slippery slope (not soap, blue's clues fans)

so nate and i have purposed to not spend money going out to eat lately. one, because we should be spending our money more wisely than dining out. and two, because we felt that our kids had become "too comfortable" with going out to eat all the time, when its actually a blessing to be taken out, so it should be a reward.

anyways.

so this past weekend, friday namely, nate and i met up in plymouth to hang out while parker was at a birthday party at pump it up. every parent has suffered through this once or twice, so you do the best to stay busy. we decided to go to leann chin. YUM! what a treat, considering we hadn't been there in such a long time. so we eat dinner, bum around michaels crafts for a while, and then pick up parker.

but after we get him, we're feeling "peckish". so we decide we need dessert from wendy's. namely FROSTYs!




not too bad, right? keep reading.




then on saturday, after i get off work to find out i have a flat tire (bummer!), we head up to Tires Plus to get a spare put on. they tell us they're going to order one, so kill the time letting the kiddos spend their birthday $ at target. but let's get some snacks at the cafe first.

cha-ching

then sunday, through all sorts of lack of planning, it becomes 2 o'clock before the kids haven't even eaten lunch. i am running out the door for the 5th, so i tell nate just to take them to BK.

double cha-ching

after the 5th, since i never ate lunch, nate and i decide to get some chipotle and have a mini date night. fun?? yes. romantic? yes. budgety?








no.

fast forward to monday morning, when i balance the checkbook every week. it balances, but i can't figure out why i don't have any grocery money.

oh yeah, its because i spent $97 in three days on things that (through planning and a little effort) i could have made at home.


like i said, its a slippery slope. nate and my new favorite catch phrase:





"lesson learned"

just for miss susan

thank you for your kind words. you touched my heart, truly. so, comment away, my friend. :)

here come's the bride

my cousin is getting married next june.

my aunt asked if we'd come to the wedding, it would mean a lot to tina.

sure.

so i go to drivepricing.com to find out how much gas will be. $300

sure, still coming.

and then i go start pricing out hotels for six. keep in mind, i want to have a nice one, with a pool, that's close to everything fun and the wedding. and, it needs to be for 4 nights. $700

possibly still coming.

and then i start pricing out fun things to do in the area. because i TALKED nate into coming with us (its a heglund thing, so its obligatory at best!), so this is our family vacation. $300+


we might come.

just kidding! we're going. it just goes to show how much a "sure, we'll come" will cost you.

this is what i get for having a job

i work. at bob's produce. an entry level job where i love the people. yep, i do.

saturdays and sundays. i'd rather not work, but our budget requires it right now. saturdays i work a 6-8 hour shift, and then come home to make dinner, run laundry and homework. sundays i start at 7 am at Bob's, work until 2:30, come home and shower, and then head to the 5th service until 9:00 or so. its not new, its been going on for a while. it is what it is.

i'm not whining, just giving you an idea of what goes on.

i try to make it easy on nate when i am gone. leave him easy meals, and very little "to-do" list things to do. i tell him, "the kids don't have to do their 'chore lists' (every mom has a once a week chore list), but just have them keep the house picked up".

here's what he understood it to mean:

"please make sure that you leave any messes you don't want to clean up for me to do on my day off on Monday. "

and here's a taste of what i woke up to, which i will be cleaning for the next four to six hours. keep in mind, its my "day off".






happy monday to me.

another day, another laugh

a little humor

sometimes words just fail me...