The week in which I cost my family increasingly less money

Wednesday - speeding ticket.  School Zone.  School hours.  I tried to navigate my pulled over car close enough to the police vehicle that the officer couldn't get between the cars to see our missing turn signal - and prayed he'd somehow be blinded by sun in his eyes and miss the big wound in the windshield - oh, and the hole in the passenger door.  "We don't give out tickets like this," as he mimes handing me a ticket.  "If you get an infraction notice in the mail next week, it will be from this event."

"If?" 

I stifled that question. 

Thursday - missed lunch to get my body scanned - up down and sideways - I stopped at the mall to buy emergency bananas and a couple of salads at the food court.  Then, I left my salads at the counter.  Only cost me $8.50.  Oh, and still no lunch and now no dinner.

Friday - Slow day and so I clocked out from work about 10 minutes early.

Saturday - tried (unsuccessfully) to use a Coles coupon at a Woolworth's gas station.  4 cents/ liter - 30 - some liters. 

Sunday - didn't leave the house!

I am a terrible mother

From April 2016

Zupe brought this delicacy home in his lunch box.  The day care kids have been playing "Sweet Shop" and selling cup cakes and milk shakes to each other.  (This is the follow up to veterinary clinic.  When will our clinic start pushing desserts?)  He has a great teacher.  She organized a bake-off. 

What do you think?  A muffin?  I have no real idea what has been dropped into that batter and baked.  I'm pretty sure the other kids scoffed their specimen rather than bringing it home to dear old mom.   But, dear Zupie does not eat dry foods - no cakes, no bread, no alien muffins.  So, it came home in his lunch box rolling in the damp gooey box between the emptied bowls of fruits and vegetables and pastas.

I did wait until he was out of the house before I threw it away. 

Yet another very poor decision

From April 2016

Possibly the worst decision in recent times.

Quite possibly.

Kevin left for his month of single nerdhood in America on Easter morning.  Kevin took the big suitcases, yes, the super-cool big suitcases, and got out of the car at the airport where everyone has super-cool bags and luggage carts and didn't take Zupe.  This was not going to make our little boy happy.  Not one bit.

So, good mother, Ann, decided she would plan fun things for Zupe.  First, we went to the secret road behind the airport - it probably isn't a secret, but it was a surprise to me - where you can park and watch planes take off and land.  It didn't take long before I realized that jet planes were more interesting to Mommy than Zupe.  He really only wants to watch bags being weighed, pulled and loaded onto luggage carts and conveyor belts.  So, plan B.

Plan B - The Boondall Wetlands.  A nice cool morning.  A boardwalk.  Trees.  And, millions upon millions of biting insects.  Maybe I should have more fully considered why there were no other cars in the lot.  But, it WAS Easter morning.  And, I had tropical strength insect repellent.

At least my give up time was not excessive.  I didn't have to watch the swarming mosquitoes, and worse, biting midges, too long before I turned the stroller around and said, "Let's go to McDonald's and buy pancakes!"

Those damn midges (aka, sand flies).  I woke up in the middle of the night tearing the skin from my legs and continued to scratch and rub and rub and scratch for almost a week.

From April 2016

Not the most attractive self portrait- but not as bad as my ugly toe shot.  Still, the point here.  I double applied the tropical strength repellent to behind my knees.  What would this have looked like without it??

Oh, and a bit of good news.  Mr. Zupe, for reasons I cannot explain, is not allergic to insect bites!  No itching on the raised red welts all over his arms and legs.  At least I am the only one to pay for my folly.