Saturday, February 21, 2009

3D Day

1. A new Day.

I woke up this morning, just after 6, to the sound of birds. Robins, I think. Seems a bit early to me. (In the year, I mean!) Love that the days are beginning to get noticeably longer.

I'd be a sucker to 'think spring' just yet, since last year we had snow on the ground in March and April. Still, I'm enjoying the sunlight :0)


2. Big D.

Kerry is gone for a long weekend of playing in the snow, and the boys and I are taking it easy. Though parenting is easier with two (!) it's actually kind of nice, being just the boys and I, once in awhile. We take it easy. And I don't cook as much.

Hello Kraft Mac and Cheese.

We've been pinching our pennies pretty hard, but I decided we could manage to go out for dinner one night. We got a $25 refund for something from our insurance company, which probably wouldn't quite cover it, but close. I let the kids pick the restaurant, just nowhere expensive, (not so much their preference anyway), and not McDonald's. Boy did that work to my advantage!

They chose Denny's. Not exactly a cheeseburger in paradise, but I'm not complaining. Especially not when the bill came. $15.03. That had to be a mistake. Even McDonald's costs more than that. Tate said, unhelpfully, "Well, can't we just pay what it says and go?" Um, NO, Sherlock, that wouldn't quite be honest.

Turns out the bill was right. They either switched their "kids eat free" night from Tuesday to Friday, or maybe they're running it all week. I don't know. We just thanked God and left a nice tip.

... then drove up the street to introduce the boys to the wonders of Cold Stone Creamery, thanks to some Christmas gift cards. Oh my goodness. Can I just say, "Peanut Butter Cup Perfection"? Wyatt and Tate's giant milk-shakes and Gunnar's bowl of chocolate ice cream are half-finished and in the freezer downstairs, for after lunch. Total? $1.31.

And to top off my fun feeling of splurging-while-being-frugal, we got in and out of the grocery store for under a hundred bucks.


3. A visit from the Drama Monster.

The boys are outside. So what if it's barely 40 degrees, it's sunny!

Gunnar wanted to ride his bike, but the tire was flat. I don't think it's seated properly. (That might have something to do with the fact that this bike has been ridden pretty hard by both his big brothers or that his dad ran over it once. You decide.) Anyway, he must've asked Wyatt to help him, and Wyatt couldn't get it to hold air.

Then the Drama Monster emerged.

Gunnar came sobbing up the steps to my office.

"That dirty rat!"

"What happened?"

"It's all Wyatt's fault! That boy has such a dull mind he can't even get my tire pumped up properly!"

"Really. Well, when you apologize to Wyatt, I'll think about helping you with your tire."

I think he's been reading too much Calvin and Hobbes. But, looking on the bright side, he expresses himself well! ;-)


And, for a bonus round, a fourth D...

4. Doh!

My friend is coming over today, with her kids. She's from Vietnam, so her name is kind of unusual. I wrote on the calendar on the fridge, for today, "Have Hang over."

Another friend took a look at that. "You plan these things?"

No. Not so much.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha ha! I love your sense of humor. #4 had me spitting tea all over my computer screen (thanks so MUCH).
What a hoot!

I'm a "coupon clipping queen", so I give you PROPS for all your "splurging frugally"!

Denise

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Glad to be of service, ma'am!

Unknown said...

Took me a while to get the "hang over." But then I did. MY WORD, ha ha ha.

Peanut butter cup perfection. Sigh...

I love it when Hubs is (occasionally) gone (for dinner). I always do the kitchen dance and sing "Hey kids! It's pasta night! AND THAT'S IT!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!"

I need to find me some "kids eat free" restaurants. That could really pay off for us. I have three kids who EAT.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

I think I need to do some research. There are websites about kids eat free, stay free, travel free, etc.

And, many thanks BTW to Stretch Mark Mama, for the play on words in the following post - the "re-weirds" of parenting. :0)

leah said...

"A Dull Mind," oh, my. That is so funny! And having a Hang over, too funny! Thanks for the laugh- I need it to get through the next few days of COLD and SNOW! Hahaha.