Stuff and Things

How is it, you may ask, that I left the house this morning empty handed and came home with a box full of groceries, a new pair of undies, two 8x10 pictures, a handful of new friends, a new book, snacks, lunch and a workout for less than four dollars. Well the answer is simple: I have really smart, awesome friends who know how to find some good deals!

 This morning when I woke up there was a message on the group page for the girls that I am doing the BNN Challenge with about a Walgreen’s deal for a free 8x10 portrait (thank you Andrea). So I grabbed my digital camera, actually got my kids dressed for a change and we headed outside to take some pictures. I then went to Walgreen’s photo page, signed up for an account, uploaded and ordered my free print and picked it up an hour later (you can too- use the code FREE4ME)Sweet! Almost 10 days late, but I think I’ve finally got a Birthday present for my father-in-law that will look great in his garage!

Backyard photo shoot attempt

We almost made it through my first trip into a retail store in 11 days unscathed, but the kids were screaming at me, fighting with each other and “rearranging” the store’s displays. Instead of the lollipops that Shannon wanted and the stuffed NASCAR car that Patrick wanted (really???), I grabbed a bag of trail mix. Lucky for me they were buy one get one free so not only did we end up with snacks for the rest of the day, but neither kid walked out of the store empty handed, which temporarily calmed the storm.

Then we headed to a local park for a run and some playground fun which is always free thanks to a super idea one of my friends had a few years ago to start a free running group for military mom’s (thank you Stephanie). At the playground we got out some energy and met a lot of new friends.  After the run was over, another mom said she had gotten a message from her FRO about free produce being handed out nearby (thank you Jill). We went and checked it out and ended up with a full moving box full of food. In the box we got Italian bread, banana nut bread, sour cream, cheese slices, some buffalo dip, artichokes, two honeydew melons, juice, yogurt, bottled water and two 5lb bags of potatoes.

Next up we went to the mall because I had a friend and running buddy who gave me a coupon for a free pair of undies from Victoria’s Secret yesterday (thank you Jen). And if I thought the screaming and fighting in Walgreens was bad 3 hours before, it was exponentially worse at this point. Who knew, but apparently Victoria’s Secret is zero fun for toddlers, especially if all of the big blow up doggies lying around are not for jumping on and playing with. We made it back to the car but now the kids were hungry. As part of my BNN guidelines I said we would try to eat out less, so I was feeling guilty that we were “stuck” out in JVille during lunchtime. Instead of caving, it was time for a little creativity so I pulled apart the Italian bread, slathered on some buffalo dip and cheese and we all enjoyed a very un-Paleo, but free lunch.

Since the kids were now happy we were able to try out a few of the local thrift stores and while we didn’t buy anything I think we know which ones will be the best ones to shop at when it comes time for things that we need like jeans for Patrick in the fall and coats for Patrick and Shannon in the winter. Finally it was time to head home. On the way we dropped off a few bags of toys at the church, took dinner to a friend and I picked up the book I had reserved at the library (thank you Ryanne for suggesting “Radical”).

Best Friends

Today was awesome, but not without its challenges.  Walking through the mall and not stopping to browse, and ultimately buy, at some of my favorite stores was TOUGH. I accidentally parked at the wrong end, forcing us to pass a lot of good deals and some really cute clothes. Admittedly, the mall had much cuter clothes on display than the thrift stores but you know what I already have more than enough clothes. In fact, I think it will be a long time before there are any clothes that I actually NEED and that thought is quite freeing.

While I would still consider today a success, it was still very much centered on stuff and things. I definitely received more today than I gave and am feeling kind of guilty about that. I am thankful though for my family and friends, the ones I mentioned in this post and the ones I didn’t, that will help us to give more and will continue to support us during this challenge.

Patrick aka Mark

5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:5