A Weekend of Fall Activities
Yesterday I did my monthly run to BJ's. I was good and shopped with a list and a menu plan in my head. I didn't deviate much from the list and ended up spending about $250, which is about what I expected for 2-3 weeks of food. Today I went to the grocery store to buy the rest of the things we need and spent about $140. All totalled I probably have enough food for meals for us for the next 3 weeks, with additional runs to the store for produce and milk, eggs, bread stuff. I am hoping to stay under $700 for the month.
I also had to get the older boys new sneakers and soccer shorts, and popped into Stride Rite to get the baby some new shoes. I felt like the worst mother when they measured her feet and I realized she was wearing shoes that were a full size too small. Guess that's why she didn't like them much ;-)
Today we were supposed to go apple picking. The orchard that we usually go to does not have any more picking this season, so we were going to venture to one that is much farther away from us. Rob decided this morning that he'd rather not, to put it mildly. I think his reasons involved the words "rather be hog-tied and dragged along behind the van". Yes, our 3yr old has been *very* three lately.
Instead we went out to breakfast and then to a local pumpkin patch for a hayride and to pick out our halloween pumpkins. Seventy dollars later we had pumpkins. I almost died when she told me how much they were going to cost. But I really felt like dying later on when I saw equally wonderfully pumpkins for sale at the grocery store at 3 for $10.
We came home and did some of the fall chores around the house and yard. I have found a really good rule of thumb for determining if your children are old enough to help do a particular chore. As soon as they are old enough to effectively do the job, they no longer have any interest in doing it all. What this means is that I have lots of willing eager helpers who are under the age of 5.
I hate to admit it, but it really tries my patience to have people "helping" me, who are really making even more work. I try hard to keep in mind that it the big scheme of things it really isn't important that it be done perfectly. But if my 9 yr old, who was using the leaf blower, blew dirt and leaves onto the front porch I was cleaning with my 1yr old and 3 yr old "helpers" one more time, I was going to explode.
Rob took the everyone but the baby for a late afternoon hike. The hike was deemed too difficult for me by my 3 yr old. LOL. That was fine with me. I got in the quick run to the grocery store for the last items that I needed and had food ready for dinner by the time they got home. All in all it was a fun and productive weekend, a balance that seems difficult to achieve most weekends.
I also had to get the older boys new sneakers and soccer shorts, and popped into Stride Rite to get the baby some new shoes. I felt like the worst mother when they measured her feet and I realized she was wearing shoes that were a full size too small. Guess that's why she didn't like them much ;-)
Today we were supposed to go apple picking. The orchard that we usually go to does not have any more picking this season, so we were going to venture to one that is much farther away from us. Rob decided this morning that he'd rather not, to put it mildly. I think his reasons involved the words "rather be hog-tied and dragged along behind the van". Yes, our 3yr old has been *very* three lately.
Instead we went out to breakfast and then to a local pumpkin patch for a hayride and to pick out our halloween pumpkins. Seventy dollars later we had pumpkins. I almost died when she told me how much they were going to cost. But I really felt like dying later on when I saw equally wonderfully pumpkins for sale at the grocery store at 3 for $10.
We came home and did some of the fall chores around the house and yard. I have found a really good rule of thumb for determining if your children are old enough to help do a particular chore. As soon as they are old enough to effectively do the job, they no longer have any interest in doing it all. What this means is that I have lots of willing eager helpers who are under the age of 5.
I hate to admit it, but it really tries my patience to have people "helping" me, who are really making even more work. I try hard to keep in mind that it the big scheme of things it really isn't important that it be done perfectly. But if my 9 yr old, who was using the leaf blower, blew dirt and leaves onto the front porch I was cleaning with my 1yr old and 3 yr old "helpers" one more time, I was going to explode.
Rob took the everyone but the baby for a late afternoon hike. The hike was deemed too difficult for me by my 3 yr old. LOL. That was fine with me. I got in the quick run to the grocery store for the last items that I needed and had food ready for dinner by the time they got home. All in all it was a fun and productive weekend, a balance that seems difficult to achieve most weekends.
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