Author Archives: Sheila

Saving on Saturday

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This first deal is probably one of the best of the year. I headed to CVS to use some of the Extra Care Bucks that I have been rolling since Black Friday. Unfortunately, I let 3 ECB expire so I was very sad. I grabbed a tube of concealer and mascara used two $1 off coupons printed from Swagbucks and Extra Care Bucks. I spent fourteen cent out of pocket, received $7 ECB back and should earn 50 Swagbucks (fifty cent).

Yesterday (Friday) Mom, 4 out of 5 kids and I went after Christmas shopping. We found the best deals at Walmart.

Was 19.98 on sale for 9.99
Regular price $19.99 on sale for $9.99. I also purchased a small Ree figure carrying a pie for $1.98

I found a 6 foot unlit pine artificial tree for $11.00 and stocked up on tissue paper and gift boxes for next year.

At Lowes I purchased a tree topper for $4.01 you can see in the background of the picture above.

My favorite find of the day was vegetable seeds for twenty-five cent each at Dollar Tree.

I finished the day by purchasing more make up at Ulta, a gift box with eye shadow, blush and brushes for $16.01.

Did yo grab a good deal?

Quiet Christmas Budget

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I have finally managed to do it! This year, I successfully reduced both the number of gifts and the amount of money that we spent on Christmas. The result has been even better than I anticipated! We have spent the entire Christmas day, enjoying some quiet time and new activities. The kids are not fighting and even more surprising is the fact that I have not heard one single time “I’m bored or Is this all we are getting for Christmas.”

The big girls got 6 presents under the tree!

The little kids got 5 gifts under the tree and one big gift from Santa

Monday Menu Plan

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This plan looks a lot different, simply because it is for the week of Christmas. In my make believe world, I would get to enjoy several day of not cooking, however Christmas day or not my kids want to eat. They also want something beside left-overs after a full day of them. I am trying a couple of new things this year to see how they work out, the goal is to make things easier for me and keep everyone happy and feed without a lot of stress.

A couple of things to look for and I will definitely let you know if they work. 1.You will notice that each morning we have a casserole or other make ahead item. We are big breakfast eaters but I am not a big morning person. I am trying several new recipes and hope to make some a part of the normal routine.
2. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day cooking. My goal is to have everything prepped ahead of time so that I can dump and pour and/or stick in the oven for a good but easy meal.
3. The kids and I are home all week long. Matt has a couple of days off so lunch becomes a regular meal.

Saturday- Desert day. Most of the deserts for Christmas are made. I do have a couple of place and bake cookies to be made Christmas Eve. Peanut butter balls, Reindeer crack and brownies are all made! Breakfast-Bacon and egg biscuit casserole. Lunch- Olive Garden Left-overs. Dinner- Girls at Youth Christmas party. East Coast Wings for Matt, Zach and I.

Sunday- Breakfast-Toast and Church breakfast. Lunch- Gregg’s(local restaurant). Dinner- Left-overs.

Monday- Preparation Day This is the day that hopefully makes the rest of the week go smoothly. We will prep 2 days of breakfast and all the items need for Christmas lunch. Breakfast-Bacon and sausage casserole. Lunch- Oyster Stew for home, Matt has banana bread and a snack meal at work. Dinner-Pick a left-over or sandwich.

Tuesday- Christmas Eve! Breakfast-Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal. Lunch- Left-over Soup day or Tomato Soup. Dinner-BBQ at my mother’s house.

Wednesday- Christmas Day-Breakfast-Sausage Cresant Casserole and Hashbrown Casserole.  Lunch- Turkey, Dressing, 7 layer salad, Cranberry sauce, Creamed corn, Carrots, Squash Casserole, Green Bean Casserole and Cresant rolls Dinner-BBQ at my mother’s house.

Thursday- Leftover Day! Don’t think this needs any explanation but it is grab and eat. No fighting and no saving!

Friday- Breakfast-Sausage and Egg Casserole. Lunch-Nachos(depending on what is left it may be turkey nachos or it may be beef nachos. Dinner- Taco Turkey Soup. This was a huge hit last time so I hope it is as well received this time!

5 Things Friday

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  1. Yes, it has been a week since I have posted. This week, I ended up working 4 night in Guam for therapy. As you can imagine this added to our already busy schedule.
  2. Better news is that both the kids and I started our Christmas break today. I ended up going back to work one day before them but we all plan to enjoy the next almost two weeks.
  3. Not only have I been working extra this week. On Thursday, both Kendall and Lily both were sick so off to the doctor’s office we go. Luckily it is not the flu but both girls still don’t feel great.
  4. We are doing awesome on budget this month. So fare we have spent $220 in gas and $206 in groceries. This includes stops at two grocery stores today. I am very hopeful that we will end the month less than $250 on each of these items.
  5. I am planning to start the official Christmas cooking tomorrow!

Five Things Friday

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  1. I absolute hate our weather, currently it is 34 and raining. We have had several cold and rainy days this weeks with yet another one expected for Saturday
  2. Tonight we are working on some handmade Christmas gifts for both my work and Zach’s teachers. I will share right before Christmas and after they have all been disturbed. We have 12 gifts and currently have spent $8.
  3. I need to decide on a menu plan for Christmas day. In the past, it has always been a sort of find your own dinner thing. But as the kids get older, I am thinking toward a big lunch with left-overs for dinner. Of course, my family needs to eat three meals a day no matter what holiday it is. This also means I need to make a trip to the grocery store.
  4. Our budget this month is looking awesome. We have currently spent $18.54 on groceries. I am anticipating around $100 for our Christmas trip, which keeps us really low for the month but after last month it should be. I am planning to share a detailed budget for next year after Christmas as well.
  5. I have 4 gifts left to buy in December. One is my mother’s birthday present so only 3 left for Christmas. I only have to decide on one final gift. Lily suggested that I need to keep a list of all the things I buy during the year but my only fear is that nosey people would find it. I guess I could be generic and just put the number of gifts purchased. Any Suggestion?

Menu Planning Monday

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We should be able to finish up most of our left-overs this week. I am hoping to get everything cleaned out before we start with Christmas foods.  Last Thursday, was a busy and tiring day, I decided to treat everyone and we ate at Cracker Barrel.  I did cook the meatloaf muffins on Saturday, so nothing went to waste.  I have a busy week so we have simple foods on the menu. Our Christmas celebration with friends is Thursday night so that make it appear that we are eating out a lot this week.

Breakfast- Saturday,-left-over breakfast from last week and Cracker Barrel.  Sunday,-Eggs cooked your way. Zach actually finished up the last of the breakfast leftovers.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of bagels, sausage, eggs omelet, oatmeal, pancakes, cereal, French toast or toast.  This is the easiest meal of the day!

Lunch–Saturday-left-overs. , Sunday- meal out with friends.  Friday both Matt and I will eat out. Salads are the choice of the week, along with soups and chicken nuggets for Kendall.

Dinner – Saturday- Meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes and corn bread.  Sunday–Left-overs, Monday-Pepper Steak and egg rolls.  Tuesday– Spaghetti and meatball, using left-over sauce that is in the refrigerator. Wednesday–choice of Soups (we have three varieties in the refrigerator). Thursday– Chick Fil A . Friday- Dominos Pizza ( we will use gift cards so really does not count).

Tuesday Thoughts

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I have been very blessed and fortunate because the “little” kids have very rarely been sick, especially Kendall and Zach. Kendall missed two school days last year and yesterday Zach missed his first school day in several years. Zach started complaining with his stomach hurting on Thanksgiving Thursday. He actually threw up on Saturday and Sunday. This morning, he just did not feel like going to school.

While Zach spent most of the day in bed, I found several task to keep me busy all day Monday. I ended up turning five pounds of potatoes into mashed potatoes for future use. I deboned the chicken we purchased on Saturday to make a double batch of chicken enchiladas. I have just enough for use to eat on Tuesday and froze a large batch that will provide dinner another evening with left-overs that can be used for lunch as well.

One of the less fun things that we worked on this weekend was re-organizing and cleaning out the office. Matt was originally the intended occupant for our home office. After completing it use as a nursery, it became his office. I first applied for my position in Guam in February 2017. One of the requirement was that I have the ability to block out all noises from the house in addition to plan walls. So we simply moved everything from my desk in the office and everything from his desk to my desk in the corner of the bedroom. Considering how little time I ended up spending in the office it was crowded but not a big deal. My teletherapy job in Guam has picked up significantly . I am spending between 8 and 10 hours a week working in the office. The crowded room and clutter really started to bother me. So cleaning and organizing occurred. I am very pleased with the result but I am the most proud of the charging shelf that we figured out. This holds all the phones and other devices that need to come in my bedroom at night!