Quick Update

Hi Readers!

Yesterday some MOPS mamas mentioned that I hadn't been posting so I thought I'd explain here what I told them yesterday. Posts have been sparse because:

1) It's just been busy. I am desperately trying to get the garden finished, we've have company, and I was out of town, too.

2) I usually post in the mornings, but have made a renewed commitment to myself that I can't use the computer until I spend time with the Lord, either in Bible study or in dedicated, uninterrupted prayer time - Or both! That means I have to post later in the day and sometimes I just don't get to it. I'm trying to get up earlier so I can have a quiet time and blog before the kids get up.

3) DH has been really busy at work so I am more tired than usual with the kiddos and have been tired at night.

All this to say I hope to be more consistent, but I am trying to get my priorities in order, too. I also have more friends and family visiting, a trip to Cleveland, and a trip to Oregon in the next few weeks so no promises, but I'll do my best! I miss writing about what I've been doing!

On another note, our topic yesterday in MOPS was about leaving a legacy for future generations and how are we establishing that as we raise our little ones. Today when I flipped my devotional calendar I was encouraged by the following prayer, "Lord, please bless my family for generations to come. May the Christian teachings we instill be passed from one generation to the next. Grant each dear one wisdom and strength."

Katie

A Resourceful Tip - Numb Yucky Medicine

Many of our kids' medicines today are full of artificial flavors to make them taste good, but some medications and a lot of homeopathic remedies are bad-tasting.

Try having your children suck on an ice cube before taking the medicine. Ice will numb the taste buds! This strategy works for grown-ups and our unflavored medicines, too.

I found this tip in my desk calendar published by Barbour Publishing.

Katie

Garage Sale Bargains

I picked up these two items while out at yard sales with my mom over Easter weekend. The water bath was just $3 and has a rack inside. I recently discovered I can preserve fruit with a water bath and not have to use the pressure canner. Using a water bath takes much less energy and much less time so this was a big score for me. The other item is an old food dehydrator. It came with it's original manual (undated)that includes instructions for fruit leather and potpourri and a recipe pamphlet dated 1974. I'm looking forward to trying it out this summer, especially if I can find fruit super cheap again (last year I got peaches for about $.30/lb!).

Katie

Weekend Shopping

This was my grocery shopping haul last week. I had various stops at several stores over the course of the week while I found myself out without the kids.

I went to Safeway for the following:
Ziplocs - $2.50 sale priced, but $1.49 with store coupon ($1/2 MC) = $.99 each. I needed these for garage sale sorting & pricing.
Mango - $.50
Oranges - $2.50 (8 pound bag - had a raincheck from a few weeks ago)
Batteries - $6.99 (50% off clearance)($1.00 MC) = $2.49
Pineapple - $1.00 (50% off clearance) = $.50

I went to TOP for the following:
Kiwi - $.33 each
Sour Cream - $1.50 ($.40 MC) = $1.10
GoGurt - $2.00 ($.75/2 MC) = $1.63 each
Bananas - $.69/lb

Fred Meyer
Milk - $4.99
Doritos - $2.50 (total impulse purchase)

Katie

Fred Meyer Founder's Day Sale

Fred Meyer is having one of its best sales of the year this week. Here are some of my favorite grocery deals:Organic or Regular Strawberries (1 lb), Raspberries (6 oz), or Blackberries (6 oz) - $2
Tillamook Yogurt - $.33 each
Tillamook Cheese - $3.99 for 2# in 6 varieties (limit one) - Don't waste this price getting cheddar, get something fancier.
Doritos - $1.50
Breyers - $2
Vitabee Bread - $1 (sweetened with honey, not sugar or corn syrup - my fav. bread)
Kettle chips - $1.67 (QFC had a tear off pad of coupons for another $1.00 off!)
Rice-a-roni - $.69
Kellogg's Cereal - $1.67 and pair with coupons here.
Organic Mom's Best Cereal - $1

Household Products Deals:
Seventh Generation - 40% off. Pair with coupons here from Seventh Generation.
Purex Detergent - $1.99. Pair with $1 off coupons in Sunday paper insert.
Speedstick Deodorant - $.79 with MC at store
Colgate - $.79 with MC at store

Other Deals:
If you love the kitchen, it's B1G1 for kitchen gadgets, table linens, & bakeware
If you have a kid birthday coming up, it's B1G1 for many toys

Happy Shopping!

Katie

Meal Plan with Naomi

I worked all weekend at church for a big Tea event and was in the kitchen for most of that time. As we made pretty tea sandwiches we didn't use the 'heels' of about 40 loaves of bread. One woman was tidying up and couldn't see throwing them all away and asked if my kids would eat 'heels'. In truth, we probably wouldn't use them for sandwiches, but I absolutely love heels for toast with an egg on top (I eat this about five mornings a week) and heels also make good french toast. So I accepted and I now have about 60 'heels' of bread in addition to about a loaf and a half of cheap, white bread we didn't use for sandwiches.

I was also given lots of lettuce that was fading fast and not nice enough to serve. We're planning to use lots of that and we're also trying to use freezer items up so I can finally unplug our 'spare' freezer for the summer.

Lunches:
Monday - Grilled Cheese (leftover bread)
Tuesday - French Toast (bread heels)
Wednesday - Nachos (shredded cheese from freezer)
Thursday - Pizza (freezer)
Friday - quesadillas (freezer chicken, tortillas, shredded cheese)
Saturday - Mac'n'cheese with hot dogs (Daddy lunch)
Sunday - PBJ (leftover bread) (Daddy lunch)

Dinners:
Monday - Taco salad (lettuce)
Tuesday - sour cream chicken/rice (chicken and chicken broth from freezer)
Wednesday - Swedish meatballs (freezer meal)
Thursday - Potato Soup (milk, bacon, shredded cheese from freezer)
Friday - Mexican dip (Daddy dinner - Mom makes ahead)
Saturday - Burritos (Daddy dinner - freezer meal)
Sunday - likely company for dinner - possibly ham, possibly macaronada

I'm also taking two freezer dinners out of town with me for the girls' weekend away at a friend's cabin.

I purposefully chose meals that wouldn't have a lot of leftovers so that I could send frozen leftovers with my husband for his lunches.

Katie

Paint Touch-Up Kit comes in handy

Yesterday the older girls and I were busy in the kitchen, chopping apples for applesauce, the baby was sleeping, and I realized Joanna was somewhere else. You moms out there know what I'm talking about - that moment when you realize it's gotten too quiet and the pace of your heart quickens along with your footsteps as you rush to stop whatever is happening somewhere else.

This is what Joanna was doing:




It was black permanent marker, of course, that doesn't wash off semi-gloss paint. Thankfully I had my handy touch-up kit in the pantry and within the hour Joanna was in bed and I had repainted my hallway. Joanna's artwork actually extended the length of the hall and around the corner. It was about twenty feet of scribble that was taken care of really easily. Hooray!

Katie

Monday Meal Plan - Eve's week

Eve's my kitchen helper this week so she helped me plan out our meals for the week last night. I didn't plan last week because we were coming home from out of town on Tuesday and it was terrible! It is so much easier when I know what I'm making for dinner ahead of time. I greatly dislike answering the question "What's for lunch?" or "What's for dinner?" with "I don't know yet."

Anyway, here's our plan for dinners:

Monday: Ham & Bean Soup
Tuesday: Sausage Gravy over Biscuits
Wednesday: Potato Soup
Thursday: Freezer Meal
Friday: Spaghetti (Eve's choice)
Saturday: Mexican Dip
Sunday: Baked Pasta

and lunches:

Monday: Mac & Cheese pie (from freezer)
Tuesday: bagels & fruit (packed lunch)
Wednesday: quesadillas
Thursday: pbj (packed lunch)
Friday: mac & cheese (Daddy home to feed kids)
Saturday: enchilada casserole (Daddy again)
Sunday: whole wheat waffles & sausage

I'm still trying to empty the freezer and am bummed it hasn't happened yet. I've been pretty focused on getting the garden in, finally mailing my Christmas cards, and a huge 'stuff' purge so the freezer defrost has been on the back burner, so to speak. Maybe next week I'll manage it once and for all!

Katie

Week's Shopping - Bits & Pieces

It's been a long week for me. I've been playing catch up since returning from our Easter trip and my to-do list is huge.

I didn't take photos of my shopping this week, but got a few things from Amazon Fresh Wednesday, a few more at Fred Meyer Thursday, and a few more at Top & Grocery Outlet on Saturday.

Top has a few great deals this week with $1.00 8 oz shredded cheese and 39 cent cucumbers.

I also found some bargains at Grocery Outlet where 1# strawberries were only $1!

I'm planning to go to Albertson's for cereal in the next couple of days to use the double coupons, too.

Can you tell I'm not back into my routine yet? Sheesh - I was inefficent this week!

Katie