Welcome to my little pity party. I frequently think that I'm just a chronically postivie person always able to see a silver lining on every cloud, but this week I think it's more that I just rarely have clouds! A positive attitude is not difficult when everything is pretty much going well in our little world. But today I feel sorry for myself....
Yesterday Nathan took his driving test. This was the event that was going to free me! He would be able to drive himself to his (many) activities, and help out with getting his brothers to theirs. But, you guessed it, he didn't pass. That's not the bad part. The bad part is that the earliest appointment they could give him at our hometown is May 22. Not a typo. Two and a half months. That's ridiculous. So we ended up going online and finding an April 3 appointment but it's in North Vancouver. That's about a 90-minute drive. We'll be going in the middle of the day, which is good traffic-wise, but I'll have both girls with me and we'll be hanging out at the Driver Licensing place while Nathan takes his 45-minute road test. Do you feel sorry for me yet? Of course it will all be worth it if Nathan walks out of there with his license, but there's obviously no guarantee of that...
There is an appointment on March 26, but it's in Kelowna. Would it be silly to drive 3 hours for Nathan to take a drive test?
But that's not the end...
Yesterday afternoon the boys had dental appointments. Of course I had both girls with me too. It takes a certain amount of energy to corral them for 90 minutes, but it's only twice/year...whatever. My 17 1/2 year old son, who has been cavity-free his entire life (a point of pride for me, apparently) has a CAVITY! Dylan has one, too, but that's not as shocking. So now we have more appointments, more corraling, more expense, etc.
Okay, pity party over.
Onto more important news. Don and I are embarking on a new venture into the world of non-consumerism. We read this article in Christianity Today and were inspired to try this for our family, but on a smaller scale because of our family's gargantuan size.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2006/002/7.44.html
Shopping once every two months obviously takes a lot of planning and list making! I planned a one-month menu for March, and then I'll repeat it for April. I made lists for the butcher, the farmers market, Costco, the bread store, the grocery store...and then we shopped over the course of three days. We spent $600, which, I think, is what we normally spend in one month. But if this food lasts two months, we've cut our spending in half. We do have a small amount of cash allocated for milk and fresh fruits and veggies each week.
This will theoretically save time (no weekly shopping trips, yeah!) and money, since each trip into the grocery store, even if it's just for a jug of milk, ends up costing $40...
I'll let you know how it goes! Oh, on tonight's menu: teriyaki chicken, rice, and broccoli. Can't get much better than that!
Don & Don (don't you just love when fathers and sons share a name?) are digging two huge trenches today for our new power and water services. You should see my yard (not). And it's going to get worse before it gets better.
Heather, please tell your dad and Beth that theirs was the prettiest wedding cake I ever saw. I miss you! I can't believe I got within 100 miles of you and we still couldn't connect... Hopefully we can spend some more time together this side of heaven, but in case that doesn't happen, lets request mansions right next door to each other, so we can catch up then.
Patience and Jordyn are playing together...kind of a hide-and-seek game, and giggling together the entire time. It's very cute and heart-warming. I can hardly remember my troubles through their laughter : )
Yesterday Nathan took his driving test. This was the event that was going to free me! He would be able to drive himself to his (many) activities, and help out with getting his brothers to theirs. But, you guessed it, he didn't pass. That's not the bad part. The bad part is that the earliest appointment they could give him at our hometown is May 22. Not a typo. Two and a half months. That's ridiculous. So we ended up going online and finding an April 3 appointment but it's in North Vancouver. That's about a 90-minute drive. We'll be going in the middle of the day, which is good traffic-wise, but I'll have both girls with me and we'll be hanging out at the Driver Licensing place while Nathan takes his 45-minute road test. Do you feel sorry for me yet? Of course it will all be worth it if Nathan walks out of there with his license, but there's obviously no guarantee of that...
There is an appointment on March 26, but it's in Kelowna. Would it be silly to drive 3 hours for Nathan to take a drive test?
But that's not the end...
Yesterday afternoon the boys had dental appointments. Of course I had both girls with me too. It takes a certain amount of energy to corral them for 90 minutes, but it's only twice/year...whatever. My 17 1/2 year old son, who has been cavity-free his entire life (a point of pride for me, apparently) has a CAVITY! Dylan has one, too, but that's not as shocking. So now we have more appointments, more corraling, more expense, etc.
Okay, pity party over.
Onto more important news. Don and I are embarking on a new venture into the world of non-consumerism. We read this article in Christianity Today and were inspired to try this for our family, but on a smaller scale because of our family's gargantuan size.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2006/002/7.44.html
Shopping once every two months obviously takes a lot of planning and list making! I planned a one-month menu for March, and then I'll repeat it for April. I made lists for the butcher, the farmers market, Costco, the bread store, the grocery store...and then we shopped over the course of three days. We spent $600, which, I think, is what we normally spend in one month. But if this food lasts two months, we've cut our spending in half. We do have a small amount of cash allocated for milk and fresh fruits and veggies each week.
This will theoretically save time (no weekly shopping trips, yeah!) and money, since each trip into the grocery store, even if it's just for a jug of milk, ends up costing $40...
I'll let you know how it goes! Oh, on tonight's menu: teriyaki chicken, rice, and broccoli. Can't get much better than that!
Don & Don (don't you just love when fathers and sons share a name?) are digging two huge trenches today for our new power and water services. You should see my yard (not). And it's going to get worse before it gets better.
Heather, please tell your dad and Beth that theirs was the prettiest wedding cake I ever saw. I miss you! I can't believe I got within 100 miles of you and we still couldn't connect... Hopefully we can spend some more time together this side of heaven, but in case that doesn't happen, lets request mansions right next door to each other, so we can catch up then.
Patience and Jordyn are playing together...kind of a hide-and-seek game, and giggling together the entire time. It's very cute and heart-warming. I can hardly remember my troubles through their laughter : )
2 comments:
I know someone that lives close by that could watch the girls for you when Nathan re-takes his driving test. Let me know!
WOW!! I loved that article. I just absolutely laughed out loud when she as a little girl followed behind her mother and said,"Silly rabbit, Tricks are for other families!!" And, "You must love you some Cracker Barrel!" What an encouraging article. I think I will link it on my blog too!! Good girl. Let me know how it goes.
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