Another day, two more items down

Another not so great day at Chez Audrey. I really should call it something else but we did buy the house because I was pregnant with her and we needed more room. It has been her house ever since. poor Maurene. Back to the point; Audrey did not nap today. When I asked for help making the salad at dinner she refused and decided instead to move all of the Tupperware to the bottom of her sister's excersaucer. I was able to make dinner but it was not great. I am, however, feeling pretty good about slowly emptying out the stockpile of items taking up space in the pantry and freezer.
When we get low enough Joshua and I have decided to start making better choices about how we spend our food budget. First, we are going to purchase a half share at Mellowfields Urban Farm here in beautiful Lawrence, Kansas. Second, we will buy what we can from The Farmer's Market and The Merc (our local Co-Op.) And last, we will purchase from companies we know to have ethical business practices. We are prepared to spend a little more and know that our dollars are speaking for us.

The wagon left us at the station

There are days when everyone naps, we have no meltdowns, and the kitchen is clean. Then there are days like today. When we have those days I make pancakes. Today we used the recipe from Deceptively Delicious for Pink Pancakes. Audrey loved them. She had seconds. Daddy knew what was in them and elected to have leftover lasagna. I thought they tasted fine. We had them with butter and powdered sugar.

No leftovers

Tonight I made a family favorite: Tuna Noodle Casserole (called Tuna Hotdish in Joshua's family) and there are no leftovers. Usually a recipe makes four to six servings so we always have extra. I guess the family liked it.

Audrey enjoyed her eggs for breakfast and even tried a pea at dinner. We had to substitute granola bars for cheese at snack time because daddy ate all the cheese last night. Another good day. On a  more somber note: Joshua sent me an article on middle age women and obesity. I think he is trying to be funny about my birthday. I have been going to the gym a little recently but I do not get in an hour every day. Might have to add to that so I do not become one of those overweight middle aged women.
P.S. After all my planning and two trips to the store I still forgot to pick up cream of mushroom soup for tonight's dinner.

Happiness is a good meal

Week one is off to a good start. After I commented that the pizza was very good Audrey said, "Because I made it." She is two and has a wonderful sense of self worth. I have purchased (almost) everything we need for our meals this week plus diapers, dishwasher soap, and toilet paper and am just a little over my $40 plan (I used coupons, thanks Jenn!) The only remaining tasks are to clean and organize the fridge so that leftovers are easily viewable and fresh vegetables are prepped. One problem with all of the this cooking is that now I have a lot of dishes to load in the dishwasher. But I am fat and happy. Here is a picture of Audrey's meal:

Tomorrow the challenge begins

I went shopping for most of the items and spent less than $20. Tomorrow I will hit Dillons and pick up the rest. I expect to stay under $40 for the week. Tonight I need to read through the recipe for Mexican Pizza and pull out the chicken to thaw for later in the week.

March 22nd - 27th

My first week. I am looking forward to it. If this goes well there may be a side effect of better organization. Already my week is better laid out then it normally is. I still need to clean the refrigerator and pull a few items out of the freezer but it looks promising. I found all of  my recipes this week at Allrecipes.com.
Monday

• Breakfast - Yogurt (Audrey) and Oatmeal (me)
• Lunch - Quiche (we are having a playdate)
• Dinner - Mexican Pizza/salad/grapes
• Snacks - cereal bars

Tuesday

• Breakfast - Eggs
• Lunch - PB&J
• Dinner - Tuna Noodle Casserole/peas/apples
• Snacks - raisins and cheese

Wednesday

• Breakfast - cereal
• Lunch - Quesadillas
• Dinner - Baked Chicken/Kidney Bean Coleslaw/Diced Potatoes/Pineapples
• Snacks - carrots and peanut butter

Thursday

• Breakfast - French Toast
• Lunch - cottage cheese and fruit
• Dinner -Slow Cooker Turkey Breast/stuffing/sweet potatoes/mandarin oranges
• Snacks - cheese and crackers

Friday

• Breakfast - Yogurt (Audrey) and Oatmeal (me)
• Lunch - cheese sandwiches
• Dinner - Lasagna/salad/bread/pears
• Snacks - granola bars

Saturday

• Breakfast - Pancakes
• Lunch - Mac -n- Cheese
• Dinner - off (my birthday)
• Snacks - hummus and tortillas

Sunday

• Breakfast - cereal
• Lunch -PB&J
• Dinner - Oven Fried Chicken/candied carrots/peas/grapes
• Snacks - bananas

The weekly planner I am using has a place for notes and this is where I have listed what tasks I need to complete for the meals this week. This includes items like thaw chicken and turkey and shred cabbage. There is also the usual grocery list.  Here is what I need to purchase this week:

• baby carrots
• tomato
• egg noodles
• potato chips
• apples
• sweet potatoes
• lettuce
• onion soup mix
• cheese
• lemon
• grapes

Wish me luck! I am open to ideas and encouragement so please leave me comments.I forgot to add that I am participating in a linkup with this meal plan. Check out Super Jenn to see the challenge.

Almost ready

I started working on my weekly planner last night while watching a show with Joshua. With a weekly meal planner in front of me and the Internet at my fingertips I was able to make short work of the task. There are still a few more things to be worked out but I should have mt plan ready to publish tomorrow. If I put it out there for my friends and family to see then maybe I will stick to it better. I left one day open for dinner with family or leftovers and it may not end up being the day I have it listed. Wish me luck and help hold me accountable.

New challenge to begin Monday

We are still out of town and I will need a few days to take inventory. Mainly of the freezer as it is a chest style; deep, dark, and full. I know we have a small turkey breast in there. In the pantry are several cans of tuna and beans, and some dried beans. Also a flat each of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. This should be fun. Joshua has asked me to stock items for him to take to lunch so I will need to make room for those items in the pantry. This is a great time to begin this challenge. We are also attempting to put a little money in savings while still paying off a little debt. As soon as I can get some ideas and see what I need to purchase I will create a budget for each week and see if we can stick to it. I love Super Jenn for her weekly meal plans and will make something very similar.

A challenge

So I gave up my own blog in order to create one for Audrey. While surfing around for ideas I found a mom who had a pantry challenge to reduce her food budget. I need a pantry and freezer challenge to clean out the stockpile of items I have found on sale. I believe I can do this in 2 months. The reason for the extended time is that I have a large freezer, a picky family, and I am not a very good cook. This last item is a real sticking point. In order to help me I am going to use a website called Allrecipes.com (thanks Sarah!) If there are any other sites like this I could use to search for individual items, please let know in the comments.

Facebook addict

Joshua spends a great deal of time on the internet. He works, keeps up with current events, and gets info about good movies to see, all online. Because of all he does he tends to leave a large digital footprint. Which is why I was shocked to discover that I rate higher on a google search than he does. Part of the reason is that my name is not as common, but also I Facebook way too much. That was my top return, Facebook. So here goes, my name is Kris and I am a Facebook addict.

Tuesday is not Monday, but close

The first night of the girls sleeping together got off to a rocky start. Now I have to set up a monitor so that I can hear Maurene fuss before she wakes Audrey up. Maurene is still getting up once a night to eat and I do not need Audrey awake at 3 am. I believe if I get Maurene soon enough Audrey will sleep through it. That is the plan anyway. Today was better but not great. Audrey and I had to get flu shots so the hours waiting at the clinic were not fun. At least not for me. Maurene would not sleep in her seat but rather had to be held and Audrey wanted to explore every door and hallway. She also used the lobby phone on several occasions. One of the nice ladies held Maurene for me while I filled out her paperwork. Have to start her a chart so she can get coverage as well. We need better health care! Just because I have access to a free clinic does not mean I have adequate coverage!

Finally Over

The girls are finally in bed. Wow, this was a hard day. This is the hardest job I have ever had. I do not even have the energy to write about it today. Maybe tomorrow. I will try to post the new pictures as well. In the meantime I have a few on Facebook.

My new family

I realized a few days ago that Maurene does not have the same recording of her early days that Audrey has because I have been posting everything on Facebook. I like the easy of Facebook more as it lends itself to short, quick posts, which is about all I have time for these days with two children. That said, I am going to try to put up a little something about our newest family member and the family as a whole.
Maurene and Audrey are getting used to each other more each day. Yesterday I asked Audrey to talk to Maurene while I did something and I looked over to find Maurene smiling her big toothless grin at Audrey. It was enough to melt your heart. Maurene has seen her sister enough to know that she is a friend and has now started to try to win her over, just like she has done with her father and me.

Filing

Milk is filed in the middle drawer, all else in the bottom.

Eggs!

She had so much fun finding the Easter eggs.

Dying eggs

Baby and daddy have fun.

Comfort

Baby was able to pull the comforter off her parent's bed for her milk
break.

here is my excuse

Hi, my name is Kris and I am a reformed Blogger. I have not meant to neglect my blog. Things got out of hand and I gave up on a few things. I will try to do better. Only time will tell. And the camera is in the shop.

Big shoes

Her new love

Just like mama

She wanted a hat. Wish I could get a better pic but she moves too fast.