Mikey had his vision appointment and his sight is fine. Caleb had a check up and is 19 1/2 lbs. Roly poly. :o)
The past month has had me preparing for winter..and preparing for Christmas. We managed to finish the children's Christmas shopping already with some money we had set aside. Also stocking up on what I'll need in December for baking, like butter on sale at our local Kwik Trip. I bought Christmas cards already and will be ordering some prints of pictures soon.
I've been trying to reevaluate our finances and my 'frugal attempts.' Raising 7 children on one income isn't the easiest.. but the Lord always provides, doesn't He? He always has for us. I have a budget and if I stick with it everything usually comes out fine. It's actually kind of fun to see how far I can stretch the budget. Following a menu plan helps. I have a two week menu for supper, breakfast and lunches.
Sometimes when I look at our budget it seems impossible...but we ALWAYS end up with more than enough! :o) My 'grocery' budget is 700 a month. That's roughly 500 for food and 200 for non-food items. I bake alot from scratch and our meals are simple..yet healthy. Things we eat are healthy natural peanutbutter, whole wheat bread, stir fries, and I try to avoid HFCS as much as possible (high fructose corn syrup), and lots of chili in the crockpot. I tried baking with just honey and only using pure maple syrup..but the cost was too much this last month and I went back to using dark brown sugar again. We do get WIC for our younger 3 children, which gives us a few gallons of milk every month, plus some cheese, whole grain tortillas, eggs, peanutbutter and cereal (I always get Cream of Wheat on it). So if you include WIC food I probably spend about 600 a month for food. I felt I should mention that because it does make a difference in my 'budget', of course. Children can qualify for WIC till age 5.
One of our favorite at home, from scratch brekkys (or suppers) is homemade waffles. It takes me about an hour to make them all but we usually end up with leftovers for the next day. I really want to get a second waffle iron so I could cut the preparation time in half!
Each square is 4 waffles..I made about 48 waffles and they lasted two meals.
There were made with part whole wheat, part white flour..no sugar added. We made homemade blueberry syrup to go with them!
Noah tried his hand at baking cookies...all on his own.
He measured, mixed and baked every step by himself. I considered it part of his schooling for the day. :o)
(notice the salt and pepper shakers on the back of my stove? I bought those at a yard sale before we moved to Minnesota. Mom and I went yard sale'ing for the last time before my move and this was what I bought at a white house along Highway 6. They're one of my most favorite possessions. )
Another thing I love to make is homemade granola. It us absolutely the best! The kids like it with milk, but I love to mix mine with plain yogurt and frozen blueberries. Oatmeal is super for nursing mamas, too. :o) My recipe is very simple..
RECIPE~~~1 large container of old fashioned oats. Poured into a large bowl. Pour 1 cup oil over the granola and either 1 cup of honey or 1 cup of brn sugar, lots of cinnamon, 1 cup of sunflower seeds. If you want sweeter granola, add more honey than I mentioned. I mix well, and pour into a large (15 by 10) in baking pan. I bake it on 325 for an hour or so stirring every 10 minutes. I don't let it get too dark or it will burn. The granola will crisp up as it cools. I store it in a large ziplock freezer bag. You can add coconut if you like or other 'goodies'..but I like this basic recipe and it's pretty inexpensive. ~~~~~
If you have any 'frugal' tips please leave a comment and share with me! I'm about to go over my menu plan again and change some things. Maybe I'll post it on here soon. I hope this post gave a little insight to 'how we do it' on one income with so many young'uns.
Have a blessed day!
:o)
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