Quilt Scraps Mom

Oh, where-oh-where-oh-where-oh-where-oh-where-oh-WHERE is my hairbrush?

It’s been a long week.  A long week of way too many sentences beginning with the same three words:  “I can’t find…”

Some things made more sense than others.  Nintendo DS games are small — probably a good reason NOT to unload the whole set on the sofa and leave them there.  But on a bright note, we found the missing remote to the DVD player under the sofa keeping them company.

But as the semi-controlled chaos of vacation packing continued, my frustration grew.   Why does every electronic device on the planet require its OWN charging device?  Where do 100 pencils go, anyway?  And how on earth is it possible to lose the roof pack for the van — I mean come on, we’re not exactly talking microscopic here! 

We’ve reached the end of the week and it SEEMS as though nearly everything has been found.  In fact, nearly everything is packed and ready for our departure at 3:30 am tomorrow morning.  I’m feeling relaxed and pleasant.  And to tell you the truth, it’s scaring me… what do I not even realize I’ve forgotten yet?????

But in case you’re wondering, yes, I packed my hairbrush!

I’ve never been a big fan of yard sales.  Having them, that is.  I’m way too big a fan of frequenting them, which is ultimately why the need to have one developed in the first place.  The prospect of a sunny Saturday… two daughters eager for cash… the annual neighborhood extravaganza… seems like a recipe for success, right?

Wrong!  For a variety of reasons, we only began preparing for our event at about 10:00 pm on Friday night.  First big mistake.  Box after box tumbled down from the attic.  We discovered that my bargain hunting of recent weeks was for naught… a complete wardrobe for preschool girls still existed, stashed in the deep recesses of the attic.  We began diligently sorting box after box after largely mislabeled box of clothing ranging from newborn through size six and some even larger.  Three large bags were filled with stained, torn clothing that I can’t begin to understand why we stored to begin with.  We discovered elastic-waisted pants do not fare well in attic heat. 

Ultimately (somewhere around 1:00 am) we were left with 14 rubbermaid totes of neatly sorted, clean clothing ready for sale at a bargain price of just .25 a piece.  We added some toys, a couple of used bikes, and some baby equipment to the mix, and at just past 6:30 am, began loading everything onto the front lawn.  The girls set up their table, complete with homemade brownies and cookies, and cold sodas for hungry, thirsty shoppers.  We were all set!  

Five hours later, we had brought in a whopping $16 — $5 for my son’s old bike, and the majority of the rest from brownie & soda sales.  13 3/4 Rubbermaid totes of clothing remained.  I’m trying to look on the bright side — that’ll be quite a tax deduction when I finally make it to the Crisis Pregnancy Center & Goodwill, and at least it’s not in my attic anymore, right?  But I missed my son’s baseball game, one side of my nose is sunburned, and I don’t REALLY think this was the best use of a Saturday morning when I could have just donated the stuff to begin with.  Lesson learned.

Note to self:  Baby Steps!

I should have known better.  I’m really not sure what happened to my brain between Wednesday night, when I came to the sad realization that we could no longer survive solely on the remaining contents of the fridge and pantry, and Thursday afternoon, when I found myself surrounded by recipes and grocery lists and the intent to prepare and freeze dozens of healthy, nutritious meals… but there I was.

Okay, so it wasn’t dozens.  It only SEEMED like dozens at midnight when faced with mountains of ingredients galore and WAY too many pots and pans.   It began with a run to the local warehouse store, where I accumulated 24 chicken breasts, 12 chicken thighs, 6 lbs of ground beef, a few lbs of round steak, and 6 salmon filets.  Oh, and lets not forget 208 gallon-size freezer bags (at less than I would normally pay for 120), 128 quart-size freezer bags, a jug of laundry soap that will supposedly last for 128 loads, 90 dishwasher tabs, and assorted other items.  Now I remember why I don’t go to there very often!!  But I do know my regular Walmart prices pretty well, and I did save a lot of money… and I guess with four kids, and an extra adult for the next few weeks, I need to face the reality that we ARE a large enough family to benefit from bulk shopping.

So we stashed all that here, there and everywhere and after dinner, I headed off to Walmart for the rest of the groceries.  By 10:00 pm, everything was away, I had given up hope of watching ER, and we began.  We quickly realized that my shopping skills are a bit less than perfect — even with a list, I missed a few key ingredients for some of the recipes.  So dh jumped in the car — gotta love having a decent grocery store a mile away — and went to grab the last few items.  He forgot the main thing I sent him for, but I guess I can’t say too much on that one, can I?

With the help of dh & dd11, we chopped, we food-processed, we measured, and we bagged until after midnight… and in the end, my freezer was filled with a dozen ready-to-cook meals (about half for the crock pot).  Add in a leftover night or two, weekly spaghetti night, and dh’s desire to pull out the grill on weekends, and we should be good for 3-4 weeks!  I know someday I will undoubtedly be glad I embarked on this adventure, but right now I am SO incredibly tired (my preschooler had to wake me up or she wouldn’t have made to preschool).  I guess that’s why the instructions said to take it SLOWLY!

Bon appetit!