Shopping

I remember when we were getting ready to be married and the one thing I was most nervous about was grocery shopping and cooking! Of all the things in marriage and those were the 2 things I was most nervous about. Over the last 5 years I have gotten much better with a buck and planning meals out. I still hate the actual process of going to the store and buying things (which is why I plan for a week and only set foot in the store 1 time all week!) but, I do love planning the meals and the time spent in the kitchen. Lately, I have taken to baking at night when the kids go to bed so that it gets done. When you are a mom of 3, you have to use every single minute as wisely as you can!

Tonight was shopping night, I spent $85 and here is what is on the menu...

Gavyn got Peas and Peaches this week. I buy fresh or sometimes frozen, cook it if I need to then, puree put in trays and freeze for the week. I also bought avocados just in case he doesn't like the peas!

.Fish Sticks (homemade not from a box!) with Mac & Cheese and Salad

.Oven Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots and homemade muffins

.Turkey Casserole with Broccoli

.Ranch Chicken (it is a Mexican dish with tomatoes, peppers, cheese...) and Chips

.Thai Chicken Salad and Rice

.Potato Kielbasa Skillet and Carrots

.Colorful Chicken Pizza and Salad

.Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake for Saturday morning

.New York Cheese Cake for Ryan's birthday

I don't normally do two big pastry items like that but with Ryan's birthday and being in a mood, that is what we get! It did make me spend a little more at the store than I normally would though. Most weeks I get out with spending around $70. I am sure coupon shoppers do better than that but with my crazy schedule I have not figured out how to sit down and incorporate that into my life yet. If it is a good week, maybe I will take pictures of our meals and post them with recipes.

What a weekend

This weekend was extra busy but wonderful! So many great things happened within two days.

For the last couple months, I have been going behind my husbands back planning a Surprise 30th Birthday Party. Like I did not have enough on my plate! But I love him and he does so much for us, plus he has not been looking forward to this birthday. I had lots of help from my wonderful parents and that made it possible to pull off. He was completely shocked, surprised, happy and grateful for the party. It was a great mix of friends, family, good food and lots of donuts. What more could you want?

Saturday during the party prep my little chunky monkey finally decided to roll from tummy to back and back to tummy! We have been getting very anxious about his lack of rolling seeing how he is now 7 months and had not rolled yet. We are hoping he keeps it up! He did it once more Saturday night and has been moving around a lot more when he is on his tummy.

This morning we woke up and got the boys ready for Pirate Fest. We made the drive to Saint Charles, stopped in to see my Aunt and Uncle for a short visit. Stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel then on to Pirates! It was cool and muddy but well worth the drive. The boys had a great time going on a treasure hunt all over the Festival, getting treasures from the pirates to put into their treasure chests. Grandma bought them both wooden swords, Nevin was super excited! He was the one who asked for them and is going to cause lots of trouble with it. My hubby did the axe throw and hit the dummy in the middle of the chest and the middle of the head! It was kind of scary, not going to lie, don't mess with my husband! It was fun to watch though. The boys got to see the cannons get fired, lots of people walking around in crazy pirate outfits and Nevin even petted a rat. What a crazy day! How many times do you get to say things like that in a blog?

Tomorrow back to reality... Preschool, Cardinal Glennon, therapy..... Gratefully for a short break over the weekend.

Granola Bars

We love granola bars around here but they can get expensive if you want the really good ones. I decided to do some searching for recipes and found a decent "base" for them and have made the recipe my own with tweaks. Today was my third time making them and each time I tried a new flavor and we have loved them all. Here is the recipe with my 3 alternatives that I have tried. Let me know if you make any changes yourself!

2c. Quick Oats
1c. Flour
1/2c. Wheat germ
3/4c. Brown sugar
3/4tsp. Salt
3/4tsp. Cinnamon
1/2c. Vegetable oil
1/2c. Honey
1 Egg
2tsp. Vanilla
1/2c. Applesauce or Peanut butter
1c. Raisins or Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan.
Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl.
Add wet ingredients (use 1/2c of veg. oil first, use the same cup for the honey and it will slip right out) mix until moistened.
Pat into pan and bake for 30 minutes.
I have done:
Raisins and Applesauce.
Chocolate Chips and Applesauce
Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter.