Monday Musings

Saturday was rainy most of the day and we ended up staying home. The kids wanted to watch TV and I didn't feel like arguing with them.  We do have a new deal, though. For each show that they watch, they owe me a chore-and they have to pay up before the next show comes on. The chores usually include little ten minute job like putting away laundry, emptying the dishwasher, or putting toys away. The kids sigh and moan when I remind them, so of course I know I am being a good mom!
I spent a lot of Saturday cleaning and straightening. I was up and down the stairs multiple times. It wasn't until about 3 PM, though that I walked into the bathroom to see my pedometer sitting on the space heater. GRRRR! All those steps and none of them counted!! Oh well. At least the house looks better.
Ken did a bunch of laundry on Saturday morning before he went to work.  All we have to wash right now is what we wore yesterday. I almost hesitate to say that because every time I think we are caught up, something happens to get us behind again. I have to say, though, we've been doing pretty well with keeping up with the new cleaning pattern. I am keeping the faith that the teeny tiny little dents we are making in each room will continue to grow.  Hopefully the yard sale we are planning this weekend will help too!
As for food and groceries...I was WAY wrong when I said we would spend less on groceries this week!  Last week we spent $124.39 and that was for two weeks' worth of food. This week we spent $144.39!! The good news is that we got good prices on food we will eat later. The bad news is that very little of that food is for this week.
Last night I made chicken and dumplings for dinner. The recipe was quite easy and even though I didn't follow it exactly, it turned out really well. Frances and Henry both enjoyed is (as well as Ken and I). Benjamin isn't eating much of anything for dinner lately, so I won't take his opinion into consideration.
We managed a walk after dinner last night.  The kids all took their bikes and Ken and I walked with them. I feel bad because Frances doesn't really know how to ride a bike. We don't live in a good neighborhood for bike riding and it seems like so much work to drive somewhere to ride your bike.  She got some good practice out of it and we all got some exercise and fresh air. When we go through the cemetery there is a mausoleum or some sort of large building on our route. The kids always stop at "the castle" to play for a bit. Last night they put on a play starring "Super Bike Riding Princess," "SuperMan (Henry)" and "Super Knight" (Benjamin).  The climax of the show was a sword fight between Super Bike Riding Princess and SuperMan. They each had a stick and were going to fight for the prize of a feather they had found.  They started clicking the "swords" together and Henry was waving his pretty wildly. My "parent-of-the-year" award winning comment was, "Frances, maybe you should have left your bike helmet on!"