Halloween Activities

Halloween is not my favorite holiday; however the little kids are at the age that they really enjoy ALL of it. So this year, I decided to just go with it. We have been celebrating for 2 days now.  First last night our church sponsored a trunk or treat. I came up with the idea to use a tarp and have the kid color finish for “under the sea”. It worked really well.  The kids had a ball and got enough candy to last at least a month.

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Kendall is a fairy, Lily a pop star diva and Zach is Super Z- the action hero

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This morning Zach and I head to Winston to grab donuts for the “special snack”  in Kendall’s class that I was in charge of.

Super Zach enjoying his donut early!

Super Zach enjoying his donut early!

After the snack, we headed outside to watch an alphabet parade.

photo (2)Finally, tonight Amanda and I will take the kids to several place to trick or treat!

First Fieldtrip for Kendall

Matt, Zach and I were lucky enough to attend Kendall’s first fieldtrip with her. We went to the North Carolina Zoo!  Picture heavy of course!

Amanda’s Birthday

Amanda decided that she would prefer a home cooked meal instead of going out to eat for her birthday! Because of our work schedules we did celebrate a day late but it still was nice! She chose stuffed green peppers for dinner.

Fall Festival Fun

This afternoon was the annual fall festival at the girls elementary school.  We really enjoyed ourselves as you can tell. This is another picture heavy post…

The food was good..

But the fun was even better…

The bounce a house was great..

But nothing could beat the slide…

Bunches of Breakfast

One of the areas that few people talk about is breakfast meals. I am assuming that most plan to eat the cheap  cereal for months on in. However that just would not happen in this house. I LOVE breakfast, it is probably  my favorite meal. Now that school is back in session, it is hard to eat a quick and healthy breakfast that does not cost a lot. Over the past few weeks we have developed a list of breakfast items that seem to be working for us.

  • Cereal at least once a week, currently we have several varieties of Cheerios. My price point is $1 a box so I try to stock up when I can.
  • Poptarts- depending on the flavor we have, some weeks the kids could eat this several times a week. But I can definitely say these are one of the foods I refuse to eat.
  • Eggs- Fried or scrambled.  Over the summer it has been really  nice to add fresh green peppers, ham and onions to make a quick omelet. The kids are starting to enjoy plain fried eggs which take less than 3 minutes to fix.  Last week I was given the following recipe which I plan to make over the weekend and we can re-heat at least one time if it last. I  made it last weekend but we did not have any leftovers.
      • 10 eggs whisk together, 2 cups of cottage cheese, diced onions, diced green pepper and spinach. Bake at 350 for  45 minutes.
  • Pancakes- These are a great meal that we can prepare ahead. I place in a ziplock bag and simply pop in the toaster any morning when the kids ask for them.
  • Baked Oatmeal- our current favorite is Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips. The recipe can be found here :http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/05/peanut-butter-baked-oatmeal.html.   I timed this last night and it took 10 minutes from start to finish. I set the stove to cook and we wake up to a warm breakfast. I also have tried apple oatmeal in the crock pot not bad but with all the variety and ease of this recipe, honestly this is better and easier!

On the weekends we tend to make bigger more traditional breakfast meals but these are quick and everyone enjoys!

Sunday at the Park-LOTS of Pictures

This afternoon our church held a dinner at a park just south of us. The playground was awesome…

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With lots to play on with our friends even Zach’s size friends.

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Next we rode the Carousal… Zach was not so much a fan….

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Zach liked the train ride much better…

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Finally we had dinner….

photo (6)Honestly this was one of the best Sunday afternoon we have spent in a long time!

 

September No-Low Spend Challenge Update 3

1.Emergency Fund at $1000 by the end of the month. I did receive a refund on Haley’s tuition so I was able to place $500 in the fund. I still need to find another $500 but this is a start.

2. Grocery spending at $200 or less not including our Zaycon Food chicken order. This week was expensive for groceries. I did place our chicken order and will be picking up 120# of chicken in a October. This week I have made two stops at the grocery store, one at Aldi and another at Food Lion. I am over my $200. Currently I sit at $226 for the month.

As you can tell, I most likely will not be able to met either of my goals for the month. However, I am glad I accepted the challenge as it has made me hyper aware of spending and has actually keep my grocery shopping well under budget as well. I will only do a find update since I am already fallen from the wagon so to speak.

 

Random Tuesday Thoughts 8/13/2013

  • it is four days until we leave on vacation….3 days until we pack and five days until Haley starts college
  • My work schedule will be changing again this fall with later evenings all four days that I am working
  • Kendall is starting to get excited about Kindergarten. She and Lily have 13 days until they start school.
  • One of the things that I realize just yesterday is that naps are no longer taken in Kindergarten, so to prep Kendall for this change, we stopped naps today. I did explain to both she and Lily that weekend naps are still required because Mommy needs them!
  • I think I have decided to spend my birthday money on both a wallet and pocketbook. I really need a wallet but want something different for a purse.
  • This will be the first week since I have returned to work that I have been able to not pack lunch. On Monday, my director purchased lunch for me. I was able to eat the rest today as leftovers. On Wednesday, my plan is to use my free birthday meal ticket and Friday will be a special treat just so I will not have to pack lunch. Actually the truth is that we are trying to eat up all the leftovers so there should not be anything left for me to pack on Friday anyway.
  • Each of the little kids will have about $25 to spend on vacation as they have been doing small chores for the past several weeks to earn spending money.
  • This is also the first post ever that did not contain a spelling error, prior to spell check.

Random Thursday Update

  • We leave for the beach in 9 days. I am probably more excited about that than the kids!
  • Purchasing only items we are out of has kept my grocery spending down to $60 so far. That includes a 3 month supply of toilet paper purchased yesterday!
  • Gas budget is low as well. We have only spent $100 so far for the month. I am hoping to stay way low with our trip this month!
  • Today, Haley Lily, Kendall and myself all had dental appointments. Haley and Kendall were cavity free. I was as well but am needing some gum work done. Lily has several major issues the first of which will be 2 teeth “wrapped” due to cavities. She also has several other areas of concern and most like definitely will need orthodontic work in the future
  • Lily also had an eye appointment today. Much better news there, she does not have to patch anymore but may have to again in the next couple of years. She was so excited as she is working hard to not cross her eyes without her glasses!
  • I have been working some longer hours this weeks so am definitely looking forward to some relaxing pool time if the weather cooperates!