I was hoping to make it 2 weeks without going to the grocers, but I will have to go to pick up some milk and bananas. Unavoidable. I have 2 fridges and to get through 2 weeks - I'd need to buy about 8 gallons of milk. I still couldn't fit that many jugs of milk in 2 fridges. Yipes! And bananas (which hubby must have daily) has to bought weekly or they is nassshhhty. They come out tasting like nanner wine or something. Yick! But other than those 2 items, we need nothing.

Monday- Beef Stew, Fresh Bread and Veg

Tuesday- Chili, Corn Bread, Veg

Wednesday- Roasted Chicken, Yellow Rice, Veg and leftover breads

Thursday- French Toast, Eggs and Berry Fruit Smoothies

Friday- Homemade Pizza

Saturday- Enchiladas, Veg (they were a huge hit last week- all the kids loved them - I think it was the addition of the mashed kidney beans- weird!)

Sunday- Egg Fried Rice, Egg Drop Soup, Veg

(we missed this last week, will post recipes for these tasty Asian dishes later this week)

I don't know how everyone else's school year is going- I hope well! Our's has not been going long but it is going well. No more fighting with...I don't wanna do schoolwork whines. Yay! And it's exciting watching his reading progress! Second grade is a lot more work than the first though, I gotta say. Well and having a newborn I am sure makes it a tad more busy. LOL

I attempted to go 2 week shopping this week instead of 1 week. We will see how it goes. I didn't buy any meat, using what I have on hand and I also have a ton of eggs. So we'll be using up some of that. If anyone has any eggs dishes or breads or anything that call for several eggs- and you wanna share- please do! You can share it as a comment or share it on your blog and link me to ya. I'd love to eat up all these eggs- using them as our main protein source for the next 2 weeks. That's called frugal and resourceful right? *wink* I think the only things my family are not crazy about are quiches and omelets.

Monday- German Lentil Soup (it's spiced with caraway mm!), Biscuits and Mix Veggies

Tuesday- Beef Enchiladas (1/2 beef a dn 1/2 kidney beans) w/Green Sauce, Corn and Apple Sauce

Wednesday- Pancakes, Eggs and Fresh Pears...OJ too

Thursday- Egg Fried Rice, Egg Drop Soup and Veggie Medley

Friday- Homemade Pizza

Saturday- Chicken Vegetable Noodle Soup (from a chicken I will roast Friday), Fresh Bread and Salad

Sunday- Leftover Soup, Grilled Cheese, Salad and homemade Chocolate Shakes or homemade Hot Cocoa (depending on what the general consensus is lol)

Yay, I'm back!! Trying to eat healthier while using up shtuff I have on hand and also incorporating fall veggies into our dinners. Mmm! I LOVE Autumn!

Sunday- Garlic & Thyme White Bean Soup, Toasted Sourdough Bread, Salad

Monday- Spaghetti Squash w/Pine Nuts, Sage and Romano cheese, Garlic Bread, Salad

Tuesday- Homemade Refried Beans & Cheese Burritos, Corn-on-the-cob, Peaches

Wednesday- Meatballs, Basmati Rice and Orange Baked Sweet Dumpling Squash

Thursday- Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Fresh Green beans in olive oil and garlic

Friday- Pizza (Little Caesars Pizza for now hehe)

Saturday- Leftovers from the week!

Hey! It's been a while since I have posted my menu th enight before Monday. =0) I am trying to utilize what we have on hand, so my menu this week reflects that. Our one 'splurge' of the week was hubby's request to grill some shrimp. But I made room for the added expense by not buying much else, except some pantry items.

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I make my own pancake/waffles mix and they are whole grain, I am using dried beans (healthy & cheap!), and not using much meat. I try to make some kind of dessert a couple times a week- even if it's merely nothing more than strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar.

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Lunches this week are peanut butter & honey sandwiches & baby carrots, mac & cheese served w/green beans (yes the box kind), grillled cheese sandwiches & applesauce, dinner leftovers at some point...and if not- more PB&H sandwiches (a family fave)- for the kids. I'll eat much of the same but I prefer to eat some leftover soups & bread to mac & cheese and I am likely to eat dinner leftovers rather than PB&H's (not a personal fave of mine pb sammies that is). Dh will eat his beloved PB&H sandwiches and random leftovers as he chooses. Breakfasts will be oatmeal, some cold cereal, some malt o meal and one meal of eggs & toast all served with juice or fruit.

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Saturday - Friday

I keep calling it Menu Monday but my menus don't start on Monday nor do I post them on Monday, so I guess it's just a weekly menu. ha!

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The ultrasounds went well. We saw baby. From all their extensive measurements from both the level 2 u/s and the fetal echo- they could find NOTHING wrong whatsoever. Does that mean baby is 100% in the clear? No, we'd have to do an amnio rule Down's out completely. But here we rest in Him. No amnio. We feel good about the results. Oh and would you like to know what baby is? A little girl!! Yay! We are ALL so excited! Two boys and two girls is so completely perfect and we are humbled that we get an even 2 and 2. makes bedroom planning sooo easy! Our little girl's name has been chosen and this weekend we celebrate her by each buying her a little 'gift'. Nothing big, but we do this after we find out the gender of all our babies. My boys would like to buy her little mits for her hands so she can not scratch her face. Aww. I don't know what daddy wants to get her, but I want to get a baby book and a photo album to place her ultrasound pics in and my baby belly pictures. We are filled with joy. I just thought I'd update! God is good!

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Due to crazy gas prices, my husband's 130 mile a day commute, increased food prices but not wages - I have really had to knuckle down on our food bill. We also have some outstanding medical bills we are still struggling to pay off. Join the club right? LOL But I am really trying hard to be economical but healthy. Lunches and breakfasts are not much different in any week than the ones listed in the previous post. So I didn't bother repeating them.

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I still make my own breads using part whole grains, I still make my pancake/waffle mix with part whole grains to healthy up our carbs as much as I can. I'd use all whole wheat but I really like fluffy pancakes. I'm spoiled! We decided to make every Sunday a sandwich day for dinner to cut down on dirty dishes and Mom's kitchen time on that day. And treat of all treats- we eat chips on this day. My dear husband and kids love Sandwich Sunday and it was his request to eat these things that day. And as we move into warmer weather- we will switch up our Family Movie Fridays with Pizza some weeks and Nachos other weeks. Some fun food. I find being a slave to the kitchen is inefficient and not necessary at this time. So meals have gotten simpler and perhaps a little less healthy than they used to be- depends on who ya are! But my husband really wanted me to free up some of my kitchen time so I was less stressed and he encouraged me that as the children get older and can help more- we can crack down on our meals and make more elaborately healthy meals at a later date. What a wonderfully sweet and understanding husband!

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My Menu:

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Posting a bit earlier...at this point I know it's only me reading my blog. LOL I just wish I had more time to keep up with the blogger world. I just don't. Maybe after this baby is born. =0)

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At an ultrasound a few weeks ago they informed me they suspect that our baby has Down Syndrome. To rule this out- this coming week we go through a round of tests to see what we can determine. I refused an amnio so they will have to determine what they can with a level 2 ultrasound and a fetal echo. It is all in God's hands and we are honestly not worried. We are excited to see our little one this Tuesday AND see what gender baby is!  18 weeks will be plenty far enough along to determine gender. *wink*

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Menus are the one of the things that help streamline daily life and I am trying to get that all back inline as I feel soooo much better!! So here we go...

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Breakfasts

Cold Cereal (3)

Oatmeal (1)

Malt-O-Meal (1)

Egg & Toast (2)

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Lunches served w/ a veg

PB&J (2)

Mac&Cheese (1)

Hard-boiled Egg, Toast & Jam (2)

Ramen Soup (with veggies & egg) (1)

Kid's Choice (1)

Ha! Better late than not at all! I have not been feeling awesome, but I have managed some housework and cooking. My family is already in a better mood. It's actually quite interesting to see how integral a Mom's job is to the family. It's not just the balancing of day to day things...but the overall morale of the family is greatly lowered when mom is not functioning. Oh sure they get by....but it really seems true that if "Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". So being sick all this time hasn't really made my family appreciate ME more (that woulda been nice lol) but it has made me see how important I am to my family how my moods, my ability complete some daily tasks (not all just some- it's like if they see mom moving around that alone is uplifting to them!) and just make life easier for my dear husband...I see what I do now and why it makes my role very vital. (not to diminish dh's role, without him doing what he does- I also can not effectively do my job and vice versa)

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So just to throw something up here, so say....HEY, everyone!! I'm baaaack! Here's this week's menu. I am not doing it in Mon-Fri format. I set up 5 meals, and then I decide what that day which meal will get prepared. I still feel woozy sometimes- so this helps me get through my day better but still with dinner direction.

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MEALS:

#1- Crab and Shrimp Alfredo with pasta, broccoli, watermelon and cantaloupe. (had this Monday)

#2 - Egg McMuffins, fresh juiced OJ, leftover melon, Salad and dessert is Jello. =0) (making this Tuesday)

#3 - Chili, Corn Bread, Kid Choice Veg, Fresh Juiced Apple & Carrot juice

#4 - Panfried Catfish, Rice Pilaf, Dh's Choice Veg, Fresh Juiced Fruit of dh and kid choice

#5 - Homemade Pizza

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You might notice the juicing mentions. I have been doing that as a way for me to get in fresh fruits and vegs because I have a hard time eating them and it is helping me sneak some into the kids too.

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Hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed week!