Grocery shopping, ugh! And my weekly menu.

I seriously hate grocery shopping. Anyways, EVERYTHING at the grocery store has gone up in price. I know to some that the prices being raised, oh by like 30 cents, isn't a big deal, but to me it is. I have a kid in diapers and daycare. Two older kids in sports (cheer and football, not cheap!). My family of 5 to feed. Gas to buy for the mini. etc. So to me 30 cents plus is a big deal. The good news is that recently I have been dipping my toes in couponing, plus price matching, and that will be helpful. Thankfully it is getting pretty easy thanks to the Money Saving Queen. So my trip to Walmart cost me $197, but I picked up breakfast and lunch items, fruit, veggies, plus dinner for 5 days. We can't forget the diapers, laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. I ended up saving about $20 using coupons. Not that bad, right? RIGHT?

And now I present you with the....

Weekly menu:

Sunday - PW's Sloppy Joes, oven baked french fries (I just peel and slice potatoes, put in bowl, add olive oil, and different spices, bake on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes or longer on 425 degrees), apple slices

Monday - Compadre's!  Please go eat here tonight if you can! They are donating a percentage of the profits to help my friend Kim. Her husband Larry passed away, leaving her and their 10 year old son and soon-to-be born baby boy behind.

Tuesday - Grilled chicken thighs (mine are boneless/skinless, and I marinate these for about 24 hours in 1/3 cup italian dressing, little less 1/3 cup soy sauce, and 1 garlic clove minced), broccoli and corn scallop, rolls

Wednesday - Monterey Chicken, carrots (I used canned. Then add a little brown sugar and a small can of pineapple tidbits), cutie oranges

Thursday - Alan is making us chicken and rice, green beans, crescent rolls

Friday - Ginger's stuffed burritos, black beans, spanish rice

Saturday - Does anyone want to feed us dinner? If not, I guess we will do hot dogs/hamburgers and chips!


Also, please say prayers for Joplin, MO, plus other places in OK that were hit, and anywhere else that is being affected by these crazy natural disasters. Tornadoes scare the pee out of me. They frighten me to the point where I let my older kids sleep on my bedroom floor (Colton is already in his crib or on my bed in our room) last night so I wouldn't have to run upstairs to get them in case a tornado happens. I even cleaned out the closet under the stairs and then I put shoes, a flashlight, pillows/blankets, water/snacks, etc in there also. I hope everyone has a great Monday despite all the storms brewing.

Sunburns and Tension

This weekend ended up being pretty good. We got to spend time together as a family. One of my most favorite things to do.

I took the kids to the Rooster Days Parade on Saturday. Em was marching with the band. And C loves parades, especially music!  We took the kids to ride rides and eat carnival food after the parade. We were outside from 9:45am until 6:15pm. Being the wonderful horrible mother that I am, I completely forgot to put sunscreen on my children. It was cold and windy outside, people. But I've heard that you get more sun with an overcast...so all 3 of my babies had red noses and cheeks :(   Finally around 3pm when I saw C's little red cheeks, I thought to myself ..."OMG, you need to put some sunscreen on your children!". So out to Mini I ran and lathered my babies up with sunscreen. It didn't help much. But its the thought that counts. Right? Wrong!  My baby was so worn out and tired by the time we got home, I bathed him, fed us dinner, and put him to bed. I watched a movie and the big kids did whatever they wanted to do.

I got up and made a fattening yummy breakfast on Sunday morning.  We slept in and missed the 9am service at COTM and then by the time we were done eating breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen it was 10:30am and the kids were not ready and the baby was tired so I thought there was no way I could make it to the 11am service either. That is when my light bulb went off.  C could stay home and take his nap while Alan was there and the big kids wanted to go back to bed anyways...so I decided to hurry up and get myself ready. Pulled my hair back, brushed my teeth, put on some makeup, and clothes.  I was out the door in 10 minutes and at church by 10:55am! I'm 110% positive that God wanted me to hear this service. It was about TENSION! Are you the one causing the tension? Why yes I am. And He knows all about the tension I cause, and the tension that is in my life. I cried about 4 times during the service. I went home and hugged my family, which included the man who is in my life. I can't wait to find out what the next three series will be about.

Later that afternoon, Colton and I played outside while the big kids were riding bikes and playing down the street. We played with bubbles and he had so much fun. I love getting to spend as much time as I can with my kids. Even when they are driving me crazy with their demands, requests, and questions.  I love being their mom. It is seriously, without a doubt, my most favorite thing to be.

"I love bubbles!"

"Life is a long lesson in humility."

buh bye curls :-(

Emilee wanted a haircut and feathers. At least when I made her an appointment she wanted feathers. A couple days before her appointment she informed me that she wanted some color card thing.  My hair-girl Lindsey got her in earlier than expected due to a cancellation and unfortunately she didn't have any of the color that Emilee wanted. So she just got a cut. 

And so did my baby!  She wasn't supposed to cut that many of the curls off.  I thought I said not to.  Maybe I did say to cut the back.  Only because it looked like a mullet and when it was wet it went right in between his shoulder blades. Haha! But I loved his curls.

bye sweet curls :-(

And now I am having "buyers remorse" because I want to take back his haircut and return it for the curls.  He looks older now without the curls. He still has wavy hair. But the curls are gone for now. I bet we will just shave it off this summer anyways. Maybe. I don't know if I will be able to, but I'm sure his daddy will try to.

the curls are gone :-(

I know it's just hair. And he has had a haircut before. But this just makes me sad.

Vacations...

School is almost out, which has me thinking a lot about summer vacation. With daycare expenses, we aren't going to be able to do anything too exciting (aka expensive) this summer.  But I still want to do something fun with my kids.

I definitely want to take them camping this year. Which may just be a coo-coo idea of mine since we all know how hot it can get in the summer months in Oklahoma. And since we have a baby (almost 15 months).  We will go to Turner Falls.  It is somewhere I used to go as a little girl with my parents and sister. I really enjoyed it. Well from what I remember!

We also have the opportunity to go to Branson, MO with some good friends of ours. They have season passes and get to invite friends for free. I have never been to Silver Dollar City and neither have the kids. I'm really hoping that is something we can go do!

We were planning a road trip to Chicago. Until gas prices started to skyrocket!  My friend Hailey lives there. We would have been able to stay with her to save money on a hotel room. But still gas is way too much!  Right now it costs about $60 just to fill Mini up! Ugh!  We planned on going to a baseball game, Six Flags, and shopping!! I wanted to take Zack to the Lego store so bad.

Another thing I have been thinking about is a vacation with just Alan. I have NOT gone anywhere for more than a day without my kids since Em was a baby. She is now 12 years old. I think some alone time for Alan and I would be so nice. We could definitely use it!

Here are some vacations (family or alone) I have been thinking about:

Hawaii (family vacation)

Destin, FL (again!)

Destin, FL - May 2010

New Orleans (just Alan and I - we went thru here on the way to Destin and had fun walking around, etc)

Carnival Cruise (maybe doing a Western Caribbean cruise?)

Disney World (must take Em & Z before they are 18...haha)

St. Thomas


Here are some of the things we have done with the kids:

San Antonio, TX - we went to Sea World, the River Walk, and a childrens museum. We also went to New Braunfels while there and spent the day at one of the best waterparks ever. You must go to Schlitterbahn at least once in your life.

Destin, FL - we had so much fun just lounging on the beach, swimming, eating, etc. This was such a relaxing vacation. We went with Alan's family and stayed in a condo right on the beach.

Kansas City, KS - my dad took the kids, my mom, and I to Great Wolf Lodge. We had so much fun!

Jasper, AR - we took the kids to just relax, eat, spend some time together, and go rafting on the Buffalo River. We stayed in a cute cabin. We also went to a cavern to explore the caves but I can't remember which one.


I really enjoy being able to get away from work, the daily routine, and just spend time alone with my kids.  I hope they can look back and have good memories of our vacations, no matter how big or small they are.

Please tell me your vacation ideas. Some of your favorite places you have been, the places you want to go, etc. I'd love to hear about them!