Day 5 - Buffalo never tasted so good.....

or wait....was it Elk....or maybe wild hog? 

You see....our church has a "Wild Game Dinner" every year, and Darwin and the boys always go and enjoy good food,  fellowship, prizes and a guest speaker. 

Problem is....when this whole "week of groceries for $40" started, we had all forgotten.....

that event was March 2.  Sigh.

That would have been last night. 

How in the world could I have forgotten this???  I would have never had him start his "week of groceries for $40" if I had remembered.  

How was I going to tell him he couldn't go now??  This was something he looked forward to every year......and this wasn't going to be easy......


Had ya' going there for a minute didn't I?

Oh go ahead and admit it...you were feeling sorry for him and thinking I had gone overboard by suggesting that he not get to go to one of his favorite events of the year.  

Well....I would NEVER have done that.  

Not to mention he has handled this week like a saint.  Still not a single complaint, and immediately willing to just tack on another meal to the end of his week in lieu of getting to eat out at the dinner. He just got really lucky!

But from the looks of this......he wasn't quite as lucky as his brother!!

 Yep....you're reading correctly.  Jack won a 22 rifle.  Although, when they called his name as a winner, he thought he had won a couple of "handmade wooden arrows" that had been used in a comical promotional video for the event.  He didn't know until he went forward that he had, in fact, won a rifle!!

So all the way around....it was a great night!  Jack was happy, and Destin's belly was full of something he had not had to make himself. 

And I'll just bet that he appreciated that meal more than he ever has before.

I'm just sayin'.

Day 1-It all started.....

with me curled up in my favorite spot on the couch, under my blanket, drinking my coffee, and reading an interesting post from one of my favorite bloggers and childhood friend, Mary.  


You see....my friend, Mary, (who happens to have ten children that she home-schools) posted recently about a very interesting project that she and her husband came up with to better prepare their teenage children for the real world.  You should go and read it!!!

  http://www.owlhaven.net/2012/02/01/preparing-teens-for-life/

She and her husband gave their older children $20 and they were to plan, shop and prepare all of their meals for one week, (with the obvious knowledge that she would not allow them to starve).


I found it to be very interesting, so I was reading all about it....and...in typical fashion, Destin was curled up next to me on the couch trying to wake up.  But when I began reading and scrolling down...it caught his eye too.  One thing led to another, and before I knew it, all of the kids were looking over my shoulder to read about how her teens were going to survive on $20 for the week, and all of them thought it would be so cool to try to do! 


So in talking it over with Darwin...he jumped on the bandwagon and said, "I'll tell you what....if they're serious....since groceries are higher here...I'll give them $40 and they can do it too." 


(Now let me just interject right here and say that the cost of groceries in Idaho seems to be considerably less than here in Alabama.  And....given the amount of time that my kids are at school, there had to be some consideration given to that.  They simply do not have the same time as if they were homeschooled, to do money saving things such as make homemade bread, etc., but they will still learn some valuable real life lessons, I'm sure.)


Well....who knew???  Who knew that not one, but all three of my children still left here at home would be so eager to try to do this on their own?  EVEN Jack...who is only 9. 


So last week....the boys sat down and began list making....amidst a table set for dinner and a pre-dinner snack of carrots and hummus.  (And please forgive the quality of these pictures....they are taken from my phone.)

(Notice the washcloths for napkins? :-) Another great money saving tip from Mary!)


And there's a handy dandy app for your iPhone that you can get....the Wal-Mart app.  You can look up prices on many items!! 


Listening in on the conversation was priceless, as they thought about different things they could buy.  $40 seemed like SO much money to them.... 


I was so impressed with all of them for wanting to do this, but was especially surprised at Destin....just being 12....and having such a good, common sense approach and plan for his week.

(And yes....I know his handwriting needs improvement, but I have found that boys find that less important than girls do, and in the broad scheme of things....who cares...this is just a grocery list!)


Now bear in mind that this is just a rough idea of prices.  Estimations mostly and a general plan of making a pot of beef stew to eat off of for the week and grilling chicken. :-)  ( I had my concerns, but that worked itself out later....read on.)


So after feeling like his list was complete.....we sat down together, and he calculated how much it looked like this was going to cost...based on the estimations. 


$56.00 !!!!  He just couldn't believe it.  He said, "Man!  I thought for sure I was gonna' have some money left over!!"  (Dontcha' just love when they see the reality of life!!)


So he immediately had to begin scratching things off the list and decided that even buying chicken legs from me at $2.50 (half a pack that I found marked down recently), might need to go.  He decided that grilling chicken and zucchini wasn't necessary and that he could live off of the stew. 


Well....a few scratches here and there off the list, and a couple of add-back-to-the-list items, and we were headed to the stores.....off to find the best bargain....with little brother Jack to make sure that he knew that "Great Value brands are just as good, Destin!" (smile)


Destin even managed to find a local ad for Wal-Mart to match so that he could afford some Doritos!!  My only stipulation was that they had to have a fruit and vegetable included in their purchases....but one bag of Doritos I could handle ;-) 

Now all we had to do was make a couple more stops (yes...Wal-Mart is a one-stop shopping experience, but I don't like to buy their meat, and Sam's has a better price on milk)

I don't think he did so bad for a first time shopper.  I let him purchase things like a stick of butter from me for .60 so he wouldn't have to buy a whole pound, and a pound of rice from me for .40 since I buy it in bulk from Sam's. 

The reality of how ridiculously over priced cereal is really hit him.  He was originally planning on a fried egg for his breakfasts, but then decided he wanted the convenience of something faster.  He searched the cereal aisle for what seemed like FOREVER looking for a decent cereal that wasn't completely laden with sugar....for less than $2.00....and he finally found some Great Value Raisin Bran for $1.97.

The receipts are shown below, and then he paid me for the groceries he bought from me as opposed to buying in bulk from the store. 

And I would say this list has been in and out of a 12 year old boy's pocket a time or two, but you can see on the right where he figures up what he owes me.  The total for all of his groceries came to $37.76 and he has $2.24 leftover for anything unexpected this week.

Wonder what he'll spend it on???  Time will tell....I'll keep you posted....but for now, he's got a mean batch of stew in the crock pot that he started before he left for school this morning. 

I'm just sayin'.

Can I just say......

that as much as I love my precious children, my cup overfloweth right now with quality together family time, and I think it's time for the schools to re-evaluate how long they give the kids for Christmas break. 

Oh don't get all feisty with me and make me feel like I'm the only one who feels like the house is closing in on me....because you know good and well that if you were honest....you are probably feeling the same way.  

And I'm avoiding the kids' rooms like the plague, because their rooms are a constant reminder that they have just been inundated with more "stuff" and that it's time for the annual "post-Christmas purge".  You know....the ole' "get-yourself-a-strong-cup-of-coffee-before-you-cross-the-threshold-of-their-doorframe" purge.  Because you know it's gonna' take more than coffee to recover after you're finished. 

Sigh. 

Then there's the whole "undecorating-the-tree-and-lugging-all-of-the-decorations-that-have-only-been-down-from-the-attic-less-than-a-month-back up-to-the-attic" routine.   And don't get me wrong.  I love, love, LOVE my keepsake ornaments that my kids have made over the years....you couldn't give me a million dollars for them, but the fact is...everyone gets excited about "trimming the tree" but not quite so excited about "un-trimming the tree". 

And did I mention the infamous "box-to-ship-to-St. Louis" that's sitting on the living room floor?    You know....the box with the gifts that no one EVER receives on time?  Sigh.  It's how I roll, unfortunately.  And I try to always tell myself, "It's okay, Leah....everyone loves to get a late gift....it just keeps Christmas going."  But I'm not sure if getting a gift in May can still count as a Christmas package.  :/ 

No....I have never sent a Christmas package in May.....

And ordinarily I would feel extremely guilty about the PILE of Christmas cards sitting un-sent in my kitchen that I "scrambled-to-take-pictures-of-my-kids-for-while-my-daughter-was-home-from-college,-and-braved-the-pouring-rain-to-get-to-Sam's-Club-for-them-to-develop-them-on-their-last-day-of-their-Christmas-card-special.  I mean...come on.....$15 for 100 of them is a good price.  No....I don't send out a hundred, but it's too good to pass up.  Unless of course you never actually send them OUT.....


Sigh.....


And I'm ashamed to tell you how behind I am on my laundry, but just suffice it to say that my husband has had to ask where some clean socks were a time or two, and I would be lying if I said that I had never had to holler from the bathroom for someone to bring me a clean towel out of the dryer...


Yep.  The holidays do it to me every year.  But throw in a sick daughter needing hip surgery the week before Christmas, and you've got yourself a stressful holiday season!!!  


So I guess I'm allowed to be pooped and ready for school to be back in session and things to get back to normal again.....whatever normal is.  


I'm just sayin'. 

A few days late, but just to name a few..............

things that I am thankful for.....


My very best friend.

• My husband of 22 years, who has worked so hard for our family, and has never once asked me to go to work and put our children in childcare over the years.  He knew how much it meant to me to be a stay-at-home mom (even though on days I thought I was going to go crazy).  For that I am eternally grateful....and I guess I'm gettin' a little sappy....so I'll move on.....

• My girls....it was such a surprise to find out I was having another baby so soon after Kaleigh, & it was anything but easy having them 18mo. apart, but they were such big helpers as the boys later came along, & though they fussed like all true sisters do, I know that they do love each other.  Though they are so different in their personalities, I wouldn't change a thing....I feel so blessed to have two of them & am so thankful to know that they will always have each other.  Karissa is a little lost without Kaleigh here right now....but she is adjusting. :)
  

• My boys....I just couldn't be more grateful that God blessed me boys as well as girls.  They are so much different than the girls were, and it's been so much fun parenting them.  One thing is for sure....they are a lot less maintenance, but there is no shortage of cuts, scrapes, bruises around here.  They are best buddies and would die for each other.  Their personalities are totally different but such a compliment to each other.  I am blessed.         

• 
  My parents and the Godly upbringing that I was so blessed to have. They loved each other, and though money was not abundant, their love and dedication to us was. I never once heard them fight, and my goal in life was to grow up and be as happily married as they were. They have now been married for 42 years, and have weathered many of life's unexpected storms. One of them being an actual storm that involved multiple tornados this past spring. I am so thankful that not only were their lives spared, but my childhood home, where I have so many memories, only suffered external damage....which is finally all repaired for them.  

 

So very much to be thankful for.

• My brothers.  They prepared me for my life as the mother of boys....be it sitting at the ballpark cheering them on, or being the recipient of childhood pranks.  Life wouldn't have been the same without them and the roaring laughter they continue to cause when we're all together.   I am also very thankful that they are both amazing Daddys to their children! 
  

• And I'm sorry....but I just gotta' say it.  If you don't have a sister....then don't hate on me, but there is just nothing like one.  My kids all know when I am on the phone with her, simply because of my uncontrollable laughter.  She has seen me at my very worst, attended the birth of one of my children (yea....that would probably have been the "seeing me at my worst" line), puts a smile on my face every time I talk to her....I am thankful for my sister. 
  
• Friends that love me for who I am.....not what my house looks like, or what size I'm wearing.....true friends....that have been around through the good and the bad times.  I'm so blessed to have them in my life and I thank God for them. 
  
• My freedom and the men and women who defend that everyday.  Words are not enough.....
  
• My church and my church family....and the saving grace of Jesus.  Without Him we are nothing, and I am so thankful that He loves me in spite of who I am.  Without Him, the list above wouldn't be possible.....and I am so very thankful. 

I'm just sayin'.

You're not going to believe this.....

but after my multiple struggles on the beach with that darn beach umbrella....the next day Darwin manages to not only put it up without it flipping inside out, but not once have to fight it and look like he's umbrella challenged like me someone else I know. 

Just look at him...

just enjoying the beach view under the shade of the same stinkin' umbrella that nearly cost me all of my pride by threatening to make me chase it down the beach, all while being flipped inside out. 

Hmph. 

Figures.  That's the way it always goes.  And I lose all credibility when he ever so casually just puts the umbrella up like it's nothing.  And I get the ole' over-the-glasses-look like, "really, Leah...what was so difficult about that?" 

And I hate that look. 

But I assure you....it happened....just ask my boys. 

I mean really....do you really think I would make that humiliating story up???

I'm just sayin'.

You Might Be a Redneck......

So I come home from the second half of my grocery shopping for the day...(because after all, it was payday, so that means I'm rich for about....oh, I don't know....a couple of hours)...and frankly, this should be a post all in itself.

I mean, isn't spending multiple hours first at Wal-Mart, and then at Sam's how EVERYONE wants to spend their only day off? And since I'm already off topic from my opening line...I'll just go ahead and park here for just a minute. You see, I've gotten smarter. Why in the world should I rush to the store early in the morning, when I could time it just right to be home when all of the "scavengers that will raid the cabinets anyway", get home to help carry it all in!!!! See there???? I TOLD you I was getting smarter. Because let's face it. It's an act of congress to shop for two weeks for a family of six. Careful planning, budgeting, and VERY strategic turning of an overloaded buggy (sorry...that's grocery cart for those of you not from the south....they're buggies down here....and it took me a while to learn that too....so don't feel bad that you didn't know what that was.)

Anyway, I think you get the point that grocery shopping for two weeks is a big job. So suffice it to say that number one....I was not looking forward to the second half of my shopping which was at Sam's trying to beat their closing time of 8:30pm, and number two.....I was NOT prepared for what I would come home to.

So I come home from the second half of my grocery shopping for the day, only to hear squeals of delight and horror as my 10 year old comes rushing to the door with blood dripping out of his mouth, and my husband standing in the doorway laughing hysterically, and begging me to come look at the video he has just taken on the camera.

And that's where it gets ugly...or redneck, whichever you prefer to call it. Frankly, I think it would make Jeff Foxworthy right proud.

My sweet husband, (who has apparently seen way too many crazy videos on youtube, decides that instead of helping my son pull his loose tooth the conventional way (what a novel idea that would have been), that instead he's going to pull a stunt that he could only pull because I was not here!!!!!

And bless his heart, because he had so much fun doing it, but didn't realize that the camera was turned sideways, so now the video is sideways, and you will be forced to either turn your HEAD sideways to watch it or flip your whole laptop sideways! Either way, if you're a guy, you'll enjoy it....if you're a mom, you will be mortified, as I was.


Now for those of you wondering, yes, that was a cast iron skillet that you saw in the video. And yes, it was tied to his tooth. And no. I would not have approved if I would have been here.

And to make matters worse, we have beige colored berber carpet, which makes finding a tooth a wee bit difficult. Especially when you reach under the couch to see if you can "feel" for the tooth, and your hand runs across something tiny and hard, and you think you have it but instead realize that it is in fact a petrified crumb of....a Chihuahua's accident earlier in the week. (OMG can you believe I just typed that????? But I promised to be real.....and that is what REALLY happened!!)


And yes. We found the tooth, but not before finding a few more lost treasures under the couch, because that is how my living room really looks most of the time.

I'm just sayin'.