Week in Review (Week 6)

Banana Bread, Yum!

 

Why hello from the house of germs, lol!  Seriously, there is some really yucky stuff going around the kids schools.  Last week it was the 5 year old who got sick and now this week the 4 year old.  It has made for a rough couple of days I’ll tell you.  I’ve been told the first year of school is the worst while the kids “build up resistance.”  I am not sure if that’s true, but if so bring on next year, ha!

 

 

Despite germ sharing we have had a really nice week here. On Saturday we took the kids to the science museum.  Entry was free with a reciprocal membership (we are members of the children’s museum.)  This saved us $80!  I brought lunch and  drinks from home to have while we were there.  We only ended up paying for parking which was $15.00.  We left mid afternoon and were home in time for me to take some taco meat out of the freezer for dinner.  Freezer meal for the win!

On Sunday morning my husband took the boys sledding at the elementary school.  They had a blast- cost free!  Later in the day we went to see the new Star Wars movie.  We went while we could still pay a matinee price.  I brought drinks and leftover Halloween candy with us.  We did purchase a large popcorn but we split it 3 ways.  I again pulled dinner from the freezer -some homemade mac and cheese- that we combined with some leftovers.  For dessert we enjoyed the last Girl Scout Cookies and the bottom of a tub of ice cream.

On Monday we had yet another snowstorm and the kiddos had no school.  I broke out some of the kids Christmas gifts I had stashed away to keep them busy. I cooked up a bag of potatoes that needed to be used up.  I ended up baking them all and have had a potato for lunch with a little cheese every day this week.   We received a refund check in the mail for Sam’s club.  Since they closed all their stores in our area they were offering the price of your membership back.

I started to go through a box of papers and documents and ended up finding a bunch of gift cards!  This box had been set aside when we moved last year and I didn’t think there was much in it.  Boy was I wrong!  There was a Visa gift card with $3.00 on it, 2 $15.00 McDonald’s gift cards, a $25.00 Barnes and Noble card, and what I think is a $10.00 Walmart card.  Woohoo!  This is why I really need to get organized!

On Tuesday I picked up a couple of toys on clearance to add to my gift stash. I found a Star Wars Play-Doh set for $9, a string art kit for $3, and a projector alarm clock for kids at $5.  I’ll use these items for birthday parties my children are invited to.   I received a few samples from Pinch Me in the mail (vitamins, Truvia, and a top that turns any cup into a sippy cup by Boon.)  My son and I enjoyed pumpkin pancakes made with pumpkin from the freezer and mix from the pantry.  He thought it was fun to enjoy pancakes on “Pancake Day.”

On Wednesday we worked on our homemade Valentine’s Day bookmarks that the children will give to their friends at school.  They were made with craft foam I had at home, a tag I made using Microsoft Word and printed at home, and some stickers I had purchased at Michaels for 50% off.  There were so many stickers in the box that I have plenty for the next 2 Valentine’s Day card exchanges!  My mom gifted me two DIY Pot Holder kits to use as gifts.  These are the old fashioned loop ones!  I gave her some more soup in exchange.

Thursday morning I took my little one to the doctor (a $30 copay. ugh.)  There were at least 15 children there and as mom’s compared notes we realized they all have the same thing.  We grabbed two lollipops on the way out and we went straight home.  I have plenty of supplies to make us feel better in my pantry.  I completed a Pinecone survey while we snuggled.  Then I requested a book and a few movies from the library.  I love Redbox, but the free codes only seem to be coming on a Monday or Tuesday which are not all that convienent for movie watching here.  We had Sloppy Joes from the freezer for dinner with some sweet potatoe wedges.  Yum!

Today begins the deep polar plunge we will be experiencing for the next few days. We will be staying home (the little one is still sick anyway) so no money spent!  I am pulling out some Naan bread from the freezer that I am going to turn into pizzas for dinner.

I spent $102.74 this week at the grocery store.  This leaves me with $181.81 left to spend this month.  My shopping included adding some items to my pantry per my plan.  In the last two weeks I added: Belvita, spaghetti sauce, tuna, 2 bags of chocolate chips and 1 soup.  This coming week Nutrigrain bars are on sale, as well as chocolate chips.  I still haven’t caught a good sale on canned fruit.  I will set aside a little of my grocery budget to purchase a small amount regardless.

I hope you all had a great week too!