Weekly Shopping Trip---$75!!

I did it!!! At the beginning of the week, I set myself a goal(without telling anyone!) of only spending $75 on what I needed for the week and I hit the goal right on the dime! LOL! The funny thing about it all is that I even had extra mouths to feed for Wednesday's dinner and Thursday's dinner!!

Despite making my monetary goal, I(or hubby) ended up making more trips to the store(which made it harder to get any pics, sorry)! So that is going to be my next goal...getting everything I need in one trip!

Here is the run down on what I got...

Family Fare(2 trips)

• 10lbs potatoes $3.99
• 2lbs Strawberries B1-$2.99 G1 Free
• 3lbs bananas $1.81
• 2 heads lettuce $1.98
• 2 lbs butter $3.54
• 12ct ice cream cones $1.00
• 2 pkgs Eckrich smoky links $3.98
• 2 pkgs Aunt Millies Honey Buns B1-$3.19 G1 FREE
• 24 ct Northern Toilet Paper $6.00

Total $28.84
Total Savings $11.81

Meijer (2 trips--hubby made one on the way home from work since he goes right by one!)

• 1 3/4 lbs red grapes $3.13
• 10 ears of corn $2.00
• Big Red Gum 99 cents
• 1lb fresh catfish $4.71
• 4.07lbs ground chuck $6.88
• Aunt Millies Cracked Wheat bread B1-$3.19 G1 Free
• Aunt Millies Honey Buns B1-$3.19 G1 Free minus 35 cent coupon
• 20 pks Kool-Aid $2.00
• 1pkg. Edward's Pie Single Slices $1.25 minus 75 cent coupon
• 1 cantaloupe $2.00
• 3 cartons lemonade $3.00
• 10 yogurts $6.00 minus 40 cent coupon
• 3 pack of kleenex $5.08
• 1 bottle Wisk HE $4.00 minus $1.50 coupon

Total $46.16
Total Savings $23.88

GRAND TOTAL $75.00
TOTAL SAVINGS $35.69

I am absolutely feeling good about my shopping this week! After having weeks, where I was spending $150 or more for a week! I think I finally figured out how to shop for our needs and not feel like I have get every deal that is available each week which results in an overloaded pantry and a hubby that is not too pleased!

To check out other's weekly deals/shopping trips, head over to MoneySaving Mom's Super Saturday Savings and BeCentsAble's Show N' Tell!

"I'm it" 4 Things Tag

I was tagged by Marcy at Stretching A Buck for this meme and thought I would play along!

10 years ago…
1. I was pregnant with ds #2—delivered at the end of September.

2. I moved from a two bedroom apartment to a two bedroom townhouse while I was 5 months pregnant.

3. I taught/homeschooled my younger brother for my Mom.

4. I helped my Mom take care of my Grandma before she passed away.

5 years ago…

1. I just found out that I was pregnant with dd.

2. I just moved from the two bedroom townhouse to a 3 bedroom house.

3. Found out that hubby lost his job…which a year later was in the news because the federal government raided it because of tax evasion, fraud, etc.

4. I spent the majority of the summer as a “military widow”—hubby is a Navy reservist and with him unemployed from civilian work, he did more active duty training with the Navy to help bridge the gap financially.

Things I did yesterday…

1. Watched the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy

2. I did 4 loads of laundry (washed, dried, and folded).

3. I watched 4 extra kids for 1 ½ hours by myself!
Just in case you are wondering, there were NINE kids under 11 ½ years old under my watchful eye!! (11 1/2yo, 10yo, 9yo, 8yo, 7yo, 5 1/2yo, 4yo, 19mo, 18mo)

4. Took ds #4 for a wagon ride around the cul-de-sac.


4 Shows I like to watch…

1. Grey’s Anatomy

2. Desperate Housewives

3. Deal or No Deal

4. Extreme Home Makeover


4 Things I love to do…

1. Bake goodies

2. Spend time with my family

3. Puzzles—I do them up to hang in my house!

4. Sing Praise and Worship songs (even though I might not sing on key! LOL)


As for ones to tag....hummmmm....you want to join in on the fun, then you are it!

Creative Uses of Muffin Tins

As I am reading my June/July issue of Taste of Home Magazine, I saw a picture that caught my eye. It was a picture of a muffin tin filled with ice cream toppings--chopped nuts, candied cherries, chocolate chips, colored sprinkles just to name a few. I thought what an ingenius idea!

With the summer fast approaching and the summer picnics and BBQs starting to get into full swing, using my muffin tins for ice cream sundae toppings would help me not have so many dishes to do after the festivities. Less dishes more time to relax!

I began to think of other uses for muffin tins other than just baking muffins! So I did some searching and I came across this article on creative uses for the muffin tins.

Have you thought about hanging on to those old tins to put finger paints in for your kids to use?

What about taking old broken crayons and putting them in the muffin tins and melting them to make new crayons??

What about making a "shadow box"/picture frame out of it??

What about letting your preschooler or kindergarten use the tins for sorting beads or M&Ms??

So instead of just using your good tins for just food like muffins, or meatballs, or homemade rolls, think outside the box and use it for other great uses in the kitchen!

Those old tins instead of throwing them out, recycle them into or for craft projects!

For other Frugal Friday tips, and ideas; head over to Biblical Womanhood

Weblink Wednesday

Today is the day in 1932 that Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Atlantic. This Friday is the day in 1906 when the Wright Brothers patented the aircraft.

In honor of those two events this week, I am going to share some of "flight links" The first one is AV Kids.

According to their site, "AvKids is a program designed to educate elementary school students about the benefits of business aviation to the community and the career opportunities available to them in the business aviation industry. AvKids can help transform a child’s flights of fancy into a fun educational experience that may lead to a rewarding career path. In the course of their journey, this program hopes to reinforce the values and zest for learning that will serve future aviation professionals well throughout their lives."

They have FREE to teachers for the downloading a book "The Flying Office".

They also have an activity guide with a teacher's resource that I was able to get about a year ago. However, their site says they are unable at this time to process any more requests. They also have online games and activities to do. In their "Aviation Community" they have plenty of links that relate to aviation.

The second link is Gander Academy's Science of Flight.

There is tons of links regarding the principles of flight, how birds fly, invention of the airplane, parts of an airplane, controlling an airplane, atmosphere, activities, book reviews, and teacher resources. Basically an "one stop shop" for a unit study on flight!

For more weblinks, head over to Homeschooling with Encouragement!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Clothespins

So what is sooo special about these little things called clothespins??? They serve multiple uses in my house! Not only do I use them for their intended use--hanging clothes or diaper covers to dry, I also use them for....

• holding rubberbands! I clip a clothespin to the side of my bill slot on my desk or on the "receipt clip" on the side of the fridge and then hook rubberbands over the pin.




• holding receipts! I superglued a magnet onto one side of the clothespin and then stuck the clothespin on the side of my fridge. This way I have a place when I or hubby come in from shopping, we can clip the receipt there and the receipt doesn't get lost and forgotten before it is registered on the computer checkbook(better known as Quicken!).




• holding chip or cracker bags closed so that they don't go stale!

You can usually find a bag of these at your local dollar store! So not only are there many ways to use them, they are cheap!

I am sure that there are more ways that I could use these little inventions! I would love to hear how do you use these little inventions??

For other kitchen tips, recipes, or ideas, head over to Tammy's Recipes!!

Menu Plan Monday 5/18-5/24

**Another week is upon us so that means it is time for another menu plan! This is just a plan and it could change on the cook’s whim!

Last week’s menus went off without a hitch! Everything that was planned was eaten on the day it was planned!! I said that I would share my recipe for turkey tetrazzini, you can read about here!

I still have not had to do a major shopping trip for this week’s menu. Hubby’s boss and co-worker are coming from out of town for the week, so they are going to be joining us for dinner on Wednesday.

Lunches listed are for the kids and me. Hubby usually takes dinner leftovers each day.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus, go check other delicious meal plans that have been linked at her site! **

Sunday (5-18)
Breakfast: eggs, sausage/steak, hash browns, and jiffy muffins
Lunch: pizza rolls
Dinner: McDonalds (after AWANA Awards Night @ church)
Snack: none--late dinner

Monday (5-19)
Breakfast: cereal and leftover muffins
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: pork loin casserole, mashed taters, green beans
Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (5-20)
Breakfast: waffles
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: homemade pizza and breadsticks
Snack: cookies & milk

Wednesday (5-21)
Breakfast: “Cook’s Choice” (I have my annual physical)
Lunch: out with grandma?
Dinner: grilled chicken, Cajun catfish, & shrimp kabobs, taters, corn and honey oatmeal rolls (hubby’s boss coming for dinner!!)
Snack: mystery snack(probably do up some dessert to go with dinner!)

Thursday (5-22)
Breakfast: bagels
Lunch: leftover pizza or pizza rolls
Dinner: creamy chicken(#1) , noodles, and peas
Snack: snack basket

Friday (5-23)
Breakfast: cereal and toast
Lunch: sandwich, chips, apple slices and carrot sticks
Dinner: chicken club sandwiches(#6), pan fries, carrots/salad
Snack: homemade chocolate shakes

Saturday (5-24)
Breakfast: “Cook’s Choice”
Lunch: ?????(it’s the weekend anything goes!)
Dinner: steak or burgers, fries, and corn
Snack: popcorn

Singing Sunday

People Get Ready....Jesus is Comin'
by Crystal Lewis

Lord I'm ready now
I'm waiting for Your triumphant return
Youre coming so soon
This world has nothing for me
I find my peace and joy solely in You
Only in You
I want the world to see that
Youre alive and living well in me
Let me be a part of the harvest
For the days are few
Hes coming soon

People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get ready Jesus is coming
To take from the world His own

There will be a day
When we will be divided right and left
For those who know Him
And those who do not know
Those who know Him well
Will meet Him in the air
Hallelujah
God is with us
Those who do not know
They will hear "Depart, I knew you not"
For my friends you see
There will be a day when well be counted
So know Him well, know Him well

People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get ready Jesus is coming
To take from the world His own
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get readyJesus is coming
To take from the world His own