August

Well, August is here. July is finally over. It was a big month for me. My birthday, and separation.

My dad arrived in town last week, and is staying for the whole month! Yay! This is the longest he has ever visited. I think it is a result of two things. 1. He isn't working anymore (first time in forever, and he is 81) and 2. the split between Don & me. Funny, when I picked him up from the airport, I explained how we have been working things, with Don coming over several days each week, and that he is pretty much normal now again. My dad had been hoping he wouldn't see Don at all! Nice thought, but unrealistic. I reminded him that he is the kids dad, and that he needs to be a part of their lives.

We are on a break from swimming! Well, technically Marisa has been on a break since July 18, as she didn't qualify for the big 13 & Over State Meet. However, she starts up High School Swim on August 9, with 2 weeks of 7-9am practices! Devon is off as of Sunday July 31, until Monday August 29. His goal is to do as little as possible of physical exercise. LOL. So far he has been staying up until 2am, sleeping until 10-11am, and playing on the computer. He still does chores when he needs to, but other than that, hasn't left the house!

Next Monday we have HS registration. I'm not looking forward to writing out that check! Also I guess we need to start thinking about back to school shopping. Ugh.

I'm working hard to try to really get a handle on my financial situation. I've set up a spreadsheet where I track my recurring bills, but I'd really like to analyze all of our spending. It is hard with the kids, and $20 here or $20 there. But I need to do this for myself. I know that my salary can cover our living expenses, but I'd like to know just how much I have left over for incidentals each month.

Wisconsin State Fair starts today. My ex-BIL sent me some free tickets, which was very nice of him. Marisa is using one of them today, but she is also using money to spend there, which of course way exceeds the cost of admittance. I'd like to get down there at least once, just to walk around and see the animals, etc. Maybe catch a local band.

That's all for now. What a nice boring post!