Our Island Family Life

I updated my mixpod finally. I dumped songs that weren't playing and added a few of them back. I also added some new stuff. I was getting bored with all the old things.

We are at a food crisis here. I am glad I am going shopping tomorrow. It will be a tight schedule day. Town, car, shopping, packing, therapy, school, bay lines, bank, haircut, park, bay lines, home, unpack food. I will try and eat in the car I guess. I borrowed a stick of butter to get us through until I do the shopping. We are out of bread again though. I have the money to do the shopping at least. I am glad I will have Connor with me because I will need two carts. I hope Sofie is a good girl tomorrow. I am going to get her hair trimmed. I won't get it cut too short. I just found a blog that shows you how to do some nice hair styles. I think Sofie and I will have fun trying them.

Cade has tomorrow off school so I figured I might go in town with the kids as well. I have to shop for food anyway, also Cade has therapy. I will hit the dollar store and pick up one present a piece for the kids. I got Connor a new backpack at wal-mart last week. Both straps on his broke so I just gave it to him. He knows it's his present. It was a needed item, nothing fun but he seemed to be pretty happy with it. I got stocking stuffers last week from the dollar store when I got the presents for the xmas party. I got some food cards to the grocery store so I think I will use them to get something non food related there. I have food stamps for food and I always make it stretch because I don't always get food from the major food store.

One place I go to about once every two months is a warehouse place. I don't go often because I have to take the highway to get there and it takes a huge chunk of my time. Anyway, it has some past date stuff that is still really good and stuff that wasn't selling for whatever reason at a major chain store. I can get 5 bags of food for $20. What's even better for me now is I can use the food stamps there too. I used to shop there anyway pre food stamp days so I don't feel like crap having to shop there. Just savvy. There is another place I go that has meats and veggies and stuff you can't get at the warehouse place. I also go to the day old bread outlets. I love my freezer. It takes a whole day to do this hop and shop deal but I save money in the long run. I pick a day or schedule a day to do it doesn't get in the way of work or appointments. I like the fact people give me food cards because it shows they care and it's not really just for me I know but the kids as well. I would prefer a card to wal-mart or something like that though. People seem to forget about the fact that you can't get things like toilet paper, diapers, laundry soap, toothpaste and stuff like that with food stamps. You know what else is odd? You can't get hot food with them either. *shrug*

Maybe there should be a program for that kind of stuff? There are places I go to as well for food like food banks but I would be better off to pay things like rent, oil and electricity if I had help for that. Even when Sofie was little and we were in this program for women and infants that gave us coupons for milk, formula, and things like that it never included diapers and wipes. I just think it's a little weird.

I had some free yarn and made a hat. I really stink at it but I finished it and donated it for the homeless. I try and give back, especially since I have had to take so much the past two years. I also got the kids to spend a dollar a piece for a new toy at the dollar store and we donated those as well to toys for tots. We have done that every year since the boys were small. No matter how hard up we are some people are worse than us. We have done a lot more in the past but since my own kids are getting dollar store stuff there isn't much to be said about it I guess. I am feeling good about it though. Cade did do some shopping at goodwill and got some nice things for Sofie and his brothers.

We will be separated for xmas eve and that hurts more than anything. It will be my first time ever away from Cade and Sofie. I really find myself crossing that line and hating Sean for it. Hate is a strong word and I don't like using it especially on a holiday. I will be selfish and say I wish the kids were all together for the holiday. Sean is the one who chose to leave so he should have to wait to see them is my opinion. Is it really better for the kids to see him and be torn apart just to satisfy his needs? I admit I am feeling selfish too and want them here but at least I am trying to think of them too. To wake up on Christmas morning in their own beds where they spend most of their time. With all their family (except their dad of course but that's his choice) around them. Just something else to have to get used to and adapt. It's bad enough knowing Will is most likely not going to be around for many more xmas's with us. I would like for Sofie to maybe have a memory or two of all her brothers around her. I remember when I was 4. Maybe she will too. I am sure this is a big cause of my funk lately.

After I posted last time Sean called again around 4pm in the afternoon. We were all in the basement doing some cleaning of my second freezer so it would be ready for my shopping day and Sofie was napping. I know he called from the caller ID but he didn't leave a message that time. I told Cade his dad called again and he shrugged and said, "The last person I want to talk to today is him." So, that was that.

The next day we went to town. I was going to bring Sofie too but she was invited to Aiden's third birthday party so I let her stay home with Connor. He offered and she was treating him nicely so I said ok. She napped 4 hours again. Maybe she is starting to hibernate? She had dinner and cake with Aiden and his mom came in her truck to pick Cade and I from the boat at 7pm. Thank God. We had so much stuff. At the grocery store alone I had 12 banana boxes and a cooler. Then I had three huge bags (like the big L.L.Bean boat bag sized) of stuff from Wal-Mart. The food alone was $600. We were really down to nothing. Now I have one full freezer and I have started on the second. I am getting some free deer meat soon so I am saving room for that. It was funny taking all those boxes out to the car from the store. I asked them if they had the boxes. Thank goodness they did. I had checked the bay lines first and they were out. Then the stuff had to go on a trolley. Then they were shipped on the wrong boat. I labeled them properly but they went on an earlier boat so they were sitting on the dock from 4pm until I got home at 7pm. Good thing it was cold. I was able to get some good deals at Wal-Mart though. I hate going there but I was really in need of stuff I couldn't get at the dollar store. I also didn't want to risk a hit or miss at Goodwill for a pair of pants for Cade. He had two pair left and one was getting a hole. Down to the wire. Sean still hasn't sent back the bottoms for one pair that unzip at the knee so I told Cade he really needed to look for them himself. Dad has had 6 months to find them and that was long enough. I found a pair for $7 so I was happy. They also had the dress pants out and dress socks he will need for the island christmas party. Sofie needs new party shoes but they didn't have them. I have been looking for a while now. I do have one pair that "might" fit by then. I am going to hold out. I used most of my paycheck there but I needed things like pull-ups and wipes the dollar store doesn't carry. After that Cade and I saw a movie. I had a gift certificate for two so we used it. I love saving these things and using them unexpectedly. Kids think I am some kind of genie when I do that. I am just a packrat. We saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was better than I expected. It was a little rough though because it had a huge theme about how much fathers love their children and want to see them happy yada yada. Cade snorted during one speech made my the cop voiced by Mr. T. Cade whispered, "I know one dad who doesn't care." Other than that we had a nice time. I teared up and the end and Cade laughed at me. I read to him on the boat ride home. We didn't eat out or anything. I got some stuff at the grocery store and we ate that over the course of the day. Much cheaper. When we got home it was chaos. All those boxes and putting stuff away. Sofie was wired on cake and Cade was talking non-stop. Connor was helpful without attitude which was nice. While we were working the tv was on to the history channel on a show about death masks and it was really interesting. After we were done we sat down to see it. I really wish I could have stayed awake to see the whole thing but I couldn't. At 9pm we were all down for the count. I have to bake some cookies today for Will's crew for school. I also got a bunch of books for the school to sell to raise money for a class trip. I hope today is quiet.