March Grocery Budget

Due to several reasons, I decided to raise our grocery budget for March. One reason is a desire to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, like the ones pictured above, which I received from a local co-op. Another reason is a desire to lose weight, which has led to purchases such as almonds, low fat cheese, and Weight Watchers ice cream bars (which were Buy One Get One Free). Anyway, even though I raised the budget a bit, I still went over this month. I averaged a savings of 55%, so I did get a lot for my money. I just spent too much money in the process. So now I'm trying to decide what a reasonable budget is for April, and I'm determining to stick to it!

I Love Coupons

Yes, I know that you probably figured that our by now. But here's another coupon post, just in case. It is my blog after all.

Here's what I could have gotten at Kroger for just over $6.00 before coupons and sales - 4 measly Powerades.
And here's what I actually got for $6.28, saving $29.88.
12 Powerades - $.49 each
2 boxes Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta - FREE
2 boxes Weight Watchers cakes - FREE
2 pouches tuna - FREE
10 Snickers bars - FREE (some of these will be going in a care package am sending to a college student in our church)

Miss Jordanna

91% Savings at Publix

Here's what I got today at Publix for exactly $3.00. I saved $30.42.
10 assorted bags/boxes Bird's Eye vegetables
2 packages Buitoni pasta
3 boxes I Can't Believe Its Not Butter

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Chicken Florentine, rice, cooked carrots

Tuesday - Eggs, bacon, homemade wheat English muffins, smoothies

Wednesday - Stromboli, salad

Thursday - Nasi Goreng, rolls, green beans

Friday - BBQ ribs, homemade macaroni and cheese, salad

Saturday - Chicken nuggets, leftover mac and cheese, carrots and dip, apple slices

Sunday - Lunch at church, bringing coleslaw and Italian cheese bread

The End of an Era

Remember when my closet looked like this?
Now, just over a year and a half later, it looks like this.
Yep, we are on the last roll of free Cottonelle toilet paper. I guess I'll have to start paying for toilet paper again. Sigh.

Babywearing Then and Now

In light of the recent sling recalls, I thought it would be fitting to do a post on babywearing. The slings that have been recalled are sold at Target around here. They are what is called a bag sling. You put the baby in the bag part, velcro him in, and he bumps around down by your waist. I had one with Caleb, and I'm not even sure how someone could manage to use one; they are horrible. The other mainstream type of carrier is a Snugli or a Baby Bjorn. These are not much better because they leave the baby hanging by his crotch, putting stress on the spine.

There are several different types of carriers that are much better for mom and baby. One good rule when wearing baby on the front it "close enough to kiss." The baby should be high enough up on your chest that you can easily kiss him. This greatly reduces the risk of suffocation like what happened in the above recalls. Unfortunately, the better type if carriers are mainly available online or from specialty shops. I have several baby carriers that I use at different times (and I might have ordered one on clearance this week).

Here's one of my favorite types of carriers, a mei tai. I may or may not have three of them. These are better for baby than Snugli type carriers because they position baby in a sitting position, not hanging from the crotch.

Alexa in May of 2008 at 10.5 months.
And here she is in the same carrier yesterday.
My other two mei tais.


Here's a pouch sling.

I also use a ring sling at times, but I can't seem to find any pictures of one of mine. Here is a stock photo of one.

Wii Play With Daddy

Both kids were doing the Wii Fit with Dave yesterday; it was too cute! By the time, I got out the camera, Caleb had quit, but Alexa was hula hooping right along with Daddy.

A Lapful of Kiddos

All 3 kids piled on Uncle Nick's lap while Molly and I prepared Sunday lunch. They love their Uncle Nick!

Haircut and Hats

I gave Alexa a haircut this morning. Due to her wiggles, it turned out shorter than I had planned. I still think it's cute, though, even if it is short.



A few pictures of Caleb for good measure.

And all three kids in their hats for a walk in the neighborhood. I still need to buy Caleb a sun hat for this summer. He's outgrown his one from last year.

Pajama Day

It was snowy/rainy and cold here yesterday (hopefully for the last time before the warm weather comes to stay), so the kids and I stayed home. Caleb is the only one who actually stayed in his original pajamas all day long, but we all stayed in comfy clothes and enjoyed a day at home.

Here are some pictures Caleb took. Don't I look lovely?

One with problem with pajama days is that I always get the urge to bake, which is not very helpful since I'm trying to lose the baby weight.
So, I also made a healthy snack - pita chips and hummus. Yum!

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Macaroni and cheese with ham, broccoli, rolls, fruit

Tuesday - Pot roast, oven roasted potatoes, green beans

Wednesday - Chicken quesadillas, corn, salad

Thursday - Pork fried rice, rolls

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Hamburgers, hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, veggies and dip, brownies

Sunshine and Smiles

Coupons, coupons, coupons

The coupons are taking over my dining room table again. Only half of it, though, because we have been eating dinner in there every night. Keeping up with my coupons has been a bit of a challenge with my arms often full with a baby, but I still love being able to save us so much money.

Thursday night, I ran to a consignment sale, Kroger, and Publix without the kids. I generally take them grocery shopping with me, and they are usually pretty well-behaved. But I had lots to get and lots of coupons, so I was glad to leave them home this time.

First, I stopped at a consignment sale. I didn't get any fantastic deals, but I did fill in a few gaps in the kids' summer wardrobes, most notably pajamas. For some reason, pajamas are hard to find at consignment sales. In my mind, they're the perfect thing to buy used since no one sees them anyway. Maybe that's why I can never find any because others snatch them up before I get there.

Next I stopped at Kroger. I spent $32.00 and saved $80.27 or 71%. Here are some of the best deals I got -
8 bags Kraft shredded cheese - FREE
8 chunks Kraft cheese - $.50 each
4 loaves Kroger wheat bread - $.39 each
5 lbs ground beef - $4.49 (that's less than $1 a pound)
2 boxes Ronzoni smart taste pasta - $.25 overage each
6 bottles Motts apple juice - $.99 each (regularly $3.49)

Then I went to Publix. I spent $26.08 and saved $82.32, which is 76%. Here are some of the best deals I got there -
2 boxes Benadryl - FREE
2 bags chicken nuggets - $1.00 each
4 frozen pizzas - $1.40 each (a cheap night off for the cook)
All laundry detergent - $.99 each

All in all a good night of savings and fun to get out without the kids.

An Interview with Alexa

I asked Alexa the same questions that I asked Caleb. Here are her answers.

What is your name? AESYZ
How old are you? 2
When is your birthday? Umm, I don’t know. (It’s in June.) June.
Who is your mommy? Right there
What does mommy do? Read book
Who is your daddy? Sleeping
What does daddy do? Play puter
Who is your brother? Sleeping
Who is your sister? Baby Danna
Who are your friends? I don’t know.
What is your favorite color? Princess
What is your favorite food to eat? Pretzels and cheese
What is your favorite song? Umm, my blue Between the Lions
What is your favorite movie? I don’t know.
What is your favorite book? Arthur
What is your favorite animal? Clifford
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? I don’t know.
What are your favorite toys to play with? My toy my got
Where is your favorite place to eat? I don’t know.
Who is your favorite person? I don’t know.
Who is your best friend? I don’t know
Where did your sister come from? I don't know.
What is your favorite thing to do? I don’t know. (Do you like to play outside?) Nods.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Get big
Where will you live when you grow up? I don’t know
What do Mommy and Daddy do after you go to bed? You go to bed
Where do we go to church? At our church
Why do we go to church? I don’t know.

An Interview with Caleb

I saw this somewhere else online, and thought it would be cute to post. I asked Caleb the following questions and typed his answers.

What is your name? Caleb
How old are you? 4
When is your birthday? When my birthday is?
Who is your mommy? You
What does mommy do? Do the dishwasher
Who is your daddy? Daddy
What does daddy do? He goes to work.
Who is your brother? I don't know.
Who is your sister? Alexa and Baby Jordanna
Who are your friends? Esther and Sophia
What is your favorite color? Yellow
What is your favorite food to eat? Yogurt
What is your favorite song? Joy to the World
What is your favorite movie? Up
What is your favorite book? Elmo
What is your favorite animal? My monkey
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Strawberry
What are your favorite toys to play with? My new car toy
Where is your favorite place to eat? At Chilis
Who is your favorite person? Kylie
Who is your best friend? John
Where did your sister come from? I don't know.
What is your favorite thing to do? Play some toys
What do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman
Where will you live when you grow up? At the firehouse
What do Mommy and Daddy do after you go to bed? Read their books
Where do we go to church? I don't know where we go to church.
Why do we go to church? To do Sunday school

Yet Another Chicken Pizza

I've blogged before about my chicken bacon ranch pizza and my chicken Caesar pizza. Well, I made yet another kind of chicken pizza recently, chicken and spinach alfredo pizza. I spread leftover alfredo sauce on the crust and topped it with precooked spinach, leftover chicken and a bit of mozzarella cheese. Yummy!

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Eggs, bacon, biscuits, smoothies

Tuesday - Out to eat for Dave's birthday (which is really on Wednesday, but Tuesday works better for going out)

Wednesday - Monterey chicken, oven roasted potatoes, salad, pistachio pie

Thursday - Pork tenderloin, rice, broccoli

Friday - Hamburgers, hotdogs, oven fries, veggies and dip

Saturday - Chicken Caesar wraps, chips, fruit

Sunday - Molly's turn to cook

Snug as Bugs

All 3 kiddos tucked in our bed watching Saturday morning cartoons. Notice that Alexa covered Jordanna up with her (Alexa's) favorite pink blankie.

Multitasking

Here's Alexa watching TV, reading books, playing with her baby, shopping, looking cute, and I'm not sure what else.

Random Tidbits

1) An hour ago it was pouring and thundering. Now it is sunny. This is the first time we've seen the sun since Tuesday morning. Nevermind, the sun went behind a cloud before I finished this post.

2) I had 4 people for dinner before prayer meeting Wednesday. Here's the kitchen disaster that resulted. Don't worry, I got it all cleaned up before anyone arrived.

3) Jordanna slept through the night Saturday night and Sunday night. She has yet to do so again, but she still sleeps better at night than the other two did.

4) Jordanna is refusing naps today. And I have A LOT to get done today including progress reports for school. Good thing she is cute.

5) I've lost 4 pounds or so in the last few weeks from working out with my Wii Fit and eating better. Rainy days, however, do not help, since they put me in baking mood. Yesterday the kids helped me make letter shaped soft pretzels and granola bars.

6) I'm beginning to seriously research kindergarten curriculum for Caleb next year. I've already changed my mind like 5 times.

7) Right now is spring consignment sale season around here. I love buying new clothes for the kids and getting great bargains, but I HATE the process of determining who needs what and switching out clothes for the season. I actually didn't sell clothes this season because I couldn't bring myself to do all the sorting and tagging required.

8) I'm doing a fun swap with some online friends right now. Each person is assigned a preschool project to make (mine is a catalog collage). We each make 20 of our assigned project and package them in zipper top gallon bags. Then we keep one for ourselves and send the other 19 to the coordinator. She sorts them and sends us back 19 different projects. I'm planning to use them this summer as activities for the kids while we are taking a break from formal preschool.

9) Speaking of preschool, I guess it's time to start with Alexa for real in the fall. I have Caleb's preschool curriculum upstairs somewhere, so I'll just use that.

10) Dave is proctoring the SAT this Saturday and doing detention next Saturday. I definitely appreciate the extra spending money he earns, but we all miss having Daddy home on Saturday morning.

Spring is on the Way

We've had some beautiful weather here the last two days (tomorrow is supposed to be cooler and rainy, though). The kids played outside as much as possible including eating lunch on the porch, which they both thought was great fun.

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Steaks, oven roasted potatoes, salad

Tuesday - Parmesan garlic chicken tenderloins, pasta alfredo, carrots

Wednesday - Sub sandwiches, vegetable beef soup

Thursday - Eggs, bacon, biscuits, smoothies

Friday - Chicken and broccoli, rice, fruit

Saturday - Homemade pizza, salad

Sunday - Hamburgers, hotdogs, oven fries, salad, fruit