30 Days of Nothing: Day Two

Ooof.

Today was the first day of school. Bananan Boy only goes to Kindergarten in the morning. My bright idea was to pick him up on my bike. We only live 5 miles from school.

That's, let's see.....$1 in gas each way, right? So I saved $2.

Today was the first day we hit 90 degrees! pant pant.

I don't know what I was thinking. Am I glad I did it?

It WAS a beautiful day. There was a nice breeze, so we weren't too hot. Daisy rode along with me and I put Pepper (still recovering from her tonsilectomy) and Sunshine in the bike trailer. I bungeed BB's bike to the back of the trailer. Daisy and I had fun biking together.

Once we got to school, LittleHey's mom was there to pick him up (he's only going a half day, too) and she thoughtfully agreed to take Pepper (all 47 lbs of her!) home with her.

Banana Boy biked 4 miles without complaining before he said, "I'm hot. I'm tired." So I let him ride in the trailer and bungeed the bike back on. Unfortunately, the last mile and a half is the most uphill. pant pant.

But we did it and I'm not too sore today!

LittleHey's mom offered to pick the boys up tomorrow. sigh of relief.

Savings today: $2

Oh, I am also going to add to the savings for today the price of a box of snacks from the store. I made Banana Chocolate Chip muffins for snack today. I hate baking and it's so easy to keep boxes of Teddy Grahams or Triscuits or something similar in the cupboard for the kids to grab on their own. I don't have to be involved. I don't have to bake anything.

We had the ingredients in the house (including 3 brown spotty bananas just screaming to be mashed into muffins!) so it was just a matter of getting off my lazy buns to make the muffins. Yay me!

So I'm adding $2.59 to today's total.

Savings today: $4.59

30 Days of Nothing: Day One

This morning we reminded the kids that we'd be challenging ourselves to commit to spending only on necessities for the month of September. We had a good discussion about what was a necessity, sort of. Rose Bud, being 12, is not really on board, especially since I told her she was responsible for making her own decision about the spending she does at school. I'm not going to force her to participate when she's away from home. I don't even want to force her to participate when she's AT home. But hey, she's a part of the family!

One interesting point Rose Bud brought up was why we hadn't stocked up on things. Mr. GT pointed out that people who live on a limited income don't have that luxury. We're just going to make do with what we already have available to us in our pantry and freezer. It might be a little tricky. A tiny bit of stocking up might have been a good idea. We haven't done a big shop in a long time, so our stock is a little meager right now.


So all was fine and good. We didn't go anywhere today, just hung out at home.

Until this afternoon, that is.

It was hot and humid today; probably the hottest it's been all summer (figures, since school starts tomorrow!). The neighbors decided to go to the pool. It's the last day it's open for the season. Rose Bud asked but I suggested she see about bumming a ride with the neighbors.

See, I have this thing about changing everyone into swimsuits and slathering 5 kids with sunscreen. Ok, four, because Rose Bud does her own. Mostly doesn't do her own. It feels "YUCKY" so she tries to get away without putting any on. So I hate to slather four children and feel guilty about the sunburn of the fifth. Then we have to collect all the towels and all the goggles and I have to get into a swimsuit. And put on sunscreen. It's YUCKY! Once we get to the pool, I am all aflutter over the two middles being in the big pool shallows by themselves and Rose Bud in the deep by herself and hoping Sunshine decides this is a good day to remember to poop in the potty and enjoying the sight of my giant white thighs beneath me....

It's a fun time!

Rose Bud didn't bum a ride and I took a lovely nap with Sunshine. When I woke up she was immediately there to beg to go to the pool. I thought, "What the heck! I'm a GOOD mom and it's the last day of swimming season. I will take my (four big) kids to the pool! What a good mom am I!"

Lots of jumping around and cheering from the peanut gallery.

And then Mr. GT says, "How do you all plan to get INTO the pool????"

Huh? What do you mean? I have money. I worked this weeken....... oh.

OH.

OH.

I was really disappointed, and the kids didn't get it at all, at first.

And then I reminded them. And I was MAD! I WANTED to go to the pool! I wanted to be a really good mom!

I struggled with how to justify spending $6, just this once, and I couldn't figure out a way.

The kids all got really quiet and Rose Bud KNEW what I was going to say. I watched her face go from joy to shock to sadness to anger.

I asked, "What is the RIGHT thing for us to do?" They all agreed it was not to go.

I mentioned that $6 was enough to support 3 people somewhere in the world and reminded them we were going to give away the money we save this month.

I pointed out that we had committed to this experiment and we needed to honor that commitment.

Banana Boy was blissfully unaware there was even a discussion going on. Daisy and Pepper looked sad.

Then I thought of running in the sprinkler. AND having root beer floats.

Daisy, bless her little heart, was right away on board and if Daisy was on board, Pepper was on board. Sunshine was now able to participate, too! And Mr. GT is always happy to have a Root Beer Float!

Rose Bud, on the other hand, was devastated. She cried. She wailed. She negotiated. She thought of other ideas (like riding her bike to the pool and paying for it herself). Unfortunately, we didn't think this was a safe idea.

We set the sprinkler up in the front yard and it happened to be next to the tire swing. Pepper sat on the swing and swung in and out of the sprinkler. Daisy took Sunshine through over and over until he was a shivering, teeth-chattering ice cube. Banana Boy went in once we turned the water down to just a tiny shower. Rose Bud protested the whole time.

I felt badly for her. I would have been just as mad at that age! I would have been furious. What a dumb idea! Parents are always doing these crazy things! I'm sorry she was so disappointed.

But when it came time for RB floats and I announced that only the kids in the sprinkler were getting any, she opted to cool off and get wet.

Mr. GT taught everyone a cool squeaky trick to do with their straws and things were peaceful once again.

I had thought this would be a piece of cake. Eh, we just won't spend any money. We just won't buy anything. This is not going to be as easy as I thought.

an interesting aside: Here is today's Bible verse on my blog: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) Teaching the lessons is the hardest part, but I pray the fruits will be worth it.

30 Days of Nothing Revisited

Owlhaven's Journey Last Year

I promised to talk about this and I'm really out of time. It begins tomorrow!

What is the 30 Days of Nothing? Owlhaven explains it really well in her blog (click on the the 30 Days button to go there and follow along)

Basically, we won't be spending money on anything except essentials for the whole month of September. We'll also be reading through the book Material World as a family and doing some special projects to help us understand how priveleged we are to live in America. I post about those after we've completed them (I hate to promise an activity and then it doesn't work out...story of my life!)

So, some topics to explore during this month (some ideas I've stolen from Owlhaven!): Consumerism
Entitlement
Materialism
Impulse Shopping
Wants vs. Needs

and I'm sure I'll think of more.

Check out this blog for another perspective on this project.

A Happy Anniversary

As I mentioned the other day, Monday was the one year anniversary of Sunshine's homecoming into our family. We didn't get much chance to celebrate because of Pepper's tonsils. And some of you might recall that it's also a sad anniversary since my dad died right before we got back to the U.S.

But today I wanted to share a few pictures with you of my amazing boy:

At BSSK

His first photo

Isn't he ADORABLE????

Our very first glimpse of him. Hi, Mom!

What a ham!

My all-time favorite picture of him. Thanks, Paddy for taking this while you were in India!

Meeting Sunshine

My very first look at him in person.

Sad boy

Bonding with Mommy

Home in the U.S.A

My Boy Today

None of us can remember our life before he joined our family. When I think of the days and hours and months that we agonized over whether to add to our family again, I can't believe we were ever unsure this would be a blessing.

We love you, Sunshine!

Princess Petulant

The whole sick thing is wearing thin for Pepper. Last night at 11:30 she wouldn't wake up to take her medicine. It doesn't help that it tastes bad.

I petted her. I shook her. I stroked her head. I called her name. She flopped over on her side. I touched her lips with the syringe full of medicine. She slapped it away. I petted her some more. I said, "Please take your medicine." She covered her ears. I tried to put it up to her mouth again. She covered her mouth.

Finally, she bumped the cup and spilled it in the bed. Then I got mad, she got resigned. She sat up and took the medicine. Then she flopped herself back in the bed.

Pepper is a great flopper.

We both slept through the 3:30 dosing and she slept until 7:30 this morning. She was pretty sore and crabby. I made her eat some yogurt before I let her have the meds, as her tummy has been hurting (thankfully, she's not a barfer. That would be Daisy) She crabbed her way through a tube of GoGurt and ate two miniscule bites of cream of wheat.

She hasn't had any appetite today and everything I suggest sounds bad to her. She finally settled on spaghettios and ate two bowls.

I think she's bored.

Poor Princess Petulant.

The Further Adventures of Princess No-Tonsil

Pepper slept from 5 to 6:30 last night and woke up pretty sore. She snuggled with us and ate frozen applesauce while she waited for her 4 hours to be up so she could have more Tylenol. She got the Coedine in honor of it being bedtime.

We went to bed about 9 and I set the timer for 11:30. I had to wake her up to give her the next dose and we both fell right back to sleep.

At 3:30, she got up to use the bathroom, didn't want the yucky Coedine (but took it anyway) and ate a popsicle. At 4:30 she had to go potty (thanks to the whole glass of water she had an hour earlier) and her tummy hurt. I decided it was time for Mr. GT to take a shift, so he came down and fed her Blue Moon ice cream while I went upstairs to sleep with Sunshine (who had been displaced to Daisy's bed, who had been displaced to Pepper's bed).

Grandma and Grandpa (whom I forgot to mention had graciously come down to babysit yesterday while we were at the hospital (and thanks for doing all our laundry, Grandma!!!!!!)) had to leave at 7 this morning, so everyone was up and at 'em very early to say goodbye.

Grandma and Grandpa left, Mr. GT went to work. Pepper ate a bowl of Cream of Wheat and said she felt pretty good. We invited LayleyHey! over from next door to keep her company, and they are quietly playing on the couch.

Her appetite is good which the nurse, who called this morning, said is a great sign. She's moved on to noodles with parmesan and butter and is now emptying a little cup of Blue Moon.

Auntie, she LOVED the back of your card, "Pecked out just for you." She giggled and giggled over that and made everyone read it. It was very punny!

Thank you, everyone who has helped us out these few days. Grandma & Grandpa who babysat, did laundry, weeded the whole garden; Nonny, the popsicle-shopper & cake rescuer; Auntie, who sent card and gift; and everyone who prayed for her.

I'm Pepper and I Have No Tonsils

BEFORE

See that light strip down the middle of the back of her mouth? That's her uvula and it should be dangling free. Instead, her tonsils are touching it from both side. Ewww.



Today Pepper had her tonsils out.



She was up at 5:00 am, raring to go.



5:15 I'm starvin' already.



On the way in to the hospital she had this to say:



"I smell oreos. Now I smell mushrooms. I hate mushrooms. Ewww! A skunk. I hate the smell of skunk! Why does it fill up the car?" She wondered how they would keep her mouth open ("I was thinkin' about that yesterday.")



We talked about how today was the one-year anniversary of Sunshine's homecoming. "After I get my tonsils out, we'll have TWO things to celebrate! [on this day]"





We had to be at the hospital at 6 am. The doors of Outpatient Surgery were still locked! They whipped us into a room where we waited until 6:47 for the nurse (who was really nice!) to start doing vitals. Pepper watched a movie.



In rapid succession, we saw the Dr., the anesthetist, the nurse anesthetist, another nurse and another nurse. Her surgery was scheduled for 7:15, so they had a lot to fit in in less than 30 minutes!



We neglected to get a picture of me in my scrubs and fluffy hat. Bummer.



They wheeled her down to surgery in her bed and flopped her into the surgery bed. She chose root beer for her flavor and I was able to stay with her until she went to sleep. Afterward, she commented: After I took a big breath, I felt like I was melting away and slipping off the bed. I felt like a puddle. It felt like I was falling.



45 minutes later, Dr. P came to let us know all had gone well and that her adenoids had been blocking whatever passage they live in MORE even than her tonsils had! (reference above picture again for the visual)



A few minutes later we were able to go down to the recovery room while she was waking up. Her poor little teeth were chattering and her lips were trembling and she hated that. She kept asking when it would stop. They gave her another shot of morphine in her IV and Mr. GT was spooning popsicle slushie into her mouth. They had me crawl into bed with her to snuggle her. She was crying quite a bit because of her lips and they kept asking her not to cry so as not to hurt her throat.



Mr. GT sat down in the rocker behind him and suddenly there was a flurry of nurses right there. Turns out (I never noticed!) Mr. GT got all pale and light-headed and almost passed out. One nurse ran for apple juice and another for a bed and a third for a wet cloth. I took the slushie from him and they hustled him into a hospital bed with his head down. He didn't protest much, so he must've felt pretty bad! After lying there about 20 minutes, he pinked up and felt better. It got Pepper to stop crying while she watched the commotion!



Pepper finished her slushie in record time, Mr. GT was allowed to get up and Pepper was wheeled back to her room. She felt pretty punky for the first hour or so, but in the next 3 hours she managed to slip down 2 more popsicles (the LAST popsicles in the hospital! Go figure. It took over an hour to track them down.),an orange jello, a can of 7-Up, and a glass of water with ice. She loved having the ice pack on her neck. She got up to go potty 3 times.

With an hour to go, they took her IV out and sent all the docs down to sign us out, although we did have to stay almost the full 4 hours.



She wanted to ride out in a wheelchair because she still felt dizzy, so Princess No-Tonsil hopped into her chariot and away we went. When we got to the parking ramp, I picked her up to carry her to the car and she whispered to me, "I'm Pepper and I have no tonsils."



In the car, she announced, "I hate getting surgery. I hate going to sleep and I hate waking up. Especially waking up. My tongue was tingly and squooshy, like jelly."



She slept all the way home and now is safely ensconced on the couch and is beginning to open presents. She's beginning to feel done with the whole documentary thing:


Card and present from Auntie:

Presents from Grandma: It's wrapped in baby paper. "I had a baby," Pepper said. "Baby tonsils," we said!

The Tonsil Fairy came!!!!

Presents from Nonny:
It's Mary, the Mother of God!


Nurse Rose Bud is making her slushies and waiting on her. I'm sure after 2-3 days, the fun will wear off. But for today, she remains Princess No-Tonsil.