Family Fun
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
We had a birthday party celebration for the girls and Valentine’s Day this week but in between the fun I was able to make a quick trip to the grocery store. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles, Dollar Tree, and Save A Lot | RiteAid
Ingles Groceries:
- $10.16 at Ingles for 2 bags Laura Lynn Bread, 1 container Portabella Mushrooms, 1 container whole fresh Mushrooms, 1 container fresh Strawberries, 1 loaf Poppy Seed French Bread, 1 bag fresh Bananas, 1 bag Romaine Lettuce, and 1 box Jimmy Dean’s Sausage & Biscuts. (All the items were on clearance, marked down or on sale. The produce was marked down on clearance.)
Dollar Tree Groceries:
- $14.00 at Dollar Tree for 2 jars Strawberry Jam, 3 boxes Applesause, 2 boxes Toast’ems, 1 Chocolate Frosting, 1 Vanilla Frosting, 2 containers Sprinkles, 1 can Canola Cooking Spray, 1 jar Vanilla Extract, and 1 bag Marshmallows.
Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:
- $7.76 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 2 gallons Milk and 1 box Dannon Yogurts (yogurt was on sale).
We were able to stock up on some great items this week. Although we had the girls birthday party celebration and Valentine’s Day we were able to keep it within reason! 🙂
This week I spent $31.92 on groceries. I was over on my budgeted amount for the week because of the busy week with traveling, appointments, and upcoming celebrations so thankfully I have a little extra to cover the groceries this week. I was happy to find fresh eggs and great produce on sale that we can use for several meals. I hope that next week is better week, back to normal, and we can come under budget!
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.
Family Activities: Celebrating Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Heart “Attack” surprise for the girls
Our family had a blast celebrating Valentine’s Day together! Jake and I went out the Saturday before Valentine’s for a Date Night and to celebrate. On Valentine’s Day I took goodies and helped at the girls class party as well as celebrated with the family that evening. It was a fun relaxing time together. The girls loved having an extra special dinner together in the candlelight as a family. For dinner we a fun conversation as we ate steaks, baked potatoes, fresh vegetables, bread, fresh fruit salad, Cherry Limeade punch, and cheesecake. Here is a little tidbit from our Valentine’s Day celebrations:
Heart shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast
Valentine’s Day Breakfast
Valentine’s Day “love” notes on the girls bedroom door
Valentine’s Day fun for Brina & Karlie (looking from their room out to the hallway)
Brina’s Goodies’ from Grandpa & Grandma
Karlie’s goodies from Grandpa & Grandma waiting on her barstool at breakfast
Hugs & Kisses Tigers
Karlie’s Valentine goodies from her classmates. (With the word “Bushta” written across the front too, silly girl)
Brina’s Valentine envelope full of goodies from her classmates
Jake’s dinner plate – stick of dynamite with little heart notes….
You’re the bomb!
You’re the extra spark in my life!
You ignite my heart!
My heart explodes with love for you!
You light up my world!
The girls loved Daddy’s sticks of dynamite made out of rolos and love notes, they couldn’t wait for him to see them!
One of the girls plates for Valentine’s Day Dinner with the family
Our Valentine’s Day Dinner table
Be My Valentine decoration hanging from the ceiling fan over the dinner table
Conversational hearts center piece
Valentine’s Day Dinner table
Brina & Karlie worked hard on their Valentine’s Day Cards!
A stack of love notes for Jake to take with him on his next trip……one note for every day we are apart!
“I Love Jacob” written in hot pink lipstick on the mirror (the girls wanted to know if it would clean off the mirror or be permanent)
Heart balloons with love notes attached and flower petals to make the room more romantic
It was a wonderful Valentine’s Day with our family! We had a great time decorating, talking, celebrating, and enjoying our time together as a family. Thankful for days when we can relax and celebrate our love for each other. Although, we spent time this week to focus on our love it is important that this isn’t just a once a year activity. Taking the time to celebrate our love regularly is just as important.
Lunch Box “Love” Notes
Earlier this week I shared about our “Love Bug” Notes and received several emails regarding where to purchase similar notes so I decided to share a little bit more. Here are some fun ones:
Includes 105 colorful cards and over 100 silly stickers for help you brighten your child’s lunch.
The book over 75 includes tear-out notes with Bible Trivia.
Just tear out a silly riddle to make lunch enjoyable for your kids.
Example – “What’s the funniest place to eat lunch? In the laugh-eteria!
Remind your child of God’s faithfulness with over 75 tear-out notes that you can put in their lunch box. Each note includes a verse.
Hugs in a Lunch Box for Ages 5-7
Age specific lunch box notes to send with your child.
If you have some Amazon Gift Certificates from Swagbucks these would be great to add to your basket! Do you send lunch box notes to your kids? How often and do you usually write your own notes or send pre-made ones? If you have a great “lunch note” book that you have used please feel free to share a link below!
Be My Valentine: “Love Bug” Notes
Little ladybug “love” notes in the girls school lunches
The girls love getting surprises in their lunch boxes. I found these adorable ladybug notes (aka “love bug” notes in our house) and waited until I had a coupon to buy them at our local Hallmark store. It is my intention to send a special note or treat with the girls lunches at least once a week (on a good week I do it 2 or 3 times). In a time pinch I put these fun bugs on their sandwich containers or random places in their lunch.
Fun note to remind the girls we love them
Not only do these notes brighten the girls days it also encourages them to read. The notes are cute and it only takes a minute to add them to their lunch box.
Karlie’s Note – Buzzing by to say….. Consider yourself HUGGED! Squeeeeeeeeze
Karlie has been known to keep her “love” notes in her lunch box for weeks. She gets so excited about the little notes that sometimes when I ask her how her day went the first thing she tells me about is the “love bug” she found in her lunch.
Brina’s Note – A little buggy told me you’ve been working really hard. You should feel so proud!
Brina loves getting these notes in her lunch so much that she has a baggie full of them in her “special” drawer at home. I know the girls appreciate these small reminders of our love.
I love having these on hand to add a little bit of variety to the special surprises.You could pick up these or something similar at your local Hallmark store or find some online to print off or make up some of your own to print off. What type of goodies do you put in your kids lunch boxes?
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
School Lunch!
The girls are good at helping put together their lunches. They know that we get a protein, fruit, vegetable, dairy, drink and snack. Here’s what they had today:
- Peanut Butter & Homemade Strawberry Jam
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Pita Chips
- Yogurt
- Applesauce or Yogurt Raisin
- Cheesestick
- Bottled Water and Reduced Sugar Juice
- Sugar Free Cherry Jello
- Protein Bar or SoyJoy Apple Granola Bar
Lunch Box Goodies
Happy Valentine’s Day: Every Love Story….
I am thankful for an amazing family. My husband is the love of my life. Today is a great day to share just a few of the reasons why I love my man so much! 🙂
- Jake encourages me to continue to grow and learn.
- Jake cooks delicious meals
- Jake loves me for who I am
- Jake cleans and pitches in around the house
- Jake works hard to provide for our family
- Jake is my best friend and my life partner
- Jake is the leader of our family
- Jake is generous and kind
- Jake is considerate
- Jake is an amazing Daddy to our girls
- Jake is the spiritual leader for our family
- Jake spends time with our family
- Jake can make me laugh
- Jake knows how to make me feel loved and appreciated
- There are many reasons why I LOVE YOU JAKE!
Be My Valentine: Valentine Cake Batter Rice Krispies
Valentine Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats
The girls have to bring a goody for their school Valentine’s Day party. When I asked them what they wanted me to buy or make they both said to bring the Valentine’s Cake Batter Rice Krispie treats with “extra sprinkles”! I made this recipe earlier for another event so they were excited to try it out before their party.
Heart shaped Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats with sprinkles
The girls loved making this little Valentine Rice Krispies. We added a little bit of cake batter, a drop of red food coloring, and some sprinkles than used cookie cutters to make the hearts.
Having fun making designs with the Valentine Cake Batter Rice Krispie hearts
We had fun making different designs with the treats. Their favorite design was the flower. Since we were taking them to more than one party we were able to have some fun getting creative with the treats.
Rice Krispie Hearts of different sizes
The big heart cookie cutter was cute, but we did more of the small heart to make sure everyone had a rice krispie treat to enjoy. Thankful that the girls requested a pretty easy treat to share with their friends. Do you have to bring treats for your kids classroom?
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week Jake was traveling the majority of the week for work and we had the girls 7th Birthday Party. It was neat celebrating, it’s still hard for me to believe that my babies are 7 years old.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – we had a couple later nights this week
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekGo on our Date Night with the GirlsCelebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday PartyPick up the girls new glassesSchedule Appointment with Chiropractor
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – need to work on this one
Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd HaferRead and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – got most of the travel itinerary done, just a couple minor details to be worked out
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – with several doctor appointments after school dinner was delayed
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – this didn’t get done this week
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Write a Guest Blog Post – working on it
Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – went over a little this week with the girls birthday party, Valentine’s Day & Date Night
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – getting closer
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – have some of it set aside
- Pay for Jake’s College Classes – cash set aside for the first 6 months
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with Jake
- Celebrate Valentine’s Day
- Celebrate Brina & Karlie’s Birthday
- Spend time together as a family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Packing “To Do” List
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the downstairs Bookshelves / Desk / Dressers
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
I loved you yesterday….
Book: “Everything Romance” by Todd Hafer
Any time is the perfect time to celebrate with the ones you love! With Valentine’s Day celebrations around corner I thought I would share with you a book I recently read called Everything Romance by Todd Hafer. The book is packed full of great quotes, recipes and information. It has plenty of great ideas to get your creative juices flowing for your upcoming Date Night, Valentine’s Day, Honeymoon, Anniversary or any other fun celebration with your spouse. You will get a wonderful variety of romantic inspiration from the book through:
- Blessings & Prayers
- Did You Know? (fun love facts)
- Features (Conversation Starters and More)
- Lists (such as Creative Ways to say “I Love You”)
- Love Boosters & Love Busters
- Love Letters (from famous people like Mark Twain and more)
- Perfect Pairs & Famous Quotes
- Poetry & Poets
- Special Recipes
- Gift Ideas & Love Stories
- Scripture Verses, Trivia and More!
I thought this book was great reminder of how important it is that we spend time with our spouse. Going on a Date Night even after your married helps keep you connected. The book has a lot of different ideas. My suggestion is take the ones that work well for your marriage and implement them. There is plenty of fun activities to try and inspirational sayings to get you started. I especially enjoyed the love quotes and the recipes. The top 100 lists for Love Songs and Romantic Movies are wonderful starting points for Date Night ideas.
I haven’t had a chance to try all the recipes but here are a few fun ones:
- Berry Sweet Breakfast Parfaits for Two
- Lip Smackin’ Spicy Lime Popcorn
- Smooth Operator Blue Smoothie
- Perfect Pair Pizza Pita Snacks
If you need some great ideas for the upcoming Valentine’s Day celebration or more ideas for your Date Nights I would recommend checking this book out. Everything Romance would be a neat Valentine or Anniversary gift for your spouse. You could read through the book together or use it to help plan out your next date night.
I think investing time and energy into our marriage is important. While I may not be inspired by every story, quote, or activity in the book I believe the author did a good job of putting a great mix of ideas so each person can pull their favorites out for them to implement or enjoy. The book was a fun one for me to read and I appreciate a book that focuses on building better relationships! I am already looking forward to our next Date Night! 🙂
Rate my review & be entered into a giveaway: I reviewed this book for “Blogging for Books.” By rating my review, it allows me to choose another book and enters you in a GIVEAWAY! The rating is a two step process.
Step 1: Rate my review below (select the number of stars, enter your email, and hit submit).
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
