Pumpkin Spice Coffee Recipe

Are the holidays your favorite time of year, for all the yummy cinnamon-infused drinks we get to enjoy?
Why limit it to the holidays?
Did you know you can make your own pumpkin spice coffee at home?
I don't know the recipe for a large pot, but in my single-cup machine (no, it's not a Keurig... I'm not that much of an addict), you simply add 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice with the grounds, then once it's brewed, load on the cream and sugar. Or even better, sweetened condensed milk!
A friend also suggested adding a dab of vanilla extract to the grounds..... Mmmm.....
All the deliciousness, at a fraction of the cost. And I'm sure much healthier than the artificial flavors and preservatives in store-bought creamers and fast food/convenience store concoctions.
Enjoy!

Mock-amole

Maybe it should be "Mock Guac"? (It's so easy, I don't feel like it deserves the designation of "real" guacamole!)
Regardless, this recipe could be a game changer.
I have an unnatural love affair with avocados. Beyond guacamole, I will eat avocados with salt and pepper and a spoon.
But add tortilla chips and.......
I'm going to need a moment.
Last night when trying to decide what to fix for supper, we realized we had all the fixin's for nachos. Tortilla chips and nachos from New Year's Eve, shredded lettuce and tomatoes from New Years at Grandma's.
Then as we were setting everything on the table I realized - I have avocados! (At $1+ EACH, I rarely indulge, but they had been on sale for 88¢.). But it was time to eat - no time for veggie chopping. But nachos without guacamole?? Sacrilege.
The thought came: They make spice packets for guacamole. Can't I do that?
Just going with what I had, I grabbed minced onion, red pepper flakes, then added salt and pepper.
Nailed it.
Maybe not quite as delicious as finely chopped onions and cilantro, but when you're just in it for the avocados, this super-simple recipe is all you need.


Super Simple Guacamole
4 avocados, peeled and mashed
1 tsp dried minced onions
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper


Mash everything together in a small bowl. Give it a hefty shake-over of salt and pepper, adding more to suit your taste.
If you have the time to let it set, the flavors come out more, and the onions soften. I didn't notice crunchy bits, but I was also eating them with tortilla chips.


Enjoy!

Now That's a Pie!

This was our selection of Thanksgiving pies this year. No, it's not two mini pumpkin pies.... Those are two regular size (9") pumpkin pies. They look mini because that's a huge apple pie! It measures a full 13" across and has 6 pounds of apples in it! It takes a double double-crust recipe.

Now that's a pie!

We bought this pie dish 3 years ago. It's not actually a pie dish, but was marketed as a pasta bowl. Paul and I both love pie, and went on a search for such a thing after having several children and never having leftover pie to enjoy after family dinners. Larger pie = more slices = more to eat the next day.

We finally found it at the pottery shop at Silver Dollar City. I love it, and never have regretted the $30 purchase.

We shared this pie at family Thanksgiving with Paul's family. He took a piece of the leftovers in his lunchbox, and i had a piece for breakfast, and we still have a couple to enjoy for supper.

And THAT is why we wanted that pie plate!

One Hour Yeast Rolls

Have you ever been making a meal, and thought, "Ohhh.  This would be perfect with some rolls?"  But of course when you think that, there's only an hour left 'til your guests get there, and the dining room table is buried under a pile of crap a foot deep, so there's no time to make bread or even go to the store.
Or maybe that's just me.
One good thing about the whole Facebook/Pinterest thing is that there are lots of recipes getting shared.  I have bookmarked a lot, but how often do people actually try these things? 
Well, I did for once.
After a bit of tweaking (because I can always do better than an original :) ), I think this one is a keeper:

ONE HOUR YEAST ROLLS
makes 24 small rolls or 18 normal-sized

1 c warm water
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c oil
2 heaping tbsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3 1/3 c flour

Mix together warm water, sugar, oil, and yeast.  Let stand for 15 minutes until bubbly.  (I do all of this with my stand mixer, but you can also do it in a regular large mixing bowl with just a wooden spoon.)
Stir in salt and beaten egg to yeast mixture.
Gradually add flour.  Dough will be kind of sticky, but add enough flour til it's manageable.  Cover with a towel and let rest in bowl for 10 minutes.
Oil hands and form dough into balls.  Place on a greased baking sheet so they are not touching.  Cover and let rise 20 minutes more.  (They will rise not quite double, and rise even more during baking, so make sure your sheet is big enough!)
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until tops are golden.
Brush tops with melted butter, or butter/honey mixture (1:1 makes a nice sweet roll).

This is a super easy recipe, and even someone who says, "I'm not sure I can bake breads," could do it.  And what better way to learn, than to just dive in!
And I haven't tried it, but after making a double batch last night, and making them jumbo-sized, I'm pretty sure they could make a tasty hamburger bun as well!

Happy Birthday to Zadie......

......two months later......

Happy Birthday to you!

On a side note:  This year I decided I'm done with traditional birthday cakes.  We don't like cake, apparently.  The boys get all excited about me making one, and then after the party, the rest of it sits on the counter for a week until I throw it out.  What's the point of putting effort into something we don't like?  So Zadie got a raspberry dump cake.  (Which, incidentally, wasn't as awesome as it sounded.  Should have stuck with peach.)

Even Superwoman Can't Do It All

This past weekend, I finished re-finishing a wardrobe, and I canned over 70 pints of jellies (pear honey, plum, and "plumple") from juices in the freezer.  Feats of a Superwoman, am I right?
Or not.
You should see the house.  It is a huge pile, from one end to the other.  Laundry, toys, trash, mail, laundry, fans (it's been cool enough to turn off the a/c), school books, shoes, laundry, cleaning supplies, laundry......
(I may be a bit behind on the laundry......)
But all these Super Heroes have a butler to do their housework, so I don't feel too bad.

Not that I'm an obsessive person (cough, cough), but I got a wardrobe from my parents that they had built for my sister's room.....  20 years ago?  (No way.....)  It has been in their garage for the last 6 or 7 years, and since we'll be losing a closet in our room, we are suddenly needing space for hanging clothes.  We brought it home last Thursday, and I got it sanded down, re-stained, and 2 coats of polyurethane on it in a week.  All I'm needing is some hardware and someone willing to help Paul carry it inside.  (I call pansy on this.  I don't want to be the one responsible for dinging or scratching it.... Much easier to forgive someone else than myself.)  It wasn't even on my radar to do it, but it gave me an excuse to avoid housework, so I've been working on it every free chance I get.
So here's a sneak peek:

Not gonna lie..... Pretty dang pleased with the results.

The weather has been perfect the last few days, so we've enjoyed lots of outside time.  This one got to spend time on the blanket, enjoying the sights and sounds of the outdoors.

And practicing sitting up!

Oh!  My!  Goodness!!!

These three have been eating outside a lot.  Mainly because they can't find the dining room table under the pile.  But I thought they were just too cute all lined up on the bench.

We had a round of illness go through the kids last week.  I took this one because Jacob got red "freckles" from throwing up.  I feel so bad, his face breaks out in these tiny broken blood vessels every time he pukes.
So that was a little gross back story to a picture that will steal your heart.

Can you say "puppy dog eyes"?

Gideon got to taste his first sweet corn.  Even before he had actual baby food.  He got very in to the corn cob......

And look what I taught these guys to do!  I'm looking forward to the day I can get all four of them in there after supper, and then I can just sit on my backside, eat chocolates, and work on my needlepoint.  (Ha ha.)  I did find out that putting on big band swing music is an effective motivator, though.

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure this was the last time the kitchen got fully cleaned.

This one steals my heart every day with those big eyes and long eyelashes.  And the pigtails just kill me!

What's that?  You want a pony?  Okay!

Nathan and Zadie are really in to music.  I don't even remember what song was on, but they decided they needed to dance.  Note they even have "dancing shoes" on......

Oh, that's what the living room looks like when it's clean!  I'd forgotten!

Here's a couple of the ten million selfies our oldest has taken of himself.  Every time I go through pictures on the camera or my phone, there's ones of himself and his toys.

This one he requested that I take of him dressed as an "army" (soldier).

Sleeping in just looked like so much fun!

    

 Okay, so I didn't plan on posting all of those pictures, but there you have them.  A little glimpse of our lives and how the kiddos are growing!

Overheard:

Maybe after church is done we can have a Finish Up Dinner!  (Fellowship Dinner)

Mommy, when we get home, you need to get in the kitchen and cook me some food!
(Paul informed him that even he doesn't dare talk to me like that, so Nathan shouldn't either.)

Overheard:

Cheese sauce:  It's like the gravy of Mexican.

Love.

I came across this while perusing photos on our computer.  It's from last August, so it's been a while since it was taken.  It was cookie delivery day.  (Once a month I make treats for Paul's shift.  This time we took them up instead of Paul taking them with him.)  

And note Nathan's "uniform" - he wanted to dress like Daddy to go see him at work.

I love them! 

BLT: Bacon, Lettuce, and Thumb

BLTs and salad for supper.  While chopping the salad, I nearly chopped off the end of my thumb.  It was deep, and probably should have had stitches.  It took me 15 minutes to get it to stop bleeding.
So what's the natural human response?
Keep cooking the bacon!
Because.....
Bacon makes everything better.
:)

Birthdays!

Changing seasons around here brings birthday season!  Both boys have birthdays in the autumn.  They are separated by five weeks, so we really don't have the temptation to lump them both into one party.  However, they are definitely close enough that Jacob remembers exactly what happened for Nathan's birthday.... Which could prove tricky when they are a bit older.

Nathan turned 5 on September 14.  We had a little party for him; I was just planning on a small family-only party (which is still 15 people), but about a week before Nathan gives me this line (not trying to manipulative, truly sincere): "Mom, I like Charlie.  He's my best friend.  He really is my best friend."  Then later repeated a similar declaration, followed by, "Can Charlie come to my birthday?"  How can you say no to that?  So we invited Charlie's family.

We don't do much in the way of parties (themes, decorations, etc).  All birthdays have the same theme:  food.  But I do try to make them whatever type of cake they ask for.  (I figure even if it's lame, the made-by-Mommy touch is worth something.)  

He had been saying for months that he wanted a Tonka Truck cake.  I figured I'd find an easy idea online, but.... No such luck.  When I Google'd "Tonka Truck Cake," mostly all I could find was cakes with a toy stuck on top.  I wanted to do something a bit more original than that.  (Not that I didn't do just that for his first birthday.  And his second.  We just don't need any more toys!)

My sister Lurenda told me about something called a "sugar sheet," which you can print designs on and then just lay on top of the cake.  AWESOME!  After I bought it, I read the instructions.  You are supposed to use edible ink.  Uh oh.  But then I thought, if my kid ate a piece of paper that had ink on it, I wouldn't take him to the emergency room - what's the difference?  They printed off great, but didn't dissolve into the top as well as I thought it would.  We called the printed out things "stickers" and told everyone they could peel them off if they wanted to.  (FYI, the sugar sheets taste like paper that dissolves in your mouth.)  He requested a chocolate cake, and I forgot to buy a mix, so I made a from-scratch chocolate cake.  Triple layer.  It was massive, and had to weigh at least 10 pounds.  I don't think we even finished half of it.  (It's in the freezer for another day.)

I decorated it the night before, so it had bled.  

I had leftover batter, so I made cupcakes.

The Munchkin convention.
Nathan and Jacob, my nieces Lena and Mackenzie, and Charlie is on the right, along with his older brothers, Clayton and Willie (who are also pals to our boys and nieces).

I had to have Paul re-light them like 3 times to get this picture

Jacob turned 3 on October 21.  His birthday came at kind of a bad time.  The boys had been sick all week.  Like can't-get-off-the-couch sick and fevers all week, and by Sunday, Zadie and I were also getting sick.  We also were having a worship night at church the night of his birthday, which I was leading.  It was a busy weekend, and Sunday after church was the best time to squeeze in a party.  We again did a family-only thing.  And he was still sick enough that that was about all he could handle.

We made four of these for his party, and cooked them on the grill.  We made them Saturday, and rewarmed them at the church on Sunday.  Absolutely a-freakin'-mazing.  Best yet.

Jake had been saying he wanted a elephant cake.  He really likes elephants, and had 3 in his stuffed animal rotation.  I was planning on doing it... somehow....  And then he asked for a mouse cake.  And a worm cake.  I made him stick to his original request.
I was not sure how to do it, and finally went for free-handing it.  I wasn't positive how we'd do the fill inside the outline.  We were going to "star fill" it (I have no idea what the official cake-decorating terms are), but then decided to paint it in using food coloring and water.  Much easier.  Plus, I was super-tired, getting sick, and stressed out about the upcoming worship night.  So I was happy with anything, just as long as it was done.

It was not supposed to be this purple.  It was supposed to be more of a gray-blue-purple.  But I was still pretty happy with how it looked.

First shot!  (Him and me!)

......And as I tried to remember what we'd done for Jacob's cake previous years, I went back and looked at old blogs.  No pictures.  Of first OR second birthdays.  Not even any mention of his birthday, both years.  HORRIBLE. MOTHER.  Oh my gosh!

His first birthday we were in Colorado.  We got him an ice cream cake.  I'm sure we have pictures, but they're not on my laptop.

I think I was planning on a grand post featuring his cake last year, because it's probably one of my best.  But I was pregnant.  (That's my excuse, anyways.)  Last year, Google really paid off in the idea department. He'd asked for an owl cake, and it turned out awesome!  (Cupcake cake.)  (Now that I think about it, I think we did do a first-birthday party for Jacob after we got back from vacation, and we had cupcakes for it, too.)

So, a year late, there's Jacob's 2nd birthday pictures.  And his 3rd.  And Nathan's 5th.  That's just how I roll.  Better late than never, I guess. :)

Sick Day Muffins

We're sick around here.  It's Paul's fault, really.
No, not really.
But Paul was the first one to have sinus stuffiness.  Then Nathan got sick Friday afternoon, and has pretty much not moved off the couch since then.  Fever of 103.  Jacob came down with it on Sunday (we stayed home from church - for once they were sick on a day convenient for me to skip!).  I'm trying to get sick, but I am hitting the Zicam pretty hard.  I can't get a cold this week!  (Our worship night is this Sunday.)
Nathan has me concerned.... The high fever, complete lack of appetite, and the just laying around all the time.  I can't get him interested in doing anything, and then he acts like he can't concentrate if I do get him to try to attempt something.  I keep going back and forth whether to take him to the doctor.  First off, it's $20 just to walk in the door.  We don't really have that right now.  And if it's just a virus (which I'm pretty sure it is since we've all got it in some form), the doctor will send us back home with a "just keep an eye on him."  So $20 wasted.  Plus, there's the chance that we'll pick up some other vile disease while we're there - which has happened before, more than once.
I was really hoping that today is the turnaround day.  So I thought I'd tempt them with something tasty to eat.  It worked, sort of.
These muffins were a variation of a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook recipe.  The first time I made them like this (last week), Paul ate 5, Nathan ate 3, and Jacob ate 2.  Then the boys both wanted another for their mid-morning snack.
So I tried them again.

3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/4 c(ish) oatmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp(ish) cinnamon
1 beaten egg
3/4 c milk
1/4 c oil

Mix dry ingredients.  Stir together egg, milk, oil and pour into dry ingredients.  (May need to add more water or milk to get it to right consistency - not as thin as cake batter, but not so thick it clumps up in the whisk.)
Divide among 12 muffin cups.
Top with streusel:

1/4 c (half stick) butter
1/3 c flour
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp(ish) cinnamon

Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon.  Cut butter in using a pastry knife.  Sprinkle by the tablespoon full over the unbaked muffins.

Bake at 350 for 14-15 minutes.
*(ish) means I didn't actually measure it.  Just a guesstimate.

Nathan actually asked for one.  He ate the streusel top off of it, and left the bottom half.  Jacob ate one for breakfast, then wanted another for lunch.  When they're sick, I'm like whatever.  As long as they'll actually eat - it may not have lots of nutrition, but it has calories, which is energy to fight illness..... right?  Nathan's pretty much just ate Cheetos and cookies for the last 4 days.  I'm just happy he'll eat that much.
So we'll see if today is the turnaround day.  Nathan voluntarily went to take a nap at 11.  But so far, no fever.......

Culinary Self-Flagellation

I consider myself a decent cook.  While my cooking wouldn't necessarily be called gourmet, I think most of what I eat is enjoyable.
However, I will admit:  I do make some pretty amazing sugar cookies.  And some dang good cinnamon rolls.  And a pretty good pies, too, now that I think about it.

So let me change the subject.
Monday, I joined my Mom and brother on the carb-free train.  What I'm doing is not as strictly the Atkins (I eat vegetables, minus corn, carrots, peas, and potatoes), but it's still pretty strict.  When you get the munchies, there's not a whole lot that's munch-able, at least not in our house.  Seriously, Tuesday, my teeth were aching for something crunchy.  I'm not being totally fanatical about it - I had 3 Fritos to try to satisfy that need for crunchiness, and I had a bite of Paul's grilled pizza on Monday.
The reason I decided to try out this diet is because I've been feeling very bloated and fat. As we all know, after you have a baby, there's a certain amount of belly fat you can't do anything about.  But it was just a blah feeling all the time.  My mom said it would help with that, and it has helped.  And even though it's only my 4th day, my belly does feel (and maybe look?) less bloated.

Back to the original subject:
Once a month, Paul likes me to make treats for him to take to his shift at work.
Well, I promised them cinnamon rolls before I decided to do this diet.  This is where the subjects come together:  If there is one food/flavor I love, love, love, it is cinnamon.  You can't go wrong with cinnamon.  I even put in on ice cream occasionally.  But white bread, not to mention sugar, would definitely be a no-no on a carb-free diet.

He takes four 9x13s (1 dozen each) to work (I made two plain, one apple, and one chocolate chip).  Anything in the two rounds is the "ugly ends" from the dough roll, which I keep for our family.  But they turned out just as beautiful and fluffy as the others!  And this pic is even before I added the frosting!

Seriously.  It was total self-torture to make these.  And they were the most perfect batch I've ever made - go figure!  And I made apple cinnamon rolls, which I love.
I did sample one taste each of the apple and the chocolate when the boys were eating them last night.  And they are as definitely as good as they look!  It was hard to stop at one bite!  So, it's a total lesson in self-control for me to ignore the pan of cinnamon rolls on the counter.
Ah, the things we do for the ones we love. :)

Budget Blues (How We Save Money)

The last couple months have wreaked havoc on our checkbook.  Without going into details, suffice to say we majorly have to tighten up the spending, and I made a silent vow to not take anything out of savings the next few months.  (Or else, we won't be having Christmas.)  After paying bills and balancing the checkbook this morning, I was stressed and depressed to find out we had $350 to last the until the end of the month that hasn't even started yet.  And I haven't even bought groceries for the month.  Not to mention the gas Paul will need to get to work.
So I grabbed the ol' list and started crossing off things that I thought we could get by without until the end of next month.  Some were easy - like matching baskets to hold crayons and colored pencils (rather than the mismatched cardboard boxes I'm using), but some made me grit my teeth - like disposable diapers.  I used just over half a box last month.  Surely I can use just under half a box for this month. And I'm pretty sure we can live without soy sauce and sliced cheese.
Not that we can't take money from savings (I should be grateful we even have a savings account!), but just that I feel panicky if it drops under a certain amount.  A vehicle or appliance breakdown would wipe us out.
I think some people think Paul makes lots of money at his job.  He makes decent money for a factory job, but it doesn't afford us to a life of ease, by any means.  We can afford what we have by careful spending and going without some things.
Every time I see an article with a title such as "The Best Ways to Save Money," I always eagerly read it.  And it's the same old tips that everyone knows.  "Give up Starbucks, make your coffee at home."  "Take your lunch to work."  "Check books out from the library instead of buying them."  Duh.  Seriously.  How about some tips for real people that already and have always done these things?
So I came up with my own list of ways to save money.  Some of them are in those articles.  But I'll take them a step further, and show you how we save.  And spew my opinions upon you.  (You were warned.)
Ditch movie rentals.  First we ditched the movie store for Netflix.  Then we ditched Netflix.  It wasn't worth the $8 a month we were spending on it.  We own probably over 50 children's videos, and twice that many grown up movies.  If we can't find anything to watch in that collection, we need to find something else to do.  We also found that there the access to profane movies and TV shows was a temptation on Netflix.  And by saving the monthly subscriptions, we have enough money to buy the [very occasional] movie that we think is good enough to add to our collection.  (We do use Redbox if we want to watch a recent movie that we don't think is worth buying.)
Stop eating out.  I realize that sometimes you have to eat out.  Even as much of a cheapskate as I am, I am not dedicated enough to pack a lunch when there's no avoiding being out over lunch, nor am I stoic enough to endure 45 minutes of whining meltdowns because my kids are hungry.  We do eat out, but when we do it, the boys and I can eat for $3 plus tax.  A dollar hamburger for each of us, and water to drink.  My husband is not quite on board with the dollar hamburger, and when he comes with us, the total more than doubles.  (Part of this is because when Daddy goes with us, it's a treat, and we get french fries, too! :) )  But even if you stick to the dollar menu, eating out just three times a week can add up to $30 a month!  Now, this is not to say we never eat out.  I think we average maybe 2-3 meals out a month.  And we splurge for special occasions, and usually don't cheapskate it for those special times.
Get rid of cable/satellite.  You see advice to cut back to the basic service to save money.  But why not ditch it altogether?  A lot of people don't realize that since over-the-air TV went digital a few years back, many stations have two stations, if not more.  With just "rabbit ear" antennas, we can pick up nearly 20 stations with little to no adjusting. Seriously - why would you need more than that?  And really, do you even need more than one?  As long as you can get the news in an emergency, I'd call that enough.
Stay out of WalMart!  If you know me at all, you know of my disdain for this place.  I'll admit, with their "price comps," it is possible to save money by shopping at WalMart.  But only if you stick to your list. WalMart preys on people that have no willpower.  Even I am not immune to it.  How many times do you go in for your regular groceries, and come out with something you didn't need?  If your kids don't need new clothes, stay out of the kids section!  If you don't need new throw pillows, don't browse the home goods section!  If you're not looking for a print cartridge, stay out of the electronics!  Get in, get your stuff, get out.  I don't usually let Paul go with me, because I am much better at sticking to my list if he's not there browsing while I shop.  Last month's splurge: a $1.74 flyswatter.  This month's:  a $2.22 cube of Post-Its.  I justify my splurges if they are something I will use and are less than about $4.
Quit buying processed food.  We buy a lot of pasta.  And rice.  They may not be the best for you, but they're better for you than the pre-packaged "just add water" rice and noodle packets.  A packet or Knorrs noodles may only be $1, but it doesn't even feed a whole family one meal.  Meanwhile, that same $1 can buy a pound of pasta, which you can add a little butter and spices to, and you have enough for 4 meals.  Not to mention it's so much healthier for you.  And do I even need to mention how much a soda habit costs?
Your kids don't need as much as you think they do.  This is probably the hardest one.  It is super hard to tell my kids no.  We went to the fair this summer, and had to tell the boys they couldn't ride the rides.  (Tickets were $3.50 each.)  Seeing their tears hurt.  But they got over it, and by the next week didn't even remember.  You may say, "I don't want my child to feel deprived."  But they can't feel deprived if they don't first feel entitled.  I heard somewhere that kids have so much not because kids want so much, but because parents want them to have so much.
Since my little sister moved to Africa, I think I've become more aware of how much our kids (and all kids in our country) have, and don't even realize or appreciate.  In her first letter to the boys, Carlsie told them about how the children there don't have any toys, and they make cars and trucks to play with out of sticks, rocks, and trash they find.  Meanwhile, my boys have 6 drawers and 2 shelves full of toys, and yet they ask for more.  Do they really need more?  If we happen to end up passing some toys in the store (and we always do - strategic marketing), I always tell them no. They may whine at the time, but they forget about it by the time we're home. If I go shopping without them, and I want to get them a "treat" so they know I was thinking about them, they get special fruit (like berries), or maybe chocolate milk - not a toy.  I have to tell them no when they ask for those off-season raspberries that cost $5 for a half-pint, when apples are $1.29/lb, and explain to them why we're going to get the apples.  My kids will grow up to appreciate the things they have, be responsible with money, and not feel like they are entitled to something just because they want it at the moment.
Internet on your phone.  Do you really need it?  How much is it costing you versus how much you need it?  Need it, not use it.  Facebooking on your phone is not a need.  We've got internet at our home, and whereas it would be nice sometimes to be able to look up price comparisons or merchandise reviews when you're in the store, is it worth the $30 or $40 more each month?  Or is it just taking your time and attention away from something more important, like paying attention to your kids?
Stay home.  I don't like going places.  Partly it's laziness - wrangling 3 kids on my own?  Pass.  Let's just stay home in our pajamas instead.  Partly it's the cost of fuel.  Seriously.  With gas prices what they are, you're talking at least $10 in gas just to get out of town.  But mostly if I'm out shopping, even if I'm just looking and not spending, it makes me feel not content with what I have (which in the light of what some get by with, is a lot).  Which leads to......
If you don't need it, don't buy it (i.e. self denial/self control).  Dave Ramsey says, "A sale is not an emergency."  No matter how much of a steal it is, if it's going to make you come up short before the next payday, you don't need it right now.  We've lived in this house 7 years, and I still don't have curtains in any room except the bedrooms.  We have blinds on all the windows, so the neighbors can't see in.  I really want some nice deck furniture, but even on sale it's too big of an expenditure for something that we don't need.  We've got a picnic table that Paul's dad made out of scrap lumber on the deck.  I want matching lamps and end tables in the living room.  But I've got a coffee table on one end, and an end table on the other, and a lamp with a defunct shade.  It works.  Even though it's not what I really want, these things work for now.  My house may not be the most beautiful, but my checkbook looks pretty good.  Another Dave Ramsey quote:  "Live like no one else, so that later, you can live like no one else."  Someday, if we stay on track and keep things tight, someday, I won't have to think so hard about every cent we spend.  You'd better believe that the instant this house is paid off, I am using the money on some serious face-lifting on this house.
And I do realize that if we put all the money we've spent in the last year or two on say, movies, together, I would have enough money to buy myself curtains.  But I also believe that sometimes you have to let go and splurge on something unnecessary (within reason, usually under $20).  Paul works hard for the money he brings home, so when he wants something, I try to make sure he gets it.  If you stay absolutely uptight, everything becomes about money, and that can not be good on your marriage.
So there you have it.  This is how I save money.  Not by couponing or comping, but by common sense.

(And thus ends the first installment of my overly opinionated posts.)
(And apparently my opinions are very long-winded!)

August Update

I can't believe we are almost to the end of August.  Seriously.  Where has this month gone?
I've actually had a fairly productive month.  It started with my media Sabbath, and got better from there.  I have been spending less and less time on the Internet.  I haven't even been checking my email every day, and I've declared Fridays "Facebook Fridays."  I don't miss it; it's kind of freeing, actually.  I usually watch about 15-20 minutes of local news (network morning shows are complete jokes) each morning to catch the weather (I'm obsessed with weather reports) and find out if anything important is happening in the world.
I love walking.  I've been walking 2+ miles every morning on our roads.  I haven't lost much weight - only like 6 pounds in the last 3 or 4 weeks.  Frustrating, considering I've also been trying to eat better.  But I've had more energy and feel generally healthier.  But I also know that "slow and steady" is a better, more maintainable way to lose weight.
Keeping the house clean is NEV.ER.END.ING.  Good grief.  I've swept the floor every day (unheard of), and am trying to clean the kitchen after every meal.  It doesn't take ridiculously long, but added up, it seems like most of my day is in the kitchen or dining room, cooking, picking up or folding laundry.  (I know, my place is supposed to be in the kitchen.)  But I so much prefer the end results.  It's almost become habit, and it gets so it bugs me if there's stuff laying around.  This is a good thing!  Now, to get  it to bug the rest of my family enough they want to pick up as well......
Nathan has two days of preschool left.  As I predicted, we're going to finish it up just in time to start his Kindergarten.  We'll finish up on Friday, take a week off and then start up again on Labor Day.  (It's not a real holiday.)  We asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate being done with school, and he said he wanted to go on a picnic.  In our yard.  We talked him into going to the lake.
For his curriculum, I wasn't sure how much to do.  We settled on Math, Reading, and Science.  We're using Saxon math, and it actually is a step back from what he's already learned with the Answers in Genesis preschool curriculum.  But it covers much more than numbers - for example, the first lessons are about the calendar/days of the week.  So we'll have to keep up with his addition and subtraction so he doesn't forget all that.  The reading is a phonics approach; we're using A Beka.  And science is also A Beka.  It's actually 1st grade, but he's ready for it.  I think it's considered 1st, not because of the material, but that the student book is like a reader.  The first part of the year is health and manners, then the second is more "sciency."  We're going to try to do some social study/history type things, but the basics are more important.
Oh yeah.  I got these.

I'm sexy and I know it.

When I went to the eye doctor, he said my eyes aren't that bad and normally he wouldn't prescribe glasses.  But it is 30% worse than it was (from  "2" to  "3" points near-sighted, in his explanation).  And I think that that decline all happened in June when my eyeball swelled up, which is why it bugs me so much and I notice it.  We looked at our insurance, and it actually is really good, and pays 100% on glasses.  So I went ahead and got them, mostly for driving at night and whenever I am watching TV or reading lots on the computer (like now).  Apparently they look natural on me, because I've worn them to church twice and also to couples group and the only person that noticed was my best friend (besides my family, obviously).  Paul bestowed his most sincere compliment:  "Your glasses don't look that bad."  Praise indeed. :)
All 3 kids are kind of sick.  Just snotty noses and some coughing.  It wasn't enough to keep the boys from skinny dipping in the freshly cleaned dog pool.  But it still bothers me to hear them cough in their sleep, or to see snot dripping off of Jacob.  Zadie is handling it pretty well, too.
The little miss is not so little anymore.  I'm not sure what weight she's up to, but she's about to outgrow 3-6mo clothes.  Her 4-month birthday was last week.  I know she's teething; you can see the teeth changing the shape of her gums.  She is still so laid back and happy, though!  Oh my goodness, we love her.

Is she not absolutely beautiful?!

She's been sleeping downstairs in the playpen, so we can save money on a/c bills (she'd have to have a window unit).  It's been cooler lately, so she's been doing naps upstairs, and we put her up there the last two nights.  (Too hot again tonight, though.)  I thought it might be a big adjustment for her, but she took it with her usual laid-back nature.  Didn't fuss, didn't wake up.  If all babies were like her, I'd want to have 50 more.

I have had several "refuse to cook" weeks this summer, with this ridiculous heat.  So once again, I made Paul cook outside.  That grill has been completely worth the $100 we spent on it.

We perfected the grilled pizza.  The key is don't rush to get it on the grill, let the heat get down.  And don't screw with the heat once it's on there!  The thermometer reads about 100 lower when there's a pan in there.

Veggie Pizza - tomatoes, peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, and olives.

 The more fat there is in bread, the better the flavor. (E.g. when you make the dough with milk versus water.) And cheese just makes it amazing!

"Breadsticks" - I'm too lazy to form the individual ones, so I press the dough into a pan and top it with spices and cheese.

 This whole meal (minus the buns, I guess, this time) on the grill.  Grilled curly fries - amazing!

 These deserve their own picture.  Bacon-wrapped green beans.  Fresh green beans, wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with brown sugar, garlic, and dry mustard (1/4 c sugar, 1 tsp each garlic and mustard).  SO GOOD.  Add a little water and cook for about 20 minutes, then take the foil off and cook until the bacon crisps up.  If my fall beans in the garden produce, I'm pretty sure this will be what I use all of them for.

Drooling.

Okay.  I need to get to bed.  That's a sampling of what I can think of that we've been up to lately.

What I've Been Up To

Let's see......

• Turning 30.  My birthday was the 22nd.  Paul surprised me the day before with a trip to the Wichita Zoo.  It was a perfect day (in a string of overwhelming heat).  We loaded up the van - literally.  We tried out the 8-passenger seating (our family of 5, plus Paul's parents and sister), and it wasn't bad for a 2+ hour trip.  He further surprised me by taking the day of my actual birthday off work.  We went to see my niece play softball and had dinner and cake and homemade ice cream (!!!) at my sister's house.

• Garden.  I don't know how, with the extreme heat and almost complete lack of rain (less than an inch all month), but this is the best garden we've ever had.  Maybe because we've been able to control exactly how much and when the garden gets watered..... It seems like we'd get a complete deluge of several inches of rain in an hour, or a wind storm, or hail sometime in the spring or early summer to destroy my garden.  But we obviously haven't had any of that. 



Green bean totals.  Nearly 40 quarts of corn frozen as well.

• Grilling!  I told Paul last Monday, after watching the weather forecast - 100, 101, 98, 99, 100, 103 - I was not going to be using the oven or the stove at all last week.  And I didn't (and still haven't), except for breakfast a few mornings.  We have had some definite food WINS.  

Grilled Pizza!  This is the "kids' pizza" (pepperoni and cheese).

My pizza, with decidedly more toppings.

Vegetable Medley:  Potatoes, carrots, zucchini (all from my or my in-laws' garden) with butter, salt, pepper, and paprika.  YUM. (Would have been even better had I not forgotten the onions!)

Smoked Bread.  Oh my goodness......

• Hibernating.  (It's not just for cold weather.)  It's been near or exceeding 100 degrees for the last week, with it forecasting to be more of the same for at least the next 8 days.  (There is no outlook for rain for at least 2 weeks.)  Obviously it's too hot to take Zadie outside, at least until near sundown, and even then, she has to stay in the shade.  The boys want so badly to play outside, but they come in after 5 minutes, "Mommy, it's too hot."

Ugh.  It's bad when a big cooldown means temps in the low 90s.  And the rain "chance" is just to tease us.

• Sleeping.  The heat is just completely taking it out of me.  I feel like I'm doing the bare minimum to get by until I can sleep again.  I'm finally finding the house under the mess, but that's only because we're having company tomorrow for Independence Day.  We haven't done school for a week, though.  But Paul has vacation next week, so maybe we'll get caught up then......

Overheard:

"What's this?" [Nathan picks a carrot out of the spaghetti sauce.] (Yes, I put tiny diced carrots in my spaghetti sauce.)
"It's something good.  What do you think it is?"
"It's something good that I don't like."

Halfway and Kicking!

We're halfway through this pregnancy - 20 week,s today!  The last 5 weeks or so have really gone fast.  I've definitely felt the baby moving the last two weeks.... Stirrings, gentle nudges.  This weekend, during the evenings when I was reading, I felt a couple real kicks.  Paul had been working nights, and I told him his baby has been pretty active - hopefully he would get to feel him (her) move soon.
Last night, I felt a kick, and Paul put his [cold!] hand on my belly.  Apparently the baby protested it, because he felt him move.  Later, when we were in bed, Paul put his hand on my belly again, and the baby gave him like 5 big kicks in the span of about a minute - the biggest I've felt so far, and the most at once.  I'm happy he got to feel it.
The baby is 10 inches (head to heel) and 10+ ounces.  So tiny, yet 10 inches sounds so big!  (Both boys were just over 20 inches when they were born.)
I am over the food aversions, I think.  Some stuff still just doesn't sound good (noodles), and other stuff has started to give me heartburn (juice) - but I'm actually cooking again.  (Balancing the checkbook and realizing how much we spent going out the last couple months has kind of sealed that!)  I had a violent craving for cheese dip last weekend....  Like, could not think about anything else.  In all the time I was pregnant before with either boy, I've never craved something so much that I made a special trip to town to get it.  This hit me Friday, and I ignored it, tried to shut it up with other food, and finally at 10 PM, sent Paul in to Applebees to get me cheese dip.  He got two orders.  I ate one that night, one the next morning, and that cured it for about a day, but by Sunday night it was back.  Monday morning, I was in town, buying ingredients to make yet more.  I may or may not have eaten an entire batch (1 lb of white cheese, 1/2 cup milk, 7 oz jalepenos - blenderize it.  El Mezcal's recipe.) by myself in 24 hours.  Thankfully, I think I finally shut that craving up.
I'm at the in-between with being tired.  I can get by without a nap, but then I fall asleep ridiculously early (by 8 on the couch last night - out like a log until 11:30 when Jacob woke me up).  But I don't need that much sleep, so I wake up at 5 - but then I'm tired because I woke up so early, which leaves me needing a nap, but since I had a nap, I wake up early........ Vicious circle.
Nathan is pretty excited about the baby.  Jacob still doesn't really get it.  He points to or pats my belly (or just as often, my boob) and says "baby," but that's about as far as it goes.  He does really like the babies at church, and is very gentle with them.  Nathan had decided this baby will be a girl.  We're not finding out, so we were trying to prepare Nathan for the possibility that it could be either.  He was very adamant we were having a girl.  So I said, "Well, what if we had a boy?  Then we'd have three boys at our house like Charlie does [his good buddy from church]."  Well, now he's decided that would be a cool thing, and now he's adamant we're having a boy!  So yesterday, I was having the, "Well, it could be a girl.  God has it planned exactly how he wants it....." conversation with him, and he told me God would be mad if we have a girl.  Oh my....  But I think whenever the baby gets here, he will be so excited about being a big brother, it won't really matter.
Next week we're having a sonogram.  My doctor didn't order one at the hospital, like she is supposed to for 20 weeks - at my last appointment, both of the boys had checkups at the same time with her, so there was a LOT going on in that room....  I'm assuming she forgot.  However, I've already had four sonograms this year (miscarriage, diverticulitis, checking on an ovarian cyst, and then earlier with this baby), so I'm 99% sure my insurance would deny payment - I want to say we had to pay like $500 for the second sonogram with Jacob.  (Our insurance only covers one per pregnancy.)  Maybe it was a God thing, because a nurse that goes to our church contacted me and asked me if I would be a "model" for training on the new sonogram machine at the local pro-life women's center (LifeCare).  I'm really excited about seeing this baby!  So I will have pictures next week.
There's a LOT going on this weekend.... It's our church's annual Bethlehem outreach.  I'm cooking nightly meals for the 100+/- volunteers.  I didn't volunteer to do anything else, but I'm on standby to fill in [non-speaking] parts.  I also signed up to make 16 dozen cookies, and I want to make cinnamon rolls (4 dozen) for one of the meals.......  Yeah, it's going to be crazy the rest of this week. :)

Correction:

I posted in this post that "$50 is a week's groceries." My friend April commented that she couldn't believe I only spent that much (little) each week.

Well....

I'm not sure how much we actually spend a week on groceries. It depends on what your definition of "groceries" is. Food only? $50 a week, easy. Anything you get at the grocery store? Well.......

I go shopping at the first of each month (right after payday). I go to the grocery store and spend $250-320 (depending on how much meat I have to buy), then I go to WalMart and/or Orscheln and spend another $50-100 (total). So it's probably more like $100 each week if you divide it out, but this includes everything - food, diapers, personal care, household (kitchen utensils/gadgets, storage, etc.), cleaning supplies, pet food, garden supplies.... Then I pay all our bills also at the first of the month, so everything is paid up, and all we have to worry about is gas for Paul to get to work. (I have only been using 1 tank or less of gas each month.)

I usually make one more trip to the store, for milk, or for a special meal (either having company, going to someone's house/church dinner, or Paul requests something I don't have all the ingredients for). So I spend a little more one or two other times each month, although the boys' milk consumption took a nose dive with the hot weather, so that has helped.

So I don't know how that compares to the average household, but that's our life.

Things we eat a lot of, that I know helps the ol' budget:

Hot dogs. The boys eat these for lunch more often than I'd like to admit. (I stock up when they are $1 or less/package.)

Rice. I add 2 cups (uncooked, so 4 cups cooked) instant brown rice to lots of our meals. Tacos are 1 lb. meat, 4 cups rice, and 1 can beans. Stir fry also gets 4 cups of rice. Salisbury steaks. Chinese hash. Tater tot casserole. As long as you add extra seasoning so the rice doesn't dilute the flavor, rice makes meals go SO much further.

Beans. As mentioned above, I put beans in tacos. We also have meatless tacos where we use beans. (Recipe here.) The off-brand beans are only 50c a can.

White pasta. I have 5 jars on my counter, each for a different type of pasta (rotini, penne, fettucini, spaghetti, and rainbow bow tie). We eat lots of it. I know "carbs are bad" but carbs are also cheap. Some noodles, a bit of butter, and some Mrs. Dash (or other herbs and parmesan), and you've got a super-simple, super-cheap side dish. Add some pepperoni or smoked sausage, and you've got a main dish. (Paul and the boys are the real fans of butter noodles. I'm more into noodles drowned in sauce.)

Leftovers. Very rarely do I throw away food. If we're having trouble cleaning something out of the fridge, I simply don't cook until it's all gone. Paul takes leftovers in his lunch to work, and the boys are really good at eating them, too.

I guess simple (lazy) is my deal. I don't get excited to make gourmet meals or try new things. If it's stuff I already have in the house, I'll try it, but if I have to go buy fancy ingredients, I usually don't bother.

My New Go-To Meal

I've found a new quick-n-easy meal, for those days that there's no leftovers, and I have no creativity (which is often). I have only done boxed mac-n-cheese a few times (I make shells-n-velveeta a couple times a month), but we eat an inordinate amount of hot dogs around here. Anyhow - chicken burritos! And Paul eats them, too.
1-2 cups of dry instant rice (cook in microwave according to directions). Add 1 can of beans (black, pinto, red), 1 can of chicken, a couple handfuls of frozen corn, and a packet of taco seasoning - nuke for about 2 more minutes. I wrap them up in a 8-inch tortilla with lots of cheese, and microwave again for 30 seconds.... The cheese melts and kind of "glues" the burrito together so it's not as messy. I even threw in some cilantro, which Nathan loved - the only time I've ever heard him say, "I like the green stuff!"
I fixed this (or a variation) twice last week. (The variation was a Mexican lasagna type thing with layers of filling, cheese, and tortillas.) I like it because it's tasty, and not a "kiddie" meal, like hot dogs and mac-n-cheese tend to be labeled - I actually had it for lunch when my mom came over last week. It's also relatively healthy - it's got the grains (I use instant brown rice), meat/bean protein, and cheese, and some veggies, too, with the corn. (I also do a vegetarian version with no chicken... The chicken seems to fill the boys up better, though.) And I can have the whole thing ready in the time it takes to get the water to boil for noodles.
I guess the clincher in making it a lunch-time staple was when Paul pronounced it "pretty good" and told me I could make it again. Coming from my anti-poultry husband, that was as good as 5 stars for me. :)
In a related theme - I found a recipe for homemade taco seasoning that I will be using from now on. I used the last package (we normally have a boon on hand, but swore I'd just bought some last month when I did this month's shopping), so found this on Allrecipes.com:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

The suggestion is to use 3 Tbsp, but I thought it was spicier than the packaged seasoning, so I'd go with 2. I'm going to make up a jar of it to have ready to use whenever we want it. Even with buying the Always Save brand (33c each), this will be cheaper.