Weekend Update (now with hatchet!)

I have been working hard on continuing to approach my weekends intentionally, and while not perfect, it is SO MUCH better. I've kept FB off my phone (though I still can access it via Safari, so that's kind of a cheat.) That's helped me to actually look up and interact with people. I'm actually getting out of bed (instead of laying there for an hour on my phone or kindle) and making coffee. That gives me time to drink it on the back porch before I dive into breakfast/shower/planning the day. I'm trying to maintain a balance of chores and fun. It's always my inclination to fill up all the hours with AWESOME FAMILY FUN! It's like I'm compulsed to squeeze as much out of 48 hours as humanly possible, and we often do some really fun stuff. But then Sunday night rolls around and my house is a mess, no laundry's been done, I'm making lunches out of hot dog buns, and I feel like the last two days were wasted. I'm trying to make sure that at least the basics (laundry, grocery shopping, minimal house hygiene) are covered by Sunday night. I'm also making an effort to allow myself (and C, and the kids) lazy time. That's where everyone can sit on their bums and do nothing productive without me getting twitchy. I can typically last an hour or so, but I'm building endurance. Who knows? Eventually I may even take a nap! (I won't, because I hate naps a lot, but I may watch a movie during the day!) Work in progress...

In other news, we're back on the "don't be financial idiots" train. This time we're focusing on all the ways that we nickle and dime ourselves stupid during the month, so C and I both have "allowances" for all the extra, unplanned shit we buy. We figured out how much true discretionary money we had, split it in half, and then pulled it out in cash. I threw an epic tantrum when C first presented the plan, and now I have to eat my words and act like an adult because it fucking worked. It's really annoying. On the other hand, I'm not putting groceries on a credit card so there's that. It's so funny (but not really) how I was all gung ho budget (like for the last 15 years) and then when it's not my idea I'm all, "NO! You can't tell me what to do! I won't be oppressed by you!" (I mentioned the epic fit, right?)

And because we managed to not be idiots this month, we were able to sign Eli up for Boy Scout sleepaway camp this summer. Which is good because it turns out this kid kind of rocks being a Boy Scout. He had his Court of Honor a couple weeks ago and was sworn in as the Chaplain's Aid, which means he leads all prayers and sermons on outings. He's got this great group of friends and everyone in the troop loves him (like legitimately. I had to restrain my self(son?)-deprecating sarcasm because it was just coming across as mean. MOTY.) He also earned his "Toten' Chip" which means he can carry the hatchet he was gifted from a friend who used it when he was a scout in the 60s. So he's armed, but he loves Jesus.