It's A Good Thing

When I was in Alabama last month, Robin set up an air mattress for me. It felt incredibly comfortable, and the next day my back and hip felt better than it had in a really long time. By the end of the week sleeping on it, my back and hip pain was gone. I came home, put my regular mattress up against my wall, and borrowed an air mattress from the basement. Sure enough - back/hip pain, gone.

Last night Maggie and I were chilling on my bed, and I noticed it was sagging in the middle. I figured it was probably time for a refill, since it'd been at least a week since I'd last used an air pump on it. I pumped it up, went to take a shower, came back, and it was saggy again.

I really, really hoped it was just my imagination... but it wasn't. It had developed a hole, as I discovered when I stripped the sheets off and examined it.

I deflated it and threw my old mattress back on the bed (thank goodness I hadn't gotten rid of it yet, I guess), and... eh. Did I ever really think that this was comfortable? And immediately - seriously, as soon as I laid down - my back and hip started to ache. I guess I never noticed how badly my mattress was affecting my back before since, well, I was kind of ALWAYS in pain. But now that I've gone a few weeks pain free, I DEFINITELY feel the pressure.

Couldn't get comfortable. I knew I was going to wake up stiff and sore, and I was seriously tempted to just drive to the 24-hour WalMart and get a new one (since I obviously wasn't sleeping, anyway).

I didn't, and I felt it this morning. :( My priority tonight is to hit every department store until I find one (and wouldn't you know, my bedframe/boxspring is full-size, which apparently is the hardest size to locate). In a way, I think this is good - I've been afraid to give up the old mattress "just in case," but now I know I will never, ever go back to sleeping on it. Might I buy a better traditional mattress sometime in the future? Yup! But in the meantime, this is the $50 solution to back pain. Worth every penny.

Anyway...

Abby asked for pancakes this morning. Chris has said she loves them, and I've offered them to her before, but she hasn't wanted them. Today there was a bottle of syrup on the counter, and I think this brought them to mind. I made her a little pile of quarter-size pancakes, perfect for dipping, and then a little pile for myself. They were incredible. :) Pancakes at my house are whole-wheat monsters that are heavy. I forget that light, fluffy pancakes even EXIST. And I don't even feel bad, since I am so not a carbs in the morning kind of person, and I eat pancakes maybe three or four times a year.

Around 10 AM we called to let Maggie know that we were on our way to get her. Abby was so excited when I told her we got to take Maggie with us - she loves hanging out with Maggie and has asked every time we've been at my house this week to take Maggie with us, but for one reason or another Maggie hadn't been able to join us, which disappointed her deeply.

We picked up Maggie and went to Monterrey's, a mexican restaurant that we all love. Abby ate most of our chips :); Maggie ordered the chimichanga plate, and I got a "fajita quesadilla" plate. It was sooo yummy - steak, carmelized red onions, and cheese quesadilla (and it was a really good portion size so I didn't feel guilty at all), with a side of spanish rice and a lettuce and tomato salad.

Abby was so good during lunch. After lunch, we walked down the sidewalk to a coffee shop and ordered coffee. As soon as we walked in the door, Abby's eyes lit up and she got excited. I couldn't figure out why until she ran to the dessert case and pointed. Maggie and I got a good laugh at this, so we got her a little frosted cake hole (like a donut hole, I guess) with sprinkles (she was very clear that she wanted the one WITH sprinkles).

Half an hour later, I began to see we might have made a mistake. :) A very yummy one.

This picture doesn't quite cover the damage. She was COVERED in chocolate! Oh, well. A handful of wet wipes later, we were all good again. :)