November totals are in and since I did not keep up with posts here are the totals without itemized lists
$223.58 Cash
$91.00 SNAP
In the past I have made excuses for the totals as I could this month with Thanksgiving and gifts as well as some non food items I needed for the house but I am not. I need to know what it costs to eat each month and get a better handle on the budget.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Stuff in Our Purse
I have decided to clean out my purse which has become scary cluttered. The thought crossed my mind that I should take a picture of the nonsense and catalog some of the odder items that appear.
1 checkbook
1 penny collector book ( think someone else put this in my purse)
1 hair clip
1 paper clip
2 bottle caps
1 hot wheel
1 domino
1 emory board
1 bottle lotion
2 feminine napkins
1 birthday party invitation
2 purse sized note pads
10 club cards rubber banded together
1 hair brush
1 battery pack to recharge cell phone
1 coupon container
4 loose coupons
1 grocery store ad
3 pieces of trash
1 straw
9 wet naps
1 toiletry pouch
1 change purse
1 Swiss army knife
1 CPR face shield
2 bookmarks
1 reusable bag pouch
2 handkerchiefs
1 map
1 water bill
10 recipts
1 email address
5 pieces of candy
2 packs of sugar
1 pack mayo
2 packs of pepper ( 1 of which is leaking)
1 pack of gum which has dumped out
2 dollar bills
$1.61 in coins
wallet
1 checkbook
1 penny collector book ( think someone else put this in my purse)
1 hair clip
1 paper clip
2 bottle caps
1 hot wheel
1 domino
1 emory board
1 bottle lotion
2 feminine napkins
1 birthday party invitation
2 purse sized note pads
10 club cards rubber banded together
1 hair brush
1 battery pack to recharge cell phone
1 coupon container
1 grocery store ad
3 pieces of trash
1 straw
9 wet naps
1 toiletry pouch
1 change purse
1 Swiss army knife
1 CPR face shield
2 bookmarks
1 reusable bag pouch
2 handkerchiefs
1 map
1 water bill
10 recipts
1 email address
5 pieces of candy
2 packs of sugar
1 pack mayo
2 packs of pepper ( 1 of which is leaking)
1 pack of gum which has dumped out
2 dollar bills
$1.61 in coins
wallet
Getting Ready for Thanksgiving
Saturday was a day when nothing went according to plan as usual.
Friday night on the way home I actually remembered to stop and get the vodka to make cranberry liqueur over the weekend. This has been a staple gift and trade item over the last few years and I needed to get it made since it has to set up for 3 weeks. I picked up the vodka and then headed to get the boys from the sitter. Phillip was still feeling horrible so I was thinking of taking the boys to McDonald's so they could play and eat. This would have also given me a few moments to read some of my current book. When I picked them up though Logan asked for Rosa's so that is where we went. After dinner I took the boys to Albertson's to pick up some items they had on sale and get some ginger ale for Phillip. The kids were acting crazy in the store so I was in a hurry to get out of there and then checking out turned into a disaster. The cashier hit herself in the eye with one of the handles on my cloth bags, the kids were still carrying on and then my WIC card would not work because she needed to put in a code. I was glad to get out of there and home only to discover I had been overcharged. I took a picture of my purchases and will head by there tonight I think to get a refund. Once we made it home I was not in the frame of mind to make anything so the kids got baths and played for a little while before we headed to bed.
Saturday morning I had to be at the co-op for pick up at 10:15. The kids were still asleep so I got up and started getting ready. It was not long before Clark was outside the door screaming so I let him in the bathroom with me. Then it was time to get breakfast and head out. Logan wanted to stay home so I took Clark with me for the first couple of errands and then told Logan to be ready when I came back to get him. I should have realized this was the beginning of the end for my orderly errand running.
Here is what the list originally looked like:
BB pick up
Bookstore for gifts
Target for sale items
Donation drop off for needy family
Half Price Books for event
Library
Goodwill drop off
home for cleaning and crafts
This is what the day looked like in real time:
BB pickup with Clark
Bookstore with Clark
head toward home to pick up Logan for haircut since Phillip is too sick to take him
Get a call haircut is rescheduled because hairdresser is also sick
pick up Logan and items to be donated after unloading produce
Clark is asleep in car during this
Head to drop off donation Logan wants to play with Max
Send message to Caren to see is Max can play
Drop off donation for needy family
notice Little Free Library on same street so stop to see what they have and make a mental note to bring books by in exchange
Hear from Caren that Max really wants to play
Head toward Library to drop off books that are due, skip Half Price because Clark is still asleep and Logan does not want to go.
Logan is now hungry
Send message to Caren to see if Max would also like Mcdonald's, get their order, go through drive through
Play with Max and talk with Caren
Decided to leave and Logan tells me he peed on himself a little
Head toward home so Logan can change clothes and notice that tire light is on as well as low fuel light
Go home and get clothes changed as well as a fresh bottle for Clark
Head to the gas station and next door to Goodwill to donate remaining items
Go to discount tire where they tell me all my tires are low and by the way the front 2 are reaching hazardous status so looks like I will be getting tires for Christmas. Of course this upset me as I do not have the extra money to drop on tires and will have to figure out something next month in the middle of the holiday season.
Left discount tire and ran by Winco to pick up some items for Phillip's mom and then went home
Target was off the list totally because I was tired of being out and I need to save up money for tires as well as it was cold and getting dark.
Once home we worked on cleaning the house and making the cranberry liqueur. There were a few of the produce items we were not going to use so I listed them on the trade group and had a trade set up pretty quickly. Sunday morning was going to be pot luck at church and so I needed to get the stuff made and packaged ready to go. I made Cranberry Apple Bake and Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble. I stowed these in the fridge and cleaned up most of the mess.
Sunday morning went a touch smoother as I got up and got ready for church. The boys had breakfast and played while I loaded up the car and then we headed to church. Once we made it home Clark and I took a nap while Logan watched TV and Phillip worked on homework. After naps were over I got started cleaning up the house and then the boys got baths. After baths we made some more cranberry liqueur until I ran out of vodka. I will have to swing by and pick up more tonight so I can make more batches.
Friday night on the way home I actually remembered to stop and get the vodka to make cranberry liqueur over the weekend. This has been a staple gift and trade item over the last few years and I needed to get it made since it has to set up for 3 weeks. I picked up the vodka and then headed to get the boys from the sitter. Phillip was still feeling horrible so I was thinking of taking the boys to McDonald's so they could play and eat. This would have also given me a few moments to read some of my current book. When I picked them up though Logan asked for Rosa's so that is where we went. After dinner I took the boys to Albertson's to pick up some items they had on sale and get some ginger ale for Phillip. The kids were acting crazy in the store so I was in a hurry to get out of there and then checking out turned into a disaster. The cashier hit herself in the eye with one of the handles on my cloth bags, the kids were still carrying on and then my WIC card would not work because she needed to put in a code. I was glad to get out of there and home only to discover I had been overcharged. I took a picture of my purchases and will head by there tonight I think to get a refund. Once we made it home I was not in the frame of mind to make anything so the kids got baths and played for a little while before we headed to bed.
Saturday morning I had to be at the co-op for pick up at 10:15. The kids were still asleep so I got up and started getting ready. It was not long before Clark was outside the door screaming so I let him in the bathroom with me. Then it was time to get breakfast and head out. Logan wanted to stay home so I took Clark with me for the first couple of errands and then told Logan to be ready when I came back to get him. I should have realized this was the beginning of the end for my orderly errand running.
Here is what the list originally looked like:
BB pick up
Bookstore for gifts
Target for sale items
Donation drop off for needy family
Half Price Books for event
Library
Goodwill drop off
home for cleaning and crafts
This is what the day looked like in real time:
BB pickup with Clark
Bookstore with Clark
head toward home to pick up Logan for haircut since Phillip is too sick to take him
Get a call haircut is rescheduled because hairdresser is also sick
pick up Logan and items to be donated after unloading produce
Clark is asleep in car during this
Head to drop off donation Logan wants to play with Max
Send message to Caren to see is Max can play
Drop off donation for needy family
notice Little Free Library on same street so stop to see what they have and make a mental note to bring books by in exchange
Hear from Caren that Max really wants to play
Head toward Library to drop off books that are due, skip Half Price because Clark is still asleep and Logan does not want to go.
Logan is now hungry
Send message to Caren to see if Max would also like Mcdonald's, get their order, go through drive through
Play with Max and talk with Caren
Decided to leave and Logan tells me he peed on himself a little
Head toward home so Logan can change clothes and notice that tire light is on as well as low fuel light
Go home and get clothes changed as well as a fresh bottle for Clark
Head to the gas station and next door to Goodwill to donate remaining items
Go to discount tire where they tell me all my tires are low and by the way the front 2 are reaching hazardous status so looks like I will be getting tires for Christmas. Of course this upset me as I do not have the extra money to drop on tires and will have to figure out something next month in the middle of the holiday season.
Left discount tire and ran by Winco to pick up some items for Phillip's mom and then went home
Target was off the list totally because I was tired of being out and I need to save up money for tires as well as it was cold and getting dark.
Once home we worked on cleaning the house and making the cranberry liqueur. There were a few of the produce items we were not going to use so I listed them on the trade group and had a trade set up pretty quickly. Sunday morning was going to be pot luck at church and so I needed to get the stuff made and packaged ready to go. I made Cranberry Apple Bake and Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble. I stowed these in the fridge and cleaned up most of the mess.
Sunday morning went a touch smoother as I got up and got ready for church. The boys had breakfast and played while I loaded up the car and then we headed to church. Once we made it home Clark and I took a nap while Logan watched TV and Phillip worked on homework. After naps were over I got started cleaning up the house and then the boys got baths. After baths we made some more cranberry liqueur until I ran out of vodka. I will have to swing by and pick up more tonight so I can make more batches.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Next Wave of Stomach Bug
The boys are both over the stomach bug and now Phillip is down for the count. He was supposed to go for an oral board interview today but had to let them know he was not going to make it since he has been up all night throwing up. We shall see what tonight brings and how everyone is doing tomorrow. It is supposed to be a really full weekend and I would like to keep a ton of laundry out of the equation.
Books Oct 30th Through Nov 19th
After finishing M Train I was still in the queue for In Cold Blood so I went ahead and listened to Room. Not the best book I have ever listened to but I really did like it as disturbing as it was. After I finished Room I discovered another book I had in print was available on audio so I listened to Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. Another book I am on the fence over. It is totally her view of living in poverty and I respect that. It is not the view I have but again I have never made some of the decisions she did. After finishing that one I had nothing else to listen to. I am on the waiting list for several and with my luck they will all come up at once.
In print I finished Gardening with Nature in Texas which I found almost a waste of time. It really could have been condensed to a pamphlet that told me other sources for information. After I finished that one I picked up Pastrix which I absolutely love. It was a really quick read, but full of information and thought provoking points. It was an inter library loan so I had to jump it in line ahead of other books because it can not be renewed. I did read a ton of kids books with Logan during this, we try to read 2 every night. After Pastrix I read Forbidden Hunger which is a new series by an author that I like. I really prefer the other series she writes, this one did not have enough character development. It was a really quick as in 1 day read so I am back to Your Money or Your Life and The Great Beanie Baby Bubble.
I am pretty confident that I will not be able to clean everything off my currently reading list but I still going to try.
In print I finished Gardening with Nature in Texas which I found almost a waste of time. It really could have been condensed to a pamphlet that told me other sources for information. After I finished that one I picked up Pastrix which I absolutely love. It was a really quick read, but full of information and thought provoking points. It was an inter library loan so I had to jump it in line ahead of other books because it can not be renewed. I did read a ton of kids books with Logan during this, we try to read 2 every night. After Pastrix I read Forbidden Hunger which is a new series by an author that I like. I really prefer the other series she writes, this one did not have enough character development. It was a really quick as in 1 day read so I am back to Your Money or Your Life and The Great Beanie Baby Bubble.
I am pretty confident that I will not be able to clean everything off my currently reading list but I still going to try.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Catching up on Life and a Missing Receipt
Life has been full tilt here. I put off this post initially because I lost a receipt from Winco that had the majority of this month's grocery purchases on it. Looking everywhere I can think of it being has proved futile. That pretty much means I will just have to give totals from the beginning of the month and list purchases after that. We have also been down with sick kids. In fact this is my FB post from the day I was starting this blogpost:
"Was going to post yesterday but could not get Logan to bring me the phone! Clark threw up all over the bed, his clothes and me when we got home from church and I was putting him down for a nap. I immediately put him in the bath tub and changed my clothes. He promptly pooped in the bathtub which meant a water change and another soap off. After all this I was cleaning up and he was still fussy so I sat in the comfy recliner in our bedroom and let him sleep on me. There was a brief moment in time when I was tempted to put him on the bed and continue cleaning but instead just sat there and held him for an hour and a half. As stated earlier though the older child could not find my phone even though I told him exactly where it was so I could not take a picture of a sweet sleeping baby."
This was followed by a good weekend where I took the kids to an independent kids bookstore and had a great experience. I will be going back there whenever I want to purchase kid's books, however I may go without the kids. Clark is getting to be a hand full whenever we are out somewhere.
Last weekend was a trial by vomit! Clark started throwing up about 30 minutes before I got home and continued until 12:47am. By that time I was pretty much out of towels and blankets. Saturday morning Phillip took Logan to his build and kept him out for a few hours while I worked on cleaning everything up. Laundry went all day! I will admit that while cleaning all of that up I got carried away and just started spring cleaning. I took the curtains and blinds down in our room and cleaned them as well as started sorting through some more stuff. About 2pm our modem went out and AT&T could not come until Sunday morning to fix it. So I stayed home with the kids and cleaned house some more while we waited for the internet to come back up. Clark was doing a ton better by this time so we went out to get some lunch and groceries. We had been trapped inside over the weekend cleaning so I took the boys to Rosa's to eat and then to Winco.
The calm was really the calm before another storm. At 2am on Monday Logan started throwing up. He threw up as kids do all over the bed, his clothes, and the floor in his room before I got in there and got him into the bathroom. I brought him to our bed and put a garbage can next to the bed. Needless to say it was a long night! I went to work and left all the boys asleep at home. The evidently slept until about 10am and everyone was better by the time I got home. Logan's teacher told me Tuesday that he was not the only boy out Monday with a stomach bug.
"Was going to post yesterday but could not get Logan to bring me the phone! Clark threw up all over the bed, his clothes and me when we got home from church and I was putting him down for a nap. I immediately put him in the bath tub and changed my clothes. He promptly pooped in the bathtub which meant a water change and another soap off. After all this I was cleaning up and he was still fussy so I sat in the comfy recliner in our bedroom and let him sleep on me. There was a brief moment in time when I was tempted to put him on the bed and continue cleaning but instead just sat there and held him for an hour and a half. As stated earlier though the older child could not find my phone even though I told him exactly where it was so I could not take a picture of a sweet sleeping baby."
This was followed by a good weekend where I took the kids to an independent kids bookstore and had a great experience. I will be going back there whenever I want to purchase kid's books, however I may go without the kids. Clark is getting to be a hand full whenever we are out somewhere.
Last weekend was a trial by vomit! Clark started throwing up about 30 minutes before I got home and continued until 12:47am. By that time I was pretty much out of towels and blankets. Saturday morning Phillip took Logan to his build and kept him out for a few hours while I worked on cleaning everything up. Laundry went all day! I will admit that while cleaning all of that up I got carried away and just started spring cleaning. I took the curtains and blinds down in our room and cleaned them as well as started sorting through some more stuff. About 2pm our modem went out and AT&T could not come until Sunday morning to fix it. So I stayed home with the kids and cleaned house some more while we waited for the internet to come back up. Clark was doing a ton better by this time so we went out to get some lunch and groceries. We had been trapped inside over the weekend cleaning so I took the boys to Rosa's to eat and then to Winco.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Sick Kids
This weekend was crazy even without Halloween. Friday Phillip had a couple of job interviews so the boys were at the sitter. I picked them up and on the way home Logan asked for pizza bread but I told him no since the pizza place was not on our way home. I did ask though if Rosa's was ok since we were driving by them and Logan was game for beans. I went through the drive through and picked up beans and 2 orders of nachos. As soon as we walked in the door the first words out of Phillip's mouth were " I did not know you were going to Rosa's." and my reply was " I did not either until I picked them up". By this time I had made it into the kitchen to see a pizza and a package of garlic bread on the counter. We went ahead and had the nachos and saved the leftover pizza for the rest of the weekend. Logan was able to have his bread sticks and beans after all.
Saturday was a day Logan had been looking forward to for a long time. We tried to sleep in but the kids have no concept of that. Phillip ran a couple of errands while the boys and I ran some others. We went to Target first where Logan picked up a couple of minecraft toys. He had made a deal to do some chores in exchange for another mini figurine. After Target we headed by the library and then to Albertson's for a couple of items they had on sale. The last errand was Winco to pick up a couple of items and some things for Nene. We made sure to finish the errands in time to get home for trick or treating. Logan of course could not wait and kept asking every 2 minutes if it was time to go. After 30 minutes of this I was ready to say no to trick or treating! Finally it was dark enough for Logan and Phillip to head out. Clark was taking a nap until just before the first trick or treater came by. He just stared at each set of kids that came to the door. There were a couple of strange incidents where kids with no boundaries came into the house instead of just coming up to the door. This was the first year I actually ran out of candy and had to turn out the light. I had Clark in the bathtub when Logan and Phillip made it home and after I got him out we started going through the candy. Bedtime was uneventful and I was happy thinking I was going to get an extra hour of sleep.
Sunday we got up and headed to church where we decided to go out to eat again and see how the kids would do. After leaving there we headed home with the hopes the kids would stay asleep. Logan woke up and did not want to go back to sleep. Clark needed to go back to sleep so I headed into our room to lay down with him. I was hardly settled when he started throwing up on me. I went to put him in the bathtub while I changed my shirt. By the time I put on a different shirt the water was running and Clark was sitting there looking at me.....he was also pooping in the bathtub. After a quick scoop and water change he was back in the tub getting cleaned up. Once out of the tub he was playing on the floor of our bedroom while I tried to get the sheets off the bed and laundry going. He was still fussy so I sat in the recliner with him and he promptly went to sleep. I really really debated putting him on the bed so I could finish cleaning but instead sat there holding him for an hour and a half. It was nice to just hold him while he slept since I know this is not going to last forever. I did try to get Logan to bring me the camera so I could get a sleeping baby picture but he kept telling me he could not find it. Because Clark was sleeping Logan was getting in his TV time before the chores he promised to do in exchange for the toys. That is an error I will not make again. The chore I chose for him was to clean up his room and 2&1/2 hours later he had not made any progress. Phillip was getting a little short with him and it ended with Logan being regrounded from electronics on Monday.
Saturday was a day Logan had been looking forward to for a long time. We tried to sleep in but the kids have no concept of that. Phillip ran a couple of errands while the boys and I ran some others. We went to Target first where Logan picked up a couple of minecraft toys. He had made a deal to do some chores in exchange for another mini figurine. After Target we headed by the library and then to Albertson's for a couple of items they had on sale. The last errand was Winco to pick up a couple of items and some things for Nene. We made sure to finish the errands in time to get home for trick or treating. Logan of course could not wait and kept asking every 2 minutes if it was time to go. After 30 minutes of this I was ready to say no to trick or treating! Finally it was dark enough for Logan and Phillip to head out. Clark was taking a nap until just before the first trick or treater came by. He just stared at each set of kids that came to the door. There were a couple of strange incidents where kids with no boundaries came into the house instead of just coming up to the door. This was the first year I actually ran out of candy and had to turn out the light. I had Clark in the bathtub when Logan and Phillip made it home and after I got him out we started going through the candy. Bedtime was uneventful and I was happy thinking I was going to get an extra hour of sleep.
Sunday we got up and headed to church where we decided to go out to eat again and see how the kids would do. After leaving there we headed home with the hopes the kids would stay asleep. Logan woke up and did not want to go back to sleep. Clark needed to go back to sleep so I headed into our room to lay down with him. I was hardly settled when he started throwing up on me. I went to put him in the bathtub while I changed my shirt. By the time I put on a different shirt the water was running and Clark was sitting there looking at me.....he was also pooping in the bathtub. After a quick scoop and water change he was back in the tub getting cleaned up. Once out of the tub he was playing on the floor of our bedroom while I tried to get the sheets off the bed and laundry going. He was still fussy so I sat in the recliner with him and he promptly went to sleep. I really really debated putting him on the bed so I could finish cleaning but instead sat there holding him for an hour and a half. It was nice to just hold him while he slept since I know this is not going to last forever. I did try to get Logan to bring me the camera so I could get a sleeping baby picture but he kept telling me he could not find it. Because Clark was sleeping Logan was getting in his TV time before the chores he promised to do in exchange for the toys. That is an error I will not make again. The chore I chose for him was to clean up his room and 2&1/2 hours later he had not made any progress. Phillip was getting a little short with him and it ended with Logan being regrounded from electronics on Monday.
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