Minor Lapses

So, I did end up spending some money, but it was mostly just due to timing. It is that time of year: picture day was this week. How can I not get my kids' school pictures done?! And DS turned 4 at the beginning of the month, so it was assumed that I would be getting his yearly pictures made. These things are acceptable, I think. You can't be perfect.

We have also been out to eat 3 times. It was mostly out of necessity one of the times. We were invited to a birthday party and had to drive quite a ways to get there; eating on the road was just part of the schedule. I probably *could* have packed a dinner for us, but we had been soooo good, so we looked at it as a reward. (BTW, no presents were purchased...got them out of my recently replenished stash.)

The other two times were more frivolous, but that's ok too.  Since we have yet to spend even $100 total on going out, and it is already September 21 (only 9 days to go!), I am ok with it. I also was reimbursed for some items that I had bought last month, so I call that "found" money. (Yes I am justifying it.)

I am ok with it. Again, no one is perfect. I still managed to keep all other spending to a minimum or even zero.

The meals have been going ok. I am starting to realize that crockpot cooking can actually save your dinner. There was once this week that I forgot to defrost some meat - so I threw it into the crockpot with a cream of mushroom soup and turned it on high...NO PROBLEM! Easy and pretty tasty too. Throw it over some rice, cook up some carrots, serve with a salad and...voila!

I am starting to get low on some staples, so I may need to visit the store this week for a couple odds and ends (milk, fresh berries, apples). I also have spent too much time on pinterest and found a couple great recipes that I already have the ingredients for, so I may mix up my plan a little bit too. We really only have one more week to get through, and it isn't very busy at this point! No temptations to go through the drive throughs during a moment of stress. Almost there...

I may have to plan for a nice dinner out at the end of this. But I won't go anywhere without coupons.
--Katie