{Days 5 - 9} Aiming for Diligence and Celebrating Dad

These days I was just aiming to get three things listed per day on a local site for things to sell. Our son had the opportunity to go with his youth group to Elitch Gardens in Denver so we gave him the job of cleaning, sweeping and mopping the basement floor in exchange for the cost of that excursion.  Getting kids to work hard...not for the faint of heart.  In the end he did a pretty good job, but it didn't start out so cheerful or diligent.

I gave the boys haircuts.  Our kids have always had hair cuts by Mom at home and I figure this has easily saved us $1500 so far.

freshly sheered boys with post-haircut treats

We picked up our Bountiful Baskets and enjoyed the simple pleasure of having popcorn and apples on the front porch at the end of a long week.  I'm thankful for a few more seats there than we had last week.

On the weekend I spent an afternoon organizing a big mess of books and curriculum.  This area has needed attention for a long time, but it become much worse last month when we rearranged some furniture and unloaded one of our basement bookshelves to use in another place in our home following putting in new flooring.  It seems one thing always leads to another. And in this case, one area of order led to a different area full of chaos. I used bins we already had on hand to sort the curriculum by level or subject and used washi tape and sharpies to make labels.

really bad

a little order amidst the chaos

better - all curriculum fits on one higher shelf (not easily accessible to kids), sets are complete and labeled

better - non-curriculum books and games are neat and accessible

We celebrated Father's Day by grilling burgers after church and going swimming for a while in the afternoon.  The family pool membership was just $99 in April. The gifts we gave on Father's Day were purchased in previous months, gift cards bought with a deal and a great new tie on clearance. We wrapped up the day with a simple dinner at home of parmesan popcorn, apples and meat and cheese slices.

Sold: infant life jacket  & tent - $43

Expenses:
Costco - $100 - I lost the receipt, but I know we bought the following: 2.5 lbs. Tillamook sharp cheddar, triple pack of lunch meat, 2 bags of tortilla chips, one box of diapers, 1 dozen bagels, 2 bags Doritos, 1.5 lbs. salami, 2 loaves of bread, and a 6.75 lbs. boneless pork loin.
Safeway - $41.97 - I ran in for hamburger buns and ice cream on Father's Day and came out with a package of buns, plus a can of beans, 2 jars of pickles, a second carton of ice cream, cilantro, and loads of marked-down 1/2 price dairy (6 gallons milk, 2 yogurt 12-pks, 3 Greek yogurt 4-pks, 1 tub of Greek yogurt, 5 individual yogurts, and cottage cheese). 
Youth group outing - $30 for the ticket + $10 for food