The 30 Days of A Little Bit

Have you noticed I haven't been here?

Um, yeah. I've been cheating.

Kind of.

Mr. GT thinks I have been cheating.

Well, I have, actually.

Let's see, I've gone out to lunch with a girlfriend, her daughter, my kids and a neighbor kid. It was a mental health date. She and I both needed it. Amazing what a glass of wine can do to make you a better mom! That and an hour with a girlfriend!

I also went out for a glass of wine with the same girlfriend plus one more the next night. More mental health work. My mental health is pretty excellent right now!

I fed my kids at McYuk one night. In my defense, I have been doing a GREAT job making supper every night so we don't have to eat out, making sure we eat lunch at home (or at my mom's!) so we don't have to eat out if we run errands, and cooking with just what we have in the house or the garden. I really haven't bought any extras at the grocery store.

But Rose Bud had a cross country meet and Daisy had piano lessons and Banana Boy had Kindergarten parent night and Sunshine had a doctor appt. all morning and my mom was babysitting. I just didn't get supper made ahead of time for my mom to feed the kids.

So I drove through McYuk. You have to know, though, that I fed all five kids, me and my mom for $7.26! I think that should count for something!

I've had Starbucks twice. But I use my Starbucks card. Once was a total lazy thing--that same day Sunshine had his doctor appointment at 8:30. I never got coffee made before we left. The other time was another mental health prop. Banana Boy and I shared a frappucino over therapy. It makes a great reward for hard work at the therapist!

I went to the grocery store and spent $80. I bought milk, 5 packs of deli ham (on sale 8 oz. for 99 cents!), 6 packs of shredded cheese on sale (hey, I have to have something to work with if I'm going to cook!), yogurt raisins and bagels for Rose Bud's school lunch and some more poo]p treats (hey, the kid poo]ps a lot!). Oh, and ice cream (on sale!) which is a total necessity. Also chicken to donate to the youth fundraiser cooking project thingy and some items to take along with the dinner I brought a wounded friend one night.

In the savings department, I made 4 birthday cards with my long-neglected Stampin' Up supplies and used 2 more birthday cards from my Current stash. Didn't spend any money on birthday cards this month!

I also talked Rose Bud out of ordering cross country sweatpants for $25. She was pretty ok with that.

Back in the spending department, I ordered school pictures for both Rose Bud and Banana Boy, $19 and $27, respectively (BB's package included a yearbook and there was no way to exclude it, hence the extra cost).

Rose Bud spent $4 going to the football game last week.

And I need to order birthday presents for the girls so they arrive in time for Rose Bud's birthday. I could just order hers, but it makes sense to order all of them and take advantage of the free shipping.

Oh, and there was a garage sale. Here's what I got:
2 pair of jeans for Rose Bud
2 pair of plaid cotton pants for RB (these are really cute and some fancy brand she likes)
2 pair of like-new Land's End wind pants for RB
1 pair pajamas for RB
5 pair of pants for Pepper (size 6 slim and she likes them)
1 pair jeans for Daisy (she's a plus size, so she's hard to fit)
3 sweatshirts /fleeces for Daisy
1 new with tags Land's End sweatpants for Daisy
1 top for Daisy
5 Land's End t-shirts for the boys ($1 each, most with tags on)
1 like-new Land's End spring/fall jacket sized for Daisy now, but in red so the boys can wear it eventually (this was FREE--there was no price tag and I asked if she'd just throw it in as a volume discount!)
1 Land's End winter coat with a hole in the sleeve for $2 (will patch hole and use as play coat now for Daisy, later for Pepper and the boys. It's Navy)
1 new-with-tags Land's End winter coat for Daisy $10
a couple of books she threw in
5 little dolls and a bead necklace kit for Pepper--free

Total: $71.25

So there you have it. The ups and downs of my 30 Days of Nothing in the last week.

Only 3 days to go.

I keep thinking, maybe it's silly to not just buy something now that we're only going to run right out and buy Oct. 1 (I have a Target list!), but then I remind myself, it's not just about going without, but more importantly for me, delaying gratification. Yes, I could buy it now, but how about I just WAIT.