Eliza's Cleaning Ability

Tonight while Eliza and Jenna were both in time out for the last 10 minutes before bed...

Eliza calls out, "Mom, I cleaned the toilet."
Me, "you cleaned the toilet? With what?"
Eliza, "With a toothbrush." Holding it up...
Me, "You cleaned the toilet with a toothbrush! That is disgusting! You brush your teeth with that!!!"
Eliza, "Oh. It's Jenna's."

My Menu Plan

Lately I have had a few challenges. I've been working on losing my last few pounds for WW and living on our food storage. It has been quite fun and I have learned a lot. I'm trying to find the balance between spending and saving and what is worth it and what isn't. I have been keeping a journal of the experience but don't know if its worth posting because I don't know that people really want to hear about that. But I can report that in the last 9 weeks I've spent about $300 on food. That includes a HUGE restocking of chicken when it went on sale but does NOT include some long term storage that will last a lifetime...don't know where to put that. Anyway, I don't know what to think about all of it but I am using the things in my house on a more regular basis. I haven't bought bread since the beginning of the year and didn't run out of chicken for 2 full months...

Well, I have wanted to get a better grip on my menu planning. It makes life a bit easier just to know what I need to cook for dinner. It also helps me keep on track better for WW. The better I plan the better I eat! Duh. I have a few obstacles with my menu planning.

1. I'm lazy


2. I don't take the time to think things through


3. It's a pain!


4. Who knows what I'll have in the house


5. What if I don't want it that day?

I just have to push past my first obstacle... #2...last week when I sat down to do this I didn't take into consideration certain things like

a) fast Sunday - a simple sandwich isn't going to cut it

b) am I having company this month?

c) are there nights I am too busy to cook and want something SUPER fast

#3...once again - I need to get over this

#4...I realized that I eat a LOT of the same things, especially since I'm living on my food storage and the staples are all the same. Really all my variety comes from veggies. Usually I just buy what's on sale so this is an easy fix too.

#5...I'm able to change the calendar! I don't HAVE to fix what's there! I'm the MOM!!!

Now the freedom of having a calendar!

I have heard of people doing a month at a time...which I have tried but I really do make the same things over and over. This is my solution. I made 7 weeks of meals which can be rotated to suit my mood. At any time I can add a new week... So the "month" calendar has Velcro on the front which my "weeks" stick to. I did spend quite a bit of time making sure that the meals were "balanced" throughout the week.

This was my thought process:

• Sundays I cook a bigger meal because Scott is home and I have the time now that church is in the morning.
• Monday is quick and super easy because we have dance at night and Scott isn't home. I really cook a lot lighter on nights when he's not home
• Tuesday and Wednesday could be interchangeable
• Thursday Scott is home for dinner so I put in a bit more effort
• Friday we have salad and eat our leftovers. I like my salad night because I weigh in on Saturday morning so it keeps me eating a salad and the family full.
• Saturday I like to BBQ since Scott likes to help with dinner.

Then I went through and made sure I didn't have too many "chickens" in a row. We don't eat a lot of red meat so I only put that on once a week. I tried to incorporate a few cheaper meals like soups and potatoes. Now I feel like my weeks are pretty balanced. I'm excited to see how it works out!

The last thought I've had about this is that I really do enjoy trying new recipes. I have learned though that this is can be expensive. I've decided that I will only try new ones every once in a while and wait until the ingredients go on sale.

James' First Birthday

James turned 1...what a big boy! We were able to celebrate with Grandma Bev and Typhany while they were here for a visit. It seemed like the visit wasn't long enough for us but I think the Canadians were ready to get home. Once again my picture taking abilities are lame. At least I got a couple though. James is such a sweet pleasant boy. He tolerates quite a bit from his sisters...we love having him in our family.One of our favorite family traditions is to let the birthday kid eat their own cake. James got his own basketball and then we had one to share! He did enjoy his cake!
Isn't he adorable!

Jenna's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Jenna's third Birthday on January 29th! It was fun to have Grandpa and Granny Lee come over. They got her a new Barbie bike which she LOVES! It even has a place for her barbie to ride.
I made her a cat cake but it looked more like a bear because the ears were not triangles...Eliza should have told me that sooner! Obviously I didn't take enough pictures though because this is all I have. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Ok...I'm a slacker!

Well, let's state the obvious here! It has been a LONG time since I have posted anything and things have been passing without notice. So sorry...we've had a couple birthdays and a visit from Grandma that I need to catch up on!

Monkey!!

Ok...I obviously don't know how to add a video to my blog...but this is the funniest and grossest thing I've seen in a long time! Thanks Liv!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DBuk91phkI

"Snap-the jobs a game" Mary Poppins

Well...some things in life are just a chore! Recently we have had some decisions to make regarding our home. I have needed to make some changes in the way I handle our money, meaning I'm trying not to spend any. This started out as being so hard! I felt like a bad mom because I was going to make powdered milk for my kids to drink. I was going to cut out meat from some meals. We were going to eat beans. We were going to eat a lot more potatoes. Wow! I felt so much self pity with this whole decision. With a word of encouragement from my friend I made up my mind to make it fun. She called it "the GREAT pantry challenge". I think she had read it on a blog from some frugal lady... Anyway, I decided this was my challenge. So, for almost a month we have been only buying fresh fruit, veggies and milk products. I also do buy diapers, deodorant and other hygiene things but only after they are totally gone from the house.

I have learned so much lately. I am learning what is really important to have in food storage and what isn't. Like, I thought Rice a Roni was such a great deal at $1 box...well, the weevils love it and so that went in the trash. Now I have learned to make my own with my own rice. I've learned I need a lot more rice in my storage. I would really like powdered eggs. I need more oil. I need to have a lot more applesauce. I know applesauce doesn't sound essential but with my young kids it is a great filler. I think in the future I will buy apples and make it myself. I need more sugar simply for canning when items do come on sale.

Well...that list could go on and on. I am also learning the joy of price matching. Living in Vegas has some perks. We live in a highly Hispanic area so we have Hispanic grocery stores. They have the most fabulous deals on food. I simply print their ads online and go to Wal-Mart and walk out with lots of food for cheap...let me show you what I did last week.

All of this cost me $6.27. I didn't even have price match for the celery or bananas! Even a week later I still have a head of lettuce, tomatoes and peppers that will be fine to use this week. Yesterday I went and bought a 10 lb bag of potatoes for .59! Like I said, we are eating a lot more potatoes! I'm not really great at all this but truly if we have food like this and can make it last with what is in the pantry I don't feel deprived at all. We are truly blessed! I'm glad I have my food storage to use and when the time comes I will supply it again and perhaps a bit differently. So, I am learning that my happiness does not come from finding a great deal, but being happy with what I have.