I'm on a budget. A pretty strict budget - I want to buy a new-to-me car AND a house in 2005. I've disconnected my cable television and roadrunner, switched to a bare-bones calling plan, cancelled my cell phone and switched to a pay-as-you-go (as a single mom that commutes 27-miles to work, one way, I felt I needed a cell phone in case of an emergency), cancelled my Blockbuster account, stopped eating out (if it's not cooked in my own kitchen, I don't eat it), buy store brand foods, etc ...
That said, I've become a pretty thrify consumer. I'm continuosly amazed at how much I used to spend on something when I can substitute with something less expensive or even free. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cheapskate, there are still things that simply cannot be substituted, but for the most part, if I can save a dollar or two, I will.
My new Friday ritual is to check the Cue section of my newspaper to see what free and fun happenings are taking place over the weekend. The kids and I have done so many things, both free AND fun ... between free admission days to the zoo, or any of the 6 or 7 museums, free storytelling and crafty stuff at local libraries, schools, or markets ... our weekends are busier than they were before I started our budget.
My co-workers with kids have started coming to me for suggestions on weekend activities. The funny thing is that they've all grown up in the area, I grew up in Hawaii and moved to Milwaukee 2 summers ago.
Anyway, the reason I'm blogging about this ... tomorrow, I have to choose between free admission day to the zoo, crafty stuff at the public museum, and storytelling at the library. I'll leave it up to the kids, but I suspect they'll pick the zoo. Which one would you pick?
On our way to preschool today �
Me: �Look baby, there�s Mr. and Mrs. Claus!� [pointing to a neighbor�s lawn display]
Meghan: �What? Meester and Meeses what?�
Me: �It�s Santa Claus and his wife, Mrs. Claus.�
Meghan: �Who�s Mrs. Claus?�
Me: �Santa Claus� wife.�
Meghan: �Santa Claus isn�t white, only his beard is white. His clothes are red.�
Me: �Not white, wife. Santa Claus is married to Mrs. Claus.�
Meghan: �MARRIED? EWWWW! That�s yucky! Do they kiss?�
Me: �Of course they kiss, they�re married.�
Meghan: �That�s gross!�
Me: �Well, what do you think married people are supposed to do?� [immediately wondering if I should have asked that or not]
Meghan: �They give huggies, and hold hands, and feed each other rice pudding.�
Me: [uncontrollable laughing, almost side swiping a parked car]
P.S. Thank you to Meredith and Dave for your kind comments!!
After visiting Motiki Log, He reminded me how very blessed I am. I immediately thanked Him and told Him how grateful I truly am.
And with the next click I won 100 mystery credits.
Thank you Zero Boss, bopperholly, FTS, and mommylogue for your kind comments!
What happened? How did it happen? WHY did it happen? Earlier this morning, I logged onto Blog Explosion to find my blog was deleted. I immediately checked email to see if BE emailed me that I violated one a rule or something (which is pretty much impossible) but no email. All of my BE comments are gone. By beautiful 8.6 rating is gone.
I re-submitted my blog (which has been accepted, which proves my blog conforms to their requirements). To add insult to injury, a not-so-nice person gave me a "1". WTF?? They didn't comment or drop an email, just gave me a "1" and went onto their next 30 second blog-peep show.
But that's okay. I'll just take the eternal perspective on the whole thing and mooooove on.
I found this while blog surfing, but can't find the site I found it on. If this is was your site, please comment below so I can give you proper credit :)
Prayer of an Imperfect Mom
Lord, help me remember that my child's messy bedroom is their "lived-in" sanctuary filled with evidence of a growing human being...and sometimes growing mold cultures.
Lord, help me remember that forgotten chores are only tasks not horrible transgressions. They remind me that my children are a work in progress...and I've got my work cut out for me.
Lord, help me remember that grades are not the only measurement of success and that each child is different. Regardless of what their grade point is, they are already smarter than me.
Lord, help me remember that the giggling and screaming adolescents in the basement are only here in my house for a short time. The sound I hear now will be much quieter than my empty nest.
Lord, teach me not to take it personally when noses are turned up at the dinners that I spend all day planning and fixing. I'm here to nourish, not entertain.
Lord, help me remember that my children's goals might be different than mine or perhaps they're the same goal with just a different way of getting there.
Lord, remind me to be gentle for it wasn't so long ago that I was that insecure, awkward teen bruising at the slightest criticism.
Lord, teach me to tell my children I love them as often as I yell at them, so that they grow to learn that compassion is a necessary component of leadership.
Lord, teach me to be patient and keep my mouth shut. Let me allow them to make their own mistakes, suffer the consequences and learn from the whole experience.
Lord, help me to comfort them when they are disappointed by friends, siblings or first crushes. Let me draw upon my vast experience in that area to assure them that there will be better friends, siblings that truly do love them and someone who loves them unconditionally.
Lord, remind me to hug my children every day, even if they squirm and grimace while I'm doing it.
Lord, teach me to stop comparing myself to other mothers, especially the pretty and skinny ones. We've all got our challenges, some just hide them better.
Lord, help me be the very best mother that I can be, despite the imperfection of my house, my children and sometimes my attitude. Remind me that I still have the best job in the world.
This so perfectly soothed my soul today ... my five minute pity party yesterday continued well into the night and this morning. But the party's over, dang it! :)
Today's my baby girl's birthday - Meghan is 4 today. I'm so blessed to have her in my life, and will thank God every day for the rest of my life for blessing me with her.
Meghan brought cupcakes to school, and her teacher made a crown for her to wear all day today. I bought her a set of 6 Care Bears, and Nick bought her a Caillou video she's been wanting for the last month or so. We're going to good 'ol McDonald's tonite for dinner - I was planning to go to Chuck E Cheese, but it's about 30 miles away, and being a weeknight, a little too far away. We've invited her friend Alyssa, and L & B and Josh will be there too. It'll be fun, and she'll be surrounded by people that truly love her.
Momma loves you Mei Mei!!
I�m having one of my rare �blue� days. Nothing in particular is getting me down, just a lot of little things ...
1. I'm stressing over my budget. Just wish I had more money to play with.
2. Meghan had a rough morning, and I was a bit of a bitch grouch with her.
3. Nick lied to me this morning, very minor lie, but a lie is a lie.
4. Getting kinda lonely again, miss having someone around ...
5. So many more little things, that when seen in the eternal perspective, are so insignificant that I won't list them.
But I have so many things to be grateful for, darn it!
1. I have a job. I can support myself and my children.
2. My children are healthy, intelligent, and are the light of my life.
3. It's a good thing I'm single ... I can do what I want when I want, etc.
Hmmm ... have I fooled you as well as I've fooled myself? I'm gonna go have me a 5 minute pity party, and hopefully get it out of my system.
Yesterday, the kids and I signed 24 Christmas cards that we�re sending to the troops overseas courtesy of Any Soldier. We picked 22 Marines and 2 Navy (my Dad retired from the Navy with 27 years of active duty, including Vietnam and my brother served in the Marines and served during the Gulf War). The kids had a lot of fun, and we�re hoping to send out another 4 dozen or so this weekend.
I saw this on ShaeSin�s website � if you would like to exchange Christmas/Holiday cards with me, please send me an email with your snail mail address. It would be great to get cards from all over the world!
Thanks!!
Meghan moved up into a new class. She moved from the "Red Room" to the "Fish Room". She was so excited, cuz she's a big girl now. I'm a little nervous - she's moving from a room of 13 kids, to a room of 28. Dang! The only consolation I have is that there are 2 full-time teachers in the Fish Room. So that breaks it down to 14 kids per teacher. It could be worse!
It was SO nice to come to work today. As I got off the elevator and walked down the hall, I marveled at the wonderful silence ... four days at home with the kids gave me a constant, roaring sound in my ears. A little peace and quiet at work is a beautiful thing!
The weatherman is forecasting flurries today - he better come through or he'll have an extremely pissed off preschooler on his hands. And trust me, you don't wanna see Meghan pissed off! *L*
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