Shopping Day

Today was my grocery shopping day. I'm doing the Grocery Game and it has given me new energy to shop. I'm always a sucker for a bargain and the Grocery Game is making shopping so much more fun. I'm beginning to wonder though, how many boxes of cereal and mac n cheese do we really need? One of my best deals I got this week were those crazy AirWick automatic sprayers that I wrote about Friday night. The only problem is that I have one on my desk right above my computer. It sprays every 33 mins or something like that. The crazy thing sounds like a cat hissing and nearly gives me a heart attack everytime it  sprays. Then I sit an laugh at myself. I am such a scaredy cat. Anyway, it was fun to watch my total go WAY down as the cashier scanned in all my coupons. Now I have two of my neighbors giving me all their coupons too. Next week I should do great.

Other than that today has just been about trying to control the chaos. The kids just seemed to be extra loud and grumpy today. Then tonight Seth tried to ride the skateboard down the driveway, on his stomach, face first and yep...disaster. He hit a bump, flew forward and busted his lip. Poor little guy. He did get to eat a popsicle for dinner and then very willingly went on to bed. I think he was exhausted from all the drama of the day.

I just got the last of the kids through the shower and all is quiet...finally. I think I'm gonna get my shower, rummage around and find some chocolate, get in the bed and read my book, Love and Respect, by Emerson Eggerichs. Dave & I are taking this class at church and it's been great. Then maybe lights out by 10:00 pm. That would be great!!!

Menu for September Week 5

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Mon	Breakfast Casserole Smoothies	Chef Salad	Easy Chicken & Feta Bake Broccoli Black Bean Salad
Tues	Pumpkin Bread	Bologna Sandwiches Chips	Tacos Mexican Corn Churros
Wed	Sausage Eggs Biscuits	PB& J Carrots	Baked Potatoes (topped w/ chicken, cheese, broccoli, sour cream, etc)
Thur	French Toast	Mac N Cheese	Leftovers
Fri	Oatmeal Fruit	Sandwiches Chips	Pizza Salad
Sat	Sausage Eggs Biscuits	PB&J Celery & Cream Cheese	Chicken Pot Pie Jello & Fruit
Sun	Cereal	Crockpot Lasagna Salad	Leftovers

Date Night

I just got back from a romantic date with my husband. We went to Colton's Steak House (my favorite place and we had a buy one get one coupon) and then to WALGREENS! We HAD to go to Walgreens though. They had AirWick Air Fresheners on sale for $6.99 and I had THREE $6 off coupons. You just can't beat that. Now that makes for an exciting date! I did have a great time talking with my sweetie along the way.

Happy Birthday Gracie

My sweet Gracie just turned 6 years old. I can't even believe it. She has had the "never-ending birthday". First we celebrated at Grandma and Papa Goose's house with a huge, yummy birthday cake.  Then on her actual birthday Dave and I gave her gifts and she got to blow out candles on another cake. Finally, last night we had a party for her cousins and friends. We had such fun at her party. We decorated cookies and then Josiah taught everyone how to make a bead and pipe cleaner cross craft. I think her birthday "season" has finally ended... and just in time for Josiah to start planning his party for next month.

$75 Week Challenge

Okay, we have 8 children, so I'm not so sure about $75 a week and if I understand correctly, Mary's challenge was for a family of four (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I have just recently begun The Grocery Game and it has helped tremendously. It actually energizes me to get out all my coupons and see what kind of deals I can find. Right now I've been spending about $125 a week, but would love to see that come down as well. The temptation is to spend money on "goodies" bought with coupons that are not really necessary. I love to cook from scratch, but it is nice to reach in the freezer once in a while for a quick frozen pack of chicken nuggets or corn dogs. I guess balance is the key.

Menu for September Week 4

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Mon	Scrambled Eggs Smoothies	Leftovers: Tuna Sloppy Joes Or Chili	Easy Chicken Parmesan Acorn Squash Salad
Tues	Dutch Babies	Lunchmeat Sandwiches Chips	Tilapia Brown Rice Broccoli Cooked Apples
Wed	Sausage Eggs Biscuits	PB&J	Ratatouille Italian Bread Fruit Salad
Thur	French Toast	Mac N Cheese	Leftovers
Fri	Oatmeal Fruit	Soup Grilled Cheese	Pizza Salad
Sat	Breakfast Casserole	Sandwiches Veggies /Dip	Tater Tot Casserole Corn on the Cob Cottage Cheese & Pineapple
Sun	Cereal	Grilled Brats & Dogs Fries	Leftovers or PB&J

Menu for September Week 3

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Mon	Banana Crumb Muffins Smoothies	Tuna Salad Chips	Taco Pie Corn Salad
Tues	Eggs Sausage Toast Apple Juice	Lunchmeat Sandwiches Chips	Meatloaf Mac N Cheese Green Peas
Wed	Cereal	Meatloaf Sandwiches	*Grilled Fish Brown Rice Green Beans
Thur	Pancakes	Ramen Noodles	Leftovers
Fri	Oatmeal Fruit	Soup Grilled Cheese	Sloppy Joes Tater Tots Slaw
Sat	Biscuits Sausage	Sandwiches Veggies /Dip	Spaghetti Green Beans
Sun	Pop Tarts	Chili Rice Slaw	Leftovers

 *Grilled Fish: This is very easy. I like to use Tilapia Filets. Brush them with a melted butter and garlic mixture. Then place them on a hot grill for about 3 mins. Flip, cook another 3 mins. Top with salt and Pepper and they are delicious.

Menu Plan Monday

Sleep, glorious sleep!

YAY!!! Benjamin has slept through the night two nights in a row! I'm beginning to feel human again.

Home Again

We are home! We had a great six days at David's Mom & Dad's house in Alabama. (Hi Grandma & Papa Goose) The kids got to go to the Water Course, which is an educational, hands on, museum (sorta) all about water and how it is used for energy. They also went fishing and swimming in the lake. They all came home smelling like stinky fish, but they had a blast.

I must say it was good to be in our own bed last night. It did seem a little wierd though. For the first time ever, Benjamin slept in another room. We put Grace & Abby on the couches in the living room and let Benjamin "cry it out" in the crib. It absolutely broke my heart, but Dave & I are both exhausted from MONTHS with no sleep. He woke up at 3:30 am (as usual) and cried for about 30 minutes. He did finally go back to sleep without me. I think this may be the beginning to a sane life again... well, as sane as mine will ever be. :)

Menu for September Week 2

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Mon	Smoothies Egg In A Hole	PB &J Carrots	Labor Day Cookout
Tues	French Toast	Bologna Sandwiches Chips	Zucchini Casserole
Wed	Blueberry Muffins	Tuna Salad	Grilled Chicken Salad French Bread
Thur	Cereal	Ham Sandwiches	Baked Potatoes Broccoli
Fri	Dutch Babies	Ramen Noodles Raw Veggies & Dip	Pizza Salad
Sat	Cheese Eggs Toast	Bologna Sandwiches Chips	Life Group Potluck
Sun	Oatmeal	Vegetable Stew Homemade Pimento Cheese	Pork Roast Potatoes Carrots Green Peas

Learning How to Blog

Okay...I just checked my blog on another computer screen and it never occured to me that it may not appear the same on a smaller screen. I'm working on getting my menus in the right format, so they will work on all screens, no matter the size. Please bear with me while I get it figured out. HTML is truly "another language".