One Dinner

Every day I watch my daycare kids I struggle with feeling like I am being the best mommy I can be for my own kids while also taking care of someone else's kids.  Jaxon is usually so well behaved and it seems like he has more meltdowns and a harder time obeying when the daycare kids are here.  That's a daily struggle too.  

Most days are fine, but sometimes I just about go crazy.  So, the other day was one of those really hard days.  I was counting down the time until the kids got picked up.  Not because of the kids, they are great kids to watch and really well behaved, it's just a lot to deal with all day every day.

Devin's parents were coming to pick up Jaxon so they could take him to a movie and then sleepover at their house.  At first I was kind of bummed he was going to be gone when I was looking forward to spending time with him without other kids around.  But, then I realized I could spend some one on one time with Henry and was excited about that.  

Along with Jaxon getting picked up, I also had to drop off my lawn mower to be repaired, and meet my Grandpa to drop off Jeni so I was stressing about getting all the timing right to meet everyone who was counting on me.  Luckily, I was able to arrange it all in one place.

After the daycare kids got picked up, a little stress was relieved, but I was still in a rush as I strapped the kids and Jeni in the car and headed to meet everybody.  I got there later than planned, but it was all right.  I dropped off Jeni, got the mower fixed, and met Papa to drop off Jaxon.  

As I drove home at 6:00, I was exhausted and not in the mood to cook dinner and didn't think it was a good idea to make Henry wait that long before feeding him dinner.  You know we are really trying to stay in the grocery budget so I didn't want to stop and buy food, but Henry is used to eating at about 5:00 and we wouldn't be home until 6:30, plus it will still take time for me to make something.  I tried to think of somewhere healthy but cheap to stop on the way home.  First, I decided I would just make something quick when we got home so I wouldn't spend any money.  But, after seeing that Henry was almost asleep, I changed my mind and decided he needed dinner sooner than later.  There were lots of choices on the way home and most of them sounded good, but I finally decided to go with Costa Vida.  I could and spend a few bucks on a large salad to share with Henry and he'd get his free kiddie cheese crisp.

We ordered and went through the line and as I got to the cashier I handed her my debit card to pay.  She ran it and asked if I had a frequent stamp card.  I thanked her for reminding me and told her I thought I had one that was full.  I was right!  I pulled it out and thought it would save me a couple bucks on the $8 salad I was about to thoroughly enjoy.  She said, "Actually it's all free."  "Wait, what?  It's totally free?!"  I couldn't believe it.  After the stressful day I had with the kids, then stressing over getting everywhere I needed to be on time, and stressing about getting home to make dinner then breaking down and deciding to buy it instead...it was FREE!  (I think I have too much stress in my life.)  It was a very small thing, and to most people this might be a silly story, but to me, it was practically a miracle!  It's not so much that I got an eight dollar dinner for free, it's the fact that it was right when I needed it (physically, emotionally, and for the sake of the budget).  It was a blessing and I was very grateful.  

My cute date enjoying his "chisp"