Thursday, June 30, 2016

Sleepy Hollow

The Boy likes scary stuff. He talks about monsters, blood, bad guys, ghosts, spooky guys, raccoons, bats, witches, and any other ghoulish things he can think of. I try to talk of these things in an age-appropriate ways; I don't want to ignore his questions. However, I fear that I may be telling him things that are not helpful to his well-being. I want to tell him that evil is everywhere, that the world can be a dangerous place. I want to tell him that bad things can happen to good people. I want to tell him about being backed into a corner and doing things that go against decency and morality. I want to tell him that addiction makes the afflicted do awful things. But I know that isn't right. I know that what he needs to hear is that his parents, who love him very much, will (try to) protect him against the evils of the world. And I do tell him that. But when he asks questions about monsters I think of murderers and rapists. When he asks about bad guys, I think of robbers. My real conundrum is to discern how much scary stuff to tell him. How do I know what is appropriate? How can I tell him about the evils of the world without scaring the bee-jezus out of him? Case by case, I suppose. I know my son, and I know that if I scare him too much, I'll have to comfort him. Not a bad place to be, really.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Summer Solstice

We celebrated the Summer Solstice in the backyard, with a bonfire and the kiddie pool. I gave thanks for what is, and did some prayer. I tried to explain to the boys what Summer Solstice is, and why it is important to acknowledge. I'm not sure it sunk in, but they did like the s'mores.

One of my coupons at CVS didn't go through, but I got another worker to give me the dollar back in cash. He was super-nice! I had to show him my email conformation to get my free 8x10, and I told him the date on the coupon that didn't scan, but I was really pleased to see that he started off our transaction by giving me the benefit of the doubt. I wasn't lying, obviously, and I gave him my proof, but it was nice to not have to deal with folks who think I might be hustling. I went by myself because my mom had dropped by with some food, and she offered to stay while I ran out. Thanks, Mom!
I got 3 boxes of Kleenex for free; they were 3/$3 and I had an instant coupon (from the coupon machine in the front) and I had a $2 Extra Buck coupon. And I got some Folgers coffee for $5.99 before tax. So I paid $6.33 for 30oz of coffee, an 8x10, and three boxes of tissue. Pretty good!

The Baby and I went to the library for their Coloring Party, which was lovely. We colored some print-outs and he was really into it. I was pretty into my own coloring. We left after about 15 minutes, because The Baby started putting the markers in his nose. After coloring I went to get a murder mystery and romance novel. I have other, more scholarly books that I should be reading. But I'm grown and read what I want.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Father's Day Tortillas

We went to Salvation Army today, because its' the closet thrift store to us. And they have sales. We were on the look-out for sippy cups, Father's Day Gifts, and one other item. All we found were the Father's Day gifts. Both The Boy and I were obviously excited about being there; he kept saying what cool stuff there was. I admit I did get that shopper's high and I thought of all the cool projects I could do with all the cool stuff, but I resisted my impulse shopping. My list really helped! Before we got to the store I stated a few times that we would not be getting any toys. I read my list to the kids, and said that I wanted to stick to it. And there was no whining, begging, tantrum-ing, or other unsavory behavior. I was really proud of them. They did stop in the doorway to look at a bug (or a piece of dirt) and held up the two women behind us.

As usual, I'm trying to come up with a way to get everything done. And, as usual, I'm having a hard time. It seems like all I was able to do was putter around the house and clean up the messes we made. On the upside, I was able to make my own tortillas today!

Monday, June 13, 2016

More Orange

I feel so overwhelmed! There is always so much to do, and I can't figure out what to do first, or what is more important. And I'm always trying to balance my to-do list with the activities of the kids.

We went to CVS today, and I saved 49%! We walked there, and we found some books in the ally. We are on point with our scavenging.

I made a lot of orange-peel candy, and they feel more soggy than my other batches. I stopped measuring the water, sugar, and time. So that might have something to do with it.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Doctor Water

This morning I went to a doctors' appointment ten minutes early and waited for 47 minutes. Because they took walk-ins. Yes, I fussed. And yes I was pissed. And I told the receptionist and the doctor the wait was alarming and unbelievable. I was very upset, and let folks know. In a relatively calm way. In case you are wondering who wronged me, it was Dr. Dima Hana. She has a family practice at 8301 Skokie Blvd. The lobby was very beautiful, though.

This afternoon we drove all the way out to Villa Park/Lombard to see my father, eat pizza, and hang out at a water fountain park. The area was concrete, fenced in, with a few water structures and spouts coming up from the ground. Because it was 90 degrees today, the kids had a blast! I'm really glad we went, even though its tough to pack up and make that drive.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

We have renegade mint growing in our front yard, amid the thistles and geraniums. Only a few stalks, and I grabbed a few leaves to make mint-ginger tea. Pretty good. Also, I think I might use the mint as a substitute for essential oils in a face scrub I'll be making.

I'm pretty sure that me reading all these homemaking, homesteading, recipe, DIY, whatever books give me inspiration to create more. I'm more sure of myself in the kitchen (so my subsitutes are less weird!), I'm able to repurpose easier, and after reading about a project I can usually create that piece without following the instructions verbatim. I would like to get to a point where I don't need to look up stuff online so frequently and I can just trust my gut, or have a project in mind already, or consult one of my recipe/sewing books from the '70's.

Speaking of not looking stuff up online: allrecipes.com
I made Sophie's Zucchini Bread, found on that website.

Dang it!

Just wrote a pretty good post and then realized I wrote it under my other blog. Dang it! Its' living as a draft know because I don't want to delete it.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Family Fun Fest

We were out for about an hour and a half at something called Family Fun Fest. We made our donation and got our passports, and we to a few local businesses and played some carnival type games and got a few prizes. It was really fun to be doing something like that with the boys; for activities like that I usually want The Hubs there. Most of the trip was spent walking; The Baby wanted to drag my umbrella down the street and flipped out when I tried to use it. But we got candy and pencils and a sticker, and we were pretty pleased with ourselves.
Ok, I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of lame. And somehow it did seem a little sad...but I'm still glad we went. The kids had fun. Even if I think the event is blah, I hope I will always make sure to keep that from my kids. I remember overhearing two parents talking about how lame Halloween and trick-or-treating is, and how they hoped it would be over soon. Meanwhile, their kids are listening and making their costumes and looking really upset.
I'm looking forward to the next event.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Lay's Potato Chips

Being a self-proclaimed couponer, I am somewhat embarrassed to admit this: I had a freebie coupon for a smaller size, and I bought the bigger size. The coupon didn't take off the full price. And I didn't realize it until a few hours later. CVS has a sale for B1G1 Lay's Chips, the family size. I got a freebie coupon in the mail, and used it on my 'buy one' bag. So I got two family size bags of chips for $3, which is great, but not awesome.
I doubled other coupons there, though. And all together, I saved 54%.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Library Visit

We went to the library, running later than I wanted, as usual, and we signed up for the Summer Reading Program. The theme is "camp", and they offer incentives (t-shirts and stickers and coupons). A person doesn't just have to read books either, a person can listen to audiobooks, go to library events, or use a book-match option. Which is different than the program they had last year.
There are 'camp' decorations and new toys (such as the Mess Hall, complete with breakfast, lunch and dinner pretend food).
I'm pretty excited to get us started! I know that sounds super-nerdy, but all three of us like to read. And we all know I like incentives!