I hope that every one's week is off to a good start. Ours is moving along, slowly but surely. I woke up with extreme lack of energy. I have taken my vitamins and am waiting for all those B vitamins to give me my boost. Well, between that and my coffee....along with an extra glass of water, I hope it will do the trick!

Along with the usual chores and school I hope to catch up on the grass mowing and finally get that garden tilled. Our plants and seed are waiting to flourish in the ground. Besides I am ready for a tidy yard and garden. So that's a main goal of the week. Also, I am wanting to work on catching up on the school plan book.

Today holds the usual Monday chores. Here's my running list of  "to dos" :

~ Clean up kitchen(This week is my week for KP)

~ do 4-5 loads of laundry (This week is Brittany's week for laundry duty)

~ do schoolwork, Mom teaches and works works on lesson plans (take some Tylenol first, he-he)

~tidy the livingroom/ dining area

~maybe this evening work out in the yard/ garden (the mower needs a new pull cord and I haven't tried starting the tiller)

~ cook supper

That will be enough for me! I plan on cooking ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and something green.......we need a green veggie but I don't know what yet. I may fix broccoli somehow. This was not on the menu but Food Lion was having a good sale on their spiral cut hams. And hey, pork is always good. Ha!

I trust that everyone had a Happy Mother's Day! I have to say that I am really not a fan of holidays where focus is held on obligation of kind acts. I like for us to show acts of kindness due to wantonness and not due to obligation. With that said, I feel that everything done for me was still out of love and not obligation. My family is kind to me (almost) all the time. LOL In any account, I had a good day! James and Brittany gave me a sterling silver "Mom" necklace. I like silver jewelery. We went to church and after church went to Walmart and picked up subs. We were talking about how wonderful it felt outside and how it was too bad to not have a table out on the deck yet. Weeeellllll we made a make-shift table and benches! It worked perfectly and it felt so good outside, eating with James and the children.  Afterwards we went over to my parents, had coffee and soda and gabbed. It was fun! On the way back home we took the back way and rode along the countryside, enjoying the scenery. We had just enough time to watch a few shows of The Walton's and to catch a quick 15 minute nap. Then off to church we went again. After church we fellow shipped a little and then home we came. Brittany zapped hot dogs in the microwave and we watched some more of The Walton's. Once in bed it wasn't hard to go to sleep!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week in the Lord!

Here you go, Maleesa! I hope that you enjoy it.

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 141/2 oz. can chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 10oz. package frozen okra

1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 cup of chicken or fish stock ( I made broth w/ chicken bouillon cube)

2 cups shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined

In an iron skillet saute' onion and celery in the oil. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, okra and seasonings. Pour in stock. Cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add shrimp. Stir in. Prepare topping.

Topping:

Mix your favorite cornbread recipe. This recipe called for a box of corn muffin mix but I don't like how that tastes so I make my own cornbread.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drop cornbread mix by the tablespoons on top of hot shrimp mixture, leaving center uncovered. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Behold (looky-looky!)! See what we FINALLY have hooked up? Didn't James do a good job? Oh no, I am not talking about cooking the food! Ha!

I am talking about this.

The gas company came and set out tank on Friday. James set to work in getting our stove ready to go. We've had it for six months but with no gas. So, it's finally hooked up and in full use. I can finally use my much loved cast iron pots and pans again. I could not use them on the smoothtop.

In other BIG news.... we have water! Yes, yes, yes! We have water on the new side! I am not happy how it came about though. James stays up almost all night to do the plumbing. I woke up at 3:45 and he was still outside, working! He got to bed at about 4:30am and slept till about 9:30am. Ever since he's been ont he go again, tweeking the plumbing and hooking up the gas water heater. Now he's at our neighbor's helping her with her a/c unit. He wouldn't have worked all night but he had a call to go on for work last evening, which was not his evening to be on call.  He is not suppose to be on call this weekend so we will see if this pans out or not.

Have a great weekend! I have plenty of chores and work to do as well but can hopefully update more on Monday.

This is for May 8th-14th.

Breakfast

muffins and bacon 2X  ($2.50)

bagels and cream cheese 2X ($2.85)

Farmer's Spread (eggs, bacon, cheese grits and biscuits) ($3.00)

oatmeal 2X ($1.25)

Lunch

Ramen .60

quesadillas $3.50

egg sandwiches $1.00

baked beans and weenies $2.75

ham and cheese sandwiches, popcorn $3.00

leftovers 2X (FREE!)

Supper (or for you city slickers....."Dinner")

Pork Loin, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli ($12.00)

shepherd's pie $$5.75

Hawaiian Chicken over rice with stir fry veggies ($8.50)

pizza ($6.50)

shrimp gumbo casserole, wasn't made last week ($7.00)

beef stew over rice $4.50

 Grilled Steak, mashed potatoes, salad ($11.00)

Snacks

cookies

crackers

canned fruit

popcorn  

 cereal (the sugary cereals I serve more for a snack. It's not very nutritional and the flour, sugar and lack of fiber isn't very filling. I tried to stick to whole grain cereals whenever served in the mornings.)

Good Evening! I know, I know. You're saying that it's not evening for you right now! It is for me....a quiet evening. The children, with the exception of the oldest, is in bed. The oldest is with her dad outside doing some more decking. I must say that this deck is so inviting in the mornings. There's just the right amount of sun and shade, mixed, but in a way one. It seems the deck is calling to me, "Come! Bring your coffee and just sit!". And that I shall do in later times!

Today was another day of chores, cooking, play and school. Once we finally get the wee ones settled, books and pencils gathered and myself focused, we finally get to bookwork. I am excited to get finished this year. Unfortunately we will be finished a little later than normal due to all the time taken out for construction. Yet, funny still, there's a feeling of sweet accomplishment.

As I was tidying I found a name card of Brittany's. On the back she had inscribed, "BFF....Best Friends Forever". Oh my, looking back into those younger, youthful days. I had that thought so many times. But now, how I know friendships come and go! Oh, how I know! Even in most recent weeks I have felt the loosening of those friendship strings once again. This happened the first time many years ago, right after high school. I could not understand. This friend was so dear to me. We did everything together and were like sisters. I to this day do not know why those ties of friendship were severed. My only guess is that I began going to church and she was very unchurched (just as I was before). The Lord's hand was in it, even though I could not understand. The hurt and loneliness was deep even though at the time I had a sweet husband to help fill the void. About a dozen years later this friend died most tragically. I probably would have died the same had we still been friends. What Providential protection! Even now, in later years and with the same fabulous husband, many  "littles" running around and another kicking within, I still feel another friendship loosening. Who knows why and it may be another "never to know" thing. Or the truth may be revealed later. It could be a Providential thing once again but sometimes even that can be hurtful for a time. Yes, there is only One Friend who DOES stick closer than a brother. Praise God! This is a lesson that I must teach my children. This is something that I must talk with Brittany about soon.

Well, I got the Food Lion sales paper and there wasn't anything very earth moving to buy! I guess this is a way to save on the grocery budget! There's still Bi-Lo's sales  to scour through in the morning. I know many may wonder why on earth I do this. I will say that for the most part this is a choosing. I will say though that this chosen lifestyle has came in very handy, many times in our 18 years of marriage! My way of thinking is: to live like the poor and when hard times come, feel like the rich.  So many people are panicking over supposed food shortages. Would they know how to handle a budget alone, much less a tight budget if life's road led them? If the Lord doesn't come first, no doubt the economy will fall. I can see the American dollar not being worth anything one done. It will be nothing more than paper. While I see nothing wrong with saving and even consider it wise to a point, I hold no hope in money. To me, I have no fear of food shortages/ fallen economy mainly due to the Lord taking care of His children. Yet, no doubt, hard times do hit even the Lord's own. Look at the Depression years. So, yes, coupled with life skills in self sufficiency and a faith in One who provides all anyway, I will say it like those bumper stickers quote it, "I ain't skeered". This is where it pays to be country because I country girl can indeed survive! 

That brings me to several comical questions asked by many who know us and don't know us. I hear, "your husband must make a lot of money!" to "how do you do it, financially?" We are not rich but try to be wise with the Lord's provisions. The money that James makes...which we consider the amount after the Lord gets His rightful share and offerings, is prayed over and delegated to what's needed. We are not big spenders in any way. Just like any woman, or a lot of men admittedly or not, of course I like the freedom to do a little shopping! But very sparingly. Our only debt is our mortgage, and currently second mortgage. These two are to be combined within a few months. We stay off the credit cards and pay cash for our vehicles. If we can't afford it, we don't get it. Our home addition is only possible through many, many hours, days...no weeks and months of hard, hard work. Ask me in a few months, or years if it was worth it! Our six children dress well, yet for much less than other's pay to dress one or two children. We eat very well, yet again for less than others pay. We have fun--yet once again much more cheaply than others pay for recreation. We love to tent camp....even when threatened by mean raccoons. Ha! Our best trips was with camping. These are memories that we will never forget. We are affording an education through homeschooling, buying all of the books and materials without the help of the government. I will have to write more sometime on our thoughts of college education and plans in those regards. All this to say, that yes we are rich! Not in the world's eyes but in our hearts. We have health and hope in our Lord. What else could we want? I think that we are doing the children a great service to live this way. These are skills to be carried on and can be utilized if needed or wanted. I think it's good for the children to understand that Mama and Daddy can be content whether there's much or little. Our contentment isn't held in what we can get but what we have GOT through our Saviour. Daddy doesn't have to be catered to by boats, guns, golf clubs or cable sports. Not to say that this can't be used with discretion. Mama doesn't have to have the beauty salon, shopping sprees, new duds, fancy restuarants or vacations. A treat is good but I am not OWED anything. What we needed has been paid in full. It's a done deal. Yes, we are rich indeed!

These past six months have been so crazy and if it weren't for a lot of aches and pains it would seem a blurr. There have been many days that I couldn't even think straight. It was time to work on auto-pilot. I am afraid that I like things pretty well straight but it seems my house hasn't been to my liking in a. long. time.

I can't wait to have my home back! I am hanging in and hoping that it won't be long. Until then this is what I am doing....then I will have it tweaked to accomodate our needs.

I have a weekly house blessing but also have days assigned to certain room(s)/ are.

 Monday: Kitchen Why this day? Because after the weekends, especially Sunday, I don't always get to washing the cookware. See previous post.

Tuesday: Livingroom/dining Why this day? Because Dalton's piano teacher used to come on this day and it would be tidied right before she came.

Wednesday: Laundry area, catchup on wash Why this day? It's time to get Wednesday evening worship service clothes ready for church anyway. So, it's a good time to handle the bulk.

Thursday: Bedrooms Why this day? Because I used to listen to Mom Radio on the computer, which is in the master bedroom,  while I cleaned. I may do this again or find an alternative of what to listen to.

Friday: This was errand day but somehow I switched to Thursday anyway and we'd do school double time on this day. I really need to try to stick to the plan of Friday shopping and banking.

Saturday: Bathroom detailing. Both baths get a scrubbing. Why this day? Because the bulk of guests come through on Saturdays. I also try to tidy, as much as possible the front porch as well.

It will be interesting splitting both the new and the old rooms once it's all said and done. Whew!

So as typical as it is, we did do more school but not near as much as I would have liked this afternoon. I had lied down for a nap and told Brittany to wake me up in about an hour...I woke up an hour and a half later. This is not the first time so I will have to start setting my clock for naps!

We did work on some more school and while the children played, I worked on chores. Despite all the work, I didn't get wash folded! This will come with tomorrow's work. I guess everything can't always get done and in our case.....rarely gets done.

James got home right at 5:20 but got called out again at 5:45. He got back home again at 9:15. Too bad he gets straight pay! One of them the company won't even make money on as James went to help a friend of a coworker. Go figure. So anyway, we were waiting on sour cream to go with supper but since James went on that call we made due.

As the children watched a movie with Dad I did the room of the day cleaning. Today was kitchen day. So I wiped the cabinets, fridge, stove fronts, dishwasher, etc. I mopped also. I deserately want to wash out the trash can but am trying to wait until our spigot outside works again. That can needs a deep cleaning but patience is a virtue.

So this tops off our Monday here at home. I am looking forward to tomorrow!

God Bless.

Today was a typical Monday morning. It seems there's always catch up work to do from the weekend. Today has proved no different. Here's our morning up to lunchtime.

Here's when I was giving a lecture in science. We are on earth science, learning on rocks and minerals. We enjoyed researching the earth's plates and how they move. We covered what gems do and do not come from the earth and whatall we indeed to get from the earth's rocks. Do you know the three gems that do NOT come from earth? Do you know where they come from? Oh, and in this picture I DO know where everything is in "my" stack! It doesn't look a mess, ugh? This is us doing school at the dining table, which is currently in the living room. Whenever we get into the addition, the blue room behind me, which is the current boys' room will be the schoolroom. YES, a home for our school books! No having to move them around to eat lunch, etc.

Here's the children, listening to the lecture of the day.

I was imitating the theory of the Big Crash....I mean Boom...err....Bang.  Ha! What a theory. That theory made more impact on my children than telling them they were gonna blink the next second. They were more impressed by my animation. Oh, we also discussed how to disprove evolution by fossils.

Isn't this a mess? While the older children worked on school electives, the younger children and I worked on chores. Actually this is the week for Brittany to do dishes but I wasn't going to leave mess from Sunday for her to clean up. So I caught things up for her to begin her turn. This week is my week for laundry. Actually, I do a little of both when it's not my turn, out of habit I guess.

Jesse vacuumed out the couch and loveseat. This afternoon we must clean the livingroom. At least some of the livingroom is clean. Ha! 

So after chores we had lunch, the children watched a video on the findings of a wooly mammoth(to go coincide with science) and we took a nap.

This afternoon we will tackle grammar, spelling and math. Then there will be more chores and time to cook supper. Then James will be home!

Mama, I really enjoy reading now.

In a household of at least one always in diapers and with three bedwetters, we can go through quite a bit of diapers and g'nites. Nothing gets to me quicker than waking up to soggy sheets and clothes to change. Poor children....I'm sure it's no fun waking up wet and cold either. Yet, buying disposable protection is a budget robber. It would take $30-$40 per month to buy what we need. So, what's the solution? Cloth diapers and g'nites, of course!

Each day I take freshly laundered diapers and covered and fold them. We usually go through 4-5 covers and 6-8 diapers. With newborns we use more but now that Joy-Anna is getting older, she stays dry for longer periods. The folded diapers are on the left and the cloth g'nites are on the right.

Here's a pic of a diaper and cover before putting them together. These covers have velcro but you can get them with snaps. They are highly waterproof and durable.

Here is a g'nite up closer. These have adjustable snaps and have a terrycloth interior.

Each morning when I wake, while my coffee is perking I start the first day's wash----being the washable g'nites, cloth diapers and covers. This takes a small load. The g'nites and diapers can be dried in the dryer but the covers have to hang dry. This does not take long though...in about an hour they are dry.

During the day to store the soiled diapers and covers I put them in a small plastic bin. I store these dry. I have found from past experience that this is easier for me and doesn't smell as much. When baby has pooped in the diaper I simply dump out the loose stuff and wash the rest. I do a double rinse. They come out perfectly clean every time! If any stains are left in the diapers, I hang them out in the sun and they disappear in no time!  

Instead of writing daily posts of what I have PLANNED to accomplish, I am posting what we actually got done. Since only One knows our plans I like looking back and seeing what's done. Besides, in all honesty, a lot of days can be so discouraging if I allow it to get to me. With working so hard, then looking back at the end of the day, I think, "I haven't gotten anywhere. What happened?". Well, I have to say that I have been so encouraged this week and feel a true sense of accomplishment. You see, it's not that we aren't doing anything or that we aren't getting anywhere after all. While keeping  a handwritten journal this week (of which I did before hitting the blogosphere) of our daily happenings, I have been so uplifted! Yes! My self esteem is so much better than before, of which wasn't good before. So here's to this week!

Sunday we had a very busy day. Of course the day began with grabbing a quick bite to eat and leaving for church. Our family sang at church today....two new songs. We knew of one of them but had not even heard the other. Brittany, AKA Ms. Music Chic, had the.....ahem.....somewhat scary but clever idea of once again doing new songs. Girlfriend can't stick with the tried and true can she? 

After church we headed to Cracker Barrel but it was waaaayyyyy to crowded so we will wait till later to go. I am so thankful for a sweet friend's thoughtfulness of giving our family a gift card to my mostest (it's a word of mine so leave me alone) favorite place to eat. So, we'll save that and instead we stopped by Walmart and I picked up premade subs and drink. All for about $13 our family had a fine dinner at the park. This park had a nice pond. Then we went to visit James' aunt and ran by Big Lots. I found my barn star for the dining room to be!!!!!!!!! I was going to order one from a catalog but the catalog was way too tempting in ordering more things, especially for the washroom.

We had evening services and then a church social afterwards. We had fun talking of, you know, women things while the men talked of men things. Then finally we were able to come "Home Sweet Home" and rest for the night.

Monday came all too soon and I got a late start going. We finally began school at 10:00am, ate lunch at 12:30, rested at 1:00. I have KP today so gave the kitchen a good cleaning and Britt did a few loads of wash with my help. I began using cloth diapers again today after a break for a few weeks. I was glad to begin again. Cloth diapers give most moms who use them a sweet satisfaction somehow. I guess you can relate it to having crisp shirts after ironing, or admiring a line full of clothes drying or a clean kitchen after a long day of cooking. There's nothing like putting a soft cloth diaper on a sweet baby's bottom!

After KP and laundry, we did a quick pickup of the day and then I realized that we were all out of sugar. So I make a quick run to Family Dollar. Once back we ate supper, did a quick kitchen cleanup and I ironed some wash and got our clothes ready for a special field trip tomorrow. I finished tidying, cleaned the master bath....didn't quite finish but it's better anyway! I put cubed steak in the crockpot, took my vitamins and propped my feet up to relax.

Tuesday I got up, feeling pretty rested, fed the family breakfast, finished packing the diaper bag, and we headed for the zoo! Check out Brittany's blog to see a few pics. Before heading over we stopped at the bank and then to grab a quick bite to eat so we wouldn't be hungry at the zoo. We had a great time at the zoo. We were even able to see the koala bears awake. As a side note, they are only awake an average of 4 hours a day and that is usually at night. So we delighted in seeing them up and alert.  Things went very smoothly at the zoo. So smoothly that I was up for doing our monthly shop at Sam's and Aldi. So off we went there as well. Once we finally made it home, we took a nap, got up, tidied real quick and fixed supper. Wow, what a day!

Wednesday we took it more easy. The energy rush of yesterday was no more today. The older ones started researching an animal that they picked to do a lapbook on. Boy, I am looking forward to this!  It's enjoyable to see children want to learn something out of want and not obligation. Talking of animals makes me think of science and science makes me think of next school year. So I want to tell you that all the children will be into biology next year! It will be nice to have the "top 3" on the same page. It seems that with the next two or three I will be starting over with elementary science. Boy, having a lot of children keeps the tides turning! Once you're "done", it's time to start all over again. With everything it seems to happen! Oh anyway, Wednesday night we went to evening worship service. Our sermon was on Noah and his mistakes.

Thursday was a day chock full of hustle and bustle as well. First off I went to the doctor and saw the baby via ultrasound! Turns out that everything looks very healthy and very good. Also, it appears that baby has a big mouth. Must be a boy. Just kidding! Well, sort of. I gained 4# this past month and that makes a total of 5#. I am tinkering with disaster and really must watch those scales.

After the OB visit I made my way to Food Lion and picked up a few of their sales of the week. Then it was time to come home and get lunch prepped. We did some light schooling after lunch and nap.

Friday we hit the books a little harder than the previous days of the week. It was a goal to catch up. It appears that Dalton will finish before Brittany and Samuel this year. He will probably be done this month and Brittany and Samuel will be into June. As for the 4yo and 6yo, we keep at light preschool/ K as a fun activity. I am still in hopes that they can be taught together in most studies. In the late afternoon we did our "weekly" house blessing and with some elbow grease and delegation we got a lot accomplished.

Saturday held as busy as the rest of the week. Why change pace now? Ha! We headed to church and had breakfast, prayer and then went on visitation. I mainly stayed in the van with Joy-Anna this time and the other children went out with James. I did hit 4-5 houses in the end though. James and Brittany had a good visit with a fellow that was very receptive to the gospel. After visitation, we went to Cracker Barrel! This was an amazing treat.....not one good for the hips, but good nonetheless.

After leaving there James dropped me and the girls off at Target. While in search of a few things on my list I decided to make way over to the food section. I stocked up on some clearance items. I felt good about our purchases. I had also bought lil' Joy-Anna some training underwear. The smallest they offered was size 2 and she's way too petite for them to stay on her hips. I wish they would make smaller ones. I feel she's ready to start training. We will see how this goes this summer anyway.

So while we were at Target James was at Lowe's. Once we had made our purchases we headed home for construction and chores. James and Brittany worked on the back deck. It's gonna be massive, to say the least...about a 27' X 15.5'. This will be fun to picnic on in the warmer months. I guess that will be our term for "eating out", ay? LOL We will have the grill, which will be hooked up to a continual flow of gas and eventually we want add a utility sink. It would be right out the door from the washroom so if I have to rinse or pretreat any garments, etc. it's just a step or so away. It'll be good for fish cleaning or just general washing up before heading in. Anyway, the deck is 1/3 of the way done.

Mr. Plumber came and hooked up the sewage drain from the new bath and washroom to the existing main drain. James is going to hook the water up soon to the main line. I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait! I also can't wait for the gas tank to be set up to use the gas stove and new water heater. I have a feeling that the "old" one is pulling a lot of power. Eeek. Besides we can get the huge, commercial water heater out of the kitchen and I will have more room in there too. Yeehaw, little doggies. I feel like Bethany with her telling everyone, "do you want to see our new house? we have a BBIIIGGGG  house. " I have to shush her. It's big to us but not to everyone and I don't want strangers seeing it and I don't want them to think we are wealthy or prideful....or whatever. LOL

So, Sunday comes around and it's Homecoming Sunday at church. We had two great sermons, some great singing and food. Yes, more church food. I. am. doomed. We had the late afternoon and evening open to be lethargic and to do some light chores. So, we headed to bed a wee bit earlier than usual, which was good.

That's the long epic of our week. I hope to not have such long entries as this to bore you in the future. Okay, now it's time to work on another week. What will it be? Plumbing? Decking? Stair treads? Trimwork? Flooring? I am itching to try out the finishing nail gun. There's something about power tools that makes you feel in control. No wonder men like them. Ha!

This month has only began but I feel pretty good about my plan frugality's. I have made our big Sam's and Aldi run for the month along with a trip to Food Lion for the week. The numbers come to $156.28. With a planned budget of $350, I will have approximately $64/ week for the next three weeks. With having the freezer pretty well stocked of meat, I won't be buying much more unless it's at great loss leader prices. I am trying my best to stagger the money throughout the month versus buying ahead. I am still wanting to plan ahead but am trying to break this habit of planning too far. I am in hopes of meeting my goal this month!

Per request I am posting this a little early.

 Here is our menu for May 1-May 8. I have the snacks more organized this time, albeit the snacks were more expensive than I thought they should be. I'll tweak it in the following weeks, hopefully. I typed in some side notes to help my thoughts with getting things done more smoothly.  While I put in the total cost of the meals, this is not how much we actually have to spend. We have a freezer full of beef and a stockpile of frozen chicken. I buy the chicken in bulk once it's on sale. I also have quite a bit of oatmeal on hand as well. This week would actually cost about $76.05   after you take out the beef cost. Of course, for our total grocery costs, we have cleaners, "g'nites" for one child to buy(I use cloth diapers and washable g'nites for the other two bedwetters), health and beauty aids, etc. With all that said, my goal still is $350 for May.

Breakfast

muffins and bacon (make muffins and fry bacon on Saturday for another day) $2.50

eggs, bacon and cheese grits with biscuits(scramble eggs and mix biscuits night before and put in 'fridge to cook next morning) $3.00

cereal 2X $2.75

doughnuts before church visitation

oatmeal 2X $1.25

Breakfast Total: $12.50

Lunch

soup and crackers $2.50

hot dogs and popcorn $2.50

quesadillas $3.00

bologna and cheese sandwiches, popcorn $2.25

egg salad sandwiches, popcorn $1.00

spaghetti, garlic bread $2.25

leftovers Free!

Lunch Total: $13.50

Supper

chicken pot pie $4.50

pizza and breadsticks $6.50

shrimp gumbo casserole $7.00

crockpot chicken,  green beans (take to church Homecoming) $8.00

15 Bean soup, cornbread $4.75

roast and veggies, served over rice $8.75

leftovers Free!

Supper Total: $39.75

Snacks

oranges 2X $4.00

chips and cookies $1.50

chips and  homemade oatmeal cookies $.1.00

Townhouse crackers and Fig Newtons $1.40

Townhouse Crackers and Strawberry Newtons $1.40

popcorn, bologna and cheese crackers $1.00

Snack Total: $10.30

Beverages

Tea $2.50

Juice $2.50

coffee $2.50

Beverage Total: $7.50

 Grand Total: $83.55

With six growing children sometimes it's hard to keep enough vittles in the house. With a Mommy heart it's hard to refuse food to the hungry crew. Yet they don't understand that they can't eat everything all at once. So, I was trying to come up with a logical way to have "food control". We have three meals a day and a mid afternoon snack. Instead of my having to decided, daily, what to have I labeled freezer bags and stuffed the snacks for that day into the bag. I think I will have to go to gallon bags before long instead of quart sized bags. After the snacks are organized for the week I put them up on the fridge. Obviously we can't fit a half bag of oranges into a freezer bag and I can't store snack meat and cheese outside the fridge. But the rest goes into a bin, on top of the fridge. Wallah! The snack dilemma is solved....hopefully!

Go to Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday Tips.

Although I better hurry I just wanted to jump on tell everyone, "hello"! We have had a humongously busy week....or past couple of weeks. As you know, last week was revival week at church. We had Saturday "off"(although we worked so hard blowing insulation in the attic)and then Sunday church began again. We went to a camp meeting Monday-Wednesday. Yesterday we spent catching up on laundry, cleaning a little, running a few errands and on a grand search for a library book, which entailed a reward for the finder. Brittany won!! Today we will have more laundry and cleaning. I am busy also with being with the children and staying on top of discipline. We begin school again next week.

The camp meeting was fabulous. Once again the hosting church made us most welcome and spoiled us to death. They fed us almost to death too. Funny, I gained a few pounds there but am slowly going back down again. The same thing happened with revival the week before. It's a lot easier to watch your weight whenever you have free reign in your own kitchen! Hopefully I won't have gained too much when going to the doctor on May 1st. Hopefully this will be a gain of only a pound or two from last month.

With being so busy with church we have just got a few things done here and there with the addition. Yes, I think it will sometime into May that we will be done. Right now we are staggering due to waiting for someone to do the plumbing. I do believe that James got under the house last night to do something along those lines. We are in hopes that James can take off a day or two to do some more work.....even if his coworker whines and pouts for having to work without him. James is entitled to a little time off.

I am thinking as far as computer time goes that I will come on to post here weekly. I think Friday is a good day, don't you? Then I can cap off the happenings of the week. I may peek in here and there to post photos.

Okay, I am precisely eight minutes over my allotted time of 30 minutes. So I better run and get all my endeavors accomplished.

Have a blessed week in the LORD!

Today was another long one but it went pretty well. We got a lot of school done, which is GREAT! I am happy to say that Samuel is now on his grade level for reading. Glory, glory. I oftentimes wondered if "we" would ever get there but with time and perseverance we made it. I cannot begin to tell you how good that feels.

As far as chores today, things got way behind. I guess with being engrossed in school and cooking, the chores went by the wayside. I really have to catch up in the morning. I can only stand chaos at a certain level! So, in the morning, during school when I am not instructing I have to do a hurry job on all areas.

Revival has been very good for us this week! I have really enjoyed all sermons. I didn't get to hear as much as the previous nights due to taking JA to the nursery but I can't complain. I have been blessed to hear a lot. The guest preacher is another spitfire, tell it like it is type of preacher(much like our Pastor). We like it like that. We only have one more night of revival. I am really sad in a way but glad in another. I am very tired, as I am sure anyone is at this point but I will miss the all week sermons. I think that the Lord worked through this preacher's sermons as he hit on a lot of stuff that he had no way of knowing about people. That's really neat.

As far as my diet plan. There has not been any following one, for a few reasons. I have been too busy this week with trying to be everything to all people. Also, I haven't had a chance to get some healthy food at the store. I really need to but we have been eating what's here.

Tomorrow we are to be getting our new washing machine. They are to deliver within a two hour window and I hope they do just that. The last time these people delivered something they called and said they were on their way. They showed up 4 hours later. I am excited about the new washer but won't be able to use it for a while as it's going into the addition. The plumbing isn't hooked up and of course we haven't had inspection yet.

Okay, I just got finished paying bills, balancing the checkbook and looking at those final expenses to get the addition done for the umpteenth thousandth time. I can't wait till this is done as my brain in so tired. It won't be too much longer.

Have a great Friday!

Last night I was researching a new way of getting every one's school into the day, preferably before 2:00-3:00pm. I mean, hey, how can institutional school fit it all in from 8:00-3:00, take time to switch classes, eat lunch and have recess and get all classes in? Hmmmm......I guess my thing is getting all of the curriculum finished. We don't go just by 180 school days per year. We work till we are done whether it's 180 or 280. I know that institutionalized schools, for the most part, just slam the books shut once that 180 day mark hits, done or not. That's so unfair to the students.

Okay, so where was I? Oh yeah, fitting it in. What? What did you say? Yes, I can! Don't discourage me alright? So, last night I was brainstorming this once again while I was also talking with James about that classroom we'll have next school year and how to set it up. It's gonna be ssswweeeettttt.

Here's my tentative plan, which isn't off to a good start today considering the children are not wanting to get out of bed. We've had very late nights this week, but still they need to be out of bed.

• 6:00 Mom is up(that actually was the easy part), quiet time, focus on day, drink coffee, read paper
• 7:00 make breakfast (today is muffin day!), get dressed(hopefully with makeup?)
• 7:30 get children up, have quiet time and dress
• 8:00 eat breakfast, make beds, brush teeth
• 8:30 School begins! All: SOW(Bible), Hero Tales story(missionary stories), Little Visits everyday devotional(for the wee ones)
• 9:00 D and S do copywork. This consists of mainly Bible verses from devotionals, studies or sermons.This practices handwriting and Bible memory. Br does New Testament Survey(next year another elective goes here). The small ones are coloring, playing blocks or various toys.
• 9:30 S reads to me then does Easy Grammar, D  and Br do Language Arts
• 10:00 Br, D, and S do Spelling Power with me
•  10:30 BREAK! Snack
• 10:45 Preschool/ Kindergarten with J and Be, Br watches JA, D and S read science together
• 11:30 B, D and S: Math
• 12:30  lunch
• 1:00 Br does Home Ec(next year another elective will go here), D and S does computer math "games"/ go over science with me, Have history/ geography lesson. JA, Be, and J nap/ quiet time.
• 2:00 next year PE might be added here

The rest of the day would be pretty much the same:

Play, chores, cook supper, kitchen cleanup, prepare for following day.

Wow, I *think* that today will seem a lot calmer than yesterday. I am amazed at what we got done. Yet, it was a good day. I like those monumental days that are good. You know, the ones where you were productively busy and will remember what you did? Here's the edited version. I typed out the whole saga but do realize that I am long winded and so deleted it.

• Woke, ate breakfast
• Did school
• ate lunch
• went to town and hit a few stores, found some maternity tops at GoodWill and Brittany some nice blouses on clearance for $2.99 at Big K
• came home and children rested, I cleaned
• The children watch the Waltons. I iron clothes
• I wash the clothes we just bought
• Do a general pickup of the house, load DW and swish bathrooms
• get ready for church and go
• leave church and go get the meat
• come home, unload meat and sort all #680, after Pastor and family gets here to split their share
• Have children brush teeth and crash. I wind down at 2:00am and get to bed myself

 I think I will take a nap today. I think I could take a nap now. I think a lot, ay? LOL Okay, I am goofy-tired. It's gonna be a fun day of school. Here's my short list for today:

• make oatmeal for breakfast
• begin school, including preschool
• make bread, put cubed steak in crockpot
• fix lunch....PB and J? do general pickup
• mop floors
• have quiet time and nap
• do laundry(hmmmm.....3 loads?)
• Iron clothes
• fix supper of cubed steak, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans, while children do general pickup
• get baths, and ready for church
• Goal of leaving here by 7:00pm

Have a great day in the Lord!

Yes, I know, what a title. There's so much going on that it's just crazy. This week we are having a revival meeting at the church. If you're in the area, please come~! There's some great singing(our family sang yesterday so  you should be safe now,Ha!),worship and preaching to be a part of. If you're in the area and interested, the link to the church is on my sidebar. Email if you have any questions.

Today we are supposed to get our meat. So, once we get it we will have to split what's ours and the other to pass on to our friends. They are buying the other part. We are both excited about having this beef in the freezer. To cut down on the budget I have planned most of my "non-beef" meals at the beginning of the month and the beef meals for the later half. Anyway, I am hoping that the beef is ready before church versus after as this will make for a long night...sorting and splitting meat so late.

It's downright cold here! I am glad that we had not started our summer garden yet. I don't know what this will do to the gardens and farmers. I hope that we don't have another replay of last year. That really messed us up royally for the whole summer. It's forcasted to hit 32* tonight. Let's hope that is wrong.

So here is our tentative schedule for today:

Have school this morning

Lunch(mac and cheese)

Afternoon chores(kitchen cleanup, quick tidy of LR, fold laundry, iron clothes)

Have quiet time

Children play as I prep supper. We have leftover spanish rice from yesterday so I am going to put that with some creamy chicken with a wee bit of leftover tortillas.

As for what we're eating the rest of the week(in no special order):

Breakfast;

• oatmeal, peanut butter toast, eggs and cheese grits, muffins

Lunch;

• ramen, baked beans, baked potatoes, chicken nuggets, leftovers

Supper;

• chili mac, chicken bog, cubed steak, manwiches, bbq leg quarters

Okay, I am off to shower and get these children rolling with school. Many prayers are going for a good and productive week!

I promise. I tried to not do it but I just had to. You see, I was thinking of the future and how it would be more beneficial to us in later days. I mean, don't blame me. It was an uncontrollable urge that couldn't be helped. I mean, hey, what was a gal to do. We are talking about .99 chicken breasts! I had a choice to strive to stay below budget this month and not take part in it. Or swallow my pride and take the plunge of stocking up on a great day for next month as well. So, I am swallowing my pride in order to benefit later. Yes, a 40# benefit. Yes,  I bought 40# of chicken breasts and really want to buy more. I have no shame. For the record, I did not buy all 40# at one store. I split between two stores and there was plenty still to spare.

I am actually happy that I did it. The excitement is immense as next week we are to get our beef to stock the freezer. Now with the chicken breasts, our grocery budget CAN be more doable next month. Right now I am at about $370 for the spending in April. I don't know how much more it'll be but hopefully not much more. If it will benefit us to stock up now, then I'll go ahead and cut back more so in May.

Like I said, I tried. But, hey, a deal is a deal. What's a girl to do? Buy chicken breasts for twice the price later? Oh, our beef is coming in at $2.25/#. That's for ground beef(very lean), steaks, roasts......yes, I am excited.