Returning to normal

In the sake of getting back into a routine, back to what passes for normal in my world, I wanted to focus my energy on Boy Wonder today. After all, I've taken the semester off school, the house is sitting patiently on the market (recrossing it's ankles every now and then, but mostly just sitting), and Bubby's gone - it's just me and Boy Wonder all day long.

So today I got up with a plan. We were going to do our copywork, work on some math, and listen to Story of the World: Ancient Times while building with legos. And for our first day back, I'm happy to report that we did ok. There was a little grumbling from both of us, but there always is after returning to routine after a break. We got the copywork and math done. Listening to Ancient Times didn't go so well, but we ended up reading a couple of books together. I can live with that. There's going to be some adjustment time for us, and as long as we're doing something productive I'm pretty happy.

My other stab at adjusting (and saving money) has been planning out dinner menus for the week. Until now, I'd never done this in real life. I keep hearing about how much it can help save money and time, but I'm more of a 'buy some staples and whatever looks good and fend for yourself for dinner' type of gal. I do cook, but not regularly. We eat a lot of pasta and rice with steamed veggies - not a lot of effort goes into my menu planning. We're really having to buckle down financially, so I thought this would help.

I looked up a few recipes online, racked my brain for things that I do cook when I choose to do so, made a shopping list and headed off to Wal-Mart. Amazingly enough, I only spent $73! Apparently having a very specific list and sticking to it does actually save money. Who knew?? I even planned for and made a casserole for Sunday brunch - I haven't done that for ages.

The whole experience has been kind of freeing. I know it was nothing revolutionary, but it always surprises me when something so simple works out so well. I don't do well with strict routines and lists because I'm fairly lazy. I don't want to be tied down to doing something I may or may not feel like doing. I always thought planning out a menu sounded horrible - what if we didn't want what was on the plan? But it's nice to spend a little time thinking ahead - I don't have to worry about it during the week. (Wow, mom, you WERE right!) There's enough to choose from so we'll have some options. And there are always leftovers or good old pb&j if we want it.

So, yeah, I know. Hardly worth blogging about really, but that's another thing I'm going to try to do more regularly. Force myself to write, to think of something to say, to get my thoughts organized. Try to be a little more creative, a little more thoughtful. So much will probably be crap, but I feel like I need to try. Kind of hard to insist that Boy Wonder learn how to write well when I've let mine go for so long. So wish me luck....I've been floating for too long and I need something different in my life right now.