How I'm Saving Money on Gas

Did I find a new gas rewards program? No.

Did I get a new "in" with a fuel distributor? No.

Did I tap into a gold mine? No.

I'm not driving around while the boys nap!

While this may not seem like a big deal, allow me to explain what I've been doing for the past year (plus.) Every other Tuesday during the schoolyear, I go to my Mothers of Preschoolers group at my church. I love MOPS. In that first year, it was the ONLY time I was getting out on my own. To spend time with other moms. Even as the boys are 19 months old, I still love it. So it was always worth the extra effort of bundling and packing for two little boys as well as getting my butt out of the house.

The biggest challenge was their nap. They used to nap at 10am, then it was extended to 11am and now it's around 12pm. But because MOPS goes from 9:30-11:30am, they would always fall asleep in the van on the way home. Sigh. I didn't have a chance to keep them awake with a 25-minute commute. And if I woke them up when we got home (after carrying them upstairs to our apartment) they were done with their nap. Or they'd want to sleep again later that afternoon, ruining their bedtime... but it was worth going to MOPS, so I rationalized driving around with them in the van for an hour and a half while they slept. It was worth trying to keep their schedule intact.

Fast-forward the last two meetings. Now that my boys are soothing themselves to sleep during their afternoon nap (can I get an AMEN!?) I knew I could make the next transition. Plus, the snow was coming and I knew it would be a good time to get off the roads. So when my boys fell asleep on the way home, I let them. When we got home, though, I carried them up to their cribs (one at a time,) took off their coats and set them in their cribs. Yesterday, they were awake and sitting up. But I gave them a kiss and closed the door. They knew what they had to do. They fussed a little, but not for long. They gave up and allowed themselves to fall back asleep. Yesterday I had to wake them up because they were still asleep three hours later!

So, not only am I saving myself some aggravation, but I am allowing myself to get stuff done around the house while they sleep and saving some gas money. And as I prepare for Christmas while still trying to manage some sense of sanity, that's huge.

I'm taking one step at a time. And making some progress!