Budget Blowing and a Uterus Quiverer

Nuff said. Last Saturday we went to Trader Joes and Whole Foods on a little road trip. Seeings how they don't have a those stores by us you have to stock up:-)

Pretty much everything is treats, lots and lots of treats. Stevia pop, izzi's, tortillas, chips, candy, cereal, sparkling water, and cheap bananas. Ginger snap anyone? The hubby LOVES them he says they are more addictive than crack, not that he's ever done crack, that just what he says. I personally don't like them. Now those tortilla smothered with cream cheese and a few veggies- yum. Our vacation is coming up so we went a little crazy.

They also sell "three buck chuck", aka cheap and tasty wine. Don't fret my pet it's not all ours, we were taking orders. Other people also like the "three buck chuck":-)

Well I'm not counting a dime of it seeing how the money came out of the hubby's wallet:-) I did spend about $50 last week at the butcher shop and the health store. So I'm still on track, hahaha. I do plan on spending about 50 bucks of our vacation stash to grab a few more things like guacamole, brats, cheese and some chocolate otherwise I think we have pretty much everything ready to take with.

And on a totally different note here is Benna in a bucket, can it get much better. I tell her daily that she is so cute that she makes my uterus quiver. Hubby could do with out those kinds of words coming out of my mouth:-) But really she is so stinkin' cute!

Food Budget Update

No I haven't forgotten about the food budget, even though I wish I could:-) I balanced the checkbooks today so I have renewed vigor, if you know what I mean, wink, wink.

Anyways...

I went to Meijers last week Wednesday. I spent $55. Fruit a few veggies, yogurt, tortillas, wine, etc, etc.

Then Friday I stopped at the health store for 3 loaves of bread and a dozen eggs- $18. Ouch!

Today was the dutch store to the tune of $2.

So I'm at $205 so far with two weeks left. $95 is possible I suppose. Our bread habit kills the budget. Lula's bread cost $5.79 a loaf!! I'm optimistic, as the gardening season is upon us and we have quite a bit of meat in the freezer. And hey if we can make that box of wine last for the next two weeks we're golden:-)

We are hoping to make a Trader Joe's run so that could totally blow things out of the water but we'll see.

Weekend Shopping and a few Pics of the Kidlets

$14 and some change. Really how do people have 40 dollar food budgets?
Hair things were BOGO free.

Friday the infamous hubby treated us to the Coast Guard Festival. Here are the kids waiting to go up, just to plunge back down again. I think they liked it. I last ride, Lettie approved.

Benna and daddy on the carousal.

In which I went shopping but we still have "nothing to eat"

Don't you just hate when you drop a bundle on groceries and you still don't have anything to eat? That's just what we did. Costco $82 and Meijer $34, I think I can't find my receipts.

The basics, butter to Vodka:-) We hope to make some infused vodka, aka Sneaky Pete with the vodka. The white flour is a first time purchase at Costco so I can try the artisan 5 minute a day bread that has been floating around the internet.

Meijer has the buy 5 salty snacks get $3 off so we bought 5 bags of rancid vegetable fat chips- yum:-) Hey we can't be perfect.

Highlights:

Corn chips, it's salsa season.

String cheese

10 lbs potatoes, I want to try make and freeze potato boats for easy lunch and breakfasts.

Carrots to shred and mix in with summer squashes and freeze for meatloaf this winter.

BUTTER- of course!

Guacamole to go with the chips and salsa.

Must get in the kitchen and make some food ASAP! Lots of ingredients, no food.

To Protect?

Is hiding thing from our kids in the name of protecting them a good thing? Is trying to hide death from them a noble thing?

Yesterday we found out that someone the hubby knows took his own life. Heartbreaking. You get the feeling that someone punched you in the stomach to hear something like that. It is simply awful.

Well this morning we went to grab a card to send to his wife. Leave it to Lula to want to know what is going on. So I let her know that one of daddy's friends husband had died. Well how, she wondered. So I gingerly told her that he took his own life. Her face dropped. She was obviously very confused. I didn't sugar coat it or throw my opinion about anything in there, just the minimal facts.

A few hours later she asked if they had any children. No was all I said. You could tell she was still processing the information.

I could have easily blown her off and told her to mind her own business. Yet children are so much better off to learn about death and sin from a distance if at all possible so I talked to her.

Our kids have been to a hand full of funerals and another hand full of visitations. We walk up the casket, we show them the body, we talk about how it is better to be the house of mourning than out having fun. They have seen marriages crumble and homes broken they have seen the results of sin. We talk about these things as unbiasedly as we can. Only telling them what God thinks of these things.

I know other disagree with me on this. They feel like a child's life should be butterflies and sugar plums but it's not.

Learning these things from the safety and security of a loving home is by far better than finding out when they experience it first hand.

Ecclesiastes 7:2
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart

Hiddy-ho there neighbor!

( Kobe Dean and Benna earlier this summer)

So it been a while...sorry I've got no excuse. Unless you take in to consideration that I'm just to lazy to come up with a rousing and lively post for you, my three readers.

We've been eating way to much ice cream and swimming at the pool way too much. (We have cut back because we can't be having us any punk country club kids:-) But really it's been hot and it is so easy to spoil your kids when you have the means to.

I have a to-do list about a country mile long to do but who really wants to paint or the like when it is 90+ degrees out. So this month will be busy.

I'm going to try a food budget again, but really we know how I am this those:-) $300 buck for the next four weeks...we'll see.

Why would I torture my self again? Well August is a huge month in the canning and freezing food world. Apricots, plums, tomatoes, peaches, and pickles are all on the to-do list. When you drop lots of money on fruits and veggies it got to come from somewhere.

Our vacation is coming up and last time I checked that too wasn't free. So we must horde a little money for that.

We also swapped our furniture for a cream colored floral sofa and love seat which means new paint, rug and curtains. Plus we would like to buy a couple of chairs for the living room now.

Tuition payments are due soon and making payments is yuck so must scrounge up some moo la for that too. So that my friends is why I'm torturing my self.

There is always something to spend money on isn't' there? So stay tuned for grocery pictures and living room redo picture and maybe even a few of my kidlets.