Gratituesday

Monday night I met up with all the girls to celebrate Lisa
It was her birth that we all acknowledged this time.
We had a really nice evening.
I started a silly little quiz of three questions.
what is your favorite color
what do you collect or love to have
what is your favorite character quality
?????????????

It was fun to hear them all share.
I took some note then almost forgot them on the table...oh me.

This day began after a long night of prayer and introspection brought on by silly me...
drinking three ice teas not thinking about the caffeine.
Two a.m. is very quiet at my house
:)

Thinking about addressing the needs of my children and my own self I set intentional course for the day.
Telling the children of my "mission" to go get the rest of the lead in add items for the stock pile concluded with a statement about succeeding then to play with them at a bowling alley!
So after said accomplishment at the grocery (spent $80 and saved $55) we dropped it all off at home.

We then grabbed a box of crackers, ice waters and some peperoni...we were off.
I found this place and was stunned at it!
Inside we went to find that even though each child had a free game reward it would add up yet like so
shoe rental 3x$4
my game $3
$15! an hour to rent the lane

Oh the game would not be able to be finished in an hours time so it would be $5 additional charge per 15 minutes. The lanes were full so he then handed me a pager.

I took the kids over to a snack bar table and showed them the run down of charges.
I asked Dash to add it up.
$30+ for a game of bowling!

Well I told the kids that I thought that was a disrespectful way to treat our income and they agreed.
After looking at the coupons we decided to head over to the roller rink instead.

I decided they were so good about all of this that I took them into the arcade and bought a $10. card for the games and received $9 credit that differed from the add on the teller machine.
Rip off over rip off

I split the funds between them
They had a nice time.
It was a bit stressful keeping track of the funds but I found myself easing my shoulders and choosing to just relax.
I have just become way to focused on fund but you know it showed to me that all around me it was like nobody cared they were all like robots just dolling it out?
I was in a cobra den...snakes in the grass!

Happily the games were all reduce due to time of day.
I never saw this before but the games were set up like debit machines fully automated and we lost almost $2 more to bad machines

Dove is so young and magical it is so hard to see her tricked and yet I have to let her make an informed decision. My Dear God...It is like I just can not lighten up!
Try as I might I am just so serious~

So Dash choose to take a turn at this and had then just figured he had lost I looked down at the crane just as the chain was sliding through and then the hook on the chain caught the cranes claw and he got it!!!

Dash was so happy.
Dove was gracious but hurt.
Dash will often win he is just shined on that way
hard to see Dove work through it.
I really need to work on seeing her made more aware of her competency.

He was so shocked!

I brought a box of crackers and we sat with some peperoni as well and ate a snack.
The kids had chosen to get these cool little suckers that had a drip of flavor syrup,
they had opted for them at the grocery.
I was iffy and then let them do it.
They rang up half price and that was neat.

She is so loving
Dove is very athletic and strong.
Sometimes I really feel like I am falling short with her.
I wish I could give her so much more.

two great kids!!!!!!!!
We spoke about a Dr Pepper soda treat but it was only a few coins left, She had asked about it...
When I told her there was some at home...
That we would have some there she was amenable and kind.
Needless to say we did leave the skate rink a little before the session was concluded.
They were satiated and ready to go home and have that soda (they seldom get to have them).

Well at long last!
Just as we were getting ready to leave the arcade...
Dash lost that tooth!
The tooth fairy had found a cute t shirt for him.
It met both needs.

It is Wednesday Morning now 4:26 a.m.
I fell asleep at 7 p.m. last night and am up early.
The house is quiet.
I feel rested but worried...this living by budget is so good I only spent $16 to do all of that and around me families were just spending huge amounts that I do hope they really can afford.
Living debt free makes you look like a poor man sometimes and we are so far from that.

My largest kitchen table challenge went bust.
We had spent nothing for a few weeks so the pantry was empty.
Now is is full and we are again in great setting with supplies.

What would it be like if people around me in society were really living debt free...?
Would we stand out?
we do a little now.
Steve said we really belong in a lesser home.
We tried to sell it out last year...
We are doing alright it is just hard and I think my flesh is crawling with it a little.
Seeing all the extravagance out there yesterday just hit me strange. I find myself feeling just a little sorry for myself.
You know it is all perspective and that I am not alone at all. I am just transparent about it and most folks I see are pretending that the status is the same...they keep spending to keep it up too.
I thank GOD that Steve is a man of good financial sense.
And I am a woman of same.

So what if it is hard it is harder to live a lie when the effect of said lie really hits home.
I wish we would have lived this way in our younger days.
Though I do wish we could lighten up, the strain of it is getting old.