mudpies and paint

Who knew that spending three hours away from the house everyday could exhaust me so and make me feel like I am playing catch-up every afternooon. Combine that with a good case of pregnancy brain and I don't ever feel like I can get something coherent written again.

Camp is going really, really well for K. I was a little worried for her, but she is loving it. And more than that she "fits" in. Her actions and abilities and personality don't shout: I stay at home with my mom and sisters all the time and I am grooming to be a homeschool misfit. ;) As, K is an introvert and a little bit of a live wire with her sudden scream fits - I am never quite sure where she fits in on the preschool continuum.

From the first day there has been no hesitation about going. I sign her in and she goes right into the room. I can't even get a kiss or wave goodbye :sniff: She is just as excited to see us at pick-up time and loves to show me the little craft project she has done. On the way home we get to hear about her daily tea party. But, as exciting as all that is, I can tell in the afternoon she is beat. She has been more tired and cranky in the afternoons and really, really wants to be by herself.

It has been neat spending the time with my two december girls. Because of the distance I try to stay up near the camp site instead of coming home. On Monday we splurged and stopped by a bagel shop for a mid-morning snack, where we just sat and talked for awhile. Then headed over to the bookstore for some browsing. The girls ended up getting a pirate book complete with eyepatch, head scarf and earring that was on the discount table. MB picked out a couple of reads for herself and I found a copy of Crunchy Cons that I have been wanting to read.

Monday afternoon we made pirate swords out of a box (we have a few lying around here) And another box became the pirate ship. We read some pirate books and had a nice afternoon complete with a visit from my dad and stepmother as they came through town.

Yesterday we went to the Farmer's Market. I really, really need to get over there more! Comparatively their prices are now lower than the grocery store (they used to be about the same) and there is no sales tax. Not to mention stall after stall of local farmers and family members hawking their wares - from fresh produce, organic meats (including buffalo and ostrich), homemade jellies and butters, and personal care items. Everything has to be produced in North Carolina. I did very well keeping myself in check and thinking about what we need for the next two weeks. I bought:

1 - Canteloupe
6 ears of sweet white corn
1 qt strawberries (last of the season and very sweet)
1 qt blueberries
2 sweet potatoes
2 cucumbers
2 green peppers
small basket of peaches
4 baking potatoes
1 lb of new red potatoes
3 onions

And the grand total: $23.00

After we picked up K, we went by the grocery store to get the rest of our two week supply. We are doing okay on meats and were only out of boneless/skinless chix breasts, which I was willing to do without. But, they happened to be on sale - half off!! So we stocked up there and I found a few other must sell cuts of beef marked down half-price to round off our storage. We are good to go for the rest of the month for less than $100 total (farmers market and grocery store)! This psyches me up because we might actually hit our goal of $300 for the whole month.

There was more pirate play and MB helped me prepare the dinner to go into the crockpot. We fixed Dijon Pork Chops with Potatoes. Then off to gymnastics for the evening. Due to a whining kid, not one of mine, which went over like fingernails on a chalkboard - I decided to come on home and let DH pick MB up later.

I have managed to read Crunchy Cons, and wow!! So many thoughts running through my head and it will be a few days before I can finish flushing them out. But what a perfect companion book to all the other frugality, simple living books I have been reading. What a path I am starting to glimpse!

And just a quick aside to let everyone know that the theory of the power of "Threes" is still holding - our desktop computer is dying a slow death. First the water heater, then the air conditioning, and now the computer. We will not be without as we have the laptop - but I am not sure what we are going to do - we, as of this week, run our phone through the internet and the laptop is hooked up to everything wireless. I don't think that the laptop could serve as the central location for our telecommunications hub - but I may be wrong. Anyway, I refuse to stress about it, and unless it is absolutely necessary in order to make our phones work, I can't imagine that we will run right out and purchase a new one. I am trying to get all our necessary photos, paperwork, emails and bookmarks moved over to the laptop - which is a pain (but would be supremely painful if we lost it all).

Peace,

Amy