Owen is my baby. He’s the youngest of my three boys and is 20 months old. He is babied by the bigger boys and probably by Josh and me as well. He loves to play outside and get dirty and sometimes he can be a real loner. Today, he went out back to play by himself. I was watching him from the kitchen window and saw him looking up with his jaw hanging open. Something had caused him to pause in awe. I grabbed my camera and went outside to share in his experience. His head was turning back and forth, left and right, up and down, as the birds and the squirrels played, jumped, and flew from one tree top to the next. Owen was enjoying the majesty of God’s creation, as if for the first time. It is such a joy to watch our children grow and explore and discover things for the first time. Things that we take for granted and no longer stop us in our tracks. Things that no longer make us weep before the Lord in thanksgiving and wonder. I’m enjoying my journey to having a heart more like Mary and less like Martha. I just put Owen down for a nap and the big boys are playing out front. I’m going to go walk on the treadmill in the garage and spend some time with Joshua and Jesse. It is an absolutely GORGEOUS day. Sunny and 70. 🙂 God is so good.

~audrey

Yesterday was BAD…to say the least.   My kids were CRAZY, nothing went as planned, I stressed all day about something that ended up getting rescheduled at the last minute, and I found out that I have to have a biopsy on my thyroid this morning!  It was NOT a good day.  Unfortunately, I feel like most of my days have been like that recently.  I have felt completely out of control and as a result, I have been stressed out and ‘on edge’ constantly.  My children have been the recipients of my anger lately and I hate that.  I have been yelling again and Jesse has gotten several spankings in the last week.  I had not spanked in a LONG time, but my change and lack of calmness has effected his behavior and as a result he has earned some pretty major punishment.  I do not like me like this.  I’ve actually been consciously doing all the right things to get myself together and calm down.  I don’t know what’s gotten into me!?  Is it this new birth control?  It’s suppose to have a VERY low dose of hormones that lasts for FIVE years; how could that have such a dramatic effect on my ‘mood’??  All I know is, something has to change!  I have absolutely no motivation to do anything around my house, I’ve lost all creativity with the kids, and everyday tasks just seem like a chore.  I was actually watching a commercial last night for Cymbalta ( a depression med.) and all the symptoms they listed were ones that I have had lately!!  But I don’t feel depressed.  It’s not like I feel sad or “down”.  I just don’t feel like myself and I’m going to fight like crazy to get back to the “old me” without medication.  Believe me, I’m not in denial.  I am being treated by my aunt with homeopathic remedies for a variety of things and usually my remedy balances my hormones as well.  I just hate the thought of having to go on some long term medication at my age.

Anyways!  Enough of the depressing stuff!  I am taking the right steps to regain my sanity and enjoy life to the fullest.  Thankfully, I have a new project underway.  I am organizing a large armoire for a friend.  She is consolidating her desk into this armoire and it is full of school supplies, crafts, books, bills, CDs, and all kinds of things that don’t belong in there but don’t have a home of their own.  I started on Monday and I hope to finish up today.  Organizing is definitely one area that makes me come alive.  I’m looking forward to the finished project and the satisfaction of knowing this will make their life easier and more pleasant.  To me, there is nothing better than always knowing where something is when you need it.  Some prime examples of things that often go missing in a home are:  scotch tape, scissors, keys, remote controls, and glasses.  If you create a specific ‘home’ for these items and get in the habit of returning the items to their proper home everytime you finish using them, you will never have to “look” for them again!

Choose joy today!  I am not going to raise my voice today…with the Lord’s help!

~audrey

Alright, I’ve had several friends ask me to email them a copy of my menu/grocery list. My old budget for groceries was $50/week. Lately it’s been more like $70, but that includes paper items, cleaning supplies, and snacks for my kids…if you don’t have children, you can save quite a bit by not buying snacks! 🙂
I start out by taking inventory of every food item in my house. I make as many meals from the food I already have and start my grocery list of the things I need. For example…I may have ten tortillas, shredded cheese, and spanish rice…so I’ll add ground beef (we actually use ground turkey, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone), lettuce, and sour cream to my list so we can have soft tacos/burritos one night.
Because I don’t like to spend two hours at the grocery store, I then catagorize my shopping list according the order of the aisles at Walmart…produce, breads, canned items, pasta, breakfast aisle…etc…that saves a lot of time and trips down the same aisle!
One of the keys to saving money on your groceries is to stick to your list and buy the cheapest brand whenever possible. I used to think “well, the generic brand is only .40 cents cheaper, I’m just going to buy the brand name.” BUT, if you save .40 cents on half the items in your cart, that is a HUGE savings…so I now buy as much generic as possible. Think in advance as much as possible. Plan for every breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and dessert that you possibly can. This will keep you from making two and three trips back to the store later in the week/month. You also might want to check with your favorite grocery store and find out what days they restock. For me, it is Monday nights. It is best for me to do my shopping on Tuesdays when the aisles are clear and the shelves are full…and I always shop at night. I put the boys in bed and call my dear friend down the street, we pick up starbucks, and hit the grocery aisles. 🙂 Might as well make it a good experience!
I typically make breakfast and lunch very simple. The same two or three meals in rotation. For dinner, I try to rotate chicken, beef, fish, beans, soup, etc. I don’t like to have chicken four nights in a row. So here is a look at my menu for the next two weeks:

Breakfasts:
oatmeal (cheap and healthy)
yogurt and cereal
pancakes (I make a huge batch of the healthy kind once a month, and freeze the leftovers)
grits and eggs (another cheap one and they keep you good and full until lunch)
biscuits, gravy, and eggs (typically a Saturday morning breakfast)

Lunches:
pb&j
soup & salad
mac n cheese
egg salad
grilled cheese
leftovers

Snacks:
pears
applesauce and string cheese
popcorn
nuts
yogurt covered raisins
banana chips

Dinner:
Veggie Burgers, tater tots, and broccoli
Pork Chops, green bn. casserole, mashed potatoes
Spaghetti and garlic bread
Burritos/Soft Tacos
Broccoli, Ham, and Cheese Soup (this recipe is AMAZING, I’ll post the recipe later…and best of all, it’s in the crock pot, for your workin’ girls!)
Red Beans and Rice (we eat this at least once a week…we can feed our family three times on this $3 meal!)
15 bean soup with kielbasa sausage and cheddar biscuits (another cheap one…about $4 total, and you will definitely have leftovers)
Chicken Divan (a chicken casserole with saffron rice), broccoli
Potato Soup and salad
Ginger Glazed Salmon
Saucy Chipotle BBQ Pork (another crock pot recipe…this is a new one for me, I’ll let you know how it turns out)
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with green beans
Chili
Chicken Pot Pie

That is 14 dinners in all. For the recipes that are cheap and easy, double it and freeze one! Another KEY to saving money on food is eating your leftovers! I read that 40% of our groceries end up in the trash. That’s almost half!! Eat your leftovers and don’t let your meat or produce go bad in the fridge (I used to be horrible about that!). We don’t waste money on drinks. I make sweet tea once or twice a week, we don’t buy soda, and my kids only drink juice or milk at meal times…water in between. That can save a lot of money if you’re big soda drinkers. And finally, I am starting to make our own bread from freshly milled flour that I buy in bulk from a family business in Atlanta. It breaks down to about .70 cents a loaf and I also make our pancakes, biscuits, and homemade baked goods with that flour. Freshly milled flour is cheaper and the health benefits are endless. Here is their website if you want to read about it: www.breadbeckers.com

We don’t have dessert very often, but I try to keep some options on hand. This week our options are:

brownies
sugar cookies (from scratch are cheap and easy and you can let the kids decorate them)
pudding (a family favorite)
popcorn and m&ms (good for movie night)
cinnamon toast (MMMmmm…)

I hope that helped a little!? I’ve learned a lot over the years from my friends with large families and small budgets. 🙂 Desperate times call for desperate measures. You’re always a little more willing to make sacrifices when it’s necessary. I make sure I try a new recipe at least once a week. Make meal time special. Let the kids help you cook and especially let them help with the dishes. Use placemats and cloth napkins (that also saves money on paper napkins), set candles out at dinner. That will make the plainest meal a little more special. And always be thankful for what you have, no matter how little or boring.

Bon Apetite!

~audrey