The Home Economist and Family Friday

I've decided I need a new title. "Stay at home mom" just sounds so... lame. Like all I do is stay at home, changing diapers and wiping noses and cooking and cleaning. Of course, that is what I do, but we don't need to be so blatant about it. So I'm making a change. I'm going to be a "home economist".

Doesn't that sound nice?

I stole the idea, actually, from another blog, but I like it so much I think I'll keep it. After all, running a home is no easy task. "Home economist" makes me sound smart and important.

One of my first tasks as Home Economist has been to start the tradition of Family Friday. (Another lovely title, yes?) Family Friday is the day (Friday, to be specific) on which the family does no schoolwork, housework, or workwork and instead spends the day blissfully enjoying one another's company.

There are several challenges to this. The first being that withoug housework, even for a day, we might lose something important under piles of laundry and dishes. Like the keys, or a child. So we must do as little housework as possible so that the house remains uncondemned and we feel like we have the day off. Scratch that, everybody else already feels like they have the day off. It's just me who needs to feel it.

The second is the issue of bliss. We like each other, we really do, but an entire day without quarrelling children? We'll see.

The third is the expense. I'm pretty sure we could all be happy eating ice cream at Disney on Family Friday, but that ain't gonna happen, folks. So my goal is to do Family Friday as cheaply as possible. I'll let you know how it goes.

Here are some pictures of this past week's Family Friday. We used some free passes the kids had earned in the summer reading program at the library as well as our local discount to get everyone into Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef for $27.

See what I mean about the bliss part? For the record, Alese had a great time. I think she was upset about leaving. (This was taken as we exited.)

Leslea at the ray tank. They got to touch them. They're very soft and slimy. Like underwater Jello.

They gave us remote controls to listen to at each exhibit. Owain was really into them.

These are some of the fish we saw. I let Leslea and Owain use my phone to take photos, so I've got about 200 shots of water with blurry shapes, and these two of fish.

Shark Reef was amazing, a really spectacular exhibit with alligators, piranhas, fresh and saltwater fish, stingrays, jelly fish, and of course, sharks. We had a great time and it took us about 2 hours to go through it. I'm not sure I would pay full price (it would have been $71 for all of us), but it was pretty awesome.