This week, like the previous weeks, has flown past in a whirl of daily grind. My daughter went to school, my son didn't, both were cared for and fed every day. He went to the doctor. I juggled transportation issues with the Boy and got everyone where they needed to be everyday.

Plus we got the economic stimulus payment this morning. A good thing. We were strapped financially, as we are every time the middle of the payperiod comes around, between paying bills and putting gas in the car and feeding the family- money is tight. Tighter than ever. I'm trying to economize where I can, but there are a few luxuries we'd like to have around. One of them is, as always, non-negotiable. Funny thing to say, isn't it? Non-negotiable luxury. But a person can only pinch things so far. If we don't have something to splurge on every so many weeks, we both go crazy and overspend the budget to a horrible overdraft in the bank account. I hate that. Hate it a lot.

And the house is a mess. Have I mentioned this? In the process of taking care of the rest of the stuff, the house is a mess. Laundry is washed and dried one day, and put away three days later after the wrinkles have set in. I don't do ironing. Unless I have to. So far, I haven't had to- the Boy irons his own uniforms, and the kids are wash'n'wear. Who cares what I'm wearing? Today it's t-shirt and shorts, a standard Mom uniform of summer. If I'm going out in the afternoon, it becomes a tank top and shorts. Clean means that I change my shirt three or four times in a day. I have a lot of shirts. Maybe this is why my daughter likes to change her outfit several times- she may think that everyone does it this way because she's seen her own mom doing it constantly since she was born and brought the first refluxy baby into my life.