And Called it Macaroni

Rainy day today! Good for my plants, but bad for me! Robert and I missed our weekly trip to the thrift store (which is okay, because it meant I finally got the clothes I bought for him last week washed), and had to stay indoors all morning. Robert was fussy again, though we had some good times when I was flying him above my head and singing the Superman theme. The boy's got quite a smile on him, I just wish he'd break it out more often lately. I've been giving him the gripe water a couple of times a day, and it seems to help, so maybe he's gassy. I should mind what I eat more and see if that helps. I froze a quarter-sized chunk of fruit juice and tried him on the mesh teething paci today, but he would have none of it. I don't think it's his teeth yet. He ended up going to sleep at seven, which is early and unusual for him, but I can't say I wasn't grateful. ;-) 

This afternoon, after M got home from school, we made a family trip out to Meijer. Lately I have been needing him along for my Meijer trips because their carts are poorly designed and Robert takes up all the room in one basket, plus I usually need to do two transactions. Meijer's coupon policy is not bad, but they only double two identical coupons per transaction, and some of their sales have per-transaction limits. Today was a special "Buy 5 of these, get $5 off instantly," and there were some really good deals. We got 25 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, four boxes of Ritz, two boxes of Chips Ahoy, a jar of Miracle Whip, four packages of deli meat, a box of Capri Sun and four packages of cheese, all for sixteen dollars. I also bought birdseed for the birds, because hey, they gotta eat! I'm marking down on my spreadsheet whenever I buy food for Victoria and the birds, so I can get a more precise measure on that for the budget. Even with Victoria's premium food, their food expenses are not too much. It is the vetting that is always the problem. I am hoping for healthy pets this summer. 

Oh, and I got a check from one of my survey companies in the mail today, so that's fifteen dollars to add to the budget this month or next. Hurrah! I actually just quit that survey company, so that's kind of funny. It was the first one I joined up with, and it was reliable, but the rewards were very small. Now that I can regularly get at least a dollar and often more for each survey, I am not interested in 25 and 50 cent surveys anymore. I also decided at the 11th hour to cancel our life insurance medical exam for tomorrow. I called the agent yesterday because I had questions, and he never bothered to call me back. If he's like that when he's trying to sell me insurance, what's his company going to be like when we're reeled in? I think we may be able to do better.