Happy Rainy Mother's Day!

Through the rain & dreary mess, i managed to enjoy my mother's day! I managed to fit in all my mother's in one weekend which was no easy task! We did lot's of traveling but it was worth it to spend some time with each one! And the boys got to hug each one too! And we know that Nanny, Grandma Tee, & Mema can't resist these sweet boys hugs & sugars! When i got home from Wilmington, Randy had flowers waiting on me (& i can't remember the last time i saw those, so he got a big hug too!)

Fun at Grandaddy & Grandma Tee's House

The boys got to visit & spend some fun time with Grandaddy & Grandma Tee while we were in Wilmington this weekend too. Jackson especially likes to play with Kenneth & Eli likes to eat & play! Grandaddy grilled yummy porkchops & grandma tee made her yummy baked beans so dinner was a success! After dinner, I convinced Grandaddy to get out the four wheeler for a little spin. I hadn't been on it since i was a teenager & of course there has been an upgrade since then! I let the boys take a spin with me (of course i didn't go over 5 miles an hour & i held onto them for dear life the entire time!!) but i had to convince Jackson to get on & Eli wanted to get on, until we moved, then he wanted OFF! He didn't like the wind in his face i don't think.

Part of the highlight of the visit for Eli too, was "Playing" with Pete. He kept going to the fence & letting Pete lick him. If Eli were a little bigger, we would have let him run in there & play with him, but Pete has LOTS of energy & might knock him over!Fix your lip, Pete! You tell him this, & he will fix it! Seriously!Once we finally convinced Jackson to get on, he didn't want to get off. He kept saying, "I want to go again!" everytime we came back in from the field. BUt 5 miles an hour got a little boring for Mommy, so 3 trips around the field was enough & she was ready for a little more juice!

We tried one last time with Eli sandwiched between Mommy & Grandaddy & he liked it this way! The wind was off his face & he was looking around & pointing to everything. (And mommy got to squeeze him tight the whole time!)

Thanks for the dinner & entertainment Grandaddy & Grandma Tee! It was yummy & fun!

Strawberry Pickin'

This weekend we went to Wilmington for the first time since February! It was a trip long over due but with gas prices, & our busy schedules, it just took us a while to get down there again. Mother's Day weekend was the perfect opportunity & excuse to go, so we did! While we were there we took the kids to pick strawberries. I used to go (to the same place) with my Memaw when i was a kid, & hadn't been since i went with her myself, so it was a fun time building new memories with the boys. They had a great time, even though we pretty much had to throw back most of the strawberries Eli picked (a.k.a. squished)! But he absolutely loves strawberries so he was in heaven!

After we picked berries, we indulged in some fresh homemade ice cream that the strawberry farm made & i think it was the highlight of the outing for the boys. You can tell from Jackson's face!!

Daddy's nifty new tool...

Okay, for the first time ever, i am actually impressed with a toy Randy got! He got a "micrometer" this week & was testing it out by measuring the thickness of tiny things like a peice of paper. (He needs this for the mandolin building). Well, he started quizzing me saying "tell me something to measure!" so i thought i would stump him & said, "Measure a strand of my hair." So he did & so help me, it worked! Each strand of my hair is .o46 millimeters & each strand of Randy's hair is .051 millimeters! Isn't that crazy!? What i immediately thought of is how God knows the number of hairs on each of our heads (matthew 10:30, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered") & i am certain He knows that mine is only .046 millimeters!

Just go to sleep already!

So i should make a whole new label for the posts of Jackson's sleep tactics! Lately he has really been stalling & whining & playing around when it is time for a nap. I mostly ignore him once he goes into his room because if he pipes it up too loud from me enforcing the "stay in the bed" rule, then he will wake up Eli, and that is a big no-no! So i just let it go as long as he is quiet & he usually falls asleep without intending to, which is how i have been getting all these ridiculous pictures lately. So here are this weeks newest accidental sleep spots- notice that he is never in his bed!

This day he thought he was being sneaky & watching Tivo'd Dancing with the Stars with me, but exhaustion won out....

And today, i am not sure what he was thinking, but later i heard him knock something against the bottom of the bed he is under when he went to roll or move or something!

$40 menu planning- part 2: the groceries

So i promised i would post a picture of the groceries for my budget this week (or the Lowe's Foods trip anyway) & here it is. Most of it honestly wasn't even on my list, but as i said in this earlier post, i had a hard time passing by things that were on sale & matched doubled coupons.

These things were on my list:

Pasta Sauce (i got Bertolli brand for .80c after sale+coupon)

Pork Chops (substituted drumsticks for this meal, $4.20)

2lbs ground beef (on sale for 2.99/lb- paid $6.20)

Flour Tortillas x2 (on sale for $1 each, so i got 2)

Eggs (full price $1.99)

Ricotta Cheese (sale $1.79)

Salad (marked down to .99c, so i got 2 & used a $1 off/2 coupon thus paying .50c each)

Milk (marked down to $2 since it was going out of date in 6 days- the boys will have it long gone!)

apples (full price $3.99)

Macaroni & cheese (i use the easy mac for a quick lunch for the boys when needed & was out- paid $2.49 on sale)

Total for items i needed: $26.97 w/tax

These were not on my list but a great bargain:

Barilla pasta (after sale +coupon .29c)

Nutrigrain granola bars ($1 each after coupons, bought 2)

Nurtigrain cereal bars (sale for 2/$5 & had the coupon on the back for the above nutrigrain granola bars for next time...)

Live Active cheese sticks (after coupon-1.88)

Motts 100% juices (on sale for 2/$4 & i had coupon for $1off/2, so $1.50 each)

Feta cheese (on sale for $1.50)

Total for items i didn't need: $11.36

Total for both : $38.33

Moral of the story- getting things you don't need is a budget buster (this doesn't even include the Walmart run!)

And just to prove that i am not feeding my family pure junk on my menu planning budget here are the dinner meals we have planned: (some have already been eaten!) And i planned 6 because we usually end up with leftovers at least once!)

yummy chicken drumsticks, salad, & boiled potatoes

stuffed bell peppers, corn, cheese toast (there was enough that i froze half of it!)

chicken & spinach manicotti, breadsticks, salad, & fruit (tomorrow night- i can't wait!)

frozen pizza (okay so this one is junk- but the ingredients are all natural!!)

hamburgers, baked beans, macaroni salad

fajitas, mexican rice, mandarin oranges

Always Room for a First- even for Mommy!

Yesterday was my first experience with chicken drumsticks. Not my first experience eating them, but my first experience buying & cooking them. I saw this yummy looking recipe on a blog i read & the boys love drumsticks when Mema cooks them, so i wanted to try it out, mostly wanted to anyway. Most of you know i am weird about touching raw meat & especially that with bones in! YUCK! Anyway, i passed these .99c/lb drumsticks last week & passed them over because even though i wanted to, i just didn't think i could do it! So yesterday when i was shopping again, i saw them still on sale for the last day & decided to bite the bullet! After all, i was going to be getting 2 meals out of a $4.20 purchase so my squeamishness was overruled by my frugality! When i got home, i called a friend (thanks again, Randi) who helped me through pulling the skin off of the legs. (I am about to gag even now as i type this!) Honestly, the gloves helped a LOT & i did dry heave once, but i made it through pulling that TOUGH (as a bird) skin off! So that was really the only hard part, then it was onto breading which was a breeze. But the problem again came back when it was time to eat it (which i thought might happen), i could only eat one, & i didn't finish it. It was good, but when i cook meat like that, i have a really hard time eating it after i have done all that mess with it! But i will most likely do it again, at least once to use up the other half of the package i froze, & maybe i will graduate to making a whole chicken or something??? Maybe, or maybe not! But for the record, i am so proud of myself (& i know my mama is too!) So the proof is in the pudding..... and here's the pudding.....

And when Randy got home from work, dinner was ready & waiting & as i was beaming with pride waiting for a reaction to this new dinner, he says, "Oh, we are having Shake & Bake?" To say the least, i was ever so slightly deflated... But he recanted with "What? I like shake & bake" But he also likes Hamburger Helper so this isn't saying much! I clarified for him exactly all i had done to make these beautiful legs (of 3 and a half chickens!- let it go Rach, let it go!)

10 Reasons Why We are Frugal

I have been asked recently WHY i am frugal & WHY i am all of the sudden being more thrifty. I thought about this & decided i would post about it. These are the reasons:
1- Randy's job situation in the fall made it important for us to watch our spending & so the couponing began more out of necessity back then.
2- it has become a hobby & a challenge to see how little out of pocket i can spend & get the most for it.
3- i want to be a good steward of what the Lord is blessing us with & not knowing where the money is going is not being a very wise spender.
4- I like math- & so i like a budget. I like knowing how much money i have to go towards certain things & at the end of the day sticking to it. I like the "control" of a budget, not meaning that it is controlling me, but that by using it, I am controlling where the money is going (rather than wondering at the end of the month where it all went!)
5-My goal is to live debt free. When i say debt free- i mean initially, debt free except a mortgage & hopefully at some point debt free including NO mortgage. I am beginning the dave ramsey snowball debt plan, and am very hopeful. I am proud to say that right now we are consumer debt free (credit cards, etc) & only have to work on our Jeep & student loan.
6-I realize now that our society is set up for us to dig ourselves deeper & deeper into debt, & i refuse to go down that road again. It is stressful, it is wasteful, & the bottom line for me is that takes NO DISCIPLINE. The problem is that we have to learn to say, "no" to things we can't have at that moment. Not saying we can't have it, but that if we can't pay for it, then we can't pay for it, & we shouldn't pay extra for it by putting it on a credit card & paying interest on it. Save for it!
7-I want to help others. I have never been in a financial place in my life (granted i am only 28) to financially help others. There are always announcements at church, or through friends, i hear about people who need. I want to be in a place to say, "you need something? Here you go..." The Lord has blessed me & so i want to give God the glory & bless others. And this doesn't even have to be financially, i can give away all the freebies or almost freebies that i get on a weekly basis.
8- I want to teach my children the value of a dollar. I want them to see us living within our means (or less than our means) & begin to understand that by delaying gratification, we will be in a better place later. I don't want them to start out their lives with credit card debt from all the companies that target college/young students, & i want them to understand that if we want something, we pay for it, right then, not on credit. If we start early, hopefully this will just be second nature to them. I want to hopefully have them learn to save for things too- a lot of times when you have to save for something one of two things happens, you take better care of something once you get it, or you decide you really didn't need it after all.
9-Debt Free means to me: Money Stress Free- meaning- if Randy loses his job or we have a major medical emergency, we won't have to worry as much about the financial side of things. So many arguments (not just in my own marriage but in most everyone's marriage) are about finances & I am excited to see where my marriage will grow from this.
10- i don't want to say that by living frugal & getting out of debt that i won't have to depend on my Lord or trust that He will provide for me, but what i am saying is that the Lord is giving me the strength & open mind to live like i feel He would want me to live & i give Him all the glory now & will do so probably MORE so when i have no one to owe! Won't that be nice???

My New $40 Menu Planning....

So some of you are interested in my menu planning so i will let you know that this week is the first week of my attempt at a $40 menu. So far, this has been pretty tough- but i think this is mainly because i see things on sale & i have a coupon which makes it pretty cheap & then i feel i have to get it- which in turn- bumps my budget up! So i actually paid around $70- but i got way more than just what i needed for my weekly menu. I got some things for NEXT week too! SO maybe next week will be less than a $40 week. (But i am doubting it will be a $10 week, but who knows!). I decided this week to make my grocery shopping trip while i was already out so i planned the night before, putting my coupon binder, list, reusable bags, & cooler bag into the car so that i would have it all handy once i dropped Jackson off at preschool. Then i had promptly an hour to hit Lowe's Foods before i had to go back to the school for the Mother's Day Tea. I got two deals that i was so excited about: One was the salad- i had planned on getting a bagged salad to go with a couple of meals i had planned this week but was dreading the price (even with my coupon) but when i got over there they were marking down ones that needed to be sold quickly (their sell by date was the next day) to .99c! So i had a coupon for $1.00 of two, so i got two & decided that for .50c a bag, i would rework my menu to have the salad last night & tonight so they wouldn't go bad. (I know Randi F. is smiling right now) The other steal was my milk. It was the same thing- i had a gallon in hand & realized that there were some that were marked $2.00, so i checked the date & it was because it was a sell by date of 5.11.08, but when i compared it to the date of the milk in hand- it was 5.12.08! So i got the marked down milk because i KNEW my boys would have that milk long gone by may 11th! I am hoping that maybe tuesdays are the mark down days at Lowe's Foods & that i will be able to get deals like this weekly, but i am not sure. I did end up going over to Wally World to finish up with things i knew were way overpriced at Lowe's, (tomato sauce, mushrooms, can chicken, etc), but i am really beginning to hate Walmart more & more. I told Randy when i got home that it is almost worth it to me to pay more for the groceries to be able to have great customer service & be able to find everything. Everytime i go into Walmart, everything is moved around, everyone is grumpy, things ring up wrong, & it takes FOREVER to check out (& they act like the reusable bags are a problem- don't sell them then!) By the time i leave, I AM IN A BAD MOOD! I ended up getting extra's of what i needed there just so i wouldn't have to go back next week! (thus adding to the extra money spent this week as well!) I did take a picture of my Lowe's foods groceries for an idea of what $38 in groceries (what i spent there) looks like for me, so i will post that as soon as i get to it..... plus i have a post i want to write about my first experience with chicken drumsticks (thanks for the help, Randi!)....

Praise the Lord! His Ears are CLEAR!!

Oh, how i am so excited & thankful today! I took Eli back to the doctor for an ear recheck & much to my surprise, they were clear! The Lord was looking after him for sure because we had a TOUGH go of it with that antibiotic & i would venture to say that we got less than a quarter of the overall 10 days worth of doses in him. He hated the taste & would gag, spit it back out, or just clamp down so hard that we couldn't get it in him. I even tried hiding it in ice cream, cool whip, & pepsi & STILL he spotted it & wouldn't get it in. I finally gave up trying & figured when we went back in today they would just have to give him a shot if they were still infected, but PRAISE be to GOD they are CLEAR! I can't tell you how much of a relief this is & i pray that they continue to stay healthy with the summer months coming up so we won't have to get tubes.