Menu Planning

A few months ago Matt and I sat down to review our monthly expenses and realized we were spending way too much money. The worst part was that a huge chunk of what we were spending money on was eating out. Even worse was that we were eating out so much because of poor planning. Either we were out running errands and it would have been too late to cook once we got back home, or it was that we had food in the house, but were missing ingredients for basically every recipe we could come up with. On top of that, I was pregnant and we all know how pregnant women can go a little crazy when they are craving something.

At the beginning of the year I decided that I was going to begin menu planning for our family and boy has it ever made the difference! Here are a few ways that my family has benefited from menu planning and how your family can too:

• Menu Planning Saves $$$ - Before menu planning, I would just walk through the store and buy what looked good. I didn't have certain meals in mind and on the rare occasion that I did, I would forget at least one key ingredient. Menu planning allows me to come up with several meals for the week and then create a grocery list of everything that I am going to need for those meals. It allows for me to cut back on impulse shopping because when I have a list, I'm less likely to buy stuff I don't need and less food goes to waste. In addition, menu planning can save you money by making it easier to buy in bulk. We like chicken, so it's great to be able to buy a big pack of chicken for $10 and be able o make 4 meals, rather then spending $6 for a smaller pack that will only make one meal.


• Menu Planning Saves Time - When you sit down once a week and create a menu, you already know what is going to be for dinner each night of the week. This saves me time because I can just pull what I need from the freezer the night before and it's ready for me the next day. In addition, planning out your meals means you don't have to run out to the store for an ingredient... (or make your husband stop and grab something on the way home from work, hehe - but I've never done that before!) Another way menu planning helps to save me time is that when I buy that big pack of chicken, I already know what four meals I am going to cook with it. So, when I'm cutting up the chicken for chicken fajitas on night one, I can also chop up the chicken for our chicken spiedie dinner on night two and throw it in the marinade overnight. Then I can slice up the chicken for night 3 for our chicken stir fry dinner and bag and freeze that and I can dice up the chicken that I need for chicken salad at the end of the week and bag and freeze that. Not only have I saved time by dividing and chopping the chicken for all my meals at once, but when it's time to cook those meals, I won't have to thaw and cut it that night AND that I'll only have to wash the cutting board one time instead of 4 times! Maybe that sounds a bit crazy to you, but with three little kids running around - EVERY minute of my day matters!


• Menu Planning Improves Nutrition - When you plan out your meals, it only makes sense that your they would be more balanced because you can sit down and count out your food groups in the beginning of the week. Menu planning reduces the chances that you'll swing by the drive-thru on the way home because you don't know what you are going to cook and because you are shopping from a list, you are more likely to have healthy foods within your reach.

The best part about menu planning is that there is no right or wrong way to do it! You can plan for one week, two weeks or a whole month. I personally shop one week at a time. I love doing my grocery shopping on Wednesday nights while the kids are at Awana. The grocery store is right down the road from the church, so I also save on gas because it's out of my way to go to the grocery store during the day while the kids are in school.

Likewise, you don't have to plan every single meal out. I know that my kids don't like to sit down for breakfast during the week. They would much rather grab something that they can take with them for the ride to school. Usually fruit or dry cereal and juice, so I like to stock up on a variety of grab-and-go kinds of breakfast items for them. In the morning when I'm trying to feed the baby and Matt is trying to get ready for work, the kids go right into the pantry and get what they want. Snacks around our house are usually the same way, with lots of variety in the fridge like yogurt, string cheese or fruit. I love sandwiches, so I keep a good variety of sandwich supplies handy and David and I are able to pick what we want at lunchtime. So when it comes time to make my grocery list for Breakfast, Lunch & Snacks, my list looks pretty similar from week to week. For us, the menu planning is key for dinner.

While I make a lot of different types of foods for my family, I LOVE my crock pot! I use it at least a few times a week to make my dinners. Why you ask? Well, I love that I can just toss all the ingredient in and let it do it's own thing. I love having that extra time to spend with the kids after they get home from school and get homework done. I don't want to be spending that time slaving in my kitchen. Not to mention that by 5pm, I'm starting to get a wee bit tired from a busy day, so I find that my life is much easier when I get up in the morning while Brayden is taking his morning nap and get the crock pot going!

If you like using a crock pot or if you have been looking for some good crock pot recipes you'll want to check this out. I have a whole lot of cookbooks, with my most recent to the collection being this one! Fix-It & Forget-It 5 Ingredients!!!! I love that the recipes have only 5 ingredients (well there are a few in there that have more then that, but most of them are only 5 ingredients). I picked a copy of this up in the magazine section of Wegmans and you can find it on display until 5/21/10. Three of my dinner plans for this week came from this book - Taco Soup, Creamy Chicken & Stuffing and North Carolina BBQ (Which was amazing!)

I would love to hear your suggestions for meal planning in my comments section! Or if you have a great crock pot recipe that you would like to share with others, feel free to post it in my comments. I always like to try out recipes that come recommended from others... sometimes I get a little nervous (Well, Matt does anyway) when I'm trying out a new recipe for the first time. Happy cooking!

Diaper Mishaps

What a day it has been today! I know today is "Clothing & Textiles Day" and I was working on a an entry for today, but then today happened. That's right - not a typo - today happened. My topic for today was going to be on Laundry Disasters (Come back next Wed and I'll be covering this topic) but today was one laundry disaster after another - and NOT for the reason you think or the meaning I had intended!

So today I'll be sharing my own "Consumer Review" on a product that has made my day less then amusing!

This is Brayden and he is my 10 week old bundle of love! There are a little over 4 years between him and his older brother, so when I found out I was pregnant again, of course I went on a small shopping spree for baby stuff! I had lots of great coupons and deals over the nine months of being pregnant and was excited when I snagged a great deal on a new brand of baby diapers by Fisher-Price at Toys R Us.

I'm sure you can imagine just how thrilled I must be with these diapers, right? Wrong. So, so wrong. While I'll admit, these diapers can hold there share of... baby waste... hehe, I don't have much good to say about them at all.

For starters, Brayden just got into this size diaper.... so there really should be no issue with them... Part way through the day today I picked up Brayden and thought to myself, "I just changed him... he really must have had to go to the bathroom since his diaper is clear down to his knee." When I went to change him, I realized that that was not the problem... The Velcro tabs had come undone and the diaper had wiggled it's way down the side of his pants.

Now I'll admit - at first I was pretty sure this was my doing and not the diaper, but then it happened again. Two outfits down and it was only noon. We're off to a good - I mean pretty lousy - start to the day. This time, I made sure the tabs were on really good. Not too loose, not too tight. They were indeed nice and secure, so I got outfit number three on and thought that would be the end of it.

Then Kirsten came home. Kirsten is really good with her little brother - I mean REALLY good. She can calm that boy down when nobody else can, (unless of course he's hungry and then only mama can calm him, hehe). Anyway, Kirsten usually holds Brayden for at least a half hour when she gets home, but about 10 minutes into holding him, he was mad and Kirsten couldn't calm him down, so I took him and realized he was 100% soaked! Oh no!!! Or should I say - Oh yes! #1 & #2 and none of it made it in the diaper... Why you ask? Because the Velcro was not longer attached.

I'm sorry Fisher-Price, but three strikes and you are out.

So to all my fellow mommy readers out there, I recommend sticking with a brand that is more reliable. (I personally like Huggies for my little guy.) I know that it can be tempting to go with something a little cheaper to help the budget out, but these diapers are simply not worth the mess they cause - and I mean that it the most literal way possible!

Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar

Meet Kirsten & David. Like most kids their ages, Kirsten is obsessed with everything girly, Barbies, Ponies, Lip Gloss & Dress-up and then there is David, who can always be found with a matchbox car hidden in his pocket. He loves cars, Spiderman and most importantly - Transformers.

And just like most other kids their age, there is always something else that they want. I remember when Kirsten was first born, Matt and I were certain that none of our kids would ever be this way,... we would teach them to be content from the start and they would never act out in public if they couldn't get something in the store... hahaha.... Well, needless to say, we've had to deal with our share of tantrums in public and while I'm usually pretty good about the whole "no means no" thing, I wanted to find some sort of solution.

My first solution came in the form of an allowance for each kids. It worked good for a little bit, but then I found that I was quickly becoming broke because Kirsten would seriously do every chore in the house to make money! In addition, because she was only 5 at the time, she would lose most of that money within a few days. I know it wasn't lost forever - it was somewhere in the house - on her dresser, in the bottom of the toy box, outside in her playhouse, but never in one safe spot. I didn't want to completely give up allowances, but I needed a way to fix the system.

Then came along this really great website - www.festisite.com/money. Oh how this website R*O*C*K*S*! Instead of giving my kids real cash when they help out around the house, they now collect play money - but even better then play money, this site lets you put any picture on the face of your dollar. Awesome right!?!?

(Kirsten's Cash)

(David's Dollars)

Now my kids get a few dollars anytime they clean their room, help with chores around the house, even when they play nicely. We call it Kids Cash and there are lots of ways that the kids can cash them is for stuff based on a rewards system we set up when we got started! For instance, they can redeem 4 Kids Cash Dollars for $1.00 if they are saving for something to buy in the store, 15 Kids Cash Dollars can be redeemed for a Movie Rental, 50 Kids Cash Dollars can be used for their choice of going to Chuck E. Cheese or Bowling, and 75 Kids Cash Dollars can be redeemed for a trip to the movie theater. Our kids love the idea of Kids Cash and since starting it, we don't see nearly as many tantrums over things they can't have & they appreciate the things they earn more because they understand the work that went into getting it.

Here are some handy tips for Kids Cash:

• Don't make earning Kids Cash a hard thing - Kids can get discouraged easily, so if you are expecting adult quality work from your 5 year old, chances are your kids won't earn much.


• Let your kids pool their $$$ together for larger rewards - If both kids are working for the same thing, (ex. Both kids want to see the same movie at the theater) we don't make both kids earn 75 Kids Cash. They can each contribute their dollars OR one child can pay for the family reward.


• Put their face on it! - We have separate "banks" for each of our kids to keep their Kids Cash, but lets face it, they're kids. To make sure that Kirsten's money doesn't get mixed up with David's, we put Kirsten's face on her dollars & David's face on his! The kids love seeing their face on their money and it helps us identify who earned what. We even have $5 bills with Daddy's face & $20 with Mommy!


(Dad's Bucks... haha.. get it?)

(Mom's Money)



• Extra Credit - For extra emphasis, have your kids count their money when they are redeeming it. Kirsten is learning how to count money in school, so having her count her Cash from time to time is reinforcing what she is learning in the classroom. And while David is a few years from learning money at school, it never hurts to give him a head start!
  

If you want to teach your kids about saving money or even if you are simply looking for a fun activity for your kids, I hope you'll find this website helpful! Share your thoughts on Kids Cash - or if you have other fun activities you have used to help teach your children the value of money - I want to hear about it on the comment board!

Family Goals

I don't know about you, but I am a very goal oriented individual. I am constantly setting goals for myself, small or large, it doesn't really matter... but I always have at least one goal I'm currently working on. Maybe it's a goal to read my Bible in a year, to wash 5 loads of laundry in a single day, to lose that extra few pounds or to save up for that dream camera I would love to have. We expect that by reaching these goals, we will somehow have improved our quality of living in one way or another. Which is true - reading my Bible in a year will definitely help out my spiritual life... washing 5 loads of laundry will mean everyone in my house will have clean clothes the next day... losing a few pounds will improve my health and that dream camera would improve the quality of the many pictures I take. (and boy do I ever take a lot of pictures!)

Meet my happy family of 5! (Taken the day after having my third child.) And while Brayden is still a little young to be included in brainstorming goal ideas for our family, Kirsten & David have gotten to an age where they like to voice their opinions and Matt and I needed a way to listen. Hence the need for family goals.

Family goals can be a great way to build a stronger family but like any goal, there are a few things you want to keep in mind when creating family goals.

• Include Everyone - As you brainstorm goals, make sure that everyone's voice is heard and accepted. Get all the ideas out (and on paper too) and then let a day or two pass before choosing how to prioritize them. That way you give everyone's ideas a chance to sink in and really be heard.



• Set a TIME LIMIT to reach your goal: Without a time limit, you may find yourself saying you'll work on it tomorrow or the next day and before you know it, your family goals will be like most people's New Years Resolutions - non-existent. (Ok, so maybe I'm speaking for myself here, hehe.)



• Create goals that are ATTAINABLE: No one wants to strive towards something they no that they will never reach, so make sure that the goals you set can be reached within your time limit - especially when you are first starting out!



• Make sure your goals are MEASURABLE: It can be discouraging when you don't see change - so make sure that regardless of the goal, every so often you can stop and see that you have made progress. Saving money to go on vacation is great and you'll know how much you have collected, but if you don't have some idea of how much you want to save for the trip, you won't really know how close you are to achieving your goal.

Last year our family went on our first family vacation! We had the best time taking our kids to Disney World and spending the week relaxing and enjoying each other. Our kids loved the trip and as soon as we got home they were ready to do it again. So we decided to start saving for it. Now each week when we clean the house or when the kids find spare change in the car or in the laundry, they put it in our special jug. Every so often we dump out the jug and count to see where we are at. And while that jug isn't big enough to get us to Disney again, we are working our way to another vacation that we can all enjoy. The best part is that our kids (Kirsten is 6 and David is 4) actually really enjoy saving for this trip. I love it when David finds a dime... "Mommy, is this enough to buy a toy?" "No David, you'll need lots of dimes to get a toy." "That's ok mommy. I don't want a toy. Let's give to vacation." (I swear this is really what our conversations are like when he finds money!) And not only do we have a good time trying to reach our goals together as a family but the reward means spending more time as a family too!

Our 4th of July @ Cinderella's Castle

I would love to hear about the family goals that you and your family come up with or what you have learned once you achieve your goals - or if you already have family goals that you are working on, I would love to hear about them too!

Memory Verse of the Week #1

Today is Scripture Sunday and each week I'll be selecting a verse of the Bible to memorize. I encourage you to learn these verses with me, but if you would rather to choose your own verses to memorize from week to week, that's okay too. The point isn't necessarily what verse you learn - but rather that you are working to hide God's Word in your heart. Isn't it a great feeling when you need an answer from the Bible and there it is - in your head already!?! Grab your Bible and let's get started!!!

This week's verse is Proverbs 16:3 -

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Use whatever method you would like to memorize this verse - for me - I like to post my verses on a sticky note above my sink. I have a dishwasher,.... and even though we bought our home two years ago, it's still sitting in the box - in my basement. Needless to say, I'm the dishwasher in this house and I find that posting verses above the sink is a great way for me to work on verses while getting my chores done! Hurray for multitasking.

Here We Go!!!!

After spending some time brainstorming where I wanted to go with this blog - I'm finally ready to kick it off! I started with a list of all the things I was interested in and what I might want to talk about and then the idea hit me - I spent a whole lot of money on a college education - why not focus my blog around that and at the same time give people out there some practical advice for day to day living.

In 2003, I graduated from Liberty University with a BA in FACS (Family & Consumer Sciences)... if you need more help with that, Home Economics. Monday - Friday of this blog, I hope to focus on each of the five areas of FACS. If you have ideas for subjects you want to read about, let me know.

As of right now, here's when you can stop by for different subjects:

• Scripture Sunday: Stop by to start off each week with some uplifting scripture. I'll be posting a verse each week so we can memorize God's Word together.
• Monday - Building Healthy Families (Human Development & Family) - Every Monday I'll be posting on a variety of subjects that have to do with marriage, parenting, family, etc.
• Thrifty Tuesdays - (Consumer Economics) - For everything money - stop by on Tuesday. I'll have tips for how to save money, cut costs and create a budget.
• Wardrobe Wednesday - (Clothing & Textiles) - And since I rarely pull out the sewing machine myself.... I'm going to focus this section on fashion, makeup, clothing care tips and more.
• Tasty Tastebud Thursday - (Food & Nutrition) - Yum, yum, yum! If it has to do with food - you'll find it here! Menu planning, healthy snacks, easy recipes... is your mouth watering yet?
• Fix-it-Up Friday - (Interior Design) - It's a real good thing my house needs work! Join me each week as I show you project & decorating tips to transform your living space. I'll be working on all sorts of projects around my home (and maybe motivating my husband to work on some projects of his own!)
• Saturday Reviews - What does that leave for Saturday? Well, I'm leaving this day open for whatever I feel like sharing that day. You'll have to stop by and see what's on my mind.

Your thoughts and comments will always be welcome and very much appreciated!

New Years Resolution 2010

In December I read a facebook post from Mandy, http://www.readornotread.blogspot.com/, and couldn't believe that another mother of 3 had the time to read 72 (that's right... 72) books in 2009!

When I was younger I used to read all the time. It wasn't unusual to finish a book or more in a single day. I used to get excited when my dad would take me to the bookstore on the weekends to get a new book and when everyone thought I was sleeping in the following morning, I was really cozy under the covers finishing the last few pages of it!!! Among my favorites were Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High and I'm sure that I read them all... in fact, I have a complete set of Nancy Drew books for my daughter all tucked away in the attic for when she is old enough to enjoy them too. But it has been a long time since I have made time for leisure reading...

So back to Mandy - being that I also have three kids now, I couldn't believe another mom could find the time to read 72 books in one year. Especially since I didn't even read 5 books the whole year of 2009. So, after seeing this, I knew it was possible - and would probably add a little relaxation to my life too, so I set the goal, actually, more of a New Years Resolution, to read 35 books this year. Here's where I'm at so far:

January
#1. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
#2. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
#3. Shades of Blue - Karen Kingsbury
#4. Redemption - Karen Kingsbury
#5. Remember - Karen Kingsbury
#6. Return - Karen Kingsbury

February
#7. Rejoice - Karen Kingsbury
#8. Reunion - Karen Kingsbury
#9. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
#10. Julie & Julia - Julie Powell

March
#11. Digital Wedding Photography - Paul Gero
#12. Dear John - Nickolas Sparks
#13. Fame (Firstborn Series 1) - Karen Kingsbury
#14. Forgiven (Firstborn Series 2) - Karen Kingsbury
#15. Found (Firstborn Series 3) - Karen Kingsbury
#16. Family (Firstborn Series 4) - Karen Kingsbury
#17. Forever (Firstborn Series 5) - Karen Kingsbury
#18. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
#19. The Ministry of Motherhood - Sally Clarkson
#20. Decision Making by the Book - Haddon Robinson
#21. Sunrise (Sunrise Series 1) - Karen Kingsbury

April
#22. Between Sundays - Karen Kingsbury
#23. Summer ( Sunrise Series 2) - Karen Kingsbury
#24. Oceans Apart - Karen Kingsbury

#25. Someday (Sunrise Series 3) - Karen Kingsbury

#26. Sunset - (Sunrise Series 4) - Karen Kingsbury
#27. The Last Song - Nickolas Sparks

May
#28. Desperate Hope - Candi Pearson-Shelton
#29. Take One - Karen Kingsbury

I'll keep adding to this list as I finish books! Let's see if this is a New Years Resolution I can actually keep. : ) Happy reading!