You have GOT to read this one...

As I posted the other day, Scott and I finally received several months of missed pay checks. I immediately sent a very large chunk to Citi Bank and wrote multiple checks to various medical institutions (paying off Scott's medical bills).

I've allocated most of what's left to savings. But Scott and I wanted to do something for the kids. They've been incredible troopers throughout the ordeal, through all the no's, missed allowances and often stressed out parents.

For months now, Scott has been nursing a fantasy about taking our girls to Toys R Us and saying, "Go. Pick something out. Have fun."

Sensible wife here wanted to put parameters on the instructions. (I'm such a killjoy, aren't I? LOL) But Scott wouldn't hear of it. I was afraid they'd come back to us staggering with a large television. Or a keyboard. Or a guitar. Or something else grandiose and expensive. But he wanted to see what they'd come up with.

Bottom line... I should have trusted him.

Why? Because faced with the *entire* Toys R Us store, our girls were unbelievably modest in their choices. In the half hour we gave them, they filled an entire cart with possibilities. Stuffed animals, webkinz, bags, webcams, games, etc.

A tv? Nope. A keyboard? Nope. A guitar? Nope. An iPod? Nope again.

Not even the Barbie dream house Emma has coveted for years! You could have picked my chin up off the floor, I was so shocked.

Seriously!

In the end, after all the agonizing decision making, each girl held in her arms about $50 worth of stuff that they really and truly wanted.

Emma held the Citrus Dragon webkinz and a large FurReal kitty. It is strangely real. It licks its paws and pretends to clean itself. It meows and purrs and sleeps and wakes. Actually kinda cool, I think.

Hayley held several things, all smaller. A puppy poster, a Littlest Pet Shop set, a pink bag with a turtle on it, a llama webkinz (again, strange but cute) and a rather large stuffed dog.

And in the 24 hours since we let them loose in TRU, they have not once said, "I should have gotten..." or "I wish I would have..." No regrets at all.

Here's the coolest thing, though... when we asked them why they didn't choose bigger, more expensive, fancier toys, they said they didn't want them. That it's fun to dream about them, but that in the end, they don't really want them.

Holy cow. Holy blessed cow.

We must be doing something right.