My 2 Weekly Stores

(My photo is missing 3 packs of Butterball Turkey Bacon.  

I forgot and put them in freezer before my photo shoot.)

I got some good deals this week that I wanted to share with you.

Walgreens:

*Turkey Bacon was $1.29 and I used a 55 cent off coupon and got them for 74 cents each. I had 3.

*Old El Pason taco sauce or shells were 3 for $4 and I had a coupon for 60 cents off 3.  I earned 1000 points for buying 4 of them so my final price was 50 cents each after buying 4 items.  Good thing I had chicken tacos on the menu this month too.

*Robitussin was earn 2000 points when you buy 2 and I had 2 coupons for $3 off so they were 66 cents each.

*Cepacol Lozenges were $1 with $1 back in RR so it was FREE!!!

I'm still trying to figure out the Walgreens situation.  From what I understand every 1,000 points is $1 but you can't cash the points in for money until you get 5000 points.  They do build up though and when you have enough to redeem them, the cashier will ask you if you would like to redeem them for money off your total.  I haven't earned enough to redeem them, but I'll keep you posted on how that works.

CVS:

*Pepsi products were $1 for 2-liters so I had a coupon for $1 off 3 Sierra Mists (Mt. Dew was o.k. too - they only had 2 Sierra Mists) so my total was $2 for 3 of them.  My Man likes them every here and there.

*Softsoap Body wash was $3.50 each with $4 ECB when you buy 2 and I had 50 cent off coupons for both so they were $1 each.

*Robitussin was $3 back in ECB when you buy 2 and I had 2 more coupons for $3 off making them 49 cents each.

While in my CVS I saw a collection jar for the previous manager's son that I told you about who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer this past June.  He's 13 and my son's age.  They said he had started chemo and things were rough.  I checked Caringbridge but they don't update it often.  I think they use Facebook instead.  So pray for Brayden Byrd more if you think about it.

Meals for October

Right now our weeks have quite a schedule. 

Cross Country meets and football practice on Mondays.

Sports practices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Football games and cross country practice on Thursdays.

Speech and football practice on Fridays.

With a schedule like this, careful planning is important for meals.  Our first football game sent me in a panic to plan better after paying $20 admission for our large family and then putting down almost another $20 for hotdogs and a bag of chips for everyone.  Not very filling or cheap! 

I'm geared up and ready with a plan now.

This month I'm doing Mom Advice's meal plan for Crock Pot for a Month.  We might not get to every meal for the month, but I'm happy to have those meals easy and ready.  For the first 2 weeks we will have:

Week 1:
1.  Roasted chicken with vegetables
2.  Sloppy Joes with raw veggies and pretzels (great one to take to a game!)
3.  Italian veggie and pasta soup (My Man has asked me to try to fix soup in a homemade bread bowl - hmm - maybe I'll post results later) with bread and salad
4.  Pork Chops with homemade rice-a-roni and broccoli
5.  Beef Stew with biscuits and salad
6.  Sticky Chicken with baked potatoes and corn

Week 2:
1.  Italian Sausage Spaghetti with rosemary cheese breadsticks
2.  Sloppy Giuseppes with chips and apple slices
3.  Tacos with corn chips, salsa and refried beans
4.  Chicken Italiano with broccoli and angel hair pasta
5.  Finger Lickin' Pork Chops with mashed potatoes and peas
6.  Sour Cream Salsa Chicken and rice

Check out her meal plans if you haven't already.  I'm a big fan.  Easy, healthy (for the most part) and what can be better than crock potting every day????

Baby Steps Toward Nutrition

So it's been a while since I've posted about taking steps toward better nutrition.

A few little things that we have done in addition to the more major things that I've already shared with you are these.  We have made some substitutions that don't take much money and really are not huge adjustments.  Just little ways to improve our health.

We use butter, olive oil and coconut oil instead of other more processed, bad-for-you oils.

We use Braggs Liquid Amino Acids instead of soy sauce.

We use arrowroot powder instead of corn starch.

Sea salt is so much better for you than iodized salt.

Plain yogurt is great for you and can substitute for sour cream (we still buy sour cream occasionally though.).

Homemade salad dressings not only taste better but are so much better for you than store bought.

Pure maple syrup (although more expensive) is better than processed pancake syrup (which by the way isn't maple syrup at all).  We sometimes use honey as a replacement too.

I used to mix up water with essential oils in a tiny spray bottle in the bathroom instead of Glade.  I haven't done that in a while but it's a great way to freshen up the air without using toxins.

What have you done to take tiny steps toward nutrition?

Freebies

 CVS

Walgreens

This week was a small week but all 4 of these items were FREE!  None of them required coupons so you can run out and get them for yourself.  The 2 from CVS gave me full amounts in ECB's for my next purchase.  The 2 from Walgreens did the same.  They are still printing out RR although they will not be anymore very soon.  Walgreens also had a deal on Scope and with a coupon match up 2 of them were free, but my Walgreens was out so I missed that deal.  Go grab ya some freebies this week.

School of Hard Knocks

Just got kids off to school - it seems it rarely happens without some form of drama or training.

We are in a stage now with our older 4 (ages 7,9,11,13) where we are having to use more "reality discipline" methods with them.  Kevin Leeman has several really good books about child training, and he has coined the term "reality discipline."  I'm the first to admit that when reading it, it makes sense, sounds easy and sounds effective, BUT as a parent to actually put it into practice is hard for me.  I want my kids to get an A, I want them to be neat, I want them to be responsible, I want them to succeed.  Reality discipline shows them normal life consequences when they don't do those things.  It teaches responsibility without the need for Mama to nag.

So each morning sending the kids off to school can have it's conflicts.  Lunch boxes forgotten, beds unmade, hair not brushed, papers left on the kitchen counter, milk left out from cereal.  I hear myself every morning saying the same 20 sentences over and over and over.  "Get your lunch box.  Don't forget to brush your teeth.  Tuck in your shirt.  Get out of bed - look at the clock."  It's like a broken record (has that phrase become obsolete with our advanced media?)  It frustrates me and honestly, I think they just tune me out anyway because they still forget their lunch, their hair still is tangled and the papers are still left on the counter.

So I recently refreshed myself with the guidelines of "reality discipline" and informed the Fish Sticks.  I posted a list of about 12 things (my normal reminders) that they need to check before heading out. I started setting their alarm clocks so I don't go upstairs to wake them and coax them to get up.  I fix their lunch, engage in sweet conversations, and kiss them off.  New rule - if you are not ready when Daddy loads up and heads out at 7:30, you will be left behind.  Then you must wait for Mommy to get dressed and ready to take you late for an unexcused tardy.  Today my 7 year old ran after the truck in the driveway, waving him down to catch her ride and I think I heard her ask her sister to fix her hair in the truck. 

No reminders from Mama other than "check the chart" one time.  No nagging.  No begging.  No fussing.  I will say it's made our mornings go smoother and it's teaching my kids responsibility.  Sure makes me feel better.  So far I haven't driven one to school.  I am not keeping my fingers crossed though because I know I will have to one day. 

And not all 4 Fish Sticks struggle with this.  Two really struggle.  One has his days and one could probably run a household on her own at this point.  They are all different, but for now reality discipline seems like a good solution for us.

Great Mac-N-Chac

I don't have a picture to show you for this dish because it was gone before I got my camera out.

Do you love macaroni and cheese like we do but are not crazy about the processed shelf cheese or powdered cheese?  Here's a super and easy recipe that my Papa shared with me when I was newly married.

Cook one package of noodles according to the directions.  (Today we did penne but usually use elbow)
Drain and add 1 cup evaporated milk and 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar.  Stir well.  Voile!!  That's it.  It looks like Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese and tastes wonderful.  Give it a try!

Clean House

Keeping my house clean has been an issue for me the last year.  It probably shouldn't be as much of a frustration as it is.  My first job in college was cleaning the dorm bathrooms (there are many stories there that could make you lose your lunch but I will refrain).  My side job post-college was cleaning 2 houses.  I think I'm a pretty good, thorough cleaner and heaven knows I have lots of experience.  Ironic thing is that as a newly married woman, cleaning was my least favorite thing to do, so I just didn't do it.  My poor Man.  Hey, I can overlook black mildew in my shower.  Those cob webs up there in that corner....that's just my Halloween decorations.  Pink in my toilet?  Didn't even notice it.

Shameful, I know.

I think I've learned to love a clean house and so I strive for it yet try not to obsess over it.  Living in the country with 8 people in one house equals nothing but dirty house.  And so that is my challenge.  I've read the books from the library about speed cleaning, refreshed myself on Don Aslett's professional cleaning book and tried many systems and charts.  They all have gone by the wayside.  Now that I'm only homeschooling before lunch time each day (kindergarten "let's out" early), I should have more time to focus on keeping the house clean.

My Man suggested I just do a little everyday - say an hour - as my goal.  Sounds good, but will I really make that a priority or will it just become stressful?  I have a large house - over 5,000 square feet, so cleaning it is very time consuming.

Last week I jotted some notes to try it out.  I broke my downstairs into zones.  Each day I did a zone, top to bottom and then left out my cleaning supplies hidden in a corner.  I got the downstairs done well in 5 days.  That leaves the school room (over garage) and the upstairs.  I told the Fish Sticks that they would be responsible to clean the upstairs with my help and supervision every other Saturday.  They all have a rotation chart posted on the back of their door.  As for the school room, I can do that on the off Saturday.

Then my sister sent me this link.  Later that week I read this link.  I liked both ideas, although I am assuming that both these women have smaller houses than I do.  So there's my homemaking challenge.  What's yours?  Do you have a great cleaning schedule to pass on?