Today I read a post over At the well http://www.titus2atthewell.com/2009/03/are-you-born-supervisor.html that I want to share. Please visit the link above to read the entire post but the essence was being thankful for our husbands. I want to list some of the things I am thankful for toward Harry,
1. he loves to spend time with me
2. he can make me laugh
3. he is a good dad, he loves to do family stuff
4. he is kind hearted
5. he's always willing to help others
6. he never criticizes my homemaking skills (no matter how lacking they may be)
7. I believe he loves me, I can trust him.
8. he works hard to provide for us

Now those of you that know me know that I can be very strong willed and even hateful at times. He somehow puts up with me and my sharp tongue, and for that I am thankful. I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

Tammy @ http://www.tammysrecipes.com/ is hosting a weekly blog post called Making your home a Haven. This week is about putting together 5 things that make up your morning routine to get your day off to a peaceful start. This is something that I have attempted to do in the past as part of the Flylady's http://www.flylady.net/ home program, which I love but have trouble keeping up with. So this blog post is just the thing that I need to help me to get back on track with my routines. I find it really does make a difference in my day if I will stick with it. So my morning routine is


1) awake between 6 -6:30 - this is the hardest for me, I prefer to sleep until 7:30, but I feel better about myself if I get up and fix the boys a cooked breakfast and not just let them eat cereal.



2) empty dishwasher, start a load of laundry



3) have a cup of coffee & read my Bible, pray



4) shower, swish & swipe bathroom



5) dress for the day & make my bed

Links to coupon blogs

Some of you are asking where I look to find coupon matches for my shopping trips.
First I always check the Sunday paper & the local grocery store fliers for sales. I also
always check a few blogs that list coupon matches before my grocery & walgreens trips. The two sites that I love are
http://savingourcents.blogspot.com/ and
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/
there are LOTS of other great blogs that list coupon matches and tips for saving but these are the two that I depend on to help me find the great deals.
Stop in and visit the above blogs for great money saving tips.

Yummy & EASY rice pudding

Ok so in the past my ideal of rice pudding was to cook rice and add it to instant vanilla jello pudding mix. Then I came upon this great recipe on allrecipes.com

I've made some adjustments and have found the perfect easy rice pudding that our whole family loves.

In sauce pan put 2 cp cooked rice, 1 1/2- 2 cps milk,

1/2 cp sugar, dash of salt.

cook approx 15 mins until creamy

then add 1/2 cp milk & 1 egg beaten ( I mix them together and temper this mixture before adding it to my rice mixture. cook 2 minutes

remove from heat add 1 capfull ( approx 1 teaspoon) vanilla, scoop of butter

serve warm

very yummy and comforting

Savings on groceries at Kroger

Did the weekly grocery shopping yesterday at Kroger, they are having another mega event this week. Here is what I got

2- 2lb riceland rice ( had a buy one get one free) I have an awesome rice pudding recipe
3- pasta noodles
3- canned kroger diced tomatoes
kellogs apple jacks cereal
kroger refried beans
pickled banana peppers
2- duncan hines brownie mix
chicken bouillon cubes
3 boxes breakfast bars (fiber one & nature valley)
canned mushrooms
2- franks hot sauce
5- koolaid mix
Pillsbury pizza crust
4- Johnson's bath buddies soap
2- Tropicana OJ
gl skim milk
2 -6 pk danimals drinkables
3 lb bag oranges
pk tyson steak fingers
48 ct mrs pauls fish sticks
4- 4pk green giant just for one broch/cheese
16 ct pk frozen waffles
quaker rice cakes snacks bag
pk pepperoni

total cost was 50.94 ( not my cheapest week but still in budget)
total coupon savings was 54.54 (including store savings)
so far this month I have spent 150.00 on food, that is under budget for the month. (That doesn't include what we spent when we have eaten out during our trips to visit dd or birthday party food.)

Here is the menu plan this week
tonight we are having turkey frame soup & cornbread, warm rice pudding for desert
tomorrow is veggie fajitas w/rice & beans
saturday- steak fingers w/gravy, taters, broccoli & cheese, rolls
sunday- homemade pizza
monday- mac & cheese, fish sticks, fruit slices
tuesday - ? will be dads choice, I will be going to pick up dd for a home visit.

breakfast are - breakfast bars (Z loves these), cereal, biscuits w/sausage, waffles
lunches are sandwiches & fruit, pasta salads, & leftovers ( now that the boys are in public school I am the only one here for lunches) :(

Walgreens deals this week

We stopped at a couple of walgreens on the way home from taking dd back. At the first I picked up 3- glade sense & spray for 9.99 each and 2 Colgate toothpaste on sale for .99 each.

-wags easy saver coupons on the glade minus 4.00 each

- MF coupon on the glade minus 4.00 each

-MF coupon on the Colgate minus .75 each

ended up paying 1.99 each for the glade, my total was 6.oo something!

At the next wags I got 4 crest pro health toothpaste (on sale for .95 each)

- 3 MF coupons for 1.00 & .75 off of one

ended up paying .35 (yes that's cents) WOW!

Oh and on Friday last week on the way to pick up dd I stopped at wags and got (see photo)

2- garnier shampoos on sale .99 after ES coupon

1- garnier hairspray on sale .99 after ES coupon

1- garnier gel on sale .99 after ES coupon

1- garnier moose on sale .99 after ES coupon

2 Colgate total advance toothpaste also on sale after ES coupon ( don't remember the price)

minus 1.00 MF coupons for the hair products and toothpaste

ended up just paying the tax, was like 2.00 something WOW!!!!

With so much going on these days I am having difficulty finding time to blog. To update on things going on around here the past week or two.. First off, I am so glad spring has arrived, I have a bath tub full of tender little plants sprouting up getting ready for the garden.

tiny seedlings awaiting their home.. Speaking of the garden, Paw Paw came and tilled us a large place for this year, I am so excited to have a big garden instead of my postage stamp size place that was last years. Zack and I went over to the horse lot yesterday afternoon and brought back a big ol' bucket of horse doo that we worked into the garden soil last night. I have started peas (sugar snap & canning), lettuce, spinach, radish, squash, peppers, onion, collards, and green beans. I am looking forward to adding tomatoes.

Autumn came home over this past weekend for her first 48hr visit, it was nice to have her home, although she struggled with some transition issues. She is doing very well, her grades are pretty good. She has done so well with the structure at this facility, she's afraid of getting out and not being able to cope again. I'm not sure what her future holds but I know the Lord will always be with her, She has been reading her Bible again ( PTL) I am comforted in that she is happy, that's all I ever want. Of course my hope is for her to come home and be able to live happily and have the experiences that most young girls have, I believe that it is possible. She will be coming home again next week for another 48hr visit. Pray all goes well.

This week was a great week for wags and grocery deals, I will post on these separately.

FOR TODAY Monday March 9th, 2009

Outside my window... a nice warm night, today was warm in the 60's sunny. felt like spring.

I am thinking... about gardens, seed starting and spring

I am thankful for... my job & the chance to attend college.

From the learning rooms... I took 2 tests today, (so far my grades are A+) I have a BIG test coming up next Monday

From the kitchen... tonight we had hamburgers, I will post menus for the week tomorrow

I am wearing... jeans, pull over, tennis shoes

I am creating... a small chicken coop for keeping 4-6 hens on pasture here for eggs

I am going... to go to bed soon (I am still tired from the time change)

I am reading...barnyard in your backyard, hobby farms

I am hoping... to get to Walgreen's tomorrow to get some freebies

I am hearing... the TV hubby is watching a law & order type show

Around the house... paw pa is coming out this week to break up our garden spot

One of my favorite things... looking forward to spring break

A few plans for the rest of the week: Autumn gets to come home for the weekend this Friday, and our baby turns 6yrs on Friday. We plan on having a party and going out to chucky cheese's this weekend

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I will post later

Ways I can be a blessing...

I ran across this blog site today, http://www.titus2atthewell.com/
one of the lessons really hit home for me. I want to be a blessing to my husband and children, a 'keeper at home'. So I've started a list of things that by doing I will be a blessing to them...

I will be a blessing to my husband by keeping our home tidy & welcoming, keeping things organized where he can find them, by cooking a home cooked meal each night, keeping laundry put away, by saving money on the things we buy, by keeping a garden to provide fresh veggies and canning & preserving the gardens bounty. I can bless our pocketbook and our earth by using a clothes line this spring & summer to dry our clothes, using simple earth friendly cleaning products, taking more showers (not long soaks in the tub)
I will be a blessing to my children by getting up in time to cook a healthy breakfast (this is a big one since I tend to like to sleep in, and the kids often prefer cold cereal)
I will bless my children by teaching them what I can about growing your our food, preserving food, saving money and cleaning house so that they will be able to provide blessings for their own families some day. It seems so simple yet each of these things makes a big impact for your family. I hope you will stop by the above mentioned website, the devotionals are wonderful & really help keep focus on being keepers at home.

FOR TODAY... March 2nd

Outside my window... It is windy and bitter cold (around 30 degrees) It looked warm with the sun shine today but it was deceiving.

I am thinking... of spring time, I have been itching to get my garden seeds started over the next 2 weeks.

I am thankful for... my husbands help with the dishes tonight.

From the learning rooms... both my boys are in public school at the moment, dd is attending school at the RTC she is at, I am in the middle of the semester up to my eyeballs in human anatomy and growth, development and labs.. I miss homeschooling.

From the kitchen...

tonight we had chicken & dressing, green beans, carrots, salad and peach cobbler.

Tuesday - pork chops, rice, salad

Wednesday - tacos, rice, beans

Thursday - pork BBQ sandwiches, slaw, baked beans

Friday - roast with veggies, rolls

Saturday - hamburgers, home fries

Sunday - veggie/ beef soup, cornbread

breakfasts will be sausage & biscuits, cereal, pancakes, yogurt w/ granola

lunches are sandwich, leftovers, pasta salad, or the like.

I am wearing... jeans, light wt. pull over, socks

I am creating... A jumper, I bought fabric and pattern today to try a simple jumper, I am trying to teach myself to sew modest simple dresses.

I am going... to clean house tomorrow, I am getting the spring cleaning bug

I am reading... my Bible, my textbooks, and the harvest homestead newsletter

I am hoping... for warm weather to arrive soon

I am hearing... the bachelor on TV in the other room

Around the house... Z got a new dirt bike today, soon hubby & the boys will be spending Saturdays riding at the track

One of my favorite things... working to finish projects on the house, I still have to pick knobs for the cabinets, finish putting shelves in the closets, ect... I love doing projects on the house, I still feel so amazed to have our new house ( even though we have been here 9 mts) it still feels brand new to me.

A few plans for the rest of the week: study my A&P ( I have slacked off on my studies and I must get back to the books..)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...