More Grocery Griping

HA! Apparently I am so NOT the only one! Check out this link given to me by my sweet friend Christa: Lot of Pokemon Cards That My Kids Tried To Sneak By Me
This is a funny one!

I Hate Grocery Shopping

Am I the only woman on the planet who detests grocery shopping? I put off this loathsome duty in the worst way when it comes time to stock back up. I mean, I am pulling out the powdered milk to drink while giving the kids crackers and ketchup for lunch before I finally will break and go do the dreaded deed. I don't know why in the world I hate it so much. I used to actually like it, but boy, those days are gone.
Perhaps it has something to do with how rude people will park their buggy right in the middle of an aisle as they leisurely peruse the canned peas for 10 solid minutes while blatently ignoring the fact that you are standing there, stuck, until they finally decide to move a few inches to the pasta, just to begin the scene all over again.
Or, hey, how about the associates who obviously hate every single person alive? May the Lord help you if you need something because He is your only hope in finding it, since they cannot be bothered with helping such a plebian as a customer.
But you want to know what my favorite part of the shopping experience is? It is the torture chamber otherwise referred to as the checkout line. You know the place, it's the one where you get hemmed up on all four sides with all of your children who are whining and fighting unmercifully.
It's the place where you are surrounded by candy and instant artery clogging beef jerky and easily breakable toys and chapstick while unable to move, for 30 miserable minutes as your ice cream (the only redeeming quality of the whole trip) creates a sticky puddle on the floor.
It's the place where, at the end of your time there, you are presented with one of said snooty associates telling you that you owe them some exorbitant amount of money as you realize that you didn't even get all that you really needed. No, I take that back. The best part of all is the hard cold fact that you will, indeed, be back here doing the whole thing over again next week.
Do I just have some terrible intolerance issue? Because I am feeling a bit like Bette Midler did in the Stepford Wives. I really do love to cook and take care of my family and Lord knows I love to eat, but girls, this part just reeks to me...and I didn't even mention the issue of running into the 50 million people that I know and feel obligated to chat with or hauling the whole lot into the house only to spend an hour putting it away....Ok, I will stop.
Talk to me here.

And they're off!

This morning I received my weekly mini e-newsletter for homeschoolers in my inbox. The topic was co-ops. This crew has never been a part of an "official" co-op, per-se, but we have been a part of something sort of like that, along with 50 gazillion extracurricular activities.
Which leads me nicely to my point....this year we are CHILLIN'. Well, "chillin" is probably a stretch, because we will most certainly be working hard, but we just won't be the key offenders in the fuel crisis anymore.
Not that fuel is my primary reason for the big chill (even though I am hardly able to afford the gas that it costs to run all over God's green earth), but rather the expense of mine and the Crew's energy. We were run so ragged last year that our schooling suffered. Our schedule was so packed out with "important" stuff, like gymnastics, ballet, MAFA (the co-op sort of thing), teaching at church, P.E. classes, Cub/Boy Scouts, Support Group field trips and play days....the list could go on and on....that we seriously have subjects that we didn't even come close to finishing (can anyone say Botany? :D).
Not to be defeated, I am fiercely guarding our time this year. I have had so many temptations to join this or help with that, but the little saying keeps going through my mind "saying yes to something outside (the home) means saying no to something inside". This rang so true for the Westie Crew last year!
I have set aside one day for us to do all of our stuff. We will be gone most of the day on that day, but this is just what works best for us. Getting it all knocked out in one fell swoop might keep the following conversation from happening every single day:
Me: Hurry up and get your Math done while I go and get your brother and sister ready to leave so that we won't be late...again!
Child: But MOOOOM! I need help!
Me: Darn! Just put it in the bag to take with us...maybe we can get to it while I pump gas...along with your Science, Reading and History. Just go brush your teeth so we are not LATE!
You get the picture. I look at my nice new school calendar, and it is pristine on Monday-Wednesday. Thursday's...our big-un...looks like a bomb exploded on each one. And then our Friday's neatly have a stray field trip or two (it helps to be the one in charge of the Support Group planning in this case! ;). I just hope it works out in practice the way it does in theory. I am not too worried about that though, because our best year ever really worked with a schedule similar to this one.
So, because I am all interested in what makes y'all tick; What kind of schedule is ideal for your family? Do you like the "cram it into one day" method or are you able to function with it being spread out?
Have a great day everyone!

Food For Thought

Alright, I soooo said that I wasn't going to complain...and I won't. I will simply reiterate that it is blazing hot here! We went to the pool yesterday where I perched myself right there in the water with the kids. When we got home, however, it was seriously 87 degrees in this house...with the A.C. on....and not broken. The heat index outside was 110 - How heinous is that? Needless to say, I was NOT going to turn on the oven to cook supper, so I made the yummiest Summer fare.

It was Giada's Herb Stuffed Tomatoes...and lemme tell ya...THIS is the bomb, girls. Soooooooooo good and easy (just be sure if you actually do make this, to use 1 clove of chopped garlic in the mixture-VERY important...makes the dish...k, moving on...). I used the toaster oven for that and then made some Pasta Italiano from Rice-a-Roni on the stovetop. I also cut up some fresh honeydew and put it in the freezer so that it would be good and chilled when it was time to eat. The house didn't heat up any further and we ate well. I wish I would have taken a picture because it all looked so refreshinly Summery...but I wolfed it down too fast. Please do try this, though, you will not be sorry.

I am thinking I am going to head back to the pool today. I will probably swing by Sonic to grab some cherry limeades before we go though, because, you know, they're good. I really do love Summer with all its flavors. What's your favorite thing to eat/drink during these hot months?
Have a great day everyone!

Too Hot to Handle - Anything..

It is supposed to be 103 degrees here today...and it is every bit of that!!! I don't even want to know what the heat index is (what it feels like, as opposed to what it actually is...they go by that 'round here because of insane humidity level).
We had our Support Group Leader meeting today and it was stressful, just because I had to try and corral my Crew when so many other kids were acting rowdy. The behavior of those other kids was offending the people that run the school, but their moms didn't seem to care. Of course, my kids (mostly Andrew, who is only 4) couldn't understand why I wanted him to sit still and be quiet when all the other kids were causing trouble. They were so loud that you could hardly hear what the speakers were saying. People were turning around and staring and everything...it was miserable...and it lasted for two solid hours. Don'tcha just love when things like this happen?!
I came home, told all the kids to find a quiet place and to leave me alone for awhile...hee-hee! So you know what happens? One of them clogs the toilet and the water starts overflowing allllllllllllll over my bathroom floor.
Remind me how we are supposed to be having a meek and quiet spirit again...please! I was more like the pea-soup spewing crazy person that was on that weird movie...Ha-ha (by the way, this is maniacal laughter)..
Anywho...I am off to rest my aching head...I will post something positive tomorrow. ;)

Update

I am a firm believer that God is completely in control of all things. I know that He never gets blindsided or worried or anxious for anything....or He wouldn't tell us repeatedly not to be that way. So, I am completely trusting Him since it is not going to work out for my sister to come here now. For legal reasons, she cannot bring her baby across state lines without permission from his Dad, and he won't do that. She is still very much alone up there and she is still very much in need of our prayers.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. I praise God with all of my heart even when He tells me "No". Because I know that His decisions are the very best thing in the end.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Please Pray

Ok, y'all. I am just going to bare it all here, warts and all. Family stuff STINKS! It drains you and breaks your heart to say the least. Our crew is just fine, but my extended family has some awful things going on right now and I hate it.
I will not go into the rotten details because love protects, but I will just say that my sister and her sweet baby boy are coming to stay here from out of state for an indefinite amount of time.
I am calling out my prayer warriors here. If you think of us, please pray that the enemy would be bound in this situation and God's name be magnified and His presence tangibly felt. Also, that we would be able to make things work logistically in our already full house while maintaining a level of peace and harmony. Please pray for strength, wisdom and discernment for all involved as we work (and help guide) through some tough things.
I know God will make this work just because we have already seen His sovereign hand, but we still need coverage.
Thanks...