driveway needs shoveled and now I'm worried about not only having to get to the store, but getting to work this afternoon too. Maybe I'll ask Rich to drive me to work and home. He doesn't mind when I ask him. I think it might have something to do with the male species wanting to protect and take care of their own, you know?

But, here I sit waiting for Anthony and Zachary to wake up, so they can go shovel out my car. I can't do it myself, because my asthma is always worse in the winter and I'm not taking the chance of getting bronchitis, if I don't have to. If the trip to the store doesn't scare the crap out of me, then I'll probably risk it and drive to work. Man, I hate driving in the snow! Did I mention that I hate snow?!

New Link!!!

I finally decided to make my weight loss blog public. Check it out if you have time! It's basically pictures, stories and food journals, but if my struggle helps anyone who is trying to lose weight, then I'll suck it up and let people read it. The link is on the side bar.

Muah!

Earlier today I stubbed my toe on the vacuum cleaner that was in the middle of the floor. As I stood there holding my foot complaining, Nathan said "I'm not kissing that!".

I said "Fine, next time you get hurt, mommy's not kissing your boo boo."

About five minutes later he was jumping off the couch and hurt his nose and came running up to me rubbing his nose. And said "I'll kiss your foot now." :D

Christmas pics that I never posted

I just have to, that's why!

On the way home from the store this morning, Nathan declared that he was going to go to sleep. when I told him that we would be home in five minutes he said that he was still going to fall asleep. When I asked him why, he said I just have to, that's why!

Hmmm, now I know how annoying the answer "why" is, when you want a real answer.