*Poof!* It's gone!

Today was payday. I always feel so rich on payday. We go out to eat without thinking too much about it because we have money! I think of doing things like getting a pedicure (desperately needed!) and buying new shoes with which to show off my post-pedicure pretty toes.

But, because I only get paid once a month, today's is the last paycheck I'll get before the kids go back to school. So in addition to paying the routine monthly bills, we have to buy all the stuff that comes with back to school:

• New tennies for all three kids
• New backpack for Robbie (I want him to feel like he's getting a fresh start for his kindergarten repeat.)
• Navy blue polo shirts for Annie
• Buckets of bleach to try to salvage the boys' white shirts from last year (Can bleach really get rid of the marker, chocolate milk, dirt, snot, and blood stains?)
• The traditional school supplies -- markers, crayons, protractors, rulers, folders, etc.
• Blue icee packs for lunch boxes b/c the ones I bought last year are long gone

What's left of my paycheck will go to soccer fees, gymnastics lessons, OT for Robbie, etc. Before you know it, what seemed like a good chunk of money on my direct deposit slip will be gone.

Not everything will be paid in full. Out of necessity, I've become comfortable with paying for things over time. Kind of like life on lay-away. Thank goodness for Mike's Target checks (he gets paid twice a month) which we'll use for gas and groceries.

Hmmm...maybe I should start playing the lottery.