My Social Life

I have to try really hard to have a social life. And it bothers me. I am pretty sure that if I didn't schedule playdates (read: call and pester friends until I can nail them to a date), I would rarely get out. Well, I guess I would get out....I would walk to the park and library, but not visit with friends. I wish there were more extroverts out there in the world- some people who wanted to see me as much as I want to see them.

If you're one of my many introverted friends, please don't take offense to this post. I love you a lot and am willing to continue to do the scheduling/pestering/stalking. I just sometimes feel discouraged, that's all. So, fyi, if you think of me and want to hang out, be assured that I want to see you, too! Don't be afraid to call. And, if you don't have the car, don't hesitate to ask me to come to you. I probably will (and I certainly won't be upset about it)! The fact that you wanted my company bad enough to call at all means a lot.

Albertsons Shopping Trip

at Albertsons today, using manufacturer coupons and Albertsons Twice the Value (doubler) coupons, I got:

2- 7oz cans of green chilis

1/2 gal Welches juice

Mr Clean Magic Eraser

Danimals smoothies (6pack of 4oz ea)

3 boxes Ronzoni healthy Harvest pasta

2- 16oz Coffee Mate creamers

Uncle Bens Ready Rice (cooks in the microwave, maybe 12 oz)

....all for less than $6! and I saved $14.68. Oh, yeah. You know it!

I have begun to shop at Albertsons only using doublers. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow, maybe to another store. Actually, I can't do that because the Eastgate Albertsons doesn't have the Sunday flyer- or at least the (stereotypical) old-lady-checker who was there last time I went in said they didn't. "You have to buy a Sunday paper." No, really? How do you think I found out there were doublers this week? Fortunately, Redmond Albertsons has them, and although they keep them out of sight behind the cash register, don't resist handing over more than one when asked. However, the limit is 3 transactions using doublers per day, fyi.

When I left the store, I called Chris to tell him of my deals saying that he was gonna be mad at me, was he sitting?, and I didn't think we could afford this. He agreed. I might have to return some stuff. ;)

The Large Family

I was talking with a friend who mentioned that once a family has 3 children, the number of social invitations dwindles to basically nil. Apparently, those who once invited this family over/out assume that the parents must now be so overwhelmed with their huge family that they won't be able to have a good time, or will be too exhausted to want to go out at all, or, more likely, the invitee simply can't handle the energy that comes with many children and so chooses not to invite. hmmm. Can this be the case?? Makes me think there's something wrong with the world if we do not value children enough to enjoy the chaos, handle the interruptions, and clean up the mess that they inevitable leave in their wake- or rather, to teach them to clean up after themselves.

As to the former excuse, it is true that having children takes a great deal of energy and that many parents are sleep deprived and might prefer to go to bed early than attend a social engagement. Why not let the parents decide for themselves? If the latter excuse rings true, however, maybe we all should stretch ourselves enough to include the little ones and enjoy the nuances of a get-together with small kids. I garuntee it will be interesting, might even be fun! After all, children are tomorrow's future, seems like they would benefit from learning how to conduct themselves in a social situation with adults.

I have noticed a significant decline of invitations since we had Rowan, and then Elias, but I suppose this just means we'll have to broaden our friend base to those who already have children and therefore appreciate the little ones and understand that those with kids still like to have a life! Since this phenominon of losing friends, I appreciate even more those who have continued to hang out with us, in spite of *gasp* our children.

I'm interested to see what the future holds for our friendships since we do hope to have (read:many) more children. I sure hope the general public doesn't shy away from families with many children like some kind of a disease (don't worry, it's not contagious), but in the event that this is so, I hope to have so much grace that when someone comments to me on my large family,"Are they all yours? God bless you!" I reply as per Clara Danielson, "He already has."