Those of you with children (spouses?) who play Xbox will understand this conversation. Those of you who don’t…well…obviously, you can see you’re missing out.

Daughter: Don’t forget you had PMS last week, too.

Me: Yeah, thanks. We wouldn’t want to forget that.

My latest project is couponing. With two teenagers, my grocery bill has passed outrageous and hit astronomical, so I started looking for ways to save. My friend Katie had just started reading a blog called Frugal Coupon Living so
I read it off and on and got jealous of all the money Katie was saving. But out of all these years I’ve been a wife and mother, these are not the first lean years. I’ve tried clipping coupons before. Out of those experiences, I always thought that the coupons were never for what I needed and they were only for a few cents anyway, so what did it matter?

Two things changed. One: I realized that in this economy, every few pennies count in my bank account. And two: I was going about it the wrong way. Couponing really isn’t about buying what you need. It’s about stockpiling when things are on sale for the best price so that you have what you need when you need it. Subtle difference but definitely a difference.

So…my new adventure. My husband is thrilled that I’m saving money(even though he’s well within his rights to be dubious at how long it will last). He doesn’t even know how much I saved at the mall just this weekend.

13 yr old daughter: That’s not true! I never gave it back to you!

Yep, you guessed it. One of the joys of homeschooling is that you learn what they learn. So, I speak French, but am taking Spanish 1 for the second time. Gotta love it.

I take their collars off and they know right then that water is involved and they start running for their hiding place under the entertainment center.  Fortunately, I know this, so I head them off at the end of the hall and toss them into the tub.  A few minutes later, they smell like lavender and look like little scrawny rats.  And they are mad.

But baths are good for them.  I’m trying to remember as I’m heading into this teaching time that things that aren’t comfortable are sometimes the best.  Last night was my first class with my husband–co-facilitating the Fireproofing Your Marriage class.  I can say right now, without any hesitation, the two of us are going to learn more about marriage than anyone else in the class.  (The first thing we learned is that both of us have to have a microphone, heh) Although I know that these next forty days of the Love Dare are not always going to be easy, and sometimes I’m going to want to quit and run for the safety of the space underneath the entertainment center, we are going to be glad that we did this.  But we still won’t be fluffy and white like Honey after a bath!

“Mom, don’t drive so fast. I can’t die now. I just got my new cell phone.”

So I was thinking, what would it take to get me to run? A Swiss Cake roll? A Lindor truffle? I’m pretty sure I’d chase down a chocolate cupcake. But then, that would defeat the purpose of running in the first place. Which is exactly my point.

So far today I have cleaned out the refrigerator, emptied the dishwasher, pulled the sheets off the bed and done forty-two loads of laundry. Now it all has to be put back where it belongs…after I reach my page count for the day, which at this rate might be midnight tonight.