Monday, March 31, 2008
Menu for Monday 3-31
Breakfast: Cereal, milk, banana
Lunch: Grill Cheese, Tomato soup, milk
Dinner: Beans and Rice, cornbread
All ingredients are from our pantry or fridge.
Schedules and Routines
Once I get our new schedule finalized I will post it for you all.
If you have any advice for taking care of 2 under 2 please let me know!....I need all the help I can get ;) Any child activities for a 12 month old would also be useful.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Menu for this weekend
Breakfast: Cereal (from pantry) with a banana
Lunch: Hot Dogs (from freezer) with chips (from pantry)
Dinner: Fajitas (using leftover beef from fridge, tortillias from pantry)
Rice (from pantry) Refried beans (from pantry)
Sunday:
Breakfast: Waffles (from freezer)
Lunch: Leftover Buffet (fridge)
Dinner: Popcorn chicken (freezer) Baked potatoes (pantry) Green beans (freezer)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Eating from the pantry
This will save us lots of money in what could have been lost food. Also it will give me lots of money to go on a huge shopping spree to stock our pantry back up.
For our little family of three we have a grocery budget of $160. If I am able to go almost all month without going to the store then I can combine April and May's grocery budget for a total of $320. I have never spent this much money at the store! But we need to stock up on oats, wheat, and corn....all of which I will buy in 50lb. bags.
This will enable us to continue eating from out pantry for months to come. Plus with the price of grain going up, I would really like to stock up now.
I will be posting our daily menu for the next month so you can see how we are doing eating from our pantry.
Today's Menu
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Peach and Banana Smoothie, Banana
Lunch: Mac and Cheese with Tuna
Dinner: Leftover Buffet
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Went to the Park...
The preferred way to travel? She had both feet up, not sure what she thought she was doing. I go to take a picture and she puts one foot down.
No, I wasn't trying to take pictures of her head, but there was just too much going on for her to look at me. There was about 6 other kids there and she was too busy checking every one out.
We got her first pair of jeans yesterday, and she just looks way cute in them. And much older :(
She isn't my "little" baby any more. Now she is my little girl. And she is very little..still only 17lbs.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
NO Grocery Challenge...
Spring Kitchen Cleaning Day 3
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The cleaning continues...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Spring Cleaning???
BEFORE: Notice all the stuff on top!
BEFORE
After: Only Dog treats and potatoes on top ;)
AFTER
I promise I didn't add any food except for what was on the top of the pantry. It now looks like I have much more food....hmmmm...
Our Garden...Part 1
This is what I started with for our garden. My husband tilled me this little plot back in Jan. We covered it up so no weeds would get in it.
This was the next step after taking the tarp off to getting the garden ready for planting. I added 280 lbs of Organic Humus and Manure.
She is tasting the compost for me ;) I don't guess it tasted too good because she didn't go back for a second bite....hey, at least its organic.
After I dug the beds and added compost to them.
Here are some of the potato plants my husband planted in Feb. We cut a small hole through the tarp so they could get light.
So far I have planted lettuce, tomatoes, peas, and watermelon. I don't have a "green" thumb so I am really hoping they grow.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Organic Breakfasts on the CHEAP!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Family Table
It is very important for us to sit together as a family and have our meals together. I "try" and I so mean "try" because it doesn't always happen as I would hope for, to make it special. Since I send my husband out in the morning with breakfast and coffee in his hand and lunch packed away in the other we only get to share one meal with him, dinner. He loves to come home to a yummy smelling house and a nicely set table with dinner waiting just for him. I must say that I have been slacking a lot in this area. Table clothes only seemed to get used once before a new one MUST be placed on the table. Since our daughter now eats at the table, it can get a little messy. Although we are very proud of her, because she is learning to use a plate well, its the forks and spoons that generally make the mess. = /
I encourage you to set your table tonight and make it special for your family. It makes eating at home a lot more fun!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Going Organic
Did you know that 'Dishwashing Detergent' is one of the most TOXIC cleaners in our homes?!?!?! Luckily for us, we don't have a dishwasher...or does that make us unlucky?
Here is part of an article stating so...to read the whole article visit : http://freedomyou.com/nutrition_book/d/dishwashing_detergent/
"The Center of Science in Public Interest revealed that dishwashing detergents have caused more household poisonings than any other cleaning product in the home. Nearly all dishwashing detergents contain naphtha, a fuel used in camping stoves. Naphtha is a central nervous system depressant. Other high-tech cleaning agents included are diethanolsamine which is a liver poison, and chlorophenylphenol which is a toxic metabolic stimulant. Chlorine is a poison present in nearly all dishwashing detergents. When washing your dishes, these chemicals are being released into your breathing space. "
We were using 'Dawn Dish Foam" to wash our dishes....I got about 15 of these on sale for .25 6 months ago.
We do still have about 5 left and after those are gone we are switching to 'Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid' I found these on sale for $2.49 a couple of weeks ago and had some $1.00 off coupons so I bought two. These are big bottles and should last at least a couple of months. Hopefully I will see them on sale again and have some coupons then as well so I won't have to pay full price.
If you are looking for coupons for 'Seventh Generation' Products visit their website:
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/index.php
On the side bar you will see a category that says coupons. From there you can print multiple coupons. Target generally sells their products, if you can't find them at your local store.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Story of Stuff!
It is amazing at what we are told we "must have" in order to "be happy".
Friday, March 14, 2008
Breakfast for Dinner....
We have breakfast for dinner about once a month and more during the winter months. This is a money saver for us because breakfast is generally a lot cheaper to prepare than dinner. Biscuits, pancakes, and french toast can all be made homemade, making it only about .50 to feed a family of 4. After we add an egg and piece of bacon for each of us and gravy, it then moves the cost up to $1.50 to $2.00 for a dinner for a family of 4. Sometimes we might just have some leftovers too. ;) Which make a quick breakfast for DH or the kiddos.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Happy Birthday Annabelle!
Born at 8lbs. and 1 oz. she has grown to be a big 17lbs 2 oz.
Sleeping peacefully at just a couple of hours old.
Already her and Uncle Hunter are having fun.
The only place she slept for the first week, on daddy's chest. ;)
Now at 2 months she is enjoying her baths.
Almost 4 months old.
Grumpy already?
At 5 months she is starting to crawl = /
The love affair with the pillow begins.
Already helping mommy with the laundry.
Can I eat this?
Can I eat this too?
Clapping for momma.
Now this I can eat!
Playing with my toys.
I can't get this off....
Oh, well!
Happy Birthday Annabelle! We Love You!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Going Organic
Monday, March 10, 2008
Back on Track!
My husband was so happy to finally be able to see his brothers. It has been almost 1 1/2 yrs since he saw one of his brothers since he has been deployed for a while. The same brother also surprised us with news that he had gotten married. We are so thrilled for him and his new wife, Kathryn. We pray that they have a long and happy marriage...with lots of babies of course...hey our children need some cousins. ;)