How To Entertain a Toddler for Only $10,000

Because I know how hard it can be to keep little ones amused when the weather has been too cold for too long, I'm telling you our latest toddler amusement plan. Feel free to use it yourself if you get desperate enough.

A few days back our furnace starting sounding like a washing machine on the spin cycle, and it turns out the beastie is almost 20 years old. On further inspection, the central air turns out to be even more ancient. So we got to choose between sinking a few thousand dollars into a repair that might hold for another two years, or simply biting the bullet and replacing both systems for a mere $10,000. Yup. $10,000!

I can think of much better things to do with the money. An offer for this cruise showed up in our mailbox over the weekend. 15 days of good food cooked by someone else while visiting Cozumel, Panama, and Grand Cayman. Oh, boy, does that look good in this never-ending cold season.

However, there is good news in all of this. The workers that do the replacement have a bright yellow truck. And lots and lots of tools. Liam is especially taken with their pliers. They should be here most of the day, so we have built-in entertainment that is so exciting we even invited Liam's friend, I, and his mom, L, to come over for lunch and partake in the general excitement. Liam's getting over yet another cold, I'm coming down with said cold, and since I am so desperate for something that could amuse him while requiring minimal movement from me, I'm actually reasonably happy about this turn of events. Clearly I have taken too much Sudafed and have long since passed the point of even mild delirium.

Let's all chant, together now, 13 days until Spring!