Monday Madness- Sticker Shock!

It's Monday. Which means a morning meeting, running Z2 to swim practice, fastest lunch in the West, and errands in the afternoon. We were aiming to go to the pool today, but that took a backseat to the fact that there was not a stitch of toilet paper in the house. Somehow, that made the trip to Wal-mart a little more paramount. 


I went in to get the basics of things that we were low on or simply out. The bill was $190. I'm NOT kidding. It shocked me so much I just pulled a few things out and said,"Please take this off." Then I had $13 in coupons. That helped, but still, GOOD. NIGHT! Gas may be falling, but everything else is doubling! For instance- Bleach is now $2 (used to be $1 a year and a half ago. Trashbags- used to be $2, now $5! (And I don't mean Hefty, I mean the Wal-mart brand!) I could go on, but you get the picture. We returned home, and I started going through everything to see what can go back. In the end, I'll get the bill down, but goodness, when did it get this expensive? I'm seriously wondering if this is an election year conspiracy- the price of gas is falling, but we are paying in other ways. Ways that seemingly get tucked in here and there. Not happy about it at all. I could get be wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm right.


However, if anyone has any other couponing strategies or shopping strategies, I'm  all ears. 


And then there's having to take Z1 and Z2 with me. I did try to make it a game, but in the end, by the time we got in the car, Z1 looked at me and said,"Just once, Mom, just once could we PLEEEEAAASE duct tape her mouth for a day? I'm just asking for a day...."


I would be lying if I said I was not tempted....


Still, all in all, it's summer, and I'll take the moments with my kiddos. The hard ones lead to better ones, and that's why I hang in. 'Cause despite all my crumudgeonyness, they still love me. And for that I'm grateful.


Yours, hoping that thunder I hear brings rain,


Melissa