What's Cookin'~Eating from the pantry/freezer

Next week, the only groceries I am going to buy are milk and eggs. The rest of our meals will come from our stocked pantry and freezer. I've been reading on numerous blogs that this is a great way to save money on groceries.

Sunday~Mongolian Beef, Fried Rice (in the crockpot!)
Monday~BLTs, salad
Tuesday~ Sloppy Joes (from freezer), oven fries, green beans
Wed~Cheesy potatoes and ham, corn
Thurs~Worcestshire Chicken, baked potatoes, carrots
Fri~Spaghetti, broccolli, bread
Sat~Frozen pizza

Wheelbarrow Fun

Hmm...I think I should get back in, that was fun!


Yay! Lots of water!


We can splash all the water out of this bathtub!




This is better than a swimming pool!

I'm seriously wondering what the neighbors think of our wild children. Noah runs around outside in just a t-shirt and diaper half the time (his pants are always falling off), and last week, I brought him home from the beach stark naked. I instructed him to go straight into the house while I brought Joel in, but he ran for the other side of the house...and the neighbor was out watering her grass. Oh well! :-)

Oh My

This morning Andrew and Noah were both drinking some juice in their sippy cups and Andrew informed me, "We're pretending its beer, Mom."
Mom: "Let's not pretend its beer."
Andrew: "We're pretending its beer without buggies in it."

He hardly ever sees anyone drinking beer, but we've told him it has buggies in it so he can't drink it. At least they were pretending it was non-alcoholic beer. :-)

CVS Deals

Coming up the week of Aug 2, you can get some great freebies at CVS. Look for more info here.

I'm doing an experiment. I've started buying coupons off ebay and other coupon clipping sites to get these deals. We don't get the coupons in the press, plus for a lot of these deals, you need multiple coupons. So I'm hoping to save money even by buying coupons.

This week I'm trying a deal at Rite Aid that may make me $17. I'll let you know if it works. :-)

More videos

Now that my dear husband taught me how easy it is to upload videos, here's a few more!

Joey is crawling!

Great way to save money at Meijer

Meijer has been printing off $5 off a $25 gift card at the checkout. They seem to be just randomly spitting out. I collected one that someone had left behind and also got one when I bought some milk last week. By buying these gift cards, I'm gaining $5 each time for my grocery budget. Every penny counts!

What's Cookin'

I am loving this cooler weather! Makes it much easier for me to plan meals, but not so great for going to the beach. :-)

Mon~Ritzy Chicken, smashed red skins, carrots
Tues~Mongolian beef with rice and broccoli
Wed~Chili cheese fries (recipe from Rachael Ray), salad
Thurs~BLTs with tomatoes from Jen's plant (thanks for letting us babysit your tomato plant Jen!)
Fri~Burgers, potato salad, baked beans
Sat~Frozen pizza
Sun~Soup, bread

Before I forget...

some Andrewisms:

"Mom, can you give me a thunderdog?" ~on the swing at the park.

"I made a big smokestache (smokestack)."

"Elephant, giraffe, dromedary,..."~Andrew listing animals (he learned that one from Curious George!)

Zoo day

What's more fun than a day at John Ball Zoo?

Mommy and boys

They loved the wooden train more than seeing the animals.

Noah petting a goat.

Waterfall

The bears are far and away the best exhibit. This one just slept, but he did change positions once. The other bear paced the front of the exhibit the whole time.

The only alert monkey, all the others were sleeping.

Llamas!

Petting baby pygmy goats. Very cute!

This one got more looks than the animals. He didn't have a hat on the whole time, and someone asked Chris if we had styled his hair like that on purpose!


Feeding the ducks that had no interest in bread at all. They must be well fed.

Free, Free, Free!

In my shopping cart tonight at Meijer were the following items FREE:
2 Milky Way candy bars
1 Digiorno's flat bread sandwich
1 package bun-length Oscar Meyer beef hot dogs

All from coupons I received in the mail!

It Is Well With My Soul

Horatio Gates Spafford wrote this hymn in the late 1800s after he suffered a terrible tragedy. He had sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him to Europe (he had already lost a young son) and planned to join them after he had finished up some business. Sadly, his four daughters died when the boat they were traveling on sank. His wife sent him a telegram which said: "Saved alone." As his ship passed by the spot where his daughters died, he was inspired to write the words to this hymn. He and his wife later had three more children, one son who died in infancy and two more daughters.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford

What's Cookin'

Mon~Black Bean tostadas, salad
Tues~Pasta Primavera with grilled chicken. This looks so good I'm salivating right now.
Wed~Meatball sub casserole, salad
Thurs~Chicken bacon sandwiches, carrot sticks
Fri~Turkey bacon pita pockets, pasta salad, fruit
Sat~Since I might not be home, probably mac and cheese or eggs and toast.
Sun~Meatballs, baked potatoes, carrots, beans

I've been browsing recipes on The Pioneer Woman's website. She's very funny and her recipes look delicious.

Happy 1st Birthday, Jayden!

Jayden with great-grandma DeVisser.

Pic is blurry, but these three were so cute with their birthday hats! (Joel, Jonathan, Jayden)

We're just a...

redneck family!

Chris and Andrew were painting yesterday and Andrew was covered with paint, so he had his bath outside.

I just got my internet back after 3 weeks without it. I really missed blogging. I even made a list of posts I wanted to do when I got back online. Now if only I could find the list...