Errand day

I didn't get a call to sub today, but it was just as well. Kathleen yelled, "BUS!!!" at the top of her lungs as she ran out the door after her brothers. A few minutes later, I heard the tell-tale sound of the girls' bathroom door opening and closing, and Kylie strolling down the hallway, completely oblivious that the bus had come and gone.

So, because Keith had been working on his truck in the garage, I had to do some serious defrosting of the huge ice burg in the driveway that was our van, and took the little pixie girl to school myself.

I got home, got a few loads of laundry done before Keith rolled out of bed. (Sundays and Mondays are his days off.) And we went off to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. This will be our last outing of this sort for quite some time until we get our finances back in order. It was yummy and the company was nice.

We left in our separate cars to run our various errands. I got a lot done today. I got a haircut. Then I went to Michaels to get yarn for Christmas projects. Then I was off to Linens N Things where I got a turkey platter, ice cube trays and a grocery bag dispenser for $3 (because they're closing and things are on sale and I got to use a gift card!) Then, I did my round of stops to get groceries for the next two weeks. First to Dollar Tree for shampoos, conditioners and toothpaste. Second to BJs (like Costco) for bulk goods. Third to Kroger for the rest of the groceries. While shopping, I got everything we'll need for Thanksgiving. Yes, I did. I quite possibly broke my record for early preparation! (Which wasn't hard, seeing as I almost always get Thanksgiving stuff the day before and sometimes even the day of Thanksgiving.)

Keith did boring stuff like get pine straw for the yard, oil and other fluids for both of the cars, and Thanksgiving decorations for some work event. Fun, fun, fun for him.

As we continue to make the changes necessary to get our finances under control, I've been very happy with one particular change. The TV change. This has been a big one. Even though we're only saving $12 a month, it's already changed a lot of how I do things. I'm making dinner on time. The kids are more on top of their chores and homework. I've been reading like crazy. I've been talking with Keith and the kids. I've been getting to bed earlier. I've been catching up with laundry. The only thing that has suffered has been crochet projects, because I'm not in front of the TV for hours at a time while occasionally crocheting.

Keith brought me home a box of my favorite candy -- cherry cordials -- a la Dollar Tree. Kade wanted to know how much it cost. I told him that it's not polite to ask how much a gift costs.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, "but you know Mom, I don't do tea parties. I play football with my friends!"

"Uh-hu."

That's my boy!