Ian roared through last weekend. Fort Myers was obliterated, but that doesnt mean that storm ran out of energy by the time it got to our part of the state.

The weather report made it seem like it could have beena pretty bad situation- Rosie’s school was cancelled, and Mercy’s daycare was closed early at 12 as a precaution. The storm didnt gain strength until that later part of Friday, and through the hours before midnight. I’ll be honest- I’ve never heard winds like that in the three years we have been this house, and those 4 big oaks and a cypress in our front yard looked like they could become a liability.

So what did we do?

We invited our good friends the Peascoes over to watch Hocus Pocus! We had pizza (take and bake), I made my amazing popcorn, and the kids loved watching the new Disney release. Only the oldest kid (8 years old) seemed to be slightly concerned about the wind outside- and I admit, I was too.

The trees held up fine. The next day, there were hardly any trees down: and it looks like the street in front of us, and the street behind us lost their light, but we were ok.

There was a lot to clean up, and we aren’t done cleaning yet. I got 13 bags of leaves, and still haven’t touched the back yard yet (I’ll get that soon, I promise!)

Renos and sweet debuts

Have you ever lived through a big remodel? It seems tough- and add in some smaller kids, and a busy life, and then add in that the renovation is the most important room in the house (the kitchen), AND it is during the current supply chain crises- and this 7 month renovation is very close to being tied up in a bow and complete. To clarify, this isnt our house- but our good friends Chad and Rachel Lynam. It started with a few leaks from the bathroom AND the dishwasher, and after insurance, this beautiful kitchen got its debut. We were honored to be one of their first guests.

Though I didn’t get many good pics of the new kitchen, it was top-notch. The kids had a blast, the charcuterie was on-point, and this video captured the live-action entertainment pretty well.

And How Much?

Online grocery store is amazing. Rosie has long-since known which sweet brands to ask for when we go to the grocery store (Oreos, Lucky Charms, Skittles, etc). Mercy is getting there. And one of the things I hate the most about being a parent is saying “no”- so if we can just avoid situations where I have to say “no” a whole lot, I win, right?

The problem with buying things online is that it abstracts away the true cost of groceries.

After going in to the store, I did notice something. Look at that image above. Though the ice cream was amazing, the price?

$6.99

(It was buy-one get-one free). I think I remember Breyers being $3.80 or something?

AND, if that wasnt bad enough: look at the bottom left corner of that image. It is only 1.5 quarts: a half gallon of ice cream is no longer a half gallon of ice cream. It’s like someone took two scoops of my ice cream before I even got back to the house.

I didn’t say anything when inflation came for my cat food, because I dont have a cat. I didn’t say anything inflation came for new house prices, because I’m not buying a new house. But now inflation is coming for my ice cream, and that just makes me sad.