Kids

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    Another week of doing Groceries $40 for 4. I was able to stock up on some items but overall it was a quiet grocery shopping week because a lot of unexpected activities came up.  We are trying to eat up our perishables this week since we have a lot of produce already in the fridge and from the garden.  A lot of the items we picked up will be great for the upcoming road trips we have this summer!  I am hoping to get back on schedule soon with grocery shopping although I have a feeling the summer months may have a new type of shopping schedule with the kiddos along helping.  Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week!

     

    Groceries from CVS and Walgreens!

    CVS Groceries:

    • $1.46 at CVS for 1 Powerade Fruit Punch, 1 Powerade Mountain Blue, 1 Vitamin Water Energy Blast, 1 Fuze Refreshing Peach, 1 Fuze Strawberry Melon, 1 Chex Mix Cheddar, 1 Chex Mix Honey, 2 Chex Mix Turtle, and 1 Powerbar Energy Snack.  I used coupons on the Chex Mix and a couple ECB’s to help with the savings.  I received an $2.49 ECB for the Powerbar and $2.00 ECB for the drinks.  These items will be great for our upcoming vacation road trip.

    Walgreens Groceries:

    • $2.01 at Walgreens for 4 cans of Mandarin Oranges, 2 boxes Strawberry Royal Gelatin, and 2 boxes of Raspberry Royal Gelatin.

     

    Groceries from BiLo

    BiLo Groceries:

    • $14.49 at BiLo for 1 gallon of Whole Milk, 1 gallon of Skim Milk, 1 container of Country Crock, 1 box of Oatmeal Cremes, 1 box Blue Bonnet, 1 box of Peanut Butter Bar, and 1 container fresh Mushroom.  (I had three munchkins with me on this trip so I didn’t have a chance to match the sales and coupons).  I probably spent a little more than expected but it was worth to have the extra time with the kids.

    I am excited to be back doing our Groceries $40 for 4 budget again.  This week I spent $17.96 on groceries.  Even though I wasn’t even close to the budgeted amount for the week  I was still able to stock up on several items.  Thankfully I was able to keep the amount within reason although I would like to see a little extra left over for those weeks when I find a really good deal or go a little over.  Plus I hope to have more time soon to do more regular grocery shopping.  We were out of town for the weekend part of this grocery week so it a little different from our usual events, however, we brought the majority of our food with us to make meals or just did two meals a day with snacks in between.

    It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks!  As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me.  I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too.  The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

  • Recipe: No Bake Cookies

    I always loved it when my Mom made No Bake Cookies when I was a kid.  It has been fun making these cookies with my girls now.  I had some oatmeal and peanut butter I needed to use up recently so I made these cookies for one of our recent road trips and for a friend who had a baby.   These cookies are delicious and inexpensive to make.  The most important step of this entire recipe is making sure that once the first set ingredients is boiling to allow them to boil for 1 minute, if you do not let it boil for 1 minute the cookies will be runny and not set up well.  These cookies are a perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

    No Bake Cookies:

    • 2 cups Sugar
    • 4 tablespoon Cocoa
    • 1 stick Butter
    • 1/2 cup Milk
    • 1 cup Peanut Butter
    • 1 tablespoon Vanilla
    • 3 cups Oatmeal

    In a heavy saucepan bring the sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk to a boil.  Let them boil for 1 minute.  Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal.  Lay out the wax paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonful and the cookies have cooled.  The cookies will harden as they cool.

    Photo by alibree

  • Our Little Visitor – Do You Know What It Is?

    Fun animal in our yard!

    A couple weeks ago we noticed Skipper was circling a tree and when we went out to investigate further we found this furry little creature in the tree.  It decided after a few minutes to come down and was chased by across the yard by Skipper.  After it made it’s way out of the yard we looked up online and in a couple books what it could be.  Brina was the one to figure it out first by looking at the pictures in one of the animal books we had at home.  Do you know what it is?

    From what we can tell it is a………

    A Woodchuck (best we could tell anyway) that our sweet dog managed to chase up a tree!

  • Summer Activities: Picnics on the Porch

    Brina and Karlie are having a "picnic" on the front porch. Skipper, the girls faithful outdoor friend, is nearby in case they drop any crumbs!

    A new favorite spot for the girls to eat their snacks, lunch, and goodies is on the front porch. A couple years ago my parents got me a glider for the front porch and it has been a huge hit with the entire family. The girls like to sit on the glider and eat because Skipper is not trying to snatch their food but they can still eat outside. Their drinks are usually on the table next to the glider whenever they are playing outside to help remind them to stay hydrated.

    I have a sneaking suspicion that Skipper gets her fair share of extra food from the girls.  On the hot days when the girls spend a lot of time outside all three of them (the kids and dog) crash by the evening.  One time after a full day of playing with the girls we watched Skipper walk up to the front door mat (where she enjoys napping) and literally flop over in exhaustion.  She’s enjoying all the attention but it wears her out too.

    Does your family have a favorite spot to eat picnics at home?

  • Family Celebrations: Graduating Kindergarten

    We were excited to celebrate our girls kindergarten graduation. It is crazy just thinking that they are finished with kindergarten and will be starting first grade in just a couple months. All our friends said time will go by quickly, I didn’t realize how fast!  Here are a few pictures from their fun celebration:

    Brina and Karlie ready for their Kindergarten Program!

     

    Karlie getting her diploma from Mrs. Boyles (AKA Principal or "Boss Lady")

     

    Brina getting her Kindergarten Diploma from Mrs. Boyles

     

    Brina and Karlie happy to get their diploma with all their friends!

     

    In celebration of the girls graduating Kindergarten we went to the Greenville Drive Game that Night!

     

    Let's PLAY BALL!

    We ran into a lot of friends at the game.  The tickets were purchased through the Playcation Package we bought.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Leafy Lettuce, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Purple Beans, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Green Beans, and Snow Peas!

    We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden!  This week I did better at taking pictures of the items our family picked.  We were traveling for a few day.  Hopefully my brother who was watching the house was able to get a few items out of the garden to use for their family.

    Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:

     

    Fresh from the Garden - Leafy Lettuce, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Cherry and Roma Tomatoes, Strawberries, Green Beans, and Purple Beans.

    We got two more big bags of leafy lettuce before we had to pull the stocks because they were flowering.  The zucchini and summer squash are starting to picking.  We’ve been getting a few strawberries and a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes more regularly now.  We have both green and purple beans producing now in the garden.

     

    Big Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Purple Beans, Summer Squash, Leafy Green Lettuce, Snow Peas, Strawberry and Green Beans from the Garden

    The snow peas have been amazing and delicious to eat fresh for snacks and in baking, however, they are pretty much done producing.  The lettuce is slowing down too but we hope to get a few more salads in before it completely wraps up for the season.  On a more positive note the tomatoes, beans, and squash are still going pretty strong despite all the storms.

    We were able to share some of the veggies this week with family, friends and people at our church.  During the summer months our church does a “Corner Harvest” where people can share fresh produce from their garden.  It is neat to see what other families are growing and share our produce.

    What are you eating out of your garden this week?

  • Summer Activities: Fun Family Day at Home!

    School’s out and the summer heat is here. We love spending time as a family outside, however, some of that time involves finding cool activities to do during the summer heat.  There is always something fun to do during the girls summer vacation away from school.  Below are some of the fun adventures we did on a recent Saturday together.

    Swimming in the Pool

    Brina and Karlie Swimming in the Pool!

    Eating Ice Cream

    Daddy, Karlie, Brina and Skipper enjoying a bowl of ice cream on the front porch!

    Napping in the Hammock

    Karlie snoozing in the shade on the hammock after a swim in the pool!

    Playing Under the Jungle Gym – Sand Fun

    Brina "cleaning" the sand off the Jungle Gym after swimming in the pool!

    Science Experiments

    Growing Rocks in a Rainbow of Colors! Since one of the girls is into "sharks" I choose a shark background for this experiment.

     

    Brina and Karlie watching the rocks grow! It was an interesting experiment over a couple days!

     

  • Pampers Gifts to Grow – 5 Free Points (Expires Tonight)

    Receive another 5 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!

    This code is different from the previous codes I have given.

    Use Code:  TWITTERKEYWALET

    The code expires on 11:59 PM EST  on June 21st so make sure to add it to your account within the next few days!

    You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!

    For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!