Been Awhile...

Seems like I've been away forever! I was planning on blogging about a recent trip to Goodwill as a Frugal Friday post, but that will have to wait. This morning, Reedy was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. Last week, he came down with a cold that seemed to have subsided. But yesterday, he started throwing up and as the day progressed, his breathing became labored. He's had a few episodes like this before. So when Dave took him to the pediatrician this morning, we expected they would send us back home to continue what we had been doing like before - Tylenol, vaporizer and fluids. But after the breathing treatments at the ped's office failed to raise Reedy's oxygen levels, they sent him straight to the hospital.

Thankfully, his chest x-ray was clear (no pneumonia). Most likely its some sort of viral infection. His oxygen levels were back up into the high 90s, but the ped said he would probably need oxygen overnight. We're being told he could possibly be released tomorrow. However, the ped wants to see him make it through a night without needing oxygen. So it could be Saturday before he's released.

Please say a prayer for my Reedy Pooh. It was good to see him getting back to his old self - smiling, laughing and talking. But I just wish he was home.

Menu Plan Monday - October 13th

I had to stretch my brain a bit for this week's menu! Besides triples at Lowes Foods, the sales were just so-so. I had to rely mostly on items I already on hand. So here's our so-so, put together menu for the week. For more meal plan ideas, visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Weekend Meal Prep Items:

- Cooked 2cups organic brown rice

- Browned 1/2lb Italian sausage

- Diced organic yellow onion

- Made a gallon of sweet tea

Dinner:

Saturday - Organic whole wheat pasta shells with cheesy, white sauce & steamed broccoli

Sunday - BBQ Turkey Meatballs, organic brown rice & green peas

Monday - Lentil Chili & cornbread

Tuesday - Brown Rice & Black Bean burritos

Wednesday - Tomato & Spinach Pasta Toss with Italian sausage

Thursday - Baked Tilapia, organic brown rice & steamed veggies (didn't have this last week)

Friday - Breakfast for Dinner!

Triples at Lowes Foods!

After what seems like almost a year, triples finally returned to Lowes Foods!!! My out of pocket amounts were a little higher than what I'm used to during Harris Teeter triples. But I think I got some pretty good deals nonetheless. My three trips combined:


4 Muir Glen Organic diced tomatoes ---> FREE!

1 Muir Glen Organic tomato sauce ---> FREE!

10 Smithfield Low Sodium bacon ---> 2.89 - .75/1Q = .64 ea

3 TN Pride frozen sausage patties ---> 2.00 - .55/1Q = .35 ea


3 TN Pride frozen sausage links ---> 2.00 - .55/1Q = .35 ea


3 Jet Dry Rinse aid ---> 2.38 - .40/1Q = 1.18 ea


4 Argo Corn Starch 16oz ---> FREE!


2 Meow Mix cat treats ---> FREE!


2 Smart Balance oil ---> 2.79 - .50/1Q = 1.29 ea

3 Arnold Natural Soft Whole Wheat bread ---> 2.19 - .55/1Q = .54 ea

4 TN Pride sausage rolls lb ---> 2.00 - .55/1Q = .35 ea

2 Lawry's Steak & Chops marinade ---> 2.00 - .50/1Q = .50 ea

3 Oral B Advantage manual toothbrushes ---> FREE!

1 Eat Smart Veggie Chips ---> 1.24

2 Eggo Buttermilk frozen waffles ---> 2.00 - .55/1Q = .35 ea


Other:

1 can Del Monte corn - sale 1.00

1 Pepsi 2 Lt - sale 1.00

5lb bag Gala apples - sale .99/lb

Total oop: $33.31
Total savings: $109.19!!!

In prepping for my first triples shop, I spotted on the Lowes on-line shopping site that Muir Glen diced tomatoes were already free with just regular doubles. So the day before triples, I got 4 cans of Muir Glen diced tomatoes and 4 cans of tomato sauce (did two transactions) for FREE!

Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

~ John 14:27

As a full-time, work outside of the home mother, evenings can be quite challenging. There's so much to be done, but so little time. After being away all day, I want to scoop the boys up and give them great big hugs and listen to my Mom as she tells me about their day. I want to talk to Ashleigh about school. To hear about what she learned, the new friends she made and to help alleviate any lingering concerns she has about transitioning to big kid school. I wish I could come in, plop down on the sofa, kick my heels off and have the kids gather around me and shower me with hugs.

But the reality is quite different! Often times I come in loaded down with bags from a quick stop by the grocery store on the way home. And the invisible baggage from stress at work. Everyone is hungry and wants a snack, wants juice. The noise level instantly increases as three little ones are now reunited. But not long after playful laughter turns into, "Momma! Ashleigh/Clayton hit/touched/looked at me!" As I'm negotiating peace between the older two, Reedy is managing to comprise the gate blocking the staircase and heading upstairs. Or he's taking his diaper off, giving me a near heart attack by climbing onto the arm of the sofa and/or taking someone's juice cup/toy/pillow/bear and throwing it behind the sofa. Whew! And we still have homework, dinner and getting ready for bed.

Making dinner in the evenings is an important homecaring task for me. Dave works long 12 hour days and I want him to come home to something already made. I've recently taken on the personal challenge of preparing home made meals in an effort to reduce expenses and better our diet to include more fresh fruits and vegetables. While planning our meals ahead of time has been such a sanity saver, I still struggled trying to get dinners ready while taking care of the kids. After one VERY challenging week, I had an "aha" moment - prep the meals over the weekend!

So for the last two weekends, I've taken an hour on Saturday to prep for the coming week's meals. I dice and chop, brown meat, freeze dough, so that when I come home during the week, it's just a matter of putting things together. This small step has made such a huge difference in my evenings! There's a sense of peace about my evenings now. Things are still a bit hectic (but what house isn't with three kids!). But it's an improvement in this busy season of my life.

Menu Plan Monday - October 6th

Taking time last Saturday to prep for the coming week's meals was a huge success! My evenings were alot less stressful and I was still able to deliver good, home cooked meals after work! Here's our dinner menu for this week along with my weekend meal prep. For more meal ideas, visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Weekend Meal Prep Items:

- Soaked and cooked dried organic black beans

-Browned ground turkey, diced onions & garlic

-Diced organic, yellow onions

-Boiled eggs

-Made organic, brown rice

-Made & froze whole wheat pizza dough

-Made a gallon of sweet tea (won't last long!)

Dinner Menu:

Saturday - BBQ Turkey Meatballs & fresh green beans sauteed with garlic

Sunday - Marinated London Broil, organic brown rice, organic NC sweet potatoes (with cinnamon & sugar!) and homemade wheat bread

Monday - Sunday Leftovers

Tuesday - Chicken Salad sandwiches on whole wheat

Wednesday - Baked Tilipia with organic brown rice & steamed broccoli

Thursday - Turkey Chili Mac

Friday - Homemade Pepperoni Pizza (Anne Jisca's Easy Pizza Dough from Tammy's Recipes - used 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour)

Grocery Totals - I did quite a bit of shopping in a few places this week, including Kmart for the Super Doubles and Whole Foods. So my receipts are pretty scattered about. From my budget spreadsheet, I know I spent $99.86 oop. But I have no idea on my exact savings LOL! I'll do better keeping track this week - triples is coming back to Lowes Foods!!!

Kmart Super Doubles

My trips to Kmart are usually marked by frustration from never being able to find anything in stock, dimly lit stores and unfriendly staff. Which is why I normally only venture there during the after Christmas clearance sales - looking for Martha Stewart Christmas decorations of course! Oh, and that one Christmas Eve many years back when I desperately wanted to take a bubble bath but had none at home. Kmart happened to be the only store open at 8 PM on Christmas Eve. Why I wanted to take a bubble bath at Christmas Eve and set out on a mad hunt to find some at 8 o'clock at night? I don't know LOL!

But the words Super Doubles bought me to Kmart once again! Never would I have thought our Kmart would do anything so cool as to double coupons up to and including $2 off, 4 like coupons with a 75 total coupon limit. But they did! I stopped in yesterday after work since it's right on the way home and surprisingly the shelves weren't cleared. I was a little taken aback by their regular prices though. I picked up the following:

2 Vaseline lotions 3.29 ea - (2)1.50/1Qs = .29 ea

2 Rimmel mascara 3.19 ea - (2)1/1Qs = 1.19 ea

2 Crest Kids toothpaste 2.99 ea - (2)1/1Qs = .99 ea

1 Dove Moisturizing shampoo 4.49 - (1)2/1Q = .49

1 Dove Moisturizing conditioner 4.49 - (1)2/1Q = .49

1 Sunsilk styler 3.00 - (1)1.50/1Q = FREE!

2 GoodLife dry cat food bags 5.69 ea (hmm, I thought the shelf said 4.69) - (2)2/1Qs = 1.69 ea

2 Whiskas multi pack cat foods 4.79 ea - (2)2/1Qs = .79 ea

Just those items before coupons totaled $55.xx! After coupons, I paid $14.03 oop.

Not bad savings and for that I'm thankful. But I just couldn't believe those few items were so expensive! I'm definitely going back for more free Sunsilk and a few other items. And maybe Sunday's coupons will yield other deals as well!

So Far, So Good!

After struggling last week with getting dinners made in the evenings and wrangling the kids, I'm happy to report this week has been so less stressful! I've been planning my meals for a few months now but last Saturday I decided to take things one step further. I devoted one hour to meal prep for the coming week. And that one hour has made the world of difference in my evenings! I come in from work, make a light snack for the kids, get dinner started using my already prepped items and start on homework with Ashleigh & the boys. It's all the convenience of a boxed meal, but homemade! And Dave gets to come home to a wife that's in a pleasant mood and not frazzled and teetering on an emotional ledge.

Now, I just have to keep it up. I'm so notorious for NOT doing things that will make my life easier.