1. One Evening This Past Week
   Gemma and I are watching TV and an ad for Universal Studios theme park comes on. “Mom, can we go there? Ya know, since Great Wolf Lodge burnt down and we can’t go there. I think this looks like fun.” Me: remembers that I told her, oh, several months ago, after she asked for the umpteenth time if we could go back to Great Wolf Lodge, that it burnt down. I meant to set her straight eventually, I swear. Apologies for spreading unfounded rumors amongst second graders.
2. This Past Saturday Night
   Hubs and I decide to teach the kids to play poker. Aidan has a new poker set that his grandparents gave him for Christmas. Gemma and Sebastian take seats at the kitchen table, lured by our pitch that it will be fun and we will be playing for M&Ms. Aidan sits at the dining room table with his Chromebook, surrounded by papers. “I have to catch up on my homework.” He missed three days of school due to sickness. Big eyerolls from hubs and me: “Forget homework, you’re learning how to play poker!”

Priorities.

But seriously, we had a lot of fun playing, and Sunday Gemma, Sebastian and I played again and that time they really did well. They didn’t need any help from me, and in fact Sebastian was the big winner and I busted.

That was probably the high point of a pretty miserable weekend. We were all struck down by illness over the past week, starting with Aidan on Monday. High fevers and coughing. Sunday was a little better for me but Saturday I really felt terrible. Still, I managed to get a few things done. Saturday I went through the playroom and gathered about 5 bags of trash and donations. I went to Target and got a few needed items. I sat down and paid bills/updated the budget. Did some wash.

Sunday, I took Aidan to Kohl’s, where he bought a T-shirt (on clearance). They’ve been getting allowances again. Gemma’s favorite place to spend hers is Starbucks at Target. But all three have been good about saving it, too. Especially Sebastian; that kid is a born miser. Before Kohl’s, I picked up the grocery order and also stopped at the bagel store. That night I cooked a halfway decent dinner: chicken baked with mayo, Parmigiano-Reggiano and breadcrumbs, and mashed potatoes. Saturday night was chicken nuggets and broccoli, and chicken soup for some.

The big thing that I wanted to get done was planting more herb seeds. I considered buying potting soil at the hardware store, but then I remembered that you could use backyard soil if you heated it up to kill pathogens. I didn’t really feel like going outside and digging, myself, but that’s why one has kids. To do all those things you don’t feel like doing. So I added “get dirt for Mom” to the chore list on the white board, and Gemma took it on. Soon I had some nice-looking free dirt from one of my long planters outside.

I followed the instructions here, and when it was done cooking in the microwave I let it sit for a while. Later, I planted chives in the larger pot and cilantro in the smaller one, and up they went to the bedroom window.

Just another day in my glamorous life. Microwaving dirt.

Last week I had some spending trip-ups, mostly occasioned by feeling sick. Some lunches bought at work, etc. But we mostly ate dinner at home and had some truly heterogenous combinations of leftovers some nights. So far so good this week as well.

Here’s an article I found interesting about a new service that would allow you to reuse containers. Sort of hand-in-hand with the news about China not taking our recyclables any more.

I finished my latest book, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Meh. It was a good read, plot-wise. I have issues with the characterizations. A little lazy. The best part of the book for me was reading about the itinerant, practically-zero-possessions lifestyle of two of the main characters, Mia and Pearl. I took mental notes. Every once in a while, hubs and I like to tell the kids that we bought an RV and we’re going to “skedaddle.” Just up and drive cross-country. Playing poker along the way, no doubt. They do not seem to find this as exciting an idea as we do.

Onwards to Valentine’s Day and scrounging around the house for half-empty boxes of valentines from last year.