Our Solution to the Lunch Rush

About 1 o'clock each day I look up and realize it's lunch time.. and I have nothing ready. Our mornings are busy with getting ready, morning chores and homeschooling... And then suddenly everyone is starving and everything we have seems to take too long to prepare. We can't serve peanut butter due to Lainey's allergies and most of my eating children don't care for lunchmeat sandwiches.

As I was making my game plan for Brandon's new 13 hour, 3 day a week schedule I knew lunch would be an issue. I'm SO much more likely to ask Brandon to bring something home on his lunch break than for dinner. I also thought back to Lainey's brief enrollment at a Montessori Preschool when I was a working mom and remembered that children served their own lunch. It teaches the children real life skills by well.. doing real life. Novel concept, huh?

Then, I remembered that I was much more likely to grab some fruit or veggies to eat if it was prepared and looked appetizing. So, our "pickanicka" lunch trays were born as Julianne calls them.

Each morning, during my chore time, I spend time in the kitchen after breakfast. During this time I think about dinner, serve breakfast, and do various kitchen chores. The little boys are sitting at their highchairs and I usually turn up the praise music. (Side note: I'm SO not a morning person.) I cut, peel, slice, dice, chop, whatever I think we should have on the trays. I use two small restaurant trays that I picked up at a restaurant supply store and our rubbermaid containers. I do everything to make the food easily accessible. I make sure to have a wide variety of items to choose from. And then I put it back in the refrigerator (stacking my trays due to lack of space in our fridge.)

This picture shows: Laughing Cow cheese, clementines, yogurt, lettuce, strawberries, carrots, grapes, and hardboiled eggs. We also grabbed some crackers as well.

The children serve themselves. I don't dole out what I think they should eat. They must choose at least one veggie. Certain things they can only have one of (example, yogurt.)

When we are done, we put the lids back the containers that still have food in them and return the trays to the fridge. The next morning I take stock and see what I should add.

It's been amazing for our family. We are eating so much better. I am sick today but Lainey and Julianne were able to get out lunch out before their Daddy arrived home, all by themselves. They were so proud of being able to help me.

Other things that we have had on the tray or plan to add:

- Cucumbers
- Olives
- Pickles
- Sushi (I will not be indulging.)
- Tuna, egg, or chicken salad
- Deviled eggs
- Sliced cheese
- Lunchmeat roll ups
- Fruit Salad
- Pasta Salad
- Potato Salad
- Carrot Raisin Salad
- Coleslaw
- Hummus with pitas
- Seasonal produce (I really try to keep our produce purchases to less than $1/lb.)

So.. this is how we do lunch. How do you handle the lunch rush?

~Stephanie

Food Waste...

I've shared before that I really make it a priority to use up the leftovers we have. This hasn't always been the case. It hit me tonight as I was cooking dinner how much I've grown in this area.

You see, last Saturday we had another family over for dinner. The mom and I became fast friends through our MOMYS group and when they come to Richmond, I practically beg for them to come for dinner. The Dad of the family and Brandon get along great and so do our combined eight (soon to be nine because she is expecting in May!) children. It's a wonderful time of fellowship for us.

Anyhow, Brandon grilled chicken and I prepared corn on the cob and baked potatoes. We had cantaloupe for dessert. There was quite a bit leftover (no one leaves my house hungry!) and we had leftovers on Sunday, eating the remaining chicken and potatoes. We still had quite a bit of corn left.

The next day, I heated just enough corn to have as a vegetable side dish with our dinner. And we still had some corn left. I cut the corn off of the cob and froze it.

Thursday, I combined it with black beans, diced tomatoes and other seasonings and we had it over rice, with chicken breasts and greenbeans as well.

At the end of that meal we had rice and the black beans, diced tomatoes, corn leftover.

Tonight, I mixed the rice and the black bean mixture with another can of corn, ground beef, onions, seasonings, beef broth and more diced tomatoes and made a mexican soup. (I also used a small portion of frozen baked beans from the freezer. I mashed them to make the soup broth thicker..)

The rest of that soup will be eaten tomorrow for lunch.

In the past, I would have been sick of looking at corn and I would have wanted something else. At some point, I was convicted and felt that simply wanting something else and therefore wasting perfectly good food wasn't the best use of our God-given resources.

Here's the good news: You don't have to eat leftovers the same way you made them the first time! Sometimes we do.. we call it Leftover Buffet or Mismatched Meals and I let everyone pick a few things. Sometimes we have the leftovers for lunch.

Sometimes they turn into "do-overs" like a casserole or a soup.

But I've decided to be the best steward I can be of even the little things... like a few extra pieces of corn on the cob.

~Stephanie

Saturday Savings

This morning, I did something I've never done before. I woke up, nursed Solomon, grabbed my list and Solomon and I went shopping alone.

The three older kids stayed home with Daddy.

I went to the bank and made a deposit through the ATM. Have you ever done that? It's amazing! I typically don't use "self scan" anything because I don't want to put people out of work. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, I did today. It's a huge deal to make a deposit into our checking account because I don't have any deposit slips. Since we started our account in Georgia, I need an out of state deposit slip. Of course, the teller never believes that I know what I need and insists they handed me the right one. I fill it out and hand it to them and then they say it won't work. I need an out of state slip. I look over both shoulders expecting Candid Cameras and there is nothing. I usually sigh heavily and fill out the next form.

So today I skipped all of those steps and deposited a check at the ATM. The receipt has an image of the check I put in on it. Brandon has done this before (to prevent the above mentioned scenario) and we've never had any issues before. I also withdrew cash for our envelopes.

Then, I drove to the consignment store. I noticed when I walked in that there were signs everywhere that they were having a sale. 60% off of all clothing sized 24 months and under. I quickly thought through the closet inventory I took and realized that the only thing I really needed was a coat for Solomon. As they were looking over the clothes and preparing the offer, I checked out my usual area. I found a coat for Solomon for $2.60. They offered me $34.77 and so my total net was $32.17. (This check will be deposited via the ATM too!)

I drove through the drive thru at the newly opened ChicFilA and used a coupon I had for a free 4 piece kids meal. Total cost $0.00

I drove to Martin's. I chose Martin's today because they sent me a fabulous coupon flyer this week. There were three coupons on it: A free $25 giftcard for having a new or transferred prescription filled and two $10 off a purchase of $50 or more coupons. Each of the $10/$50 coupons dated differently.

I walked straight back to the pharmacy and asked if they had the supplies for the prescription that was new to us. They checked and said they didn't. So I had them call another Martin's for me. They had what we needed at the other pharmacy. While I was waiting I spotted a clearance rack. I got two large bags of Kingsford charcoal for $5.24 each, a container of lighter fluid $1.85 and a bag of cat food for $.99. Total cost: $13.99

I drove to Martin's #2. Picked up the prescription and paid with our Flexible Spending Card and picked up my giftcard from the pharmacy and took my list to pick up the 14 things I planned to buy. My Subtotal was $54.31. Then the $10 off, then the giftcard. Final Cost: $19.55


At this point, I drove home and unloaded groceries. Then I nursed Solomon and laid him down for his nap.

Then I went shopping completely alone. *giggle*

I went to CVS and that was a bust.

Then I went to Walmart and made a small return and bought lunchmeat for Monday and Baby Vicks for our congested Xander. But they didn't have any nasal aspirators. Out of pocket: $0.00

On the way home I passed a Babies R Us/ Toys R Us. I ran in, got two nasal aspirators and a travel package of baby wipes. Used my $5 reward card. Out of pocket: 18 CENTS!

Not bad for about 5 hours total! And I walked in the door just in time for Solomon's next feeding!

~Stephanie

WOW! It's been a wee bit crazy around here!

Early last week Brandon got word from the place we were renting our moving truck from telling him that we could pick it up on Friday afternoon. So we added a days prorated rent on Wednesday when we went to our new rental office to sign our lease and planned to start our move Friday evening.

Friday afternoon, we picked up our cat, Paulie from the animal hospital. I had a dopey cat in a carrier box, meowing during our move and I've added Dr. Doolittle to my many titles and job descriptions since I am now a pro at giving the cat his meds and don't even have to hunt him down... he comes to me!

We were blessed with two coworkers/friends from the office to come help us when they got off at 7:45pm. The move went pretty fast and we got everything in on Friday night. Everything except my beloved IKEA pantry that was very torn up by the time they got all 220 lbs out of the apartment. Oh well.. people before things right?

Just in case you are getting the impression that everything runs smoothly for the Bee Family, let me fill you in with some details. LOL

1. The pantry fell apart in about 3 pieces AFTER they got it into the truck. It didn't fall apart before they squeezed it out of the tiny doorway... nope. It made it across the apartment, through 2 doorways, down the steps and up the ramp into the truck when it disintegrated.

2. Once they started unloading at the new place, we realized the bunk beds would have to be taken apart more in order to fit around the corner and down the hallway into the girls room. Of course the tools were packed. So the bunk beds were in the living room until Brandon could find his tools. I put sheets and blankets on the mattresses and the girls didn't have furniture in their room until sometime late the next afternoon.

3. Dish could not install our service here the next day. Since they contract out their installations, the Dish installation manager wanted to come make SURE that they couldn't get it in, and so they came by too. No go. We still have Comcast, SIGH!

4. The washing machine in our new place has a broken part. For a family of 5, soon to be 6, this is disastrous.


Okay.. so you get the picture. NOT a smooth move, despite our best attempts to plan ahead. But we were in.

The next morning, I went to Williamsburg (an hour or so away) with the children to meet up with a friend that was visiting from Texas. I had a lovely day with Angie and Cliff and her 12 children and our kids played together beautifully. The moms even got time to talk!

Brandon stayed home to supervise the dopey cat, wait for the Dish installer to try to install and then went to the old place to do a final sweep and mop.

Colonial Williamsburg is beautiful and very neat and I can't wait for Brandon and I to return with the children. A MOM's group that Angie and I belong to has a retreat in Williamsburg each year so we'll be praying over that for next year. We walked alot and the kids slept the whole way home. I was BEAT!

The kids and I returned around 7pm that evening and then Brandon and I tackled some boxes and rearranging some things.

Sunday, I spent the day vegging out. I was afraid I'd overdone it between Friday and Saturday and my body was definitely letting me know to slow down. So I did.

Monday, Brandon had taken a vacation day, so we ran a long list of errands with the children. ALOT got done including:

Sams- Bought a freezer, renewed our membership, and bought some odds and ends.

Food Lion- Bought somewhere around 70lbs of beef that was custom cut for free. A total steal at $1.78 a lb. Saved more than I spent and didn't use a single coupon. Yes, please! We have 10 more sirloin tips that are being ordered for us. We are set for a while.

Came home to unload.

Lowes- 2 extension cords and a nut to fix our table leg.

Walmart- A return

Target- A return, buy a shower curtain, shower organizer, a birthday card, a giftcard, and have an encounter with a Leprechaun... *Tee hee*

Moes- Dinner. Burrito, drinks and chips $5.55. Baby Solomon is in love with cilantro and Mexican. YUM!

Library- return 2 books. I support the library through my taxes and don't need to support them through late fees. LOL It's been a hard concept to implement but I've gotten MUCH better!

We came home and unloaded.

Put the kids to bed and then crashed ourselves.

Tuesday was another slow day. Brandon worked and I completed some paperwork/admin stuff that needed done.

Whooooooooooo! I'm beat but things are coming together!

~Steph

PS: I have a long list of things to write about. Can't wait to get the blog caught up!

"Eat from the Pantry" Challenge: SHOPPING DAY

We shop as a family. Yes.. all 5 of us go. It hasn't always been that way but right now it is a matter of necessity. I used to shop with the three children on my own and shop for an entire month and then do three weekly trips for milk, bread and produce. So this is "light duty" if you will to have Brandon go with me. In order to make it where Brandon could accompany me I had to make our list for 10 days.

So we packed up, grabbed our envelope and list and headed out.

I think we did GREAT!

We spent $ 44.69.

Remaining January Grocery Budget: $255.31
Remaining Shopping Trips in January: 3

THE MENU

F 1 Collards, Sausage, Rice, Black Eyed Peas, Cornbread, served with Pepper Vinegar
S 2 Pasta Fagoili
S 3 Leftovers
M 4 Ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans
T 5 15 bean soup (use frozen ham bone)
W 6 Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan served with a Garden Salad
T 7 Shake and Bake pork chops, yellow rice, broccoli, sofrito beans
F 8 Chicken Pot pie
S 9 Vegetable Beef Soup
S 10 Leftovers

Our breakfast menu will be the same:

Monday- Baked Oatmeal Squares
Tuesday- Eggs, toast and sometimes sausage or bacon
Wednesday- Cold cereal, milk and apple or banana
Thursday- Cold cereal, milk and apple or banana
Friday- Cold cereal, milk and apple or banana
Saturday- Cold cereal, milk and apple or banana
Sunday- Muffins