Christmas Photo Sillies

Here are outtakes from our Christmas Picture:


This one was pretty good, except for the hands


Naomi's major pouty lip


An angel


The future model

Eve's Heart

Ed had to discipline Eve last night at bedtime. I was in our room and heard Eve's tearful words: "Daddy, you broke my heart!" So sad and sweet, our Eve.

kp

Pantry Challenge Week 3

Week 3 is off to a good start. I spent $31.80 this week including a mid-week bumper shop. I am finding I grocery shop about every five days because we go through our bananas and milk in that time. I am trying to just shop once a week, but we eat bananas every day and I can't usually make them last a whole week. Any ideas on making bananas last longer?

Here's a picture of one trip, but the other didn't transfer correctly from my 4 year old, old digital camera. I'd love a new, better camera, but this one still does the job despite having to hold the battery cover in place and only 4 pixels. This is the 'make it do' section of my favorite quote: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." - Eleanor Roosevelt



Here's what I bought:
1 frozen pizza for family movie night
1 gallon organic milk
2 boxes of instant oatmeal (we eat at least one box per week)
2 cucumbers
2 bell peppers
1 package of whole wheat buns
1 loaf of whole wheat bread, sweetened with honey - no sugar or corn syrup
4.5 lbs bananas
1 bottle salad dressing/marinade
1 box organic lettuce
1 dozen eggs
1 dozen donuts - a hungry indulgence
1/2 gallon organic milk
3 pints flavored coffee creamer (50 cents/ea)
1 4-pack Danimal yogurt (29 cents!)
4.5 lbs bananas (again)
bag of lettuce
1 can of olives
1 lb broccoli

Here's the dinner menu for this week:
Tuna Casserole/salad
Pulled Pork Sandwiches/fruit (from leftovers)
Sausage Vegetable Soup/salad
Swedish Meatballs - New Year's Eve party
Asparagus Frittata
Macaronada/broccoli
Pizza/Salad

Lunches:
grilled cheese
pb & j
chicken nuggets
ravioli
New Year's Day party
cheese/turkey quesadilla
leftovers

I also heard that one of my favorite blogs is also hosting a Pantry Challenge for January. I'll likely try to do what she's doing, too which is no trips to the grocery store unless absolutely necessary. So it'll be less bananas for breakfast and more canned applesauce, peaches, & pears.

katie

Feliz Navidad!

Ed & I were cracking up in the car the other day when Eve started her usual "Do you know this song?" routine. It was funny because the song was Feliz Navidad and she caught on to the lyrics really fast. By the end of the tune she was singing loudly along "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas... I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas..." Then, when the song was over she proclaimed that she Really liked that song! Too bad.

kp

Pork Roast Dinner/Pulled Pork leftovers

Last night I had the pork roast & veggies on the menu plan. I have a great love and a great fear of pot roast because I never make it right. I am a fair cook, but I just can't get the hang of pot roast. Every time I make a roast in my crockpot it ends up dry - not the juicy pulling apart goodness my friends' moms made. My own mom never made pot roast because my dad didn't like it, and I never learned. So I called my aunt Renee, who is a great cook, to ask her about my dry roast problem. The answer was simple, add more liquid. So I added 2 cups of beef broth which tripled what my old recipe called for.

Success! The pork roast moist & delicious and the veggies were all soft and flavorful. Yay! The roast was over 3 pounds so there were lots of leftovers. Usually I would package them up for Ed's lunches, but we ate all the veggies so it would've only been a hunk of seasoned meat - about 3 days' worth.

Instead I took all the meat and cut into big hunks. I minced half onion with a tablespoon of garlic and cooked it in a tablespoon of butter. When the onion was soft I added a cup of water and all the meat hunks - About 1.5 pounds. Then I added about 2 cups of barbeque sauce, let it simmer and Voila! Pulled Pork! I've never made it before and was so excited to produce it because Ed loves it. Even better I can toss it in the freezer until next week when I'll hopefully be able to find rolls or buns to make pulled pork sandwiches.

I also was able to save the meat drippings I didn't use for gravy. I have about 3 cups in my fridge & I was able to skim the fat off the top so I am ending up with more broth than I put in the roast for extra liquid! I'll save it for my next roast - which I am no longer scared of!

kp

Eve's singing lessons

Eve has always been a happy, singing girl. She was nodding her head in time to "We Will Rock You" at six months and loves to have music in the car. Lately she is trying to sing all the songs she hears - probably because her mama is a big car singer, too. Lately we have one of two conversations about six times every time we're in the car.

Conversation #1
EVE: Mom, do you know this song?
MOM: Yep.
EVE: OK.

Conversation #2
Eve: Mom, do you know this song?
MOM: Not this one.
EVE: Do you want me to teach you?
MOM: Uh, Sure?
EVE: *indecipherable tuneful mumbling vaguely recognizable as song playing* then,
OK, Did you learn it?

It was cute at first, but now it's getting old. I am starting to say "Yes, I know the song" even if I only know the chorus or a few lines. Typical of Eve to want to be the teacher though - she is definitely the oldest!

Naomi's baby "bottle"

Naomi gave us a good laugh this weekend. We were visiting some family in Portland and Naomi needed to go potty but the main bathroom was in use. Instead she headed to the master bath to take care of business. A few minutes later she wandered back into the main living area with a doll and she was busily feeding her doll with what looked to her like a bottle, but was really Papa Larry's electric nose hair clippers!

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Groceries this week

So the pantry challenge is off to a good start but it is already presenting challenges for me. This week it was a meat markdown at QFC. Farmland 'All Natural' pork roasts were marked down to $1.04/lb and it was torture for me to walk away with just one. Seriously! $1.04! I did manage to resist though and am happy to report there were no additions to my freezer or pantry this week.

Here's what I bought this weekend for a total of $28.63. We received an anonymous gift of kroger gift card so I did my shopping at QFC and Fred Meyer this week.


1 gallon organic milk
10 pounds flour (for Christmas baking)
1 box of hot chocolate packs (for Christmas morning)
1 quart salsa
1 pack of lunchmeat
1 pork roast
5 pounds bananas
6 yogurt cups
2 bottles of salad dressing
5 oranges
5 pears
1 bell pepper
1 bag of lettuce
1 bunch of green onions

Here's the plan for dinners this week:
1 frozen pizza for movie night/salad
potato soup/salad
Grandma's Dip/Chips (from freezer & pantry)
1 pork roast w/veggies
lasagna/salad/bread (freezer)
leftovers
Family Potluck - taking veggie tray


Lunches (like every week, with some fruit):
Quesadillas
Mac'n'Cheese with hot dogs (pantry)
Grilled Cheese
PB&J
Chicken nuggets (freezer)
leftovers

12 Month Shirts

We are in need of long-sleeved shirts/onesies, size 12M for Joanna. I have lots of pants and jeans for her and a few short-sleeved shirts, but we could definitely use some long sleeves. I guess I wasn't planning on her wearing size 12M already.

kp

Joanna feeds herself

Joanna has become proficient at holding her own bottle. I am super excited about this development because now I have an extra 10 minutes in the morning - actually an extra 10 minutes 4 times a day come to think of it. Yay! Also, Eve & Naomi are always eager to help Joanna if the bottle falls down or she can't get that last little bit of milk. Yay for little big helpers!

Super Glue Jean Repair

So I got a new pair of jeans in the after-Thanksgiving sales. They are "razored" to look like they have some wear. The very first time I wore these jeans I noticed that one of the "razor" lines was actually a small hole at one end. So what's a girl to do? I don't want to wear them and make a big hole appear. But I want to wear them - new jeans and all that.

It occurred to me to try Super Glue. Clear nail polish works on nylons, right? Well I am happy to say Super Glue works on jeans. I put some on the inside of the jeans where this little hole was starting and voila! No more little hole, just a nice straight "razor" line. Yay! And so cheap since the Dollar Store sells 3 little Super Glue tubes for $1, natch.

kp

Ed's New Job

Ed started his new job today! Yesterday he was at New Employee Orientation which was sorta funny since he already knew all the information. Please pray that Ed will enjoy this job and his co-workers.

kp

Joanna's Pirate Look

Eve & Noami had fun putting this hat on Joanna. Joanna didn't know quite what to make of it and kept toppling it off as she bounced in her bouncy seat.

kp

Dancing Girls

Eve & Naomi have a habit of busting out the dance moves whenever there is music or people dancing on tv. We have been treated to some cute, cute maneuvers and sisterly affection as we have watched White Christmas, Rudolph, and other movies recently. I can't post a video, but I'm sure you can imagine the jumping, flailing, and laughing as they imitate the dancers on the screen.

kp

Groceries

Here's a picture of my shopping for this week. I stuck to the rules of the pantry challenge and paid $30.25. Not all items are in the picture. I've noted in parenthesis why the purchase of any dry or canned goods is allowed.

gallon of organic milk
2 pounds cheddar
15 pounds potatoes
2 boxes of stash tea
2 bottles of karo syrup (for Christmas baking)
1 jar pickles (completely out)
1 jar relish (completely out)
box of organic lettuce
cucumber
4 pounds bananas
5 bottles Russian salad dressing (for next freezer meal swap)
10 boxes Nabisco crackers (FREE after mail-in rebate)
1 container sour cream (44 cents!)
6 yogurt cups
1 Freschetta pizza (for family movie night this weekend)
1 Newman's own pizza (for family movie night next weekend)

Wish me luck this week!

kp

Pantry Challenge!

Most of you who know me well have seen my pantry. It's big and usually pretty well-stocked. This fall it started getting really full and I knew I'd have to plan lots of meals to start using stuff up. I also have a full size freezer in the garage that is full. This summer I froze lots of our garden tomatoes and am trying to save money buy cooking bulk beans and freezing them in appropriate portion sizes. I also started making/saving chicken broth and freezing it. All of this freezing is so I don't have to buy cans of beans, tomatoes, or broth.

I also feel way more secure somehow having tons of food on hand and we've had so much upheaval lately I think I let the stockpile grow and grow and grow to help me feel better.

So, I planned to start using stuff up in November, but we came home from a trip November 2 to find the water mess and then we had family visiting and two weeks of meals and snacks from wonderful friends at church. I was given lots of excellent, random leftovers from the church kitchen, too. Even though I didn't even visit a grocery store for nearly 3 weeks I probably only used 2 things out of our pantry & freezer. The food was flowing in abundance.

Here is a photo of the pantry & freezer from the weekend before Thanksgiving:



Wow, I actually feel a little vulnerable showing those pictures to whoever is out there reading this. It's like my secret stash, EXPOSED!

Anyway, we took a huge bag of food to church that weekend for the Thanksgiving baskets. You can imagine our surprise and delight when we found out that we were actually receiving one of the baskets. Even more hilarious is that we found some of our own donations included in the groceries we received.

This wasn't just a simple Thanksgiving basket. It was filled with all the Thanksgiving necessities (which I totally used) but came with two other bags full of groceries. Here is a picture of how generous the church community was with us:


So, what am I to do with all this food? First I gave a big box to someone who needed it. Next - I need to use up this good stuff! After some talking with friends I decided to have a Pantry Challenge - Here are the rules:

1) For the months of December and January I cannot add to my pantry or freezer.
2) New dry or canned goods must used for planned meals in the next week only.
3) Purchases should be primarily produce & dairy for the fridge.

EXCEPTIONS:

1) Freezer meals received from my monthy meal swap can be added to the freezer. I can also purchase dry goods to make my freezer meals for the next swap only.
2) I can add up to five pounds of hamburger or chicken if I am down to one pound or less of either.
3) If I get things for free, they can be added to the pantry or freezer.

I am posting this challenge on the blog for accountability and for fun. I will post a picture of any grocery shopping each week so you can what I am buying and how little I spent because I'll be drawing on the vast food resources we already have.

So that's all. Now you know about my weird food-hoarding habit and how I plan to pare things down this winter. Thanks for your encouragement & support! If anyone else wants to have a challenge of their own, I'd love to hear that you're doing it, too. Please ask questions or comment so I know there is some accountability.

Edit: Free, 49 cent, & 99 cent Nabisco Crackers at Safeway

OK - so it looks like Kraft pulled their $1.00/2 coupon from the site. Even without any coupons here's what the deal looks like:

Buy 10 boxes of Nabisco Crackers at $1.99, $2.49, or $2.99.
Buy 5/Save $5 Safeway Deal takes $10 off your total.
Use the mail-in rebate here to get $10 back - making the price anywhere from FREE to $.99/box.

Katie

Free Wheat Thins at Safeway!

So I just saw this deal on moneywisemoms. With printable coupons & rebate you can 10 boxes of Nabisco crackers for free. If you can't print enough coupons, it's still a very hot deal.

Brrrrr.

We're having a major cold spell here in Redmond. Thank goodness there's no snow! Anyway, Naomi got up this morning and put on this ensemble. I think it must be cold inside, too!

JCPenney.com $10 off $10 purchase

I just saw a deal on forthemommas for $10 off a $10 purchase on JC Penney's website. You won't get your purchase entirely for free due to tax & shipping but you can still get a pretty good deal. Shipping is cheaper if you pick it up from your local store instead of having it shipped to your home. The coupon code is NICE4U. I will warn you that I tried to put several things in my cart before I found one that was actually in stock, so be prepared for that.

Katie

Wish List

Because Christmas is coming and we know Grandmas read this blog, here is a list of some things we need for the house. We are happy to have new or used items, as appropriate.

AA Batteries
Postage Stamps
Electric Pencil Sharpener (ours was killed by a toddler)
Globe
Vitamin C
Laminating Machine
8x10 Photo Album (lost to the basement water)
Superglue
Breadmaker (with manual)

The girls:
Construction paper
Foam stickers
Ken doll clothes

Katie:
Frizz-Ease by John Frieda (I love this stuff, but am out and can't justify purchasing it for myself)
Earplugs
A haircut


Merry Christmas!

p.s. Joanna is up to size 12 Months now and size 3 shoes. Eve & Naomi are into size 9 & 10 shoes.

Clearance Pull-ups at Safeway

The Redmond Safeway had piles of Huggies Pull-Ups and the generic Mom to Mom brand pull-ups on clearance this weekend. The generic was $4.50 for 21 and the "real" Pull-Ups were $8.00 for 37. The generics are slightly cheaper per diaper, but if you have a Pull-Up coupon the brand name would be a better deal. There were several CASES of Pull-Ups in the clearance area so I bet there are still some available. The clearance area is in the back of the store, near the big black doors to the back stockroom and public restroom.

katie

Good Deal on Organic Lighthouse Dressing

For my bargain hunting pals out there, I got a nice deal on Organic dressing this week at Fred Meyer. There are several varieties on sale for $2.50 and there have been many, many coupons in the Sunday mailers recently for $1.00/any lighthouse product(I had 6 saved). I got a Caesar Vinaigrette and Ranch for $1.50/each - 12 oz bottles of organic dressing at that price is pretty good. They are refrigerated items with February 'best by' dates so you'd have several months to use them. Other varieties included Raspberry Lime and Basalmic Vinaigrette.

You go to their website to print a $1.00/2 coupon if you don't clip from the paper to get the dressing for $2.00 per bottle.
kp