The Saturday 7

 1. Neither Nova nor my kids had school on Monday, so we did a cousins activity of packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. I used to do boxes with my kids every year, because I love the idea of them picking out presents for another kid in this season of "the gimmes." But it's gotten really expensive lately, and I'm not sure how much it teaches my kids when I'm the one paying for it all anyway. Haha. This year, my gracious sisters bought a whole bunch of random stuff and then we let all the kids fill boxes. And now that I know this is going to be a new yearly tradition, I'll start collecting stuff throughout the year, so I don't have to buy enough stuff for three boxes at once. The kids enjoyed filling the boxes, and I got an amazingly good picture of them all looking at the camera and not crying!

Drawing pictures to put in the boxes.

2. Meal update: this week I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with broccoli, sloppy joes, and meatloaf. I was shocked at how well Levi did with choking down the broccoli. I put cheese on it, but he picked it off because he thought that was a strange pairing. Then he put it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed like he's been eating veggies for years! Lena liked it way less and said at one point, "Why do people choose to eat this?!" But she ate it. They all ate a quarter of a sloppy joe sandwich with only slight reluctance. And then came the meatloaf. I made an ill-conceived facebook post on Wednesday asking for suggestions for "kid-friendly" dinners. I was seeking input from other parents on meals they make for dinner that their kids actually like, with the hope that I could introduce my kids to some new-to-them foods that other kids like. But many of my facebook friends perceived that I was seeking help with picky eating and showered me with unsolicited advice. I really try to assume that people's intentions are kind, but it became apparent who reads my blog and who doesn't. Haha. Because if you've followed along for any length of time, you know that I already agonize over my kids' picky eating habits and the last thing I need is another helping of scorn and condescension. Anyway, back to the meatloaf. A few people commented that their kids like meatloaf, and I had thawed ground beef I needed to use up. None of them enjoyed it, but the girls at least forced it down. Levi refused no matter how much ketchup I slathered it in. So today he got to taste the bitter fruit of his choice when the girls got McDonald's and he didn't. You can imagine how well that went over. Hopefully he'll remember how it felt next week when presented with dinner options. And don't worry. He went to bed hungry that night just as all my facebook friends prescribed. 

3. I discovered a new store this week that makes my deal-loving heart skip a beat. I've heard of "bin stores" and have always been interested in checking one out, but I don't like going new places or driving farther than 15 minutes for a deal. Haha. So imagine my delight when a bin store came to my town. Part of me doesn't want to talk about it because it's new and fairly undiscovered, and I don't want to fight a bigger crowd than necessary, but the other part of me can't resist sharing a deal. So I'll compromise and write about it without giving away its exact location. In case you're unaware, a bin store piles merchandise into bins and gives them a set price. At this new store, the first day is Friday, and everything is $8. Most of the merchandise is from pallets or Amazon returns, so there is a good probability of finding a real treasure! Every day, the price of the bin items goes down a little. I went for the first time on Tuesday, when everything was $3. So you run the risk of all the really good stuff being gone already, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much was left! I only had 20 minutes to shop, which is not nearly enough time to dig through 8 bins, so I only bought a few things. But by Wednesday everything was down to $1 and I was more prepared. I looked up when they opened so I could be one of the first people in the door and since I didn't have any other plans after dropping the kids off at school, I knew I could devote plenty of time to digging for deals. And I did precisely that. I dug for an hour and forty five minutes and ended up spending $36 - which means I found 34 items (6% sales tax) at $1 a piece! This is what I got:

a PUR brand water filter pitcher (full size), a puddle jumper life jacket (off brand), 2 artificial wreaths, one greenery wall-hanging (the girls both asked for "fake plants" for Christmas), a string of twinkle lights, a 4 pack of throw pillow covers, a Fire TV remote (because we are always losing ours - $1 for an extra is so worth it!), a men's white dress shirt, a big bottle of glucosamine chondroiton vitamins, a pack of fidgets, a pencil cup, a God's Not Dead 1 and 2 combo DVD, a butter dish, swim goggles, a pack of 50 party napkins, shin guards, stickers, huge bag of toothbrushes (for Operation Christmas child!), teething toys, set of 6 slap bracelets, big bag of glow sticks, wireless headphones, two 100 pack air fryer liners, inflatable reindeer antler ring toss game, a Dell brand external DVD drive to plug into my laptop, a kids' LCD writing tablet, a magnetic self-close door screen, and two of those satin heatless curling rods that are all over facebook. I had actually just added one to my Christmas list the night before! All for $1 each!! 

I also got something for Justin's stocking, but he reads my blog so I can't share what it is. 😁 I went again on Friday morning (with Lena since the kids had a snow day and she doesn't leave my side) when everything was $8. I got there at opening again because I wanted to see what treasures are available on the first day. But I'm a cheapskate and I only found two things that I felt like I could spend $8 on. Lena was quite exasperated with me as she kept pulling things out of bins and I kept saying, "That's nice, but not worth $8." She eventually said, "Why did you even come today? You know you're not going to spend $8 on anything!" Lol. Busted. Anyway, it's my new obsession, and is definitely going to be my new Wednesday morning tradition if anyone wants to join me. (As long as you don't blab its location to the world!) 

4. The big news this week is the never ending snowstorm. I just want to remind you all that last Thursday it was 75 degrees outside. 6 days later, on Wednesday of this week it started snowing . . . and it hasn't stopped. It snowed lightly most of Wednesday so the kids and I had school on Thursday. But by Thursday evening, it had really picked up in intensity with no end in sight. We got the text that night that school was cancelled for Friday. (Can I just give a shoutout to the admin for letting us know the night before so we could sleep in?!) 

Wednesday morning around 8:00.

Friday 8:43 a.m.

Today. 10:45 a.m.

I saw one report that said Grand Rapids got 20 inches over the past four days. I think that sounds about right. So crazy for our first real snow event of the season! 

The kids have loved playing out in it, and Justin even bribed them with a trip to the sledding hill if they shoveled the sidewalks in front of our house. Haha.

I have been enjoying it from inside while sitting on my couch under a blanket, listening to Christmas music. It's beautiful as long as we don't lose power and I don't have to go out in it or drive in it! 

Actually, on Wednesday before it even got bad, this happened when I tried to open my van door so the kids could get in to go to school:

Two years ago, the same thing happened with this exact same door. I drove it like that until this Spring when we finally paid to have it replaced. The last time, it was Justin's fault and I've always blamed it on his brutish muscles. This time, though, it was me with my wimpy noodle arms, so I think we can safely say it's the fault of frozen van doors and cheap door handles. Annoyingly, my van doors freeze anytime it gets colder than 30 degrees. Time for Justin to clean out the garage for the winter! 

5. We braved the snow last night to attend our town's tree lighting parade/event. I was surprised at how bad the roads were in town, and Lena fairly had a panic attack when she saw a van in front of us fishtail, certain that we were on the road to doom at the speed of 25 mph. It was wretchedly cold, the snow was falling non-stop in huge fat flakes, and there was no place to park. But it was pretty! We pretended to be part of our own little Hallmark movie/snow-globe, but actually thought it was kind of lame. Lol. I snapped a few cute pictures, nonetheless. And then we went to my aunt and uncle's house a block over so we could watch the fireworks from inside their heated house. #winning 

I knew having kids would pay off eventually! They love brushing the snow off my van. 

Nova was sick, and Libby and Esther didn't want to brave the snow/roads, so Thea was the only cousin who joined us for the festivities. 

She was not a fan of the cold or snow. Lol. #girlaftermyownheart 

Lena finally managed to coax a few smiles out of her.

Free s'mores!

6. Lucy was going to come with us, but she got mad at me a few minutes before we left, so she decided to stay home instead. I've been feeling sad again, lately, that she spends so much of her life holed up in her room despising me. When I was a kid, I used to have an irrational fear that my parents would get divorced and I'd have to choose who I'd live with. (I wasn't very smart and didn't really understand custody arrangements.) I realized recently that it would be no contest for Lucy. If we ever go somewhere as a family but drive separately for some reason, Lucy invariably chooses to ride with Justin over me. When we sit down for dinner at the table, Lucy refuses to sit next to me. At night when she goes to bed, she gives Justin a hug and kiss, but walks right past me. Do you see now why I have to be on depression meds? And why I can't bear to look at old pictures when she was my first baby and my best friend? That seems like a lifetime ago. Hopefully someday I'll look back on these days and be able to say the same thing - that it feels like a lifetime ago, but so much has changed and we're friends again. In the meantime, at least I've got Lena. When I told her I was going to pick up McDonald's for dinner tonight, she panicked about me driving on the icy roads and begged me to make Justin go instead. I'm a bad parent, and I said, "You'd rather he die than me?" And she clammed right up, refusing to either accept or deny that thought - which says it all. Lol. 

7. Pics and memes:

Tandem yoga

They were actually wrestling when I snapped this pic, but doesn't it look like the most precious hug?

As usual, it didn't work as I'd hoped, but I might chalk that up to user error. I'm going to keep trying.

Seriously, though. Why???

If you bring this to Thanksgiving instead of mashed potatoes, I will get a head start on my new year's resolution to cut toxic people out of my life and disown you right quick. 

Probably because of all those potatoes . . .