LittleGopher's Journal

I was scheduled to work yesterday morning, but then was asked if I wanted to help set up a room for the summer program in the afternoon. I didn't need to be asked twice!

Last night the girls and I worked on the teacher gifts to distribute tomorrow. I'm relieved, because the ideas weren't too forthcoming this year. The girls spent the evening baking brownie bites, and will bag them up tonight, along with writing up the notes. The expense on this is well within our budget, thankfully.

In a bit, I'll head over to the care conference for my mom. My brother is attending with me. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to get Mom out of the wheelchair, and upright using her walker. The sore on her foot is healed, except that the dead skin disk hasn't completely detached (and it probably won't because they won't let her use the foot, which would help knock it off.) Mom is always setting off the alarm as she tries to get up from the wheelchair. She is very ready to be walking too. Setting off alarms hasn't helped any with her agitation level.

After the meeting, I'm getting together with a friend at a local coffee shop. I haven't seen her in a bit, so it'll be great to visit with her. I will offer to treat, as I received some gift certificates to the shop from a couple of the preschoolers as end of the school year gifts. Looking forward to this treat!

First I need to get the laundry on the line, so I had better get going. Enjoy your day and take care!

Never get done as much as I would like on the weekends. I always think having more people around will translate to more helpers. Wherever did I get a crazy idea like that?!!

As soon as the last two girls got on their bus this morning, I got to work. The laundry is washed and on the line (the morning rain gave way to a beautiful breezy day - yay!) I noticed the bananas had become ripe for baking, so I tried a new muffin recipe. One of my second daughter's teachers told her he'd have to request having her in class next year, so he could get some more of the pumpkin bread we gave out to the teachers for Christmas. I can take a hint, so whipped up that batter, as long as the oven was going anyway. He's been a wonderful teacher, so my girl will bring in a big loaf to him, along with the recipe (since my daughter wants to move up to 8th grade next year!) Now I'm 'thinking' of entering the disaster zone, I mean my youngest two girls' bedroom. I may need to ponder this a bit longer.

We're in our last four days of school, filled with end-of-year events. We have three medical appts this week - one I'll need to pay outright and two with co-pays. I work tomorrow morning for a bit at my school. My mom's care conference is on Wednesday. My youngest's class has an ice cream social, and my third daughter graduates from 5th grade on Thursday. I'm thinking I should enjoy my quiet Monday!

'Tis all for now...take care!

...and how did it get to be June already?!

Last week, I cleaned some very neglected parts of my house, and also worked as a last minute special ed sub at the Intermediate school, which makes for a rewarding, albeit exhausting, time. Tons of laundry went up on the line yesterday, as well as dropping off and picking up my husband's company van for some repair work ( he leaves for Fargo to install and program a security system tomorrow, and needs a properly running vehicle.)

The repair shop was near a Kmart, where I stopped to see if there was the kind of tops my mom likes to wear. The nursing home staff called during the week to say she's gained enough weight and needed some new sizes - she's still in the wheelchair with a sore healing on her foot, after 7 months, which accounts for this gain. My brother and I are meeting with staff on Wed for Mom's care conference, to see where we are with returning her back to
physical therapy. I brought the seven new shirts to her yesterday, along with my third daughter and her dog. Mom was having a fairly agitated day, and wanted to get up out of the wheelchair, which set off her alarm (which hardly helped the situation.) Not the most relaxing visit, but she loved the new shirts and enjoyed a walk outside to look at the flowers in the garden. I figured if I was pushing her around, she wouldn't try leaping out of the chair, and I was right. Phew, what a visit... It may be a long summer.

Medical issues of now two daughters are still weighing heavy, but I'm trying to focus on only what I can do at the moment, rather than look too far ahead. Well, I'm mindful of what the future holds, but with little that can be done, I try to not get myself too worked up with worry. Times like these, make hanging laundry on the line, or cleaning, or baking such peaceful, productive activities in my life.

Otherwise for today, we will work on getting my husband ready for his out-of-town work - he's hauling 12 boxes of cable, I think each holds a 1000 ft. I'll bake the weekly batch of rhubarb muffins - the good old plants still going strong. Of course, there's laundry to wash and hang.

I have a giftcard from one of my students for a local nursery, so I'll head over later and get some (few at their prices!) annual flowers for our pots. I have gardens throughout my yard that have perrenials, mostly divides from family and friends. I also fill in with lots of collected things, almost all free or gifts. Some ceramic and terracotta figures, birdhouses and garden stakes that the girls have painted throught the years, handprints in cement pavers, coal scuttle, old washbasins, odds and ends of marble - from my parents place before demolition (a previous owner was a headstone carver and brought home the leftover odd pieces to create pavers and a retaining wall.) Well, what I lack in flowers may or may not be disguised by my odd collection scattered throughtout the gardens, but I enjoy it all anyway.

What a loooong entry, too long! Anyway, I think it's time to get moving...take care!

...raining on my (laundry) parade. Well, most of what I washed dried fine on the line. I've relocated the woven table runner from the line to a series of hangers over the bathtub. The biggest quilt was almost dry, and is air drying across the dining room table. (Swatting away three curious kittens is the new game at our house.)

The living and dining room components are all clean - just need to put everything back together again. (Ha - right as I'm losing steam, but I will charge on, with a totally clean area in my house as the reward. I won't be taking bets on how long it all lasts...)

Still left to do - mix up some rhubarb muffin batter to start baking. I've offered the family other rhubarb options, but they can't seem to get enough of this newest recipe I found a few weeks ago. This is fine with me, as it's simple and quick to bake a bunch of muffins.

Dinner is our everpresent favorite, spaghetti.

'Tis all for now - take care!

...the cleaning roll, that is. Yesterday, the washing machine was in constant use. In addition to the normal laundry of the day, the covers on the couch and the pillows were washed, and hung on the line. I stitched up one of the covers, where it had split a seam. A bit more use left in these covers.

I also soaked two throw rugs in warm water and borax. Our senior citizen dog gets confused about whether to use those two rugs near the door or to actually go outside. She often chooses poorly. Spot cleaning only does so much. So, as a last ditch effort in making these rugs last a while longer, I tried the soaking. They are still drying on the line, but smell much better, and don't look the worse for doing this.

Today I'm going to hand wash and line dry the quilts that hang on the wall. Some are my husband's grandmother's that she made for him, and some are ones I've made through the years. I actually enjoy doing this chore. It's a bit of a job, but I love checking how each quilt is fairing up on the wall and making any repairs. Then, of course, they look and smell so wonderful when clean. We're having perfect weather for all this line drying!

The wonderful corollary to all this cleaning - who has time to go and spend money?? Enjoy your day - take care!

We got back from our camping trip over the weekend. Wonderful, relaxing time, though hot and humid. We were lucky to be able to cool off in the St. Croix River during the day, and only had one night where we sweltered a bit in the tents. We canoed a different portion of the river than previous years. We also met some very interesting (in a good way!) people this trip. I always marvel at how my family's and others' paths cross, with the river being the common factor to bring us all together this time.

In the last few days before the girls are off from school, I'm using the time to clean the house and clear out more clutter. I find it quite amazing how much there is given how little shopping we do beyond groceries. I guess it's part that my girls are outgrowing a lot of things and part that we are passing along a lot of pass-along things from others. Either way, we have enough, and it's nice to pass along the excess.

With our early exit of spring, we pulled out the window fans (we have some window a/c units, but using them in May is not even an option!) It's the season for closing the miniblinds to the sun, doing the hot chores in the morning, and just spending time out of the house during the hot afternoon hours - playing in the shade or at the beach, visiting the a/c library, running errands (well, probably not as often this year with the price of gas!)... Our hope is to not use the a/c units at all this year. (This is very possible, as we've only acquired the units in the last couple years - giveaways from a friend and from my mom's house when she went to assisted living - we just need some reminding of our old frugal ways.)

Well, off to hang more laundry on the line outside, plan a dinner that doesn't involve a campfire and clean while the temps are in the 80s with a low dewpoint - life is pretty good with a low dewpoint! Take care!!

Yesterday was the last day of my MWF preschool class. There will be some room clean-up and staff meetings over the next couple weeks, but then I'll be done until August's Get Ready for Kindergarten class.

Laundry, cleaning up around the house and bill paying are rounding out the day so far. What an exciting life I have!

The putzing part of my day included calculating our medical expenses. Including my husband's OT so far this year, we've paid out 18% of our income to medical expenses (hospital and dr copays and prescriptions.) If we hadn't had the OT, we would have spent 25% of our income - ugh! (Keep thinking positive thoughts...um, at least we know where all of our efforts in reducing the other expense areas of our budget are going.) Enough putzing with the budget for today!!

Good news - We're almost ready to head out camping Friday after the girls get home from school. We packed the van with the tent, sleeping bags and cooking gear last weekend. We need only add the food and clothes. The campsite is at a state park a couple hours from us. It's on the St. Croix River (divides MN and WIS.) We'll set up camp, bike, hike and canoe. The weather in predicted to be wonderful too. Looking forward to our first camping trip for the year! Take care!!

..then I'll hang the laundry out in our gorgeous warm weather.

My TTH preschool class ended last week, so I'm off today. Wow, I'm here without anyone home! I don't think this has happened all school year. Hmm, the possibilities seem endless of what I can do today...all alone. Well, there is that laundry and plenty of house straightening to do. I'm sure I'll come up with something, once I get myself off this computer!

Spent two hours on the phone yesterday talking with the various departments of our health insurance. I wanted to make sure there wasn't something we were missing in maximizing our benefits. I also started checking with the State and our county on possible help. Thanks for the suggestions...it's definitely a road I wish I wasn't on, but as a mom, there is absolutely no other choice than to be on it. We inch and hurtle along the way as the ride requires. We will get through this, I know. I always say, such drama I have in my quiet little life!

The wash cycle has ended...so onto my day's work. Take care!

My good old rhubarb plants are providing for today's baking. No complaints as of yet on another rhubarb recipe!

Have you ever had a piece of clothing so perfect that you can't imagine being without it? I have a navy blue nylon windbreaker that goes to mid-thigh. It cinches at the waist, has a hood and a double zipper (so it's easy to sit in), and washes up beautifully. I can wear it alone, or add a polar fleece for more warmth, and it keeps me fairly dry in rain too. Except for the definite winter months here in MN, I make use of it from April to November. I wear it everywhere I go to - church to rustic camping and hiking (I wouldn't wear it to a really fancy place, but 'tis not a problem I encounter of late!) I bought it a few years ago for cheap. Recently, I caught the pocket on a door handle, and ripped it off-seam. I am making the repair on it, which will be easy with the dark fabric. I love this jacket, and dread the day I will have to replace it! I wish I had the foresight to see how great this jacket would turn out to be; I would have bought a second one to stash away for if and when my old one needs to be replaced. Oh well, I'll just have to watch out for menacing door handles!

I've been spending the day puttering. A few odds and ends are getting done, and finally get to be crossed off my to-do list. My husband is at his parents, helping out on their spring-time list of chores. They invited us to have grilled brats with them afterwards. A good way to end a puttering sort of day! Take care!

Work was busy today - the kids definitely sense the school year's end!

Got the laundry up on the line. It's not real breezy, but there's enough air moving to do the job.

I'm going to do a little straightening around the house. The girls are having some friends over after school, and later we'll do some grilling.

My husband will go over to help his parents out tomorrow morning. I know of two school projects for my youngest to get started on this weekend. Tomorrow I'll head to the thrift bread store and do my grocery shopping for the next two weeks. And last, we're packing the camp gear into the big van for our camping trip over Memorial weekend. The week is looking very busy, and we want to leave Friday after the girls get home from school. I can hardly wait!

The weekend is shaping up nice - just enough activity to keep us from being total slugs, but plenty of relaxing time too.

Enjoy your weekend! Take care!!

To rain, or not to rain - that is the question I ask, before I go off to work!

It looks like rain clouds are heading our way from the northwest, so I'll wait to hang out the laundry. If there's no rain when I get back from work, I can hang the clothes, and be here to watch for rain.

I've been doing what a few here are doing with their laundry - spinning it twice in the washer to get more of the moisture out of the clothes. Well, I tried it, and noticed that the clothes didn't really seem more drier. So, the last few times I've watched the 2nd spin cycle, and have seen hardly any water come out into the laundry tub. I wonder if my spin cycle is pretty efficient to start? I feel like I'm just wasting electricity doing the second spin. (I think this really qualifies being under those very, very small things we do in the quest to save money!) Take care!

...helps a lot! I've had a couple weeks of insomnia - I fall asleep easy enough, but wake up at four in the morning, not able to go back to sleep. A couple more nights like last night, and everything in my life right now will feel much more manageable.

I go to work in a bit, then when I get home, I'll start in on making some calls in my search for some help with our medical situation. Thank you so much for the kind and helpful comments! It really is so unimaginable to have fairly decent insurance, and have this happening. I guess we've found where our weak spot is in our financial picture.

It's a beautiful, sunny day (two in a row now - we're on a roll!) My clothes are ready to hang on the line outside. Spaghetti is in the crockpot for tonight's dinner. These three things make me feel better already! Take care!

Worked extra today - getting ready for the Tuesday-Thursday preschool class' final day field trip on Thursday. The kids were squirrely today, though luckily, we could play a long while outside.

Payed off the last of the hospital bills from March. The facility that my oldest goes to weekly (and sometimes more often) is helping us look into a way to continue her treatment. Our insurance contract limits what they'll cover in my daughter's treatment, and the cost is way beyond what we can afford. We're getting close to when all of the treatment will be our responsibility.

The place has offered to write up an appeal, though the insurance company says there would no point, as our contract has limitations. I figure there's no harm in doing it. Another possibility is to see if United Way has anything to offer - again the facility is looking into this. And last is taking out a medical loan, with a fee reduction, and making payments. At least, there are some options for us. I've been searching online for help beyond what medical insurance will pay for. I haven't been successful yet, but am still searching and calling around. I'm getting quite the lesson on the ins and outs of this new to us insurance!

I tried out a new rhubarb muffin recipe that the girls have been eating over the last few mornings. Very good! The continual rain of late has my rhubarb growing to massive size. Almost daily, I pick, and either use and freeze the stalks - a bumper crop!

Well, there is sun outside - a rare sight lately. The lawn is definitely overdue on mowing...so out I go! Take care!

Worked extra again today - finished the last touches on the Mother's Day gifts the preschoolers will take home to their moms tomorrow.

Trying to make some decisions about my oldest's medical path. I feel like we're at the limit of what we can handle to pay for (our portion after the insurance pays.) We visit with the dr today - maybe there will be more info to make a clearer decision about what we should do. All I know is my head is swimming from trying to work out the figures against what funds we have available, talking to the insurance company, and yes, helping my daughter get through it all too. Insurance seems to be a big game that I wish had easier instructions to wallow through.

The busyness of the day continues through the afternoon and evening. In a bit I pick up my oldest for her dr appt. Afterwards, we head from there to the schools again to pick up my two youngest from each of their Girl Scout meetings. We eat a very quick meal at home. Then head back to the school again for the 5th-8th grade year-end band concert, which include my two middle girls. Then onto the homework - yikes! Finally, the two youngest and I need to pack for an event at the Girl Scout camp this weekend. We stay overnight on Friday and spend the day doing activities - and I'm so not in the right frame of mind for it! I will give myself a stern talking to, and make a great effort for the girls. (Grumble, grumble - GS is great for the girls, but why, oh why is everything packed in at the end?? Ok, all done with that.)

Boy, enough of the whining for me...take care!

The two girls, who were sick yesterday, have recovered and headed off to school this morning. So far, no one else in the family has shown any signs of the illness. What luck so far!

I got a call last night to cover one of my co-workers on Wednesday over the lunch period. A few more dollars on my paycheck in face of the upcoming drought while I'm off for the summer.

It's been so crazy busy lately, between working extra hours and attending to the school year-end activities. It's hard to get to all of the frugal things I usually like to do. Luckily, we tend to live without, rather than throw money at what we're lacking - too busy to even spend! I'm relying heavily on my trusty crockpot and meal plan - haven't eaten out yet, in response to being too tired and busy. A big yay, as this is where money has flew out of our hands in the past.

Per family request - no crockpot dinner tonight. Once we're home today, we can stay home. I took some chicken out to defrost in the frig, and we'll grill it up. Shaping up to be a relaxing sort of evening...well, of course, there is the homework and school projects. At least we can be home and not in the van!

Enjoy your day...take care!

My oldest and third stayed home from school due to yucky tummies. (Please don't let this spread!!)

I went to work, and was able to sign up for some extra hours later this month and in June. Dollars to my paycheck!

Going to pull some more rhubarb for baking - it's growing like mad.

Time for the homework onslaught.

Take care!

Wow, May has gotten off to a busy start! Lots of appts and driving this week - dentist, orthodontist, two dr visits. Don't even ask about the co-pays. Oh well, all is going well, and that is nothing to complain about!

After working extra hours at work and making today's dr visit, I was wiped out. I so wanted to go out to eat! My husband worked a little longer today, so I had time to sit for a bit. That helped. Then my oldest had a friend come over. So I got up enough momentum to put some hot dogs on the grill, whip up a pasta salad and heat up some baked beans. I added some chipotle seasoning to some leftover sour cream, and served it with some cut-up vegies (our nod to Cinco de Mayo!)

I am trying to be more aware of using up the odds and ends that gather in my frig. Last year we had a teenage boy living with us, and odds and ends were never an issue. I tend to overbuy fresh fruit and vegies. I'm doing better with the fruit - using the more perishable early in the two weeks. But the vegies - well, I need to be more realistic of what we really eat, not just what I think we should be eating. I also liked someone's suggestion of looking at the day's start at what needs to be used up that day. I know, what a simple thing! Sometimes I think ideas have to hit me at the right time, and then whap me along side the head.

The weekend is looking to be one of the less busier this month. Our dog goes in to the vet for her annual visit. Then in the afternoon, she goes to get her annual grooming. If Maisy's up to it, I'll take her to visit Mom (it's her dog.) My third daughter has a girl scout field trip, and the oldest will be washing cars for a fundraiser at our local grocery. The rest of Saturday and Sunday are open, and predicted to be sunny and a bit warmer. I'll grocery shop, and then tackle some outdoor projects. Here's to making a dent in the to-do list! Take care!

I got a call today from the school's childcare program, asking if I wanted some sub hours. I prefer the preschool setting, but am willing to try doing the childcare. The director needed someone for earlier today, but I couldn't due to an orthodontist appt for my daughter. The second time was for Friday afternoon, but my oldest has a dr appt. I think I have the spending portion of my life down pat - need to work on that income part!

Oh well, I'll let her know when I'm generally available for the rest of this school year, and possibly a little to help her out this summer. Though after being at home with the girls for almost 12 years, and now only working when they are in school, I'm not too keen about being away when they're home. I'm blessed to even have the option of being home with them in the summer and school holidays. Very blessed.

Good news - we're still holding at seven pets at our house. The youngest brought home a note, stating that the crayfish her class have been raising are needing good homes. I looked at her, and she emphatically said, "No way, they pinch!" We did play a little joke on Daddy, though. He panicked for a moment at the thought of adding a crayfish to our menagerie. It's good to know we draw the line at crustaceans.

Enjoy your evening. Take care!

After work today, I went to visit Mom in the nursing home. I found her in the activity room,and as always she was excited for a visit.

Soon after I got there, one of the activity directors brought out a box packed with old linens. I helped her hand out the pieces to everyone. You wouldn't believe the embroidery, tatting, crocheting... There was even a piece that had crochet edging on a piece of handemade linen (that traveled from Sweden with the director's husband's great-grandma many years ago.) Most of the pieces were from her husband's great-aunt; some collected from garage sales.

It was fun to see the residents' interest in the linens, and hear memories invoked by the pieces. My mom, being young enough to be of a different era than the other residents, stated very clearly that she never created such things or had them lying around the house. This was true. She still had fun admiring an embroidered piece with birds - birds she's always loved.

I enjoyed that the director had such appreciation for these pieces of beauty. Not everyone does, and many times such items can be found for free or very cheap. My husband's grandma made sure he had a trunk full of quilts, crochet-edged pillowcases and doilies to bring into our marriage. She was long gone by our wedding, but I thought it was a pretty neat inheritance and legacy.

This probably doesn't relate to anything moneywise. How about... enjoy using what you have, have what you want, and if you don't want to keep something, there is probably someone who will want it. Boy, what a way to bring it back to finances!

Excuse my nostalgic mood...take care!

I picked the first rhubarb of the season. With our recent rains, the plants tripled in size practically overnight. I'm making muffins for afterschool snacks and lunches.

When I got married in 1984, my rhubarb was divided from plants at my parents' place. The rhubarb was there when they bought the place in 1963, and I suppose could have potentially been around since the house was built in the early 1900s. Wow, historical and free - what a combination!

In a bit, I head to the school for an IEP meeting for my youngest. Chicken stir fry is on the menu for tonight. The three younger girls are all having their state exams, so no homework for them tonight. My youngest participates with a monthly bookclub in her classroom, and they have free choice with this month's selection. She chose Secret Garden, and we'll read it together and make a good start on it tonight. It finally stopped raining this afternoon, though it's still cloudy and chilly. Definitely a good cuddle and read night. Take care!

After church, we did go to drop off our donations at the thrift shop and picked up our receipt. The family proceeded to peruse the aisles of the store. The girls and I all got something (my husband held out for the nearby hobby store.) Used a 20% off coupon the store had sent to me, plus found some items in the 50% off area. So did well, for cheap.

We went to the hobby shop, and my husband bought something he's been waiting a while for (no sale or coupon, but hey, he works hard and asks for little - plus the fact that it was inexpensive helped.)

Next, we went to a chinese/thai restaurant that we had a giftcard for, and were waiting to use. We paid a little beyond the card's value, but the gift made the restaurant affordable for the six of us. We traded food all around, so we all had tastes of six different dishes. It was fabulous!

Home again, we're all hanging out. My husband is ditzing with his new puchase. The two youngest playing games - pick-up sticks at the moment. My second is taking a shower. The oldest is vying for the computer (so I'm hurrying!)

No dinner to cook - we are stuffed. I'm thinking of relaxing with my 69 cent 'new' book I picked up from the shop earlier - Tales of a Female Nomad. Utter relaxation to enjoy...take care!

At least, the newly seeded areas of our lawn are getting watered well.

Today, we are thinking of making a run to donate to a thrift shop that benefits the mentally handicapped. We'll take a gander through the aisles - on the lookout for jeans and shorts for the girls mostly. I also like to look over the book section. We don't always find what we're looking for, but we're not desperate for anything either. It's fun to look, cheap to buy if something is found, and more importantly, we have left if what we're looking for wasn't found!

I always waiver between donating (and keeping track for tax time) and having a garage sale. It feels like everything we have has gone through the ranks of the four girls - can any of it be worth all that much to go through the effort of a sale?? I do know some people make a fair amount of profit at their sales. People wouldn't keep having sales if they weren't making money, right? I participated in our town' community garage sale several years back. I spent weeks culling through the corners of the house and garage, making things look presentable and pricing them low (25 cents was my favorite amount!) It rained. I made $10, and donated the rest for a lot more than that in tax deductions. A lot of work for little gain. I may have to come to terms with the fact that I may be severely garage sale challenged! (And leave the holding of sales to those who aren't!)

Enjoy your day..Take care!

Rainy, rainy. Slept in a little this morning. Went to my second daughter's band competition - her Mozart duet went well. She'll find out her score from her band teacher at school on Monday. The two youngest are still at the Grandma tea. They were all dressed up in pretty dresses, and my youngest had on a hot pink straw hat to crown her ensemble. They brought two of my china teacups for the tea. I hope they have a fun time with Grandma.

The rest of the day has involved laundry, cleaning and baking for the week. I know, what an exciting life I lead!

Going over the finances, and I'm thinking I may not have to take from the savings to cover the first $1000 bill of my oldest's recent hospital stay. A little tightening up on the spending, and we can cover it. We still have the meds, lab, dr and emergency room fees from the stay, but they look pretty manageable. Having a reserve of funds has helped us!

I find it funny that I keep thinking we have made all the changes in an area of spending than we can, only to revisit it and find that yes, we can do better. Hope is everpresent!

In our situation, part of this fact can be attributed to season changes - utility charges reflect this. I also think change happens bit by bit, and the small successes spur us on to try out even more ideas.

Hmmm...quite the philosophical waxing amid all the practical cleaning around the house! Back to action! Take care!!

...a few items crossed off the to-do list! This is quite the accomplishment, as I'm beyond tired. The weather is hardly helpful, being chilly and drizzly.

It took much effort to drag myself out of bed. I got the girls off to school, and managed the morning chores before I left for work. The worms were emancipated from our sensory table today!! They are now enjoying their new lives in our school's garden beds.

After work, I ran some errands, made numerous calls to set up various appointments, and cleaned up around the house. Nothing too exciting, except these things get to be crossed off my list.

Looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend. Tonight is homemade pizza and a movie at home. Tomorrow morning my second daughter has a band ensemble competition - she is part of a clarinet duet playing a piece by Mozart. In the afternoon, my two youngest have a grandma/grandaughters tea (an early part of my MIL's Mother's Day gift.)

If I'm looking for more to do, there IS the rest of that neverending list. Enjoy your weekend! Take care!!

I worked extra today so one of my coworkers could get off early to visit her new grandchild. She's a young grandma. I'm 43, and I think she's only 2 or 3 years older than me. I can't even imagine being a grandma that young, but what fun she is having! It better be a while before I'm a grandma!!

I work the last Kindergarten Connection night tonight. It's hard working on school nights with the girls' homework and all, but extra dollars on the paycheck will be much appreciated.

In a bit, I pick up my daughter for her medical appt - actually she'll see two doctors, with two co-pays. I keep telling myself to be thankful for medical care and insurance, but handing over the copays week after week gets a bit discouraging. At least the money isn't being spent on frivalous things.

Got our latest electrical bill, and month by month, it's been getting lower. We have natural gas for the furnace, water heater, dryer and oven. So being vigilant about what's on (and could/should be off,) swapping out incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent, and searching out those hidden usage sources is paying off. As with most things in my life, there is still room to improve, but we're headed in the right direction.

Enjoy your day! Take care!!

It's near 70 and sunny gorgeous.

Got a bit done this morning. I washed and hung the laundry on the line outside. Dinner was readied to pop into the crockpot - scalloped potatoes and ham. Got the girls off to school, then headed into work.

Paint, paint, and more paint! And believe it or not, one of the teachers put worms in the sensory table. I was the advocate for these lowly worms (note, the I who had to hide being a little squeamish about our little visitors.) The preschoolers will be murmuring 'be gentle' for every worm they come across. I undrowned all the grass the kids planted in cups. More water isn't better, teacher?! But I got through it all unscathed. Worked a little extra today too.

Visited my mom after work. I took her outside for a walk, well I pushed her in the wheelchair. She (and us!) are so anxious to have her foot heal, so she can again receive physical therapy, and get back to using her walker. Feet take forever to heal, and I know they are being very careful to have it fully healed. On our walk, she kept talking about a house across the street from the nursing home - I couldn't figure out what it was about the house, but it was quite the engaging topic for her. There were new baby birds in the home's aviary to admire and talk about too.

Wednesday is our busy day - the two youngest have bell choir practice at church and the oldest has confirmation. My second went to church with the neighbors. A check on the homework situation, and a few more chores before dinner to accomplish.

Have a great rest of today! Take care!!

It's a beautiful sunny day - just not very warm. Last night the temp was down in the 30s outside (60 inside this morning - heat is off, so piled on blankets!) We had 80 here a couple days ago! Ahh, Minnesota. At least, there was no snow like some in the west had. I wanted to hang the laundry outside, but with temps so low and hardly a breeze - wimped out and used the dryer instead.

Grocery-shopped yesterday for the next two weeks. I've been shopping every two weeks since January, and it's working great in keeping that portion of the budget down. I've been consistantly spending $200-230 for two weeks of groceries. This covers three meals a day for six people (bring lunches to school and work), some pet items (we get the majority of food and supplies at Petco once a month) and most of our paper, cleaning, and health/beauty needs. Previously, I spent $150-170 a week. So quite the savings! I've learned two things: 1) Shopping is not a favorite pasttime for me anyway, so I get to do it half as much. 2) The less time I spend in the store, the less I spend (I know, this one is very profound!)

Most importantly, the grocery savings have allowed us to fund a small emergency fund, have helped us to keep current with the medical bills of late, as well as, have let us up what we are paying monthly toward the cc debt (with no charges for almost a year, and consistent 'more than minimum' and some 'way more' payments, we are seeing progress!) It does feel good to be in charge of the finances, instead of the other way around. You all are good influences here!

I'm jealous of all the talk of gardening lately. Here in MN, after May 15 is when it's usually safe to plant anything not frost tolerant (and often there is still a lot of covering things up at night.) So I've raked, cleared the perrenial beds off, and planted our frost tolerant pansies in the wondow boxes of the girls' playhouse. Our trees have gotten so tall over the years, that I'm getting less and less full sun, and lugging vegies around the yard catching the rays of the sun is a less than fun activity. I was just reading in our community ed brochure that garden plots will go for $10 behind the school I work at, not even a block away. The $10 covers the tilling and fencing (very necessary - the school backs up to woods with deer, raccoons, rabbits and more.) Sounds like a good deal for a sunny patch and fresh vegies.

Another spring time thing to do at our house - clean the garage! I ended up piling in my mom's stuff from her move from assisted living to the nursing home. Decisions will have to be made. Then there is the yard and patio furniture to freshen up with paint. So far, only one chair needs a full paint job. This stuff is ancient - some were my parents' things, some even my grandparents'. I can only imagine how many times they've been painted over the years. But nothing beats how well they were made - steel and wrought iron - heavy but indistructible! And I still have paint leftover from last year that's still good.

Enjoy your day. Take care!

...that the weekend holds for us!

It was just my husband, youngest and myself at home last evening. We offered to go out to eat, but couldn't think of anywhere we wanted to spend our money, so opted instead to rent some movies and eat at home. We usually make use of our own collection of favorite movies, but every three or four months we rent a few (December was the last time we rented!) I watched 'Dreamer' with my youngest last night. Enjoyable, but glad to rent rather than own. Bambi II, Mummy and Mummy Returns still to view - from one end of the movie spectrum to the other! Far less than a meal out, and more fun too.

While the movies are what we'll do in the next few evenings, our days will remain busy! I'm heading over to the bread store in a little bit - Saturday is discount day. I'm getting better at tracking our usage, so haven't run out of what we need, or ended up with indistinguishable ice chunks in the bottom of the chest freezer. I throw my purchases into the freezer when I get home, so I'm set for the month. It's such a treat to spend around $10 for 4-5 grocery bags - what a deal!

Then on some sad business later this morning, I'll attend the memorial service to celebrate the life of a dear friend from a writer's group I was in for a while. Almost a year and a half ago, he had a heart transplant (after a whole lifetime of heart troubles and surgeries.) He fought so hard to keep on living, but his body couldn't handle all that it was dealt. He was 61, and while it is so very sad to see him gone, he truly lived life to the fullest - and we are all the better for knowing him. In the eight years that I've known him, he showed us all the importance of family and friends, life and love. I will miss him.

The rest of today will be filled with outside work - gorgeous day - and grocery shopping for the next two weeks.

On Sunday, my oldest is lector at church, and there's Sunday school for the younger three. Otherwise, the rest of the day is open...with boundless possibilities. Could check out the signs of Spring at a great little forest preserve a couple miles from our house. Of course, there IS the garage that could use a bit of Spring cleaning, and, well, the vans themselves could use some of that cleaning too. The lawn furniture needs a bit of paint. Some baking to do for the week. Hmmm, boundless!

Enjoy your weekend - take care!

It's so windy today that within two hours my clothes were dry on the line. And I took them down at the right moment, as I was feeling a spattering of sprinkles in the wind just beginning. I love clothesline weather!

Got the biggest of the hospital bills today - boy, this hospital is faster than the one we used last November. Have the money set aside for it, at least.

Was going to try to hang the laundry that I washed before leaving for work this morning on the line outside, but a bank of dark clouds is moving in quickly from the southwest.

Wednesday is a busy night with the girls all heading to church , but at different times. So crockpot spaghetti is on the menu for an early dinner at 5pm. (We still eat all together - we just move the time around as needed.)

I was catching up the checkbook yesterday, and was sort of panicking, because it seemed that I had a lot of debit card receipts and checks to log in. (Probably could tell my panic by my long, rambling entry yesterday!) So I marked them all down, and sat back feeling a little silly. I only spent as we had planned and budgeted for, except for a small amount at Target (something we needed, just vague as to when.) I shared this with my husband, and we had to laugh at being out of the practice of spending our money that it seemed we were being quite reckless. May we remain so out of practice!

(Ok, I have to share what I got...bath towels. I happened on a clearance of better quality, cheaper than what I was pricing, AND in the color I wanted! Our old ones were very well-used. This is my third set of towels since my husband and I got married in 1984 - yup, very well-used old towels, very appreciated new ones. It is quite simple to make me happy! Hey, and I got some new towels to replenish the rag bag - oh, yay!!)

Hey, and it's not so bad looking to the SW, maybe I'll try the clothesline yet! Better get to it. Take care!!