Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbor's House

Living on one income for the past six years (and now two meager ones)has not been as difficult as you may think. Sure, there were times things were tight, or I have had to pass on activities because of the cost involved. But, most of my friends are stay-at-home parents or have jobs that do not yield large paychecks (holla to the teachers and social workers). Our get togethers consist of fun, family pitch-ins and ladies night means a few drinks or dinner once in a great while. To be quite honest, I don't feel like I am missing out. I have never had to worry about day care, who is going to stay home with a sick child, or fret about missing the preschool Thanksgiving concert. I am fine with buying clothes off the Kohl's or Target clearance rack and shoes at Payless. But, I am only human and every now and then I get a little jealous of those who have things that we just can't afford (or that we'd have to save for many, many months to buy). Now, I am NOT looking for handouts, as we are doing just fine, but here are some extras I wish I could have right now:

1. A Smartphone: You would love for me to be able to update you about the 65 year-old lady wearing stilettos and a mini-skirt in front of me in line at Meijer, right??? But alas, no photos on the sly or check-ins on Foursquare since I am rocking a plain old phone. Two people at work just got iPhones and are singing praises to Steve Jobs. I, on the other hand, hide in a corner when making calls from my phone, so no one will see my flip phone sans keypad. I mean, those 21-year-olds I work with would think I dug it up out of some time capsule. Now, I know that my basic phone is fine. I am in and out of my house, where I have access to a computer (with cable internet...not dial-up...I swear!!) Plus, I am not even supposed to have my phone on me when I am on the salesfloor at work, so the cost of the phone plus $30 a month is just really not a necessity. (Especially if I am only going to use it to mock strangers or pacify my kids with a video.) But, common sense and practicality does not keep me from wishing and hoping and thinking and praying one of these bad boys would make its way into my purse.

2. A Laptop/Ipad: Now that my husband has his own computer for work, I can pretty much have full usage of our desktop. There are a few issues, though. One is that the desktop is in his home office. Whenever the kids are playing or completely ignoring me, I try to sneak in to check my email. Of course, they somehow hear the door opening from across the house and cannot help themselves from following me in. This isn't a huge deal, but if he has papers everywhere (IF???) or is on the phone with a client, there is, of course, some kind of screaming about who ate the last red popsicle. Then, I have to scramble to get them out and do not get to fully read the all-important TMZ article about Kim Kardashian's engagement. Plus, I like to watch certain shows online and in private. No, they aren't those kinds of shows, but ones like Teen Mom and The Real Housewives. SOME people in this house find those critically-acclaimed shows to be a waste of time to watch, so they rudely make comments and disrupt my viewing pleasure. Also, my kids have discovered pbskids.org and my daughter has a strange obsession with typing on Word. I just want a computer of my very own that I do not have to share with anyone. 'Cause I am selfish like that.

3. A Gym Membership/Personal Trainer: My current body state clearly shows that I have absolutely no motivation or desire to do any kind of exercising at home. I do much better in a class and even better if someone is following me around and telling me what to do. Heck, I would even take Jillian Michaels shouting expletives at me because I slowed my treadmill down by a tenth. I just do much better exercising at a place where everyone else is exercising, rather than at home, where I am the only one doing crunches, and Jillian on the DVD cannot scream at me if I decide to just lay on the floor and marvel at the amount raisins/Barbie shoes/dirty socks that are underneath my couch.

4. Real Vacations: Ever since having kids, our vacations have consisted of a.)visiting my parents who live near Chicago and fitting in some city sights b.) visiting my in-laws who live near Monticello, IN and taking a trip to Indiana Beach just to prove that there is more than corn in Indiana, and c.) an occasional camping weekend. Now, these have all been fine, since my kids love seeing their grandparents and a three-year-old can't tell the difference between an ocean and Lake Michigan. But it would be nice to take a vacation in which we actually have to plan for; rent hotel rooms, buy airline tickets, or pack clothes for a different climate than the one we are living in. I have to admit that part of it is me: The thought of a trip like Disney World completely overwhelms and stresses me out. It would probably be less stressful, though, if I didn't have to figure out where to buy cereal and how to keep the milk cold so we can eat breakfast in our hotel room to save money. I am my father's daughter, after all.