This year we significantly reduced our food for two reasons. First was COVID 19. Second I had to work for 3 hours! We had wings, weeines and chips in addition to
Our chartouse board
Kendall’s requested veggie tray!
And desert of course!
Things change very quickly, as has been proven yet again. Matt’s father passed away on Sunday January 10th. We made the very difficult decision to leave all the kids here and head to Florida to help make arrangements and for the memorial service. This trip was total unplanned but fortunately we were able to cover the cost without causing significant hardship. The emotional toil was significantly higher than any money spent. Amanda was able to spend Monday- Thursday night at our house. Haley stayed Friday and Saturday night. My mother was the bus driver and made sure that Kendall and Zach got to school every day and to piano. A friend stepped in to make sure the kids got to church on Wednesday night. I had already written our meal plan so no additional food or groceries were needed at home, although the kids ate out several times as a sister treat.
One thing we learned very quickly was that the small town in Florida that we were heading to was hosting a dog show. The price of a room jumped from $72 a night to $114 after our first two nights. Total cost for hotel was $546.71
We chose to drive with both of us going. We did consider flying but would have needed to rent a car for the week so we could not justify this expense. Total spent in gas was $112.25
We did go to Disney Springs on Wednesday night for dinner. On Thursday, we used a remaining day ticket from our December trip to spend the day at Magic Kingdom. I was able to redeem point to cover the parking and several snacks. Although this increased our trip cost by $150, this was a much needed break from the stress of the week and I would not change a thing. Our photo pass from December also was active so I will share some pictures on Wednesday.
Our total cost of the trip was $1471. We placed most of the expenses on our gas credit card that we planned to pay off this month. During our trip Amanda who has been driving our older van decided to obtain a car loan and get a new to her car. She returned the older van which we will sell to recovery $1000. This is very unexpected but will enable us to cover the trip with little to no financial strain!
It has been over a month since I last posted a menu plan and many of the meal that occurred in the mean time have been take out. I am not even going to pretend that we did not enjoy each and every one! But we are back on track with a goal of saving up all of our money to eat on at Disney in April. I am working really really hard this week to use up most of the left-overs in the fridge. It is already crazy full! The one game changer may be if we get predicted snow on Friday. This will mean hot soup is a must!
Breakfast– Saturday-pancakes and sausage links. Sunday- I made egg cups and everyone else found left-overs or bagels. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday-choice of breakfast muffins, eggs, sausage, oatmeal, cereal or grits, breakfast burritos, bagels or omelets.
Lunch- Saturday–Matt and I ate out for our “date” to Costco, left-overs at home. Sunday- Cagney’s (local restaurant) I am taking left-overs every day this week. Matt is doing the same.
Dinner- Saturday- Nachos (frugal win as we used half a bag of meat and the rest will be used on Tuesday.) Sunday-Crack Chicken Noodle Soup (definitely a repeat as of today none is left!) Monday-Pork Fried Rice (left-over pork from Christmas Eve. I also placed 2 additional meals in the freezer for future use.) Tuesday-Soft taco and more left-overs . Wednesday- Left-overs Thursday- Corn Dogs or another frozen sandwich from the freezer . Friday- Chicken and Dumplings in the Crock pot. (I need to use the chicken breast I unthawed last week).
Thanksgiving is a very fluid holiday around our house. Many of our Thanksgivings have been spent travelling. We have travel to Michigan and Georgia to visit with family on most of these trips. We also have discovered that Thanksgiving is an awesome time to visit Disney World.
This year we are quarantined. Technically, Matt has been released but the kids and I are officially quarantined through Monday November 30th. The good news is that Matt is definitely better. I am starting to feel human again. I am positive that I have experienced COVID twice now but did not chose to test on either occasion. The kids all have not had any symptoms. I chose not to test this time because the kids would end up needing to quarantine another 14 days after my test. They have been really troopers and this really would benefit no one. We did end up cooking both the turkey and ham along with multiple side dishes. We have been enjoying and even packed some lunches for next week. Thanksgiving was not cancelled just quarantined.
Zach has been experiencing some stomach issues. After multiple discussion with his pediatrician’s office, we don’t feel they are COVID related. Instead, a food intolerance. We are going to watch his diet as well as complete some testing to try and get a handle on what is causing this.
The goals for the rest of the holiday are to get the Christmas decorations complete!
Last week we ended switching around several days because Baseball started! I am so excited but it does bring a new level of complexity to our lives and schedule. Zach and Kendall start in person school 2 days a week. In some money saving news, our schools are going to provide breakfast and lunch for each student free until December 31st 2020. Both Kendall and Zach are excited because eating at school is a treat for both! We will save money by not packing lunch and we also will receive take home meals for the days they are not in school. Hoping to establish a good routine very soon.
Breakfast– Saturday-Bacon, eggs and toast Sunday- bagels Monday- . Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday-choice of breakfast muffins, eggs, sausage, oatmeal, cereal or grits, breakfast burritos, bagels or omelets, French toast
Lunch- Saturday- Pasta salad Sunday-Lunch supplied by friends! I have tuna salad, pasta salad and two regular salad for lunch this week.
Dinner- Saturday- Taco Bell Sunday-pizza from Aldi Monday- Chicken nugget bowls Tuesday-Taco Pasta . Wednesday- Ravioli ( found on sale for $1 a package, 4 packages for us!) Thursday- Left-overs . Friday- Chicken and dumplings
1. Disney was awesome! We really enjoyed the family time together and it was a nice escape from the reality right now. It did confirm that we will be going again in both December and April regardless of the mask requirements or what is open or not. We did miss some of the food but I think that knowing what we know now it will be better in December without any changes.
2. A rock flew up and hit our new windshield in the van! This is the 4th different windshield in the van and the third that I have specifically paid for. I am a lot frustrated but at least it is a relatively easy fix. The new windshield is installed in the driveway so it does not mean a trip anywhere.
3. The goal for the weekend is to tame and reclaim the garden. Between the heat and trips to Disney and the beach, the weeds are winning. I am planning to break the work in separate sessions one or two a day and hopefully by Monday it will resemble a garden again.
4. Remote or online learning continues to be a huge challenge and struggle for us. Matt is able to work from home a couple of days a week but it is super stressful. I am hopefully that at least soon the kids can return to school a couple of days a week for now., ANYTHING has got to be better than what we are doing now! 5. I am looking forward to the long weekend and a more normal schedule starting next week. I don’t have another break until November so we need to get the garden and house under control. I think I am more excited about starting a more normal routine next week with my job. It is something that has not happened since March and will provide stability! The kids will be going to school starting in two weeks at least on Monday and Tuesday so again this will provide stability.
5. I am looking forward to the long weekend and a more normal schedule starting next week. I don’t have another break until November so we need to get the garden and house under control. I think I am more excited about starting a more normal routine next week with my job. It is something that has not happened since March and will provide stability! The kids will be going to school starting in two weeks at least on Monday and Tuesday so again this will provide stability.