Creative Fun

I don't spend alot of money or time entertaining my kids. We don't watch much TV either or have a video game system. We are too cheap for a big satellite package and I think too much TV warps your brain. As a result these kids get really creative with play. They were just dragging each other down the hall with a blanket having a great time. Earlier this morning Natalie got out the sewing machine and made some pants for one of the barbies. It was just something to do, but it was creative. See, not providing your child with every gadget and electronic toy not only saves money, but it is good for them. People at church always comment to me that they are amazed that these kids will just sit through church. I believe it is because we are not always entertaining them, so sitting for an hour of church is not a big deal. I will let the younger kids draw during the sermon, but they are still able to tell me what the message was and that is what church is all about!

Just Running to the Store is a bad idea

I ususally shop with coupons and a plan with a list. This week I was busy with the end of school and babysitting and a trip to the bigger city with coupons and a list just wasn't going to happen. Yesterday we were running low on the basics and we needed some fire ant killer, so I went to the Wal-mart in our small town. Big mistake! I spend $75 bucks and don't feel like I got much of anything. I did use some coupons, but Wal-mart does not double, so you don't get the same bang for your buck. Oh well, live and learn. This summer my sister and I are going to do one big shopping trip a week by ourselves. I just can't shop with the kids if I have to think even if they are this cute getting ready for church. This should help our budget stay in line.

On the home front it is Memorial Day and Steven is working, so we are heading to grandma's this afternoon to cook out and swim in their pool. We are bringing baked beans and potato salad, my parents are cooking hamburgers and hotdogs, and my sister is bringing dessert! It should be fun.

Clothing a teenager

One thing that I get asked is how do I keep these kids in clothes, especially a almost teenage girl who wants to wear the name brands to school? Well, my little secret is that we have friends that give us bunches of clothes. I am talking clothes that have barely been worn and are the name brands that my girls want. We take anything that someone will give us, even if we don't think we can use them. I then go through them and pass them on if we can't use them. I store clothes that are not our size right now in rubbermaid totes in the attic and we just look through those first before we buy anything. I do usually end up buying pant because me kids are slim and shoes, but not much else.

Do you coupon?

I thought some of you might like to see my coupon binder. I just upgraded to a 3 inch binder to hold all of my coupons. I am not one of those crazy people on TV who clear the shelves and buy 200 tubes of toothpaste, but I do use coupons on a regular basis to keep my grocery bill low.

I do like to buy alot of fresh fruit and veggies and there are not usually coupons for those items. I also rarely see coupons for meat, milk or staple items such as flour and sugar, so I usually look for sales on those items and stock up when the prices are low. I do however use coupons for most of our other items that we buy. Things like yogurt and snack items are often on sale and have great coupons with them. I buy most of our paper products, laundry detergent, and toiletries with coupons. I also find great coupons for sports drinks and sodas. I buy item with coupons that we would not be able to buy with our small grocery budget and that makes my kids very happy!

Long time no type

I know that I have been out of commission lately. We have begun watching a baby in our home and then got the flu. Only Evan got sick with it so far, but it did wreck havoc with our schedule. I will be back to posting again this week. I have been couponing more, and I am striving to get my grocery bill down to $350 a month including paper goods and toiletries. With gas going up and food prices going up, it is going to be a stretch.

Tonight we are having crock pot spaghetti with homemade wheat bread. We don't put meat in our sauce, so it is cheap and healthy. I have some kids who don't care for ground beef, so we don't waste the meat. I will post the recipe:

3 cans tomatoes
1 12oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp onion flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

combine and cook on low in crock pot about 6 hours. I like to use tomato puree or grind the tomatoes in the blender.

This makes alot and we will use the leftovers for pizza or lasagna.

We had a finger foods fellowship at our church last Sunday. I was trying to think of what I could bring that would feed alot of people but would be low cost. I came up with pizza bread. I made homemade white bread, rolled it out and then spread spaghetti sauce, cheese and pepperoni on the bread and then rolled it up. After it was baked I sliced it and served it with spaghetti sauce kept warm in a little crock pot.



It must have turned out OK because all of it was eaten. Homemade bread is cheap to make if you buy your yeast in bulk at the warehouse stores and everyone loves it!

Tired!

This is why I don't like working full days. I am really tired and don't want to do anything, especially cook dinner. Luckily I threw some chicken breasts in the crockpot and we had bbq chicken sandwiches with chips and carrot sticks. We didn't have to go out. If you don't regularly use a crockpot you should. It can cook amazing dinners really cheap with little effort!

I took Ashley (12) and Natalie (10) shopping with me to Sams, Michaels, and Dollar Tree. They kept asking me to buy them stuff until I told them they had to spend their own money. Then they didn't want the stuff as much. Ha Ha!

I need to go to bed soon. Evan is racing his car the the cub scouts grand prix tomorrow. He is getting a cold and I hope he doesn't get croup or bronchitis again. Kids with asthma and allergies are not cheap, but I will keep them anyway!