Month: February 2009
Milk and Bankruptcy
We go through a lot of milk.? What’s a lot?? Try four gallons a week.? This week I went to the store to buy a gallon of milk.? Since it was the only item I bought, it stood out how much a gallon of milk actually costs.? $3.50.?? Usually, I get more stuff and don’t notice what the milk costs.
It’s not like my milk buying habits would change if I knew the price.? When Thing 3 wakes up in the morning, he is like a crack addict jonesing for his sippy cup of milk.? It usually takes two full cups to settle him down, then he’s good for a few hours until his next fix.
So I started doing the math.? Four gallons a week.? $3.50 a gallon.? That’s $14 a week.? 52 weeks a year.? Comes to $728 a year just for milk!
And they are in daycare all day during the week, where the milk is included.? What happens when they start elementary school and they’re home a few hours earlier…drinking milk?? I don’t want to even think about all the food they’ll be eating when they are teenagers.?? I hope there are some provisions for milk in the trillion dollar economic stimulus package.
Single Parenting
I am a single parent again this weekend. SuburbanMommy is off on a girls Oscar weekend until Monday. I hope to learn from my experience last weekend, when I was a virtual single parent while SuburbanMommy was working Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (holiday).
The first lesson I learned is to get help!
Lesson #1: Reduce the number of kid
So this weekend I have lined up a sleepover Friday night for Thing 1 with his cousins at SuburbanAunt’s house. At this point, dealing with just two kids, even though it is the younger ones, seems like a walk in the park. I wouldn’t have said that a couple years ago when I only had two kids. But when you are used to three, two is easy.
Lesson #2: Bring in outside help
SuburbanUncle is coming to visit Saturday after nap time (Thing 3’s, not mine). He is younger than me with more energy, and the kids will have someone else to climb on for a few hours, giving my back a much needed rest.
Lesson #3: Bring in more outside help
On Sunday, I have a babysitter coming in the afternoon to give them dinner and put them to bed, so I can eat a meal in peace.
Lesson #4: Plan recovery time
I’m taking a vacation day on Monday to catch up on some stuff (like blogging) and get some much needed R&R.
Lesson #5: Being a single parent is hard
I always knew single parents had it tough. But until the last two months, when I got a taste of what it’s like, I couldn’t appreciate just how tough. To the single parents out there: I salute you. How do you do it day in and day out?
Always Take The Diaper
You’d think I would have learned this lesson by now.? If you are a new parent listen up.? No matter how fast you think a trip will take, no matter how unlikely it is you think you’ll need it, always, always take a diaper with you.
I learned this lesson recently, again, the hard way.? I took Thing 3 to an appointment at the allergy doctor.? It was just a quick follow up visit, where he would get an allergy skin test done.? Run in, run out.? I did not take a diaper.
Well, you can guess what happens next.? We get into the room, doctor sees him, nurse then comes in to administer the test, which is a series of skin pricks to his back.? He then keeps his shirt off for 15 minutes, and the doctor checks for reactions.
About 30 seconds into the 15 minute waiting period, I can smell the dirty diaper.? It doesn’t help that we are in a 10 foot by 10 foot room.
I decided to venture out to the waiting area because there were toys there for him to play with.? Also, because I needed to get some air.? There were other people in the waiting room, who surely knew about the poop in the diaper.? You’d have to be severly olfactory impaired not to.? I’m sure they were thinking – who is this incompetent, unprepared dad?
If there is one lesson I can pass on it is this:? Always take the diaper!
Fired Up and Ready To Go
You’ve probably seen the Fired Up, Ready To Go chant that was used in President Obama’s campaign last year.? But you may not have heard the story about how it started.? If not, watch this video first so the second video will make more sense.
Obama tells how he was tired, and struggling to get motivated for a tiny rally in a South Carolina small town, very early in the morning.? And how one woman got the crowd, and him, energized, focused, and ready to go.
This morning, I decided to see if I could use the same technique, albeit on a much smaller scale.? On Sunday mornings, Thing 1 and Thing 2 have swim class at the county rec center.? It’s early.? It’s cold.? We have a full day planned: swim class, pancake breakfast at the volunteer fire station, and it’s Super Bowl Sunday.? Nobody is very motivated.? It’s going to be a long day.? Time to get fired up and ready to go!