Making Do

Company for dinner tonight and I thought I had it all planned out. But when it came time to actually cook, I found myself out of several important things. I had neither time nor money to go to the store so I decided to work it out one way or another even if I had to change my entire menu.

My plan was chicken spaghetti, salad, bread, and brownies.

Problem #1... No diced tomatoes. I need diced tomatoes. I always have diced tomatoes. Where did they all go? Actually I needed Rotel but I certainly didn't have any of that.

Solution #1...Crushed tomatoes w/a can of diced green chilies. Totally different texture and slightly different taste.

Problem #2...Not enough butter to make garlic bread.

Solution #2... Plain bread. Not as good but it was fresh from the oven. I sliced it then sliced the whole loaf in half and put it nicely in my bread basket with a towel. It looked pretty even if it wasn't garlic bread.

Problem #3...No sugar, no honey, no syrup. How in the world do you make dessert without at least one of those?

Solution #3...I had a box of brownie mix that I picked up for .50 one day. I totally messed it up. HOW do you mess up a box mix, you ask? I don't know. Luckily we had ice cream left over from my daughter's b-day.

Overall the dinner turned out pretty good but not like usual. Nobody will be fighting over left overs. However, I was happy that I was able to figure something out without going to the store.

The company was a bunch of fun. And nobody gagged over dinner. I'm learning to relax so much in my hospitality. Yes, I want a good dinner, Yes I want a clean house. But it's not about that and I didn't catch our friends running their fingers over our furniture to see if we dusted. It was just a fun time of getting together, enjoying music, a fire in the fire pit, and happy kids playing together.

I hope we get to do it again soon.

2 Days Until Payday!

And since my fridge is bare that is great news!

Such a restful Sunday after a hectic Saturday. The part that makes any day restful is if babies are happy and not demanding. Yesterday was demanding. Today was happy. Ahhh.......

And I did basically no cooking. Here's our menu, even though I'm a little embarrassed to type it..
Breakfast- cream of wheat
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - (date night) Ramen noodles for kids, take out for us.

I know. But surely ya'll eat like this sometimes too don't ya?

Next week is a different story. A super busy week with lots of company and lots of cooking. I have a lot of zucchini to grate and use. And.....GROCERY SHOPPING!!

Yay! Our growth spurt totally blew my budget. I *can* blame it on that can't I? I haven't figured in my rebates yet, but rebates or not it was not pretty. Hopefully this month will be better. It needs to be.

Tomorrow's menu..
Breakfast - overnight french toast with homemade syrup (b/c I'm out of store bought)
Lunch- chicken soup w/ bread
Dinner- chicken spaghetti, salad, bread, brownies (company for dinner)

I have old bread I need to use up so it'll be perfect for the french toast. I'll put some pears in the crock pot on low all night to use for the syrup in the morning. The chicken is already cooked so it'll make lunch and dinner easy. We're having company for dinner and that'll be fun.

Date night in 1 hour!
Have a blessed week!

happy birthday LB!!!

My beautiful one is eleven!

We're having a fun day today just being with her and doing nothing in particular...no school! Meg is taking her to see Fireproof this afternoon and I get to go too.

My favorite memory of LB is when she was about 5 sitting at the kitchen table with her cousin Tate. Tate is just a few months older. LB started preaching the gospel to him right then and there. Tate would change the subject to action figures or something but she would steer him right back. I listened from a distance wondering how far she'd get and being very proud of her for relating it so accurately. When she was all finished, she added ..."And a wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands a foolish one tears hers down, WHATEVER that means!" Apparently we had just memorized that and she knew it must fit in there somewhere.

Here's some cute stuff about my cutie....

~She has read her Bible all the way through.

~She is our only kid to get stitches. Twice.

~She loves everything beautiful but is a bit rough and tumble too. A good mix.

~She has a solid sense of right and wrong.

~She hates wearing shoes.

~She is very good with little kids and will be a good babysitter someday.

~She has a special job at church of greeting and passing out bulletins.

~She is a good friend to everybody and never meets a stranger.

~She's hardly ever in a bad mood and usually wears a pretty smile.

She scored big points with her brother today. She couldn't decide about her b-day meals and went with his suggestion. Birthday meals are VERY important to him!

So here they are...

Breakfast- donuts, fruit, eggs, and juice

Lunch - special sandwiches w/chips

Dinner - chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy

Happy Birthday Baby!

Old And New

I like Job's story but I wish we knew more about the ending. I mean that's great that the Lord gave him back everything that he lost and then some but do you think he missed the old? I know that if one of my children died and was replaced with another, I would still miss the one I loved and lost.

Even if the new is tons better it is still different than the old and I think it's ok to miss whatever was special in the old.

Today I miss home. I love this one. I really do. No I don't wanna move back. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just a bit homesick and I wish I could go visit every weekend.

OTHER THINGS......
~Life is outa whack here. Soccer season is in full swing. I'm usually able to adjust and love it. But this season has been tougher for some reason. Probably poor planning. In any case I gotta get on the ball and work it out.

~My spinach isn't growing.

~I'm too busy. Bible study at my house tonight and I almost forgot. No time to even make a snack! I had to buy something...oh the shame ;-p

~I took Joe and my iPod went for a big walk. (I forgave him for his past rudeness.) We were almost the only ones out. That means I could sing out loud. We watched the fish in the lake and went the long way home.

~The water heater's working.

~My pot to the coffee pot broke. And since we don't drink coffee I'm thinking I'll make tea on the stove and save this expense until my coffee drinking family comes next.

~I wonder if I can get free canning jars on Craigslist or Freecycle?

~B-day for LB tomorrow. It'll be a good day. I went shopping for all her meals today.

~Grocery shopping for 11 takes a long time.

~Wagon rides distract tired babies.

Today's meals...
Breakfast- cereal and muffins w/juice
Lunch - nachos and leftovers
Dinner- broccoli soup and bread

Miscellaneous Grossness

1. Get this. My next door neighbor has a dead rotting deer head in his front yard. Trash day came and went and here it still sits. We can't step outside without inhaling the smell of death. My husband and boys think it's cool to see the changes in it and report to me what all is crawling in and out of it's nose. Why is it there??

2. There are too many flies in the house. Could it have something to do with my neighbor's new pet? So *somebody* (it wasn't a girl) suggested we go get the bug zapper from outside and hang it from the dining room ceiling fan WHILE we're eating. Um, NO. But since it was such a good idea Honey brought it in and set it up on the bar. Of course we had to turn off all the lights and not talk lest anyone miss the zap of death. Honey reassured them that we could still talk *and* hear the bugs turn to ash. Dinner and a show.

3. Not a good day for Joey. He pooped 7x in the music room...but we already talked about that. Later in the day he was laying in the living room sound asleep. Apparently he had some scary dog dream b/c out of nowhere he jumps(!) and slings a slobber on my face. I've just about had it with him this week.

Today

~I got up earlier than usual and tip toed into the kitchen. GASP!! There in the music room was 7 piles of dog poop!! What in the world? Joey will occasionally throw up on the floor but poop? No way. Immediately I hear him bound up the stairs. He wanted out NOW and ran off to do his business....as if 7 piles weren't enough. Don't know what to make of it and I didn't yell at him since this never happens. Besides he sorta had a repentant look on his face. He's lucky I didn't step in it.

~An easy school day. I'm still needing some things for Meg this year so her work load is light right now. We actually figured that she has enough credits to graduate this year but she decided to stay home another year. Good choice I think.

~The kids and I did some cooking today and made 4 dozen muffins, cereal, refried beans, salsa, canned 5 jars of pickles, and 2 jars of salsa. Lots of dishes.

~I walked with Lane and LB and we found some grape vines. Nice! Hmmm, I wonder what I can make with those? They have seeds though.

~Soccer practice tonight and that means a wagon ride to the park. I'm not sure what we'll do when it gets cooler.

~My spinach isn't growing.

~I'm working on my flylady routines. Today I cleaned up our dresser and my nightstand. Dusted, lit candles, and it looks nice. While I was at it, I hit the baseboards that were nearby.

~I got many many things on my list done. As Honey would say....it was a "productive" day.

Meals-
Breakfast- oatmeal and juice
Lunch- leftover spaghetti & garlic bread
Dinner- bean burritos with all the fixins

My Getaway Spot

I read about these little escapes to the coffee shop and I think, "awwww.... I should try that sometime."

So I decided that Sunday was sometime. But where to go? I don't drink coffee so that didn't make sense. I thought about the library but although our library is super neat it doesn't have many cozy reading nooks. The weather was nice but the park didn't sound too appealing since I would feel guilty for not taking kids or dog.

Know where I picked? The garage! I opened the garage door cause it was nice and sunny, pulled my chair into the shade of the garage and propped my feet up on the trailer. I had my Bible, my journal, my book day book, and my juice. Simple, free, and nobody cared that I was in the garage without them.

A tiny little vacation spot that I look forward to visiting again.

Ps 138:3

Sibling squabbles, baby fits, hard math problems, unexpected errands, and a broken water heater. Regular type stuff for a Monday.

The Lord gave me a good Word for today even before I knew I needed it.
"for You have exalted over all things Your name and Your Word. When I called You answered me. You made me bold and stouthearted." Ps. 138:3

And He just kept playing it over in my mind. And with this rattling through my head, I found myself peaceful and enjoying the day.

Yes, He has exalted over every irritation, every interruption, and every little hardship. Nothing is a surprise to Him and He had already accounted for it. His Word has made me bold and stouthearted and enabled me to face the day with a smile.

confession~
Ok, I didn't *start* the day with a smile. I did have a minor blow up at 2 kids who were trying to pick up an over turned trash can with their feet. But it doesn't count if it happens before 7:30am, right?

Time And Time Again

It all started one day last week. I felt distracted and unfocused all day. The day sort of fell apart, schedule wise, and I basically just decided it was a bad day. Going to bed that night I wondered what went wrong and figured that I wasn't using my time wisely.

Then Renee shared her devotional with me. She wasn't even in town! Wait a minute, she's not in town anyway since she's in FSM and I'm here, right? But she was really really out of town on a trip. Anyhoo it was about ordering her (our, my) days.

And THEN...Honey had the nerve to tell me that he thought I could probably plan my trips more efficiently.

hmmm, perhaps I should pay attention, ya think? I'm guessing Les will preach something on time management tomorrow. Just a guess.

My biggest distraction is computer time. So I'm cutting that back to only times when kids are in bed/naps. With no door on the office, my computer time usually involves a teenager who plops in the chair beside me to talk. Honey uses it at night. Maybe I need to get up earlier (even though I love those chatty teens).

More careful planning of my grocery lists will help with the trips. I always forget something no matter how detailed my list though. Besides, living so close to everything makes life easy. And just when I think I have absolutely everything for the week then we eat it all and there's no more and it's only Wednesday. I'm telling you everyone is growing! I gotta find a way to adjust or compensate.

What else? I find that I'm the one wrecking my own schedule.

Strawberry Soup and Pizza Sauce

The picture is boring but the snack is delicious. It comes from my friends Tracy and Lana...a sweet mother-daughter team of good cooks.

We made this the other day for tea and served it with graham crackers. It would also be good as a fruit dip or poured into popsicle molds.

Tracy and I have known each other a long time and first met in a mother/daughter Bible study at her church. Now I'm here and we're good e-mail buddies. She is a wonder at sewing and just sent me 6 of the softest sweetest diaper inserts that you can imagine. She's a fellow frugal zealot and has taught me lots of good stuff...like making your dish soap go farther. She also makes her own laundry soap and diapers!! I wish I could sew.......

Lana is sweetheart and I love following her blog. We were honored to attend her most gorgeous wedding and I got to spend a little time with her momma too. Her courtship story is not to be missed! Her love for the Lord and devotion to her family has encouraged me as a mom of teenagers. Thank you Tracy and Tyler for raising such a sweet girl. And thank you God that she's a friend to mine.

Strawberry Soup

1lb frozen strawberries almost thawed.

1/4 C. honey + extra for drizzle

1 3/4 C. sour cream

1 1/2 T. vanilla

1/4 C. half & half

Drizzle berries with honey. Run through food processor until small. With electric mixer mix in sour cream, honey, and vanilla. Gently stir in 1/2 & 1/2. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Here's another...

Bulk Pizza Sauce

1 #10 can tomato sauce (aprox. 12 cups)

6 T. onion powder (3/8 cup)

2 T. each garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt

1/4 C. honey.

Mix all together and freeze in 1 cup portions. 1 cup is enough for 1 large pizza.

Canning

I'm in such the canning mood and have been all summer. But, alas, no produce. Or at least not enough to can except pickles. And if you can't can at least of few jars of tomatoes then it's not really canning in my book. Summer is coming to an end and so is my garden. But Honey I have big plans for next year (Pleeeeeeeze!!! cause you love me so much)

So to satisfy my canning lust I'm moving on to jams. Blueberry, apricot, and strawberry to be exact.

I need some more jars.

Dinner Menu Woes

I don't know what I was thinking when I menued for this week. I think I was being lazy. I had a couple of meals left over from last week that I didn't get to fix and I guess I just added to that. Really I don't remember since it's been like 3 days ago and I can barely remember what I did 10 minutes ago. But it looks something like this....

meatloaf and mashed potatoes w/salad
sloppy joes with oven fries
roast with mashed potatoes (whatever!)
lasagna (impossible since I forgot to buy noodles at the store)

Doesn't that look incredibly boring? And to top it off I left it at 4 meals. What was I thinking I was going to do for the rest of the week?

I did make 4 meatloaves last night and was so busy preparing them for the freezer that I forgot to thaw something out for tonight. I have a few chicken breasts so I'm thinking chicken pot pie since it doesn't use so much chicken.

I need some new ideas.

My Take On Halloween

Quick disclaimer: This is just my own opinion and experiences. I've worked on this post for 3 days and wanted to shorten it. However I felt the Lord leading me to post the entire thing. I know I usually blab about anything and everything on this blog but this is a glimpse into a past that I am very much ashamed of and a piece of my testimony that I rarely share. And while I don't think I struggle much with the fear of man thing, I find myself afraid to push the publish button. Well, deep breath....here goes....

I hate Halloween. All of it.

I used to love it. As in love it like my favorite day of the year. It was in my teenage years when I did not know my Lord. My friends and I would go out on Halloween night spending all our $$ on haunted houses. None of them were scary b/c I was calloused to such things. It was just fun.

It moved a bit beyond fun and become something I fixed my mind on. I was very interested in the evil spirit world. Thankfully I never had the opportunity to delve too deep and I look at that as the Lord's protection.

There are so many lessons in my story of Halloween and I want to stop and interject one here. I did not grow up in a Christian home and had few Christian influences around me. I can't explain it very well but somehow I felt different. Maybe it was the prayer I prayed on the 700 Club when I was seven. Having no instruction, I never grew beyond "I believe in God".

I look back now and can fully appreciate "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". He was always there protecting me even though I was rejoicing in evil. I was His and He wasn't going to give me up.

There came a night when I was out where I wasn't supposed to be with "friends" I shouldn't have been with. They wanted to show me something and we went to a deserted field with a single house standing. There was nothing and nobody else around. As the sun was setting it was very eerie and scarier than any sort of haunted house. Remember, at that time I did not scare easily. We walk up to this gutted house with no locks on the door. Above the door hung a crucifix. There was blood on the walls. I have no idea what this house was but it was clearly all wrong. It looked like a house of sacrifice. I was suddenly terrified to be there and wanted to run.

That was a huge turning point for me. Evil was no longer fun and it was something that I felt I experienced a little too closely. It was hard to sleep that night and it's something that I still (unfortunately) think about.

~~~~~

Fast forward a few years. I'm now a wife and mom and above all a follower of my Lord Jesus Christ. It is my desire to please Him in all things.

Now that I have my own children I have to decide just what to do with this day of Halloween. It is advertised as innocent fun. Merchants make loads of money selling plastic masks and candy and it gets far more shelf space than Thanksgiving ever will. Sadly it draws the attention of my kids and creates in them the same desire to know what it's all about. I can't see how celebrating evil can ever be innocent or even more importantly, be pleasing to God.

I know there are fairy princesses and little noble firemen but children dress up like that in everyday play. Hardly a day passes that my little super hero doesn't have a cape safety pinned around his neck. But that is not really the point of Halloween. It is all about fright and children don't usually dress as the Grim Reaper in July. That is saved for the special fun of Halloween.

Every church that I've ever been a part of does some sort of Harvest Festival. Some tie it to All Saints Day but they are all the same...a Halloween party, an outreach and safe place. Here's my concern:

"be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates." Deut 12:30-31

He's not talking about serving their gods. He's talking about serving Him in the same way they served their gods and not to do it. We're not to be like the rest of the world.

Honestly there are years when I feel like a fuddy dud for not participating--and there have been a couple of years that we actually have. But in my heart I feel that by participating I am no different than the rest of the fallen world. I don't want to follow along or be part of anything the Lord hates. God hates evil. The whole premise of Halloween is having fun with evil. I don't see value in putting a Christian twist on it. To me it's like having a foot in both worlds.

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." 2 Tim. 2:19

Kitchen Fun-ness

I did quite a lot of cooking to get ready for the weekend.

These are my favorite oatmeal muffins that uses leftover oatmeal. Sometimes I make extra oatmeal just to have leftovers for this. And even though I've shared this one before, it's a good enough to post again (on the bottom). I made 2 1/2 dozen for snacks.

See my new muffin pan? It's one of those that make big muffins like at Sams. I got it at the thrift store a couple of weeks ago. Too bad it only makes 6.

We made 2 pizzas.

And 5 loaves of bread.

And while I had the camera out I took a picture of an easy tea snack. Cheese, crackers, and grapes.

I also made salsa and pickles but forgot to take a picture. So here's the closest it gets...a picture of the harvest of the day. I think this will be about the last of my cukes as they are just about dead. I'm going to pull them up and see if I can squeeze in a crop of lettuce before the freeze.

Here ya go...

Oatmeal Muffins

1 C. WW flour

1 C. brown sugar (if your oatmeal is already sweet cut this in half and DON'T use honey. It doesn't work)

1 t. each baking powder and baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add ...

1/2 C. oil

2 eggs

1 C. leftover oatmeal

1/2 C. raisins

1 t. vanilla

Mix all together. Fill muffin pans and bake about 18 minutes at 350.

This Weekend

~A mixture of rain and sunshine. Good for growing gardens.

~I drove to Boulder with a friend for Stick's soccer game. It was a good time to get to know her better. My son's team won and he scored 2 of the 3 goals.

~2 other winning games! I missed one of them since I was out of town.

~A picnic with friends! We took a pizza that #1 made for us as well as the free granola bars from WG's and some grapes.

~Kids and dads played flag football. After dark we all played kickball. Seriously it was so dark we couldn't see the ball! I think we won though.

~3 kids with runny noses. I stayed home from church today with them. We just got new First Baptist dvds in the mail so we'll do that.

~ Honey's going to work on our roof leak as well as the light/outlet problems in the bathrooms.

~You should see my laundry! I really pay for it when I skip a day. Problem is that I'm quite low on laundry soap. A friend of mine sent me some of her homemade soap and I'm hoping it'll get me through.

~Before church I had to make an emergency run to WG to get toilet paper. Somehow we got all the way down to 1 roll for the whole house! With all my coupons, I only paid a quarter for 36 double rolls.

~To get ready for the weekend I did a bunch of cooking on Friday. I'll post the fun of that later. It was nice to not worry with food on a fun filled Saturday.

~We don't have quite enough for lunch today though. Like I said, food just isn't lasting as long around here. I dug in my freezer and pulled out some enchilada filling as well as some frozen enchilada sauce. It wasn't enough for a whole meal so I put some brown rice and a can of beans in my rice cooker then added it all to the crock pot. I'll serve it over chips with sour cream and cheese.

~I noticed my freezer is getting low. I need to cook up some more freezer foods. Add that to the plan for next week.

~Date night tonight! Homemade mac & cheese for kids and a new chicken recipe for us.

~Today I'll clip coupons and plan out my shopping for the week. I'm sure I'll fit in a nap and maybe a game of Uno with my littles too!

Good Bye Unfaithful Ones

Apparently there was a mutiny in my kitchen and BOTH of my bread machines decided they were done. And until yesterday I counted both as faithful servants. As a matter of fact I was just bragging on how "Zoey" was the workhorse of my kitchen. I'm rather disappointed in her since I forked out quite a lot of money and this is the second type of problem she's given me in only 2 years. I'm more forgiving on the second one since it is a newbie I just picked up at a g-sale a couple of weeks ago for $10.

So now it's back to making bread the old fashioned way. Or at least with my mill and Electrolux which actually do most of my work. I'm extremely happy with both but will miss the convenience of making a quick 2 loaves every morning or hearing tortilla or pizza dough working. I am so spoiled.

But I think I'll rediscover benefits that I forgot about. Like not being so limited in size and experimenting with making a triple batch of cinnamon rolls for the freezer!!

Just One More (I think)

Another fun deal at Walgreens this week!

South Beach Bars are on sale 2/$5

Buy 6 and spend $15

Use 6 of these $2/1 IP coupons (You'll need to access multiple computers)

Pay $3 out of pocket

Submit for Easysaver rebate #31

Get $5 back when you Spend $15 in Kraft Products

$2 Moneymaker!!

Change Is In The Air

Becky told me this would happen. I never believed her at the time but now I'm living it. She told me that there would come a day when everybody *didn't* go to bed at 8pm. That big kids would stay up and want to chat and that my time with my husband would be limited.

Well that came to pass a few years ago I guess. All of a sudden we had company every night. I'm used to it now and don't think anything of it. However, I noticed yesterday that my afternoon time is also gone. It used to be that *everyone* had naps/quiet time at the same time every afternoon. Everyone. Now I have littles that do that still but I also may have someone finishing school in the dining room, someone working on the computer in the music room, and someone doing whatever in the kitchen.

Someone has a math question, someone wants to show me something on the computer, and "how many ounces is a cup"? I go downstairs to watch a light saber show and to answer another robot question. No door on the office or the laundry room so I'm a listening ear in every room of the house. And do my kids like to talk!!

The revivalist Vance Havner said, "If you don't come apart, you'll come apart."
That's how I felt yesterday. Usually there is some snippet of time I can go into my room and close the door. I can nap or read or clean my bathroom. I emerge ready to listen again.

With our new growth spurt and spending more time in the kitchen, trying to finalize our new chores and schedules, and school that goes well into the afternoon, there has been no time for that this week. My babies have been needy and high maintenance and I'm needing to do something different all the way around.

It seems like just when I get comfortable in a routine things change. I'm glad. Glad for kids who like me. Glad for busy work to do. Glad for noise and swords and legos in the corners. And glad that I'll not get stuck in a rut.

I'm enjoying this new phase of life and watching my big kids grow and formulate opinions. I listen to them talk football and their finances and watch them as they fit into the adult world. So happy to be a part of it! But I'm also glad for quiet times that I need to carve out. Glad for date night when I have a million things stored up to say. And glad for a door on my bedroom.

Walgreens (again)

I must post this one more time, just a little differently. Renee sent me this great Windex coupon that I'm passing along to you. You can print 2 from 2 computers or add a couple of Scrubbing Bubbles coupons. So here's the deal again....

Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles $2.49 each
Buy 4, get $5 RR

Buy 4 for $9.96
Use 4 of the $1/1 MQ
Spend $5.96 OOP, Get $5 RR

Each bottle will cost only $.24!

I was recently asked what to do with RR that are near expiration. My answer is buy toilet paper! The prices are close to WM and there is usually some brand on sale that I can use coupons for.

Menus and Shopping

Here's my menu this week...

Breakfasts-
fruit and....
oatmeal
cereal
cinnamon raisin bread
overnight french toast

Lunches-
chicken soup and bread
black bean burritos
tomato soup and grilled cheese
sandwiches
leftovers

Tea-
cinnamon rolls
peanut butter apple dip & apples
carrot cake
spinach artichoke dip & crackers
cheese & crackers
oatmeal muffins

Dinners-
Fajitas w/refried beans and rice
burgers and oven fries
meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes and crm spinach
salisbury steak w/ rice and green beans
lasagna w/ salad and bread
pizza
new recipe w/?
Date night- new chicken recipe and mac & cheese for kids

With meat from my parents (thank you again!) my menu leans heavily on beef.

I have already spent over half of my Sept grocery budget!! I'm trying something new b/c I hit a snag last month. I'm buying as much in bulk to last the whole month as I can...especially honey and cheese. It's scary to fork out that much at once with the whole month left to go but it's nice to see it in my pantry and know that it's not something I'm likely to run out of.

So I feel pretty much stocked up on the basics and will only need "fillers" for the next 3 weeks. However...another biggie, we've hit a growth spurt. The batch of cereal that used to last 5 days now lasts 2. There's hardly any left overs and there's lots more dishes. With 5 growing boys it's something that just keeps on happening! I'm praying for the Lord to show me how I need to adjust. Any thoughts? Does my menu look extravagant to you?

Today

It's cold! To me anyway. My Yahoo weather says it's 50. My room is always cold in the morning b/c we sleep with the windows open. It's quite nice but hard to get up and go walk. Today is a busy Monday with some errands and such.

~Cereal for breakfast
Soup for lunch
Burgers for dinner
No tea today

~Today's soup: I had 2 chicken carcasses to boil for broth and 1 1/2 breasts to chop up. I added an onion, 5 garlic cloves, and mushrooms. I pulled some rice from the freezer and added a few noodles. Ta da!

~An ortho appt, pick up contacts, and swing into Rite Aid across the street. They have a good deal on Cascade (with coupons) and Lane even got a couple of Christmas presents!

~Can you believe we have so many presents that we need to start wrapping?! I'm thrilled that my kids are so on the ball. My son wants to put up the tree! And while it is tempting, I think it's a little premature.

~While waiting at the ortho office I copied down a new recipe out of a Family Circle magazine. I was glad I had my planner with me. I take it almost everywhere and it usually comes in handy for something. It's not a real planner but just a smaller spiral notebook. (Cheap!) I write everything in it from my memory verse of the day, to school ideas, menus, recipes, phone numbers, appts, everything! My whole day is basically mapped out in my planner.

~I'm doing a new thing with the little boys' school. I introduced it today and will start it tomorrow.

~I read Deut 7 & 8 and working on memorizing 2 verses in Romans.

~I worked on my menu this weekend and have my lists all ready. Library, Walgreens, Sunflower Market, Walmart, and soccer practice. If I knock it all out today I will have nothing for the rest of the week. That's motivation....plus the fact that since Honey rode his bike I have his car!

Walgreens Deals This Week

Now I know there's some better deals than this one but my printer didn't seem to like some of the coupons. So here's the ones that work for me this week.


Buy 2 of the following products, Get $5 Register Rewards
Buy 3 of the following products, Get $10 Register Rewards

Advil PM--$6.99
Advil Liquigels--$6.99
Advil Pain Relief--$6.99
Dimetapp--$3.99
Robitussin--$3.99

*BIG Money-Maker Deal!*
Buy 3 Robitussin at $3.99 each Use 3 $3/1 printable coupon
Spend $2.97 plus tax out of pocket and get $10 in Register Rewards Back
Free plus approx. $7 in overage after coupon and Register Reward!

*Good Money-Maker Deal*
Buy 3 Dimetapp at $3.99 each
Use 3 $2/1 printable coupon
Spend $5.97 plus tax and get $10 in register Rewards Back
Free plus approx. $4 in overage after coupon and Register Reward!

Scrubbing Bubbles and Windex
on sale for $2.49 (as well as some other cleaners)

Buy 2, get $2 RR
Buy 4, get $5 RR
Buy 7, get $10 RR

Buy 2 scrubbing bubbles and 2 windex.
Use SB coupons : .75/1 and $1/1
Use Windex coupons : 2 .75/1
Spend $6.71 out of pocket, Get $5 RR
43 cents each!

Thanks to MoneySavingMom for posting these. Check out her site and see if any of the other coupons will work for you.

My super genius husband...

He's so smart, handsome and wonderful...He has posted some neat vids of the family. Even one from 2003 of JM.

Check it out here

Did I mention how smart and handsome he was...Just making sure!

Ok, confession. This is the husband posting for his lovely bride. But, I am sure that she would say that. I think.

Honey

Revelation 3:11

"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. " Rev 3:11

I read this this morning and wondered how your crown could be taken from you. My commentary was unclear and it appeared to me that they were guessing. So I've been thinking on it and wondering if these could be some ways....

• Being complacent. Never growing past where you are.
• Not paying attention. Not living carefully and with purpose.
• Living on the edge of sin.
• Walking with fools.

I want to hold on to this measure of faith asking God to multiply it exponentially. To be aware and live carefully b/c the days are evil. To seek His face and follow His direction.

Please Lord come soon!

We Did A Science Experiment!

A volcano!!

I know, I know, everyone does this one. But in my 16 years of homeschooling we never have. Lest you think I'm one of those super fun moms that turn the kitchen upside down in order to do a fun experiment, let me say from the start that I had nothing to do with it. LB loves her new science book and did this completely by herself without a bit of help from me.

Here's how she did it....

Salt dough recipe

In a large bowl mix together:

1/2 C. white flour

1/4 C. salt

1 tsp. oil

1/4 C. water

1. Make salt dough recipe.

2. Put an empty medicine bottle in the center of a baking pan. You can use rocks to make it look like it's in a rocky terrain.

3. Build a mountain around the bottle with the dough being careful not to get any dough in the bottle.

4. Let it dry for a day.

5. Carefully pour warm water into the bottle.

6. Drop a few drop of dish washing liquid and a few drops of food coloring in the bottle.

7. Pour in 2 tsp baking soda.

8. Pour in some vinegar and stand back!!