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Big Family Food and Fun: October 13-19, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 13-19, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 13-19, 2024

Matt and I are prayerfully trying to take a Sabbath rest each week, starting Saturday evening and into most of the day on Sunday. Read more about this here.

As we learn about this ourselves, and try to teach our kids about taking time to refresh our souls, we planned a special evening Saturday to kick off our Sabbath. I ordered these rechargeable candles from Amazon to help communicate: This is a time set apart for something special. We had fruit cups and chicken strips on paper plates, and the kids all got to drink sparkling water with dinner.

Then we popped corn in our popcorn machine. We prayed, involving all the kids in sharing something they were thankful for that week.

Was this kick-off restful? Ultimately, Mom and Dad still have to work pretty hard to meet the needs of this many kids. But it’s a Sabbath mind-set we’re going for. So no, it wasn’t particularly restful. But it was joyful. So that’s a win.

To give me the day off from cooking on Sunday, I’d planned these Breakfast Cookie Bars that I’d made ahead and frozen for our morning meal.

Saturday morning, I’d made a huge Italian Pasta Bake with three different kinds of cheese and simply baked it Sunday morning on low while we were at church. I’d also made a bowl of Caramel Apple Dip for our dessert.

Along with some of our regular Sunday guests, the Nabb family joined us as they are also seeking to learn to Sabbath. They brought rolls, salad, and a Rotisserie chicken to add to our meal and together we enjoyed precious community. When our kitchen and dining room are full, this is my favorite. There were 25 of us gathered that day.

We transitioned back into “normal life” when late in the afternoon, we headed to Keith’s final soccer game of the season.

Auggie was wearing his new jeans and jacket, and I couldn’t stop loving how CUTE he is.

I had Burritos in the freezer so we warmed those up for dinner and got out cans of fruit as a simple side.

Most of us smothered our burritos with White Queso that I’d picked up at Sam’s. We also had fresh tomatoes our friends had given us, which made these burritos incredible.

Malorie and Elias experimented with making Fried Rice for part of their dinner and for Elias’ upcoming packed school lunches.

Monday morning, Acacia and Josie helped Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

This is the best kind of helping.

I scrambled 18 eggs to go with our muffins that morning.

Anna had a dentist appointment and Acacia went with us for moral support.

When we got home, we were blessed with a visit from our former housemate, Sarah. As you can see, the kids were VERY excited to see her.

We ate leftovers for lunch, then I put together a pot of Chicken Noodle Soup for us to eat for our dinner that night.

After Auggie’s nap, we loaded up eight bikes and eight kids and headed to our favorite Tierra Park to ride their trails. I knew we’d need a snack, so I packed the leftover Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins from breakfast plus clementines, pears, and applesauce.

As we were getting ready to leave, I realized how hungry I was. So I grabbed a to-go coffee cup and filled it with soup so that I could eat on the way.

Loading up that many kids and bikes is a huge effort, but it’s always worth it once we get there and the kids have so much fun playing and riding in the sunshine.

They ate all the snacks, then we gobbled down the entire pot of soup when we got home. They’d worked up an appetite!

Tuesday was the final day of our kids’ Fall Break from school. That morning, I started a big pot of Beef Broth to use in our soup for dinner that evening.

I also baked a Lemon Pound Cake just for fun since it was chilly outside and a good day for baking.

It wasn’t warm enough to play outside comfortably that morning, so I got out a fall craft for the kids to work on at the table.

When the broth had been simmering for several hours, I blended up the veggies to stir back in. This is such a great way to add veggies to our meals.

At lunchtime, I made several cans worth of Tomato Soup plus Chicken Salad Melts.

Little Sweetheart had been with us all morning and Acacia had fun playing with her after I finished changing her diaper.

I started a crock pot full of Spicy Ham and Potato Soup in the early afternoon, then took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution.

This Spicy Ham and Potato Soup is my very favorite and with the rich broth I’d made earlier in the day, it was extra good.

Wednesday morning, the kids ate Oatmeal and I baked a double batch of Breakfast Cookies turned into bars to put into the freezer for upcoming needs.

We had intentions of taking all four of our littlest to Costco that morning, but by the time we had everyone ready, there was no way we’d make it there and back in time for the preschool bus. So I grabbed Auggie and headed there while Matt stayed back to get the girls off to school.

Auggie and I had some lovely one-on-one time as we stocked up on fruit, veggies, and many Costco needs/favorites.

Arrow came to hang out for the afternoon, so he bundled up with Auggie and me to go pick up kids from school.

Eva arrived as we were getting home and stayed and helped with kids. Then Asa and Eva joined us for dinner! We’d been given a Rack of Ribs at Food Distribution (a rare and wonderful bonus item they were handing out that day and had plenty of) so I smoked it for dinner. I also Baked Potatoes – in the oven like normal people do, ha! I’ve done it in the crock pot for so long, that I almost forgot that baked potatoes can be baked in an actual oven. We also had Baked Beans, Peas, Grapes, and Raspberries.

Kiya’s birthday was Thursday! She requested Pancakes for breakfast. Happy 9th Kiya!

Anna and Josie set up a Costco box from my grocery run the day before to use as a table for their applesauce that morning.

Mid-morning I quickly put together 12 Breakfast Sandwiches to have on hand through the upcoming days.

I’ve been working on and off for the past several days to get all of our kids’ summer clothes switched out to fall/winter clothes. This is a HUGE job, and thanks to Malorie’s help with the kids, I got our final bin sorted Thursday morning.

Auggie had an appointment with his eating specialist that day. After so many months of frustration and hard work, it was so great to walk in and report how well he is doing with eating and chewing. We praise God for this!

Several of the family were coming over for Kiya’s birthday dinner that night, so that afternoon I worked on her cake request. She asked for a cake in the shape of a Z for her name (her full name is Zakiya). I had baked a sheet cake that morning and attempted to cut it into a Z…not to shabby!

The final result was cute and I was excited to show her when she got home from school that day.

We had her birthday requested meal for dinner that night: Chicken Nuggets, Fries, Pickles – and I threw in Strawberries and Grapes for good measure. The older kids trickled in all evening for the celebration so I just kept putting in more rounds of chicken and fries. If you’re curious, we fed 18 people (10 adults and 8 kids)  and went through 5 pounds of chicken, 4 pounds of fries, and 3 pounds of strawberries that night.

Zakiya was very excited about her cake!

After dinner and cake (<— that was a two hour ordeal, ha), we gathered in the living room (<—also very eventful) for present time.

As we transitioned to bedtime, Josie was excited that the color of her jammies matched Malachi’s hoodie, but she would not be still for a picture. She kept giggling and squirming out of his arms, then asking to see the picture. These are a no-go, girl.

Matt left early Friday morning to head to the airport to be with his family in California for a funeral. We had a detailed schedule for all of our older kids/wives/girlfriend to come help throughout the weekend so that I would survive. Malorie was my all-day-Friday help and truly, she made the day go so smoothly.

We were pleased to make it all the way to 11:00 am without any screaming meltdowns. Score.

At that point, we headed outside to play. The girls had found and grabbed Auggie’s unused baby food puree to snack on. Sure, why not?

I loved that I was able to capture this while the kids were playing on the slide.

We ate Meatballs, Buttered Noodles, Salad, and Fruit for dinner that night.

Malachi came over to help with kids and we took a walk to Sunken Gardens. Kelsey and Little Sweetheart came later that evening and everyone worked together to get all eight little kids to bed (a process that took about an hour and a half).

Kelsey swept and mopped our kitchen and did dishes while Malachi held Little Sweetheart. Elias helped manage the 5-year-old boys as they had a hard time settling. Auggie wasn’t ready for bed yet so he enjoyed time in the kitchen learning how to be an awesome grown-up. I felt incredibly grateful for and supported by all of our precious adult kids.

Saturday morning, Elias and Malorie helped me get the kids to Heartlands for a Color Run with their friends from church. Kelsey met us there to help too. I packed a bunch of Peanut Butter Honey Sandwiches with Cheese Sticks and Apples for them to eat on the way home.

Kelsey, Asa, Eva, and Arrow came for the afternoon and evening to help out. Elias and Malorie helped a good part of the time too. Our adult children amaze me and I am so grateful for them.

As of Saturday morning, I decided to focus on surviving and didn’t upload pictures or write any more about our week. :) I’ll share photos next week of our weekend fun!

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 6-12, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 6-12, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 6-12, 2024

I mentioned in last week’s post that Matt and I were experimenting with how to have a day of rest once each week. You can read more about our intention here. We began our Sabbath on Saturday afternoon/evening at our friends’ house, spending time in community.

There were enough older kids and adults there that helped with our littles that Matt and I did, from time to time, get to just sit and enjoy some downtime.

Keith latched on to Sam that evening, and Sam was so sweet to pour into him.

My goal on Saturday morning had been to make all of our Sunday breakfast and lunch food so that all I had to do on Sunday was set it out or warm it up. This worked perfectly and I hope to do it this way every week!

We ate Breakfast Cookies turned into bars for breakfast. Lunch was Smoked Chicken, Party Potatoes, Cream Cheese Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, and  Pumpkin Bars.

We had a small crowd join us that day, but we enjoyed visiting with Asa and Eva about Sabbath and some of their ideas for practicing rest also. There’s still plenty of “work” to do while caring for eight small children all day long, but I tried to keep a mindset of rest throughout the day. After lunch, while we visited, I was able to sit and thoroughly enjoy a cup of coffee with a Pumpkin Bar.

At about 2:45, we needed to make a transition to get all the kids in the van to head to Keith’s soccer game. THIS was not a restful thing, mostly because kids did not want to cooperate to go potty, get shoes, etc. Oy. But we made it to the game (late), and truly, did we expect the entire day to be restful with this many little ones? No, we did not. ;)

From the game, we headed to the Heartlands church parking lot for a wonderful Harvest Festival. There was a meal, face painting, pumpkin painting station, smores, and archery with Heart Shot Ministry.

Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Bonus Buddy all lined up for archery and it was great. But when Tiny-but-Mighty Acacia got in line like a big kid? Well now. She was one determined kitty cat.

She listened very closely to the instructor and actually hit a few marks on the target. It was the cutest thing we all saw all night.

Keith’s new bestie, Sam, and Sam’s dad, Jason, had worked on this football helmet when we’d been at their house Saturday night to turn it into a Husker hat. Keith slept with it in his bed, got mad when I wouldn’t let him wear it to church, put it on before and after his soccer game, and of course, wore it to the Harvest Festival. Hotdogs taste better and pumpkins paint up nicer when you’re wearing a helmet.

Auggie was fascinated with the music coming from the giant black box in the parking lot. He hosted a small dance party with some of his sisters and our friend Christina.

All of our kids were very proud of their face paint. Washing it off before bed that night was a little bit less sad because we got pictures. :)

All in all, our Sunday was wonderful and full of good friends. So was our Sabbath restful??

Well, part of it. But there’s nothing that takes away the work of caring for eight high need littles, no matter how much we did ahead of time. I didn’t sleep great Sunday night (Auggie still doesn’t sleep through the night consistently, though at least he’s the only one who got up that particular night). So Monday, after attempting to Sabbath on Sunday, I woke up very tired.

Therefore, I decided to also rest on Monday as much as I could while kids were in school. The four at home in the morning played pretty quietly in the playroom (and then fought for an hour before their bus came with hair, clothes, and shoes, oy). But look at the sweetness of their play before the fighting:

I took a nap when Auggie went down for a nap and felt refreshed when I got up. Dinner that night was super simple: Mac and Cheese (with Bacon Bits stirred in for the grown-ups), Green Beans, and Grapes.

Tuesday morning I scrambled a dozen Cheesy Eggs to eat with Mudballs or Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars an Applesauce. About every other day, I make a batch of this Smoothie for Matt and me to drink as needed throughout our days.

We are working very hard to completely wean Auggie off his Pediasure supplement drinks as he finally learns to eat regular meals and snacks. Eating is still an extra effort for him, but he’s making incredible progress. Here he is, mid-morning on Wednesday, eating an avocado cup.

Little Sweetheart came for the day. She and Auggie are fascinated with each other, but Auggie doesn’t always understand that she is tiny and we have to be careful not to clobber her.

After school, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to hand out food and clean at our weekly Food Distribution.

I was glad we didn’t come home to any broken windows this week. ;) Before leaving that afternoon, I’d put Sunday’s leftover Party Potatoes into a crock pot with some chopped up ham and prepped Broccoli to be steamed for dinner.

Wednesday morning, I got out Breakfast Sandwiches that I’d made last week for us to warm up and eat with a side of yogurt. Anna practiced her cutting skills at the counter while kids trickled into the kitchen for breakfast.

I’m always a bit frazzled by the time we manage to get eight kids out the door and walk to school to drop off four of them. Have you ever told a kindergarten boy to “hurry up” or “go as fast as you can!”??? These words are pointless. But. All frustration melts away when Acacia insists on hugging her brothers goodbye when they head to their line to go inside. This particular day, they enjoyed a group hug.

Back at home, we enjoyed the risk of giving the three little girls a container of markers with paper. Oy. It all went well until it didn’t, and then I steered them toward a different project. :)

Arrow came to hang out that afternoon. He and Uncle Auggie took a walk with Lolli to pick up Keith and Bonus Buddy after school. Brayden and Kiya got to stay after school that day for a Craft Club.

The kindergarten classes had enjoyed a field trip to a pumpkin patch that day. They were excited about the pumpkins they chose and got right to work decorating them when we got home. If I felt uneasy earlier that morning with three little girls and a container of markers, ask me how I felt about two kindergarten boys with a container of sharpies?? Auggie and I watched them closely, and we got the sharpies put away before the three little girls got off their preschool bus. Phew.

It was a warm day, it’s been very dry, and our little car needed to be washed. So Matt pulled it onto our grass to spray it off before heading to school to pick up Brayden and Kiya. The kids were fascinated by this as Daddy had never driven the car onto the grass before. :)

Dinner that night was super simple and a big hit. I smoked 24 Brats (that I’d picked up marked down to just $1.84/pound at Walmart!). We rewarmed leftover Mac and Cheese, got out Potato Salad and Pickles, and I cut up a bunch of Apples that the boys had brought home from the pumpkin patch. The apples were almost gone by the time dinner started because everyone ate them as I cut them. :)

Thursday morning, the weather was beautiful once again so we spent time outside after getting the four elementary kids off to school. Auggie decided he was big enough to pull his sisters in the wagon. He wasn’t wrong, as he was able to move them at least a solid inch before giving up.

Matt had a lot on his plate as he was helping with a funeral on Friday and preaching on Sunday. So Malorie and I took the four littlest to Hobby Lobby and Aldi so that Matt could have a quiet house to work in. It was a win-win because we got stocked up on groceries that we needed, plus brought home fun fall-themed craft supplies for our upcoming Fall Break.

Here’s what $207 worth of groceries looked like at Aldi that day. This included 12-pounds of grass fed ground beef, two big packages of sausage, a small ham, fresh fruit, a case of organic salsa, four gallons of milk, two tubs of organic yogurt, a huge pile of organic fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, two packages of granola, eight cans of fruit in 100% juice, and several other items. We’re thankful to be able to stretch our grocery budget this way!

We got home and unloaded just in time to send the girls to school on the bus. As we were unloading the van, I discovered these additional passengers who were safely buckled in with us on our outing.

After girls were sent off to preschool, Auggie was down for a nap, and the groceries were put away – I got out some leftover Homemade Ice Cream and blended it with cold coffee to make this gem for myself.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart for the afternoon and she hung out with me in the kitchen while I made a few surprises for our kids’ weekend. Friday through Tuesday was to be their Fall Break and while we didn’t have anything big planned, I did want to make it special.

We had a zoo trip planned for Friday morning, so I made some special Fall Food for a picnic.

I cut two loaves of bread with a pumpkin cookie cutter to make sandwiches. Will I ever do this again? No I probably will not, haha. (Unless I forget by this time next year how much extra work it takes to make sandwiches cute.) I saved all the scraps in hopes to make either Bread Pudding or Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole.

My favorite fall picnic project was this: cutting little cheese leaves and acorns with small cookie cutters. THIS was worth the effort. :)

I got all the fun-fall-food hidden away before picking up kids from school. When we got home, a few neighborhood kids joined us and one of them opened up his violin to show us his skills. This, of course, meant that Brayden needed to go get out his trumpet because – well – do I even need to explain this? The concert was loud and special. :/

Meanwhile, Keith ran to his backpack to get out the certificate he’d been given that day. He was SO PROUD of this, as he should be. He’s been in speech therapy since he was 1.5 years old. If you would have told me then that he’d graduate by age 5.5, I would not have believed it. He’s worked so hard and come so far. He put this graduation certificate on the pantry fridge and asked for a picture. You bet, buddy.

All of my fall picnic shenanigans and the after school orchestra/band had set me back on dinner prep. But somehow, we were able to get 20 burgers on the grill and some bacon in the oven to make Bacon Cheeseburgers for dinner. We made two packages of fries in the air fryer, sliced up apples, washed blackberries, and got out pickles and potato salad. It was a feast!

Friday morning, we kicked off the kids’ Fall Break with attempted pumpkin-shaped Pancakes. As it turns out, putting a stem on a circle to make it look like a pumpkin isn’t as easy as it sounds. ;)

Matt headed to Heartlands for the funeral, so Elias and Malorie helped me with kids. We’ve been reading Little House in the Big Woods (slowly but surely), so I found Little House on the Prairie on YouTube for the kids to watch and experience. They were fascinated and had so many questions. Our plan is for all eight kids to dress like characters from this book/time period for Halloween. So we all took note of the hats, dresses, and bonnets. :)

The zoo was to open at 10, so our plan was to wrap up our morning at home and pack up to get to the zoo for an outing. When we got there at 10:04, we discovered that every person in the state of Nebraska had the same idea for their day.

I handed out apples as we stood in line waiting to get to the gate.

Once we made it in, the crowd dispersed and we were able to enjoy animals and play areas.

Everyone was very hungry by lunchtime, and as we sat to eat, I told the kids that all I’d brought for our Fall Break lunch was “pumpkins and leaves.” Most of the kids could tell I was being silly, but Bonus Buddy was NOT IMPRESSED with my announcement. He did not want to eat leaves. Once I pulled out the leaf-shaped-cheese, pumpkin-shaped sandwiches, and jack-o-lantern fruit cups, he realized that Mom was actually not crazy. All the kids enjoyed this surprise lunch very much!

We had some therapy appointments that afternoon, and I was pretty worn out by dinner time. That’s what Costco frozen pizza is for. :)

That evening, we loaded everyone up and took a walk to our church’s Free Little Pantry. As you can see, Keith had traded his Husker helmet that day for a Little House on the Prairie hat. He goes ALL IN with just about everything he does.

We filled the pantry with food for people to come take as needed. Then we headed home for bed time.

Saturday morning, I did some prep work to get ready to take a Sabbath rest starting that evening and through Sunday. I made a large pan of Italian Pasta Bake to put in the oven for Sunday lunch. Check out how I used the scraps of cheese leftover from using cookie cutters to make cheese shapes on Thursday!

We’d been given some fancy mozzarella so I used that too.

I made a batch of Caramel Apple Dip for our Sunday lunch dessert.

We gave the kids their baths, hosted our Small Group, and did some cleaning. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 29 – October 5, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 29 – October 5, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 29 – October 5, 2024

Sunday at church we enjoyed Family Worship time. We were blessed to have many of the kids on stage singing (or picking their nose as the case may be with one of ours).

Matt preached that day, and he kept the kids up in front at first to include them at the beginning of his lesson.

Afterward, we gathered at our house for the simplest Sunday Lunch ever: Lasagna and Salad. That’s it. That’s all I made. But it’s all we needed. There were 23 of us that day.

My favorite part of the day was sitting down in the living room after lunch with a cup of coffee and watching all of our people mingling and enjoying time together.

I loved this precious scene in which Little Sweetheart was napping, giving Auntie K two empty arms to enjoy some Arrow snuggles.

We were all surprised to be visited by a penguin during our visit. Should we take her back to the zoo? It’s still a point of discussion.

Late afternoon we regrouped and loaded up to go to Keith’s soccer game. I packed pears, clementines, peanuts, and cheese sticks – plus a fruit/veggie pouch for Auggie.

It was a hot one that day so that fruit tasted extra good to those of us on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Keith played hard – even if his mom is unable to keep up with laundry and he had to wear two different colors of soccer socks.

Back at home, we cleaned out the fridge to eat leftovers for dinner. I had picked up 5-pounds of super cheap ground chicken last week marked down. So I spent some time making it all into Chicken Cheeseballs – one for Monday’s dinner and the other for the freezer.

Monday morning, I made a few cans worth of Tuna Salad for kids to take in their school lunches.

The rest of that day, I spent resting – as much as a person can rest while caring for small children. We’d been in go-go-go mode for weeks, and I was tired.

Typically, in the morning while we only have four kids at home, I get extra food made or I catch up on other family needs. Monday, I just sat with the kids and played with the kids. It was refreshing and needed.

For dinner that night, I baked a pan of the Chicken Cheeseballs I’d made the day before. A few weeks ago, I ordered a bag of Instant Mashed Potatoes from Azure Standard to have on hand for days I needed cooking breaks. They aren’t as tasty as “real mashed potatoes” but they are fast and easy and they made a great side dish for this night’s dinner. I steamed broccoli, and that was our dinner!

A friend had brought us a bunch of tomatoes from her garden and Anna enjoyed them very much that evening. :)

Keith sat with me in the kitchen while I washed some dishes so he could get his homework done. I’m not a fan of kindergarteners having homework, but I did enjoy the one-on-one time with him.

After resting on Monday, Tuesday I felt refreshed and ready to take on a few projects. Acacia helped me make Pumpkin Muffins.

Keith came in and wanted in on the action so he helped me make a huge batch of Mudballs.

While all this was in the works, I baked pan after pan of Bacon. It felt good to get ahead – even if it dirty up a lot of dishes! ;)

For breakfast that morning, I warmed up some leftover Egg and Hashbrown Casserole from last week.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart for the morning. Anna and Josie were happy to entertain her for a few minutes while I finished up a few kitchen clean-up chores.

Mid-morning, we were honored to enjoy time with Angela – someone who has been a Heavenly Homemakers reader for years and has prayed over our family during this time. She was visiting family nearby, so coming here worked out perfectly! Our girls LOVED coloring with her, being read to, and playing.

And I loved visiting and learning about her family too. It was a wonderful visit. :)

After school, Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution.

Afterward while we were cleaning up, Brayden was excited to take this picture of Kiya and Keith helping Mr. Jim scrub spots off the floor.

Back at home, we discovered that Elias was working to wrangle the kids while Matt dealt with this:

It was only a matter of time before a window got broken here, right? Ugh.

Elias had managed to get water boiling for dinner, and he and I worked together to finish putting together Tortelloni with Sauce, Salad, Berries, and Tomatoes.

The best part of the day: Malorie arrived after a long drive from Texas! She’s officially moving in and we are all so happy about this! Even Auggie moved in for a hug. :)

Wednesday morning, we enjoyed a special treat of Pumpkin O’s that Angela had brought us the day before (along with some other fun Trader Joe’s treats!). I also scrambled 15 eggs for us to eat that morning. As Angela predicted when she gave them to me, the O’s were gone very quickly. But not to worry, I’d poured myself the first bowl of the morning, so I got some too. :)

I put several pounds worth of Salsa Chicken into a crock pot to slow cook all day for our dinner that night.

It was a very cool morning so I was in the mood to bake! Having treats in the freezer is always a good thing, so I made a big pan of Brownies and a big pan of Butterscotch Bars to cut, plate, bag, and freeze for upcoming Sunday Lunches or other needs.

Mid-morning, our friends showed up to help clean some of our bathrooms. Josie hung with them the entire time, squirting and scrubbing. :)

We are usually blessed to bring home several bags of free bread and rolls from our Tuesday Food Distribution. I usually need to freeze it or use it right away as it is on its final days. I had 12 nice looking hoagie-type rolls so I used them to make Chicken Bacon Sandwiches for easy lunches for the grown-ups. I bagged them individually, then put them in the fridge.

How can we tell that Malorie is here? We just look at the girls’ hair. When I fix their hair, the styles consist of piggies and ponies. But Malorie always does something special and she makes it look effortless. :)

With hair done, fresh clothes and shoes on, we watched for the bus. Auggie has started to get mad that he doesn’t get to go to school with his sisters.

Eva dropped Arrow off for the afternoon while she went to do a photo shoot for some clients. We cracked up when she met me in the living room to say something like, “Arrow is sleeping so I put him in the pantry.” This sounds so wrong unless you know that our pantry is an entire room off the kitchen, giving him plenty of quiet and safety away from potential tiny aunts and uncles who might try to love on him just a little bit too much. :)

Here he is, happily playing in the pantry after he woke up. Yep, Lolli likes this room too, Arrow.

Speaking of tiny aunts… Aunt Acacia and Aunt Josie enjoyed playing with Arrow when they got home from school.

Auntie Anna was excited to help me feed Arrow his bottle.

For dinner that night, we shredded the Salsa Chicken I’d started cooking that morning and had a Chicken Taco Bar. I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to stretch our meal, plus warmed up or set out Black Beans, Corn, White Queso, Salsa, Tomatoes, Spinach, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, and choices of Tortillas, Chips, or Hard Shells.

Asa and Eva joined us for dinner and we all ate in shifts as we got kids’ plates/bowls fixed and as adults came and went depending on their schedules.

Thursday morning, the girls took turns helping crack eggs to make French Toast. I also baked two pans of eggs to put together Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches.

The eggs were finished baking before we left for school, and I put the sandwiches together after we got the four elementary kids dropped off.

Then I bagged them individually to freeze or refrigerate so that adults could grab them on their way to work as needed.

We had ordered new bikes for our kindergarten boys (both of theirs are falling apart from such hard use, plus they were already hand-me-downs). So we went to pick them up mid-morning. Matt dropped Acacia, Josie, and me at Sam’s on the way so that I could stock up on needed items there. It ended up being a huge load of groceries that day!

After he picked up the bikes, Matt met me at Sam’s with Anna and Auggie and I put overflow items into their cart. I got 10-dozen eggs because they were only $10.98 for a 5-dozen box, which breaks down to just $2.20/dozen! That’s a great price right now!

As if that wasn’t enough food, I had put in a pick-up order from Hy-Vee for some of our girls’ WIC items. Malorie picked that up for me and helped me get it put away. We are well stocked up on groceries now. But how long will it last? That’s the part that always has me chuckle. After a shopping trip, I always think we’ll be good for a while – and of course, there’s always plenty to eat. But somehow I always need to go back to the store to shop again within a week. :)

We were blessed to have both Arrow and Little Sweetheart that afternoon – a gift I’m so thankful for. This is one of the main reasons we moved to Lincoln, and I’m so grateful we can have this time with our grandbabies! I’m not sure what they are chatting about here, but Arrow sure was amazed about what his cousin had to share…

Malorie being here now is such a huge blessing! She helped me with babies so that Matt could get some work done in our boys’ bedroom.

With both babies happy, I finished putting together Burritos for the freezer using Wednesday night’s leftovers. I was thankful for the opportunity to get so many extras made throughout this week:

Our friend, Phyllis, came to visit that afternoon which was perfect timing because she got to meet Little Sweetheart and Arrow, plus she got to see Kelsey and Eva when they came to pick up their babies. It was such a sweet time. And speaking of sweet, Phyllis spoiled us with her delicious cookies too.

We had a fridge full of tidbits of this and that, so we had leftovers for dinner that night. I’d also picked up the kids’ favorite grapes at Sam’s: Cotton Candy Grapes, so we enjoyed those with dinner.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart early Friday before he left for a conference. Acacia was excited to hold her but Little Sweetheart liked pulling Acacia’s piggy-tails too much. Ouchie. :)

Before leaving for school, Keith asked if we could make Strawberry Milkshakes to share that evening. It was a sweet request so I was glad that I had time to make a batch of Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream to use for his treats.

It was encouraging to see Auggie walking around with Josie’s banana because of all his eating issues up until now and the progress he’s making. Here he was, taking little bites of banana just like any ol’ toddler. Way to go, Auggie. (He threw it down after just two bites, but two bites is two bites so…)

That afternoon, Matt attempted to put the boys’ new bikes together. He had lots of help, as you can see, which made the process go twice as…slow. ;)

I made a simple dinner of Chicken Nuggets and Fish Sticks, Hashbrowns, Salad, and Grapes.

We used some of the Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream I’d made earlier in the day with frozen strawberries and milk to put together Keith’s requested Strawberry Milkshakes.

We were all very happy to enjoy this, and Keith wanted me to be sure and get a photo of his milkshake mustache.

Our Sabbath Experiment

Before I tell you about our Saturday morning, let me tell you about the church Community Group Matt and I have been a part of for the past several weeks. We’ve been working our way through Practicing the Way resources (highly recommended!), focusing on the practices of Jesus and learning more about how we can be more like Him in His practices.

One of the focuses has been about Sabbath – something Matt and I have tinkered with in the past but never figured out how to make a regular part of our lives. We’ve been challenged to be intentional about incorporating a Sabbath rest into our week, as a way to be a part of life-giving community and as a way to refresh our souls. With all these high need littles, WE NEED REST. But with all these high need littles, how in the world can we spend a day every week resting? That has been the question.

We’ve prayed and discussed this a lot, and we decided to give it a try this week. My goal Saturday morning was to make all food preparations for Sunday so that we can fully enjoy our family, our church/worship time, our Sunday lunch gathering, and the rest of our day.

We turned on a show for the kids to watch as they got up on Saturday, something we only do on weekend mornings. Then I spent the entire morning cooking and baking (without kids – which was refreshing and fun for me in and of itself!).

I baked a double batch of Breakfast Cookies into bars for Sunday’s breakfast.

When they cooled, I cut them into bars, setting aside half for Sunday and freezing the other half for another day.

I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars for easy snacks.

I packaged up some of these for next week’s school lunches.

I mixed together a double batch of Party Potatoes to bake during church for our Sunday lunch.

While all this was going on, I’d put chicken legs and pork chops on the smoker that I’d marinated overnight. I planned to warm these on Sunday morning in a crock pot while we were at church.

I baked a double batch of Pumpkin Bars for our Sunday Lunch dessert. And I steamed Green Beans and made Cream Cheese Corn to warm up in small crock pots while we are at church.

It was super fun to do all of this. Meanwhile, the kids came in and ate bowls of cereal, bananas, or Mudballs for breakfast. Matt took a few at a time to have long, leisurely baths so that we didn’t have to tackle that chore Saturday night.

We went to our friends’ house that evening for a Husker game watch party/birthday party to kick off our Sabbath rest in community. Our goal is to not be legalistic, but to find refreshment for our souls and to figure out ways to be at rest even during this busy season.

I’ll let you know how our first trial run goes!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2024 post!

Here’s how we spent our grocery budget for our large household during the month of September. We feed 13 people three meals each day, plus we feed frequent guests…

Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2024

1. Hy-Vee

Kelsey texted me while they were shopping at Hy-Vee over labor day weekend to let me know that Pork Butts and Watermelon were on sale. Did I want any? Sure!!

The roasts were just $2.49/pound and they are a great size for upcoming Sunday lunches. The watermelon was only $2.99 – a great deal.

Total at Hy-Vee: $38

2. Aldi

On September 6, we headed to Aldi to stock up on our favorites and sale items there. We got milk, whole milk yogurt, pears, grapes (on sale for $1.39/pound), strawberries (on sale for $1.89/pound), sausage, brown sugar, salsa, spaghetti sauce, frosting, cake mix, granola, fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, cheese cubes, pear cups in 100% juice, instant oatmeal, chicken broth, tator tots, french fries, fresh peaches, hard salami, sausage patties, and pork loin.

It was quite a haul!

We had been blessed this summer to receive surprise EBT cards for our kids. Through their adoption subsidies, they will qualify for Medicaid until they become adults. (This is a huge blessing for them!) Because of this qualification, they qualify for free school lunches. And in Nebraska, apparently everyone who qualifies for free school lunches received a little EBT (Food Stamp) money this summer. This was such a nice surprise to receive in the mail and I used the benefits at Aldi that day.

Total cost: $164.08/ Total out of pocket: $0

3. Costco

After Aldi that day, we headed to Costco to get diapers, sale items, and staples we needed. We got shredded cheese, Go-gurt, pancake mix, fruit and veggie pouches for lunches, granola, granola bites, frozen green beans, crisp fried onions, sugar, eggs, tuna, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, clementines, spinach, spring mix, frozen chicken strips, butter, broccoli, cauliflower, tortelloni, string cheese, almond butter, peanuts, heavy whipping cream, and bananas.

Total for food at Costco: $245.63

4. Wal-Mart

On September 13, I went to Wal-Mart to get some of our kids’ WIC items for the month. While I was there, I checked for meat markdowns but didn’t find any worth picking up. I did get some Caesar Salad Kits and a few other small items we needed.

Total out of pocket: $34.31

5. Sam’s

After I left Wal-Mart, I went next door to Sam’s to pick up the Bacon and Peanut Butter we can only get at this particular Sam’s. I got quite a few other necessities also including eggs, potatoes, pears, apples, grapes, cheese sticks, butter, yogurt, olive oil, ketchup, mac and cheese, and oatmeal.

Total for food at Sam’s: $328.32

6. Hy-Vee

Eva was sweet and picked up an order for me on September 18. I was able to get a lot of our girls’ WIC items in this order and just one other item that we paid for out of pocket.

Total out of pocket from Hy-Vee: $3.82

7. Costco

September 19, we loaded up the four youngest and went to Costco to prep for a weekend with company and to get lunchbox items for upcoming weeks.

We picked up Boneless Chicken Thighs, Chicken Drumsticks, Milk, Strawberries, Raspberries, Spring Mix, Grapes, Italian Dressing, Crackers, Sliced Havarti Cheese, Shredded Cheese, Coffee Creamer, Half and Half, Guacamole, Broccoli, Corn, Pork Loin (marked down $5/package!), Watermelon, Sweet Potato Chips, Mini Corn Dogs, Chicken Nuggets, Parmesan Cheese, Sliced Ham, Oatmeal Packets, and Frozen Pizza.

And diapers. Always diapers. :)

Total for groceries at Costco: $334.71

8. Amazon Subscribe and Save

I forgot again to take a picture when our Amazon order came in, but we got several boxes of applesauce and yogurt pouches plus some dehydrated apples we like to take for kids to snack on when we go to the store.

Total from Amazon: $48.61

9. Walmart

On September 27, I went to Walmart to get the last of our kids’ WIC items and scored big on meat mark-downs. I was amazed at all the meat I was able to pick up to restock our freezer for just $47!

Total out of pocket for groceries at Walmart: $47.28

10. Aldi

After I left Wal-mart that day, I went down the road to Aldi. I got fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, milk, spaghetti sauce, fritos, asparagus, pears, potatoes, yogurt, granola, sausage, cake mix and frosting, and lasagna noodles.

Total for groceries at Aldi: $137.19

Total grocery spending for September: $1,218

— > Without WIC and the bonus EBT cards we received, our total this month would have been closer to $1,582. <—–

Running totals for 2024:

January: $1,178
February: $849
March: $1,356
April: $1148
May: 1091
June: $1,121
July: $1,190
August: $1,611
September: $1,218

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 22-28, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 22-28, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 22-28, 2024

Sunday morning was extra sweet as we woke up to our first day of fall weather. Thankfully, I’d spent some time on Saturday digging out the kids’ jackets and long pants so that we were prepared. These two were so proud of their matching outfits that I’d found on clearance at the end of last winter. I love how grown up Auggie looks now.

Elias hopped in with us on the way to church and Acacia insisted on holding his hand a good part of the way. He was sweet to oblige.

And if those photos aren’t sweet enough, this conversation between Auggie and Little Sweetheart happened at church.

Then Brayden, who isn’t always interested in holding babies, asked for a turn with Little Sweetheart. It was precious.

Yes, we were also focused on worshiping Jesus during all of this. But if these aren’t pictures of Jesus at work, I’m not sure what is. :)

Back at home, we had just a couple friends join us as many of our usual Sunday Lunch crowd had other plans for the day. I had made Pulled Pork, Baked Potatoes, Baked Beans, Watermelon, Rolls, plus Chips and Guac.

For dessert we had No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars. These are tasty (and messy, ha).

Keith had soccer that afternoon, so I packed sliced oranges, cheese sticks, and the last of these muffins from Saturday for the kids to snack on during his game.

It was a bit breezy and we were grateful for our jackets out there.

The oranges hit the spot – but more importantly, we could make silly faces while eating them.

Back at home, I pulled out broth that had been in the freezer all summer and thawed it in hot water. Then I used spaghetti noodles and canned chicken to make this Simple Noodle Soup. It hit the spot! I sliced a loaf of Applesauce Bread to go with it, plus got out a can of Pineapple and cans of Mandarin Oranges.

Monday morning I made Ham and Cheese Quesadillas for breakfast.

Matt’s dad was flying in from California that day so we had big plans for all of our kids to come for dinner to spend time with him. I decided to make Breakfast for Dinner and I started working on the food that morning after we got our elementary kids off to school and I’d taken Auggie to the chiropractor.

Anna helped me crack 30 eggs into a big casserole dish.

We turned the eggs into a large Egg and Hashbrown Casserole to bake at dinner time.

Meanwhile, I cooked some frozen berries to make Berry Syrup to go with pancakes.

We got the girls changed into school clothes, fixed their hair, and put on shoes – an ordeal that takes at least an hour. They waited for the bus like this, which was rare sweetness Matt was able to capture on his phone.

When Grandpa arrived, he was exhausted from flight delays and a very long day. Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart were the first to arrive and read books to the kids while I finished making pancakes.

 

We were all excited about this huge breakfast spread: Pancakes, Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, Bacon, Sausage, Berry Syrup, and Homemade Applesauce.

Malachi arrived and he and Grandpa looked together at photos on Malachi’s phone. They share a love of photography, which is a sweet part of their relationship.

Grandpa had met Little Sweetheart in July when Kelsey and I had gone to California for a few days and taken her. But he hadn’t met Arrow yet. It was fun to capture this moment when Asa and Eva arrived with Arrow.

Tuesday morning our friend Christina came over for a few hours to hang out. She brought some hand-me-downs from her daughter so immediately the box of clothes got dumped out and a fashion show began.

Tuesday afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to help at our weekly Food Distribution. Kiya and Keith started out sitting with me, handing out food.

Then Keith went to help Brayden and Mr. Jim clean coolers.

Brayden really shines here.

For dinner that night, I had pulled out a package of prepared Teriyaki Chicken I’d gotten on sale at Sam’s a few weeks ago. I put them in a crock pot and they were ready at dinner time.

Before leaving for Food Distribution, I’d also put a pan of Stick of Butter Rice into the oven to bake and gotten Broccoli ready to steam. Matt and Elias finished the meal and started serving it before I got home with the other kids.

Wednesday when we dropped the elementary kids off at school, I captured this hug. Acacia has insisted on giving Keith and Bonus Buddy a squeeze before they head in for the day. Keith only had time for a quick side-hug today. He had to go be a big kindergartener.

We loaded everyone up at home so that we could take Grandpa to see Sunken Gardens. We knew he’d love it and that he’s want to take some photos. Josie took his hand to lead him to the van – so sweet.

We only had four kids with us and we weren’t in a rush, so we were able to really enjoy the garden that day.

We stopped and had a snack with the fish to hold us over until lunchtime.

Arrow came to hang out for the afternoon and got to know his great-grandpa better.

Then, Malachi came over to visit with Grandpa too.

I went to pick the kids up from school, taking Applesauce Bread for them to snack on before we headed home.

Most of the older kids were coming over for dinner that night to spend more time with Grandpa since he was leaving the next day. I made a big pot of Spaghetti Sauce with two different kinds of Pasta, Salad, leftover Green Beans, and Clementines. I also used our griddle to make Texas Toast.

We all played outside for a while and visited before the kids loaded up to leave.

This scene was a favorite:

Thursday Little Sweetheart came over. She and I assessed the situation in our play room in which someone had (once again) dumped out one of our toy boxes. I decided to throw out and give away most of its contents because if all we’re going to do is dump out toys and not actually play with them, what even is the point? Little Sweetheart signed off on this and we spent some time cleaning it all out/up before the kids came home.

Auggie and Little Sweetheart walked with me to pick kids up from school. We left just as Malachi arrived to take Grandpa to the airport to head home.

Keith cleaned out his backpack at home to reveal a sailor hat he’d made during center time at school. I asked him how he’d put it together and he proudly said, “I used a cantaloupe!” Oh baby. He’d used an envelope. We can all see how he’d get those words mixed up. Cutest thing I’d heard all month.

For dinner that evening, I used the leftover Pulled Pork from Sunday to make Meat and Cheese Melts.

I also made two plates full of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and four cans of Tomato Soup.

Friday morning, Acacia had an appointment with her Orthopedic Specialist to check in about her club foot. She got fitted for new braces (she’s slept in braces since she was a newborn – well, after a series of casts and a surgery and…). The doctor felt good about how her leg is doing and told us to keep doing what we’re doing.

We came home and made a triple batch of Banana Muffins for snacks.

After we got the girls on the preschool bus and Auggie down for a nap, I ran out to grocery shop. I scored some incredible deals on meat mark-downs at Walmart!

Then I went to Aldi to get restocked on milk, yogurt, fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, and other needed items that I buy there.

For dinner Friday night, I went all out and made several rounds of Chicken Nuggets and Tator Tots in our air fryer. The kids ate bananas also, and the entire evening was spent playing outside with neighbor friends.

Saturday was super full as:

  1. We met friends from York at the zoo for the morning.
  2. Our church Community Group met at our house during the afternoon for fellowship and Bible study.
  3. My brother and his family were in town and stayed with us to visit my nephew.

Therefore, I was so busy enjoying people that I didn’t get a lot of pictures to share. This is what I packed for our lunch and snacks at the zoo:

Here are a couple photos from the zoo with all the kids:

All my brother’s family joined us for dinner that night plus Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart. I’d put a Pork Loin on the smoker all afternoon then Matt sliced it and put it in a crock pot to stay warm until we ate together. I’d also made Baked Potatoes in the crock pot, Green Beans, Cream Cheese Corn, Buttered Rolls, and Rice Krispie Treats.

It was a full week and a great one!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 15-21, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 15-21, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 15-21, 2024

Our Sunday Lunch crowd after church always brings me so much joy. This week, 27 people gathered. The day before, I had smoked Marinated Chicken and a package of Brats. I cut the chicken into small bites to toss into huge bowls of Caesar Salad. I warmed the Brats in a crock pot for an additional meat choice. We had grapes, watermelon, rolls with butter, and pickles. Some friends who joined us brought mandarins and other friends brought Ice Cream. It was a feast!

This was the only photo I managed to get because visiting with these dear ones was more fun. :)

The kids set up a bus in the entryway after lunch. Notice the masks they made at Bible class that morning, none of them willing to take them off, but none of them wearing them over their eyes either. :)

Keith had a soccer game later that afternoon.

The best part of this outing was that we had a friend playing on the field next to ours. All of their family was there to watch so basically our kids sat with them and their kids sat with us. We all shared snacks and as we were gathering ourselves to leave after games and I was counting heads, I accidently included one of their kids’ heads in my count. It was all very sweet.

Oh, and also Auggie. He found the best chair.

We came home hot and tired and ready for dinner (because apparently snacking the entire game wasn’t enough sustenance). I threw Chicken Nuggets into the air fryer, peeled about 10 Clementines, and sliced a Cucumber for dinner.

Monday morning I scrambled 18 eggs for breakfast. I used the last of our Homemade Applesauce from last week to make a quadruple batch of Applesauce Bread.

Our route to and from school has us walking in front of a nursing home. Our friend, Emma, works there and she had texted that afternoon to let me know that they’d be giving out lemonade and goody bags after school. What a sweet idea! We engaged with the residents as much as we could while the kids sipped their lemonade. :)

When we got home, Kiya worked on her homework in the living room while Brayden used my menu planning markerboard to work on his math equations in the kitchen while I started dinner.

We had a Burrito Bar, which is a favorite because everyone can eat whatever they like. (And for some kids, that means chips and shredded cheese. That’s it. Meh.)

It had been an extra loud screamy afternoon/evening, so when Josie and Auggie got silly and kept hugging each other on the sidewalk, I really appreciated the moment of sweetness.

Our neighbor, Mr. John, came over to chat with the kids. Not that he can usually understand much of what the girls are saying, but they sure do love talking to him. Josie asked if she could go see his flowers so he helped her find her shoes to make this happen.

Acacia and Josie walked around with John while he explained each flower. Meanwhile, I walked with Auggie to keep him from DESTROYING John’s flowers. Toddlers, man.

Tuesday morning, Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart on his way to a meeting and was greeted by a very eager Auggie who wasn’t going to let him leave easily. I had two IEP meetings to go to, so Malachi came over to help Matt take care of all five littles while I was gone.

That afternoon after school, Keith ate his way through about three clementines, then helped me put together our dinner casserole.

Just before serving time, Acacia helped me make a Caesar Salad.

Josie insisted on getting in on it too. I never say no to good help.

We had Frito Pie (which was pretty ok but I’m not sure I’ll make it again), Caesar Salad, Corn, and Clementines.

Elias was on Facetime with Malorie, so naturally all of the kids needed a turn talking to her too!

Wednesday morning, friends came over to help us clean bathrooms. The girls LOVE it when they come and always want to help.

Eva dropped Arrow off for the afternoon, and I asked if she would mind picking up a Hy-Vee order for me on her way. This was so helpful, and it provided two ingredients I needed to finish that night’s dinner.

When the kids got home from school, they were all so eager to help feed Arrow. Auntie Anna took her turn, then Aunt Acacia, then… :)

Eva and Asa joined us for dinner plus our friends, the Walkers. I made two big pans full of Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips from several packages of chicken breast tenderloins I’d picked up a few weeks ago marked down to half price. I made Steamed Buttered Peas plus warmed up leftover Potatoes and leftover Rice from the fridge. I also set out a bag of Clementines to stretch the meal and they were perfect for a bit of sweetness after the chicken.

The kids ate in shifts, which tends to work better with so many needs, so much pickiness, and certain behaviors we are trying to work through. Altogether there were 19 of us that night.

Thursday morning I scrambled 16 eggs and we ate them with toasted bagels. I made a blender full of smoothie for Matt and me, and for some reason it tasted extra good.

After we got the four elementary kids off to school, we loaded up the youngest four and went to Costco.

Acacia was struggling that morning, in particular with this beach towel we found on clearance. She was concerned that someone else would touch it. Yikes.

As we got groceries pot away and girls on the Preschool Bus, I put Chicken Thighs into bags with Italian Dressing to marinate for Friday night’s dinner.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart for the afternoon. She and I hung out and had some good girl talk, then she helped me put away some more groceries in our pantry and get it organized.

We were headed out for the night, so right when the kids got home from school we ate a very early snacky dinner of Chicken Strips, Spinach, and Raspberries.

Then we loaded everyone up and headed a few blocks away to a carnival that was held at a nursing home close by (the one where we stopped for lemonade on Monday). The kids enjoyed games, face paint, balloon art, a bounce house, and fun food.

Auggie was determined to use a rubber mallet to catapult a frog onto a lily pad.

Acacia, who only weighs about a half pound more than Auggie and is barely taller, decided to show him how it’s actually done.

We were very impressed with this event and how so many of the residents and their families were there to eat and spend time together.

We knew there was a free meal there, but we also knew that feeding our kids before heading over was the right thing. After they played and sweated and played some more, we let them get something cold to drink and go through the food line. They even had Funnel Cake as a fun treat!

While the kids were eating, Auggie found a water puddle. We gladly let him splash in it because he didn’t have shoes on and it was only water. A lot of people enjoyed watching him play!

Back at home, we worked to get eight hot, sweaty, and tired kids to bed. Just like magic, Malachi showed up and saved the day. He brought joy and energy to two parents who were exhausted from parenting and chasing and managing kids all day.

Bonus Buddy got to spend one-on-one time with Malachi while we finished with the girls and got the other boys down. (The boys all share a room, but we have to separate them at first so that they calm down before joining together to sleep.)

Friday we spent a good part of the day getting ready for overnight guests. Keith was happy to use our “fancy mop” to help clean the kitchen floor after school.

For dinner with our guests, we enjoyed 9-pounds of Smoked Chicken Thighs, Green Beans, Cream Cheese Corn, Watermelon, Grapes, Strawberries, and Rolls.

I had also baked a Chocolate Cake (with spinach, don’t tell), and made a double batch of Homemade Ice Cream for dessert. For the record, I did tell our friends about the hidden spinach. Everyone was shocked because you really can’t tell that you’re eating a salad when you’re eating this cake. :)

We enjoyed talking for hours that evening and the next morning. What a gift it was to spend time with these friends! Breakfast Saturday was Simple Egg Casserole with Yogurt, Fruit, Cinnamon Toast, and a batch of Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eaters made into mini-muffins.

After our guests left, Keith helped me make a double batch of No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars for our Sunday Lunch.

Meanwhile, we made five boxes of Mac and Cheese with Fish Sticks, Peas, and Sliced Pears for Saturday’s lunch.

Dinner was leftovers and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 8-14, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 8-14, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 8-14, 2024

Getting eight kids ready for church on Sundays is quite the ordeal, but here we are ready and loading up into our van. Everyone was cooperating that morning so it was worth documenting. :)

We had a smaller crowd for lunch that day, or at least it felt smaller. Actually, there were still 22 of us, but here’s why it felt small: We’d met new friends at church who came over and joined us. Those friends have three kids and from the moment their kids and our kids met, there was instant friendship. All the kids took their plates outside to eat, leaving all the grown-ups eating and visiting in a quiet dining room. Amazing!

We had bought two Costco Rotisserie Chickens the Friday before, prepped them, and simply rewarmed them that Sunday for lunch. We ate it on buns with a variety of sauce options, plus Party Potatoes, Green Beans, Spinach, Stuffing, Watermelon, and Strawberries. When our new friends arrived, they brought fresh pineapple which was a perfect addition to this spread!

I had experimented the day before to make an Ice Cream Cake, which turned out to be a hit! I made this Chocolate Cake in a sheet pan so that it was thin. Then I made a batch of this Vanilla Ice Cream and layered it with the cake in a dish. I topped it with frosting blended with heavy whipping cream. Then squirted on some whipped cream. It was fun! But…

It should be noted that when I sneak spinach into Chocolate Cake it is usually well hidden and no one can tell. BUT, apparently when frozen, the green from the spinach pops vibrantly. So Malachi took the first slice and was like, “Mom this cake is green!?” Oh shoot. I had to come clean with everyone and tell them they were actually eating salad for dessert.

No one minded and in fact, some used this as an excuse to get seconds. Ok then.

While everyone was eating, I was delighted to be tucked into the chair in the corner of our dining room feeding Arrow and snuggling him to sleep. He is getting chubby and squishy and somehow even more delightful.

Later that afternoon, Brayden and Kiya went to a birthday party and we took the other six kids to Keith’s soccer game.

We came home and ate leftovers for dinner and I gave two more hair cuts (I’d given two boys cuts the day before plus trimmed two little girls hair to make it healthier). Sunday night it was Auggie and Bonus Buddy’s turn. Phew, six hair cuts in one weekend was a huge accomplishment. I was glad to have that out of the way.

Just before we took all the kids in for the night, I found these two having a dinner date by the fire pit so I snuck this picture for them.

Malorie headed back to Texas Monday morning as Elias was leaving for work. I got out a simple breakfast of Yogurt and Granola for the kids to eat before school.

Mid-morning the four littlest and I had a snack of Avocado and Chips. The weather was so beautiful we spent all morning outside.

The cuteness is overwhelming as the preschool girls climb on the bus at noon.

Crazy as it sounds, I’ve started having dinner ready by 4:30 or 4:45 every afternoon. I do this because once the kids are all home from school, everything gets very hectic. Part of the craziness is the result of the fact that they are all hungry, so I might as well get dinner made before they all come home from school AND get them fed right away to keep the meltdowns to a minimum.

Monday night, our Spaghetti Dinner was ready and we were at the table digging in at 4:45. All the adults in the house came and ate later when they were available.

Then we had a wedding, no big deal.

Acacia is usually our bride and Brayden sang and danced as he walked her down the aisle. The way Acacia is looking at Brayden with amusement and admiration at his antics – well, it’s pretty sweet.

We gave everyone who had cooperated during the evening, played nicely, and helped clean up toys a special treat of leftover Ice Cream Cake from Sunday before getting everyone to bed.

Tuesday morning, everyone chose Oatmeal packets for their breakfast. It’s cheaper to make these and I can do it, but not right now. Letting everyone choose their packet on oatmeal days is one more good thing for them because while so much of the time our kids are trying to be in control, choosing their oatmeal lets them have some control. Sound weird? Probably. This is our world now.

Mid-morning I decided to tackle a huge applesauce project. Our neighbor had brought us a bucket and a half of organic apples from his family farm – so nice. I don’t know that I’ll take on any more apples this year after this (we’ll see though, it’s hard to pass up free organic apples). But this particular morning, I channeled my 2008-Heavenly-Homemaker-Self and went full applesauce mode.

I got them all washed and left them in one of our sinks until a good time to get them cut and cooked.

Eventually, Matt was at a good point with the kids outside, plus Acacia came in to help me so I went for it on the next step. I was putting on an apron and Acacia needed one too. :)

An hour later, this huge pot of apples was on the stove cooking.

Here and there, kids had come in the snack on apples. Auggie didn’t really eat his, but he enjoyed sucking on his chunk.

After the girls left for preschool, the apples were cooked and I ran them all through my Blendtec to get it smooth. Phew! This is by far the fastest way I’ve found to make applesauce. And I’ve made gallons and gallons of it through the years.

Before leaving to pick up kids from school, I put leftover Party Potatoes on the stove, plus cut Beef Smoked Sausage in a pan – all ready to heat up for dinner. We had a couple containers of leftover Broccoli and Green Beans to go with it all.

Matt and Elias held down the fort at home and got dinner ready while Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to hand out food and help at our weekly Food Distribution. Keith helped me hand out chicken most of the afternoon, but toward the end, he went to help Brayden clean out coolers in the kitchen. Brayden was sweet and thrilled to teach his little brother how his job worked and Keith was thrilled to be a big guy in the kitchen doing this job. :)

Every Tuesday at  Food Distribution I am reminded about the importance of saying yes to opportunities for our kids to look beyond themselves and serve others. They really rise to the occasion in settings like this, and it is changing their hearts for good.

What the adult volunteers at Food Distribution don’t realize is how much they are pouring into our kids and blessing them. The adults allow our kids to serve along side them, telling them what a great job they are doing and what a great help they are. The kids need this – and Matt and I need this. We are weary. Other adults who pour into our kids are a beautiful gift to us all.

Anyway…here’s Kiya and Keith helping Mr. Jim scrub some spots off the carpet after we’d handed out food and it was clean up time.

Back at home, there was general chaos as the littles got fed dinner. But across the street! Our neighbor, John, and his beautiful flowers were on display for the evening. As people came to enjoy his yard and flowers, he and his friend were singing and making for a wonderfully fun experience. We enjoyed it from across the street in our yard at first.

Then we were able to head over and dance around on John’s porch during some of his live music performances. Mr. John is soooo good to our kids, and in fact, he’d taught Brayden, Kiya, and Keith how to plant with him in the spring so some of these flowers they had helped grow. What a special evening.

Wednesday morning I made French Toast like this to serve with our chilled Applesauce.

Mid-morning I took Auggie to the chiropractor to help him with over all health, specifically to help with some ear infections he’s been having.

Anna helped me get some eggs started so that I could make a big batch of Breakfast Sandwiches to have on hand.

That afternoon, I got to hang out with Arrow for a few hours. He is such a happy boy!

The zoo had a special “for members only” evening hours opening, so we took advantage that night. Right when the kids got home from school, we fed them leftovers for an early dinner then loaded up.

The zoo handed out big Runza Chocolate Chip Cookies to us as we headed in and I had packed milk. So we took a break with the Penguins to have milk and cookies.

We visited with our friend, Elliot, the Macaw.

By the time we headed back to the van to make our way home, Matt and I had regretted our outing. The kids were beyond tired and just about all of them were melting down. We managed to get a lot of screaming kids home, upstairs to get ready for bed, and right at that time, Malachi showed up unannounced.

He had no idea that this is just what we needed, but he started making his way from room to room, having little conversations, giving hugs, and snuggling. He helped make the night more manageable, and an hour and half after we started bedtime routines, the kids were all finally settled.

Thursday morning we ate several of the Breakfast Sandwiches I’d made the day before. I put together a double batch of Applesauce Muffins to share with some friends and to have on hand for snacks and breakfasts.

Anna had an appointment that morning, so I quickly put together Peanut Butter Tortillas for Matt to feed the others if he needed something fast. I made quite a few, as I thought that might be a good snack to take to school that afternoon for the kids to eat on their way home.

Just before noon, we headed outside to watch for the preschool bus.

I took the muffin liners off the mini-muffins and put three each into snack-sized baggies. (This is my way of re-creating boxed Little Bites.) I put the little baggies into a gallon-sized freezer bag and labeled it, then put it into the freezer. Then I put the remaining muffins in a container for easy access the next couple of days.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart to spend the afternoon with us. She helped me clean out our dishwashers, played, drank 5-ounces, then fell asleep in my arms. Bliss.

Kelsey had arrived at our house to pick up Little Sweetheart by the time we got home from school with the elementary kids. She and Auggie helped Brayden with his homework while Uncle Elias held Little Sweetheart. Family Teamwork is the best.

I’d been fighting a cold, so dinner that night was the rest of a bag of Fish Sticks, five boxes of Mac and Cheese, and leftover veggies.

Friday morning, I made a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

Auggie had a follow-up chiropractor appointment right after we got the kids to school. He enjoyed some light reading before Dr. Bo called him back.

When we got home, I finished putting together a huge batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs. I had started them at 7:15 that morning, but kept getting interrupted with other needs so I finished them three hours later. ;)

Meanwhile, the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins had cooled so I packaged them for school lunches plus some to share with a friend.

That afternoon after we got the girls on the Preschool bus and Auggie down for a nap, I headed out by myself to restock groceries at Walmart and Sam’s.

The price of eggs has gone up again, but Sam’s still had their boxes of 5-dozen at the old price so I grabbed two boxes. Can we go through 10-dozen eggs by their expiration date in October? Yes, no problem.

Back at home, Matt and Auggie had picked up the kids from school and some big plans for our neighborhood had begun. Several of our neighbors had worked together to put together a Block Party that night. Our boys LOVED help setting up the Road Blocks.

But what everyone LOVED LOVED was getting to ride their bikes and play in the street all evening. One of our neighbors got out a little police car that our kids loved driving around.

So many showed up to share a meal and time together.

We met a lot of new people and got to know others better.

Some of the young adults kicked a ball around, and were gracious to let Keith and Bonus Buddy join their game.

The worst part of the evening was taking all the kids in for the night. They had had so much fun and were overtired. They did not want all the fun to end!

Saturday morning, we walked a block over to a neighbor’s yard to get a haul of dirt they wanted to get rid of. Everyone had fun helping dad unload it.

Then we loaded up a basket full of freezer foods to take to a friend who’s mom has been having severe health issues. Hopefully this food will make a few meals easier for their family.

Late morning, I smoked chicken and brats for our Sunday lunch.

We baked a Tator Tot Casserole for lunch and ate it with Steamed Broccoli and Carrots.

We enjoyed our church’s Small Group that afternoon, ate leftovers for dinner, gave everyone baths, and got everyone to bed.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 1-7, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 1-7, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 1-7, 2024

This week’s Sunday lunch was Brunch themed with Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, Bacon and Cheese Sliders, Muffins, Yogurt, Granola, Berries, Grapes, and Pineapple Fluff.

There were 21 of us that day…

We moved from Sunday Lunch right into a Small Group Bible Study time in our living room with our lunch crowd heading home and other friends showing up at 2:00 for study. Elias takes all the kids down to his living room in the basement where they get to watch a movie while Matt and I have precious grown-up fellowship.

We had to be really on the ball today because Keith had a soccer game at 3:30. So before 2:00, I packed up a cooler bag full of game snacks and drinks.

We left our Small Group behind to finish without us, and loaded all eight kids into the van for the game. That’s when we realized that there WAS NO GAME because it was Labor Day weekend. Good grief.

To help with the disappointment of the change of plans, we quickly texted Justus and Kelsey to see if it was too early to stop by. We had planned to head over after the game to visit with Kelsey’s parents – and to enjoy their dog, Lady, who had traveled with them from Montana.

We had a lovely visit in their back yard while we ate our soccer snacks – pears, apples, and peanuts.

Justus and Kelsey had leftover popsicles from one of Heartlands Church’s Popsicles in the Park nights so everyone enjoyed that treat before we headed back home.

Much to our delight, our Small Group friends had cleaned our kitchen after we left for Keith’s “game” so everything was a shiny, wonderful surprise when we got home. I baked five Costco pizzas and cut up a watermelon for dinner.

That evening, we gathered the kids in the living room so that Acacia could open one final birthday gift we’d forgotten to give her the day before. This was from Papa and Grandma Tacy and she was so thrilled. “Oh!! A jacket!!!”

Why yes, she did sleep in her new jacket that night…

Monday morning I made several rounds of pancakes, putting them into a pan in a warm oven to pull out as kids got up to eat.

Elias’ girlfriend Malorie had made the drive back from TX for the week, and while sure, Elias was really happy to see her, I’m pretty sure the rest of us were all just as excited. All the kids helped her unload her car.

Acacia and Josie made their way to our neighbor’s driveway and Sarah sent me this of the girls trying on their hats…

Our friends, the Nabbs, came for lunch that day since it was Labor Day. Cindy brought Korean BBQ Pork, Rice, and Cole Slaw, which was incredible. I made more Rice plus steamed lots of veggies, warmed up rolls, and got out fruit to add to our meal.

They have a large family too so altogether there were 28 of us gathered that day!

I had made a couple batches of Homemade Ice Cream and pulled some of these Brownies out of the freezer for dessert.

Later that afternoon, Elias and Malorie took Acacia on a special outing for her birthday. She LOVED this treat – I mean, the drink yes. But the special time with her special people was the best treat.

We had borrowed someone’s truck so that we could load up a big pile of branches we had gathered after a storm late July. So that evening, we all worked together on this project. It was a bit of an “event” to do this job with so many tiny helpers and it took three trips to the dump site to get it all done.

Our friend, Trent, stopped by to drop something off and was amazing to spend over two spontaneous hours with us, helping with kids and helping with branches. Kermit, one of our housemates, arrived home and jumped in to help too.

One branch needed to be sawed into pieces and Keith had the privilege of using the saw while the grown-ups held the branch for him.

Dinner that night was super lame as I was mostly trying to keep Auggie out of the street and preschoolers from getting hit in the head with moving branches. I pulled a bag of leftover pizza from the fridge and the kids ate it cold in the backyard. Grown-ups warmed up their own leftovers whenever they had a chance, and that was dinner.

Tuesday morning the kids had an extra day of school off because it was a Teacher Workday. I let them watch a show that morning since we were on our fourth day out of school and I needed a bit of a break. While they watched, I made Snickerdoodle Bites for snacks and lunches. I also made a batch of this Smoothie, but that’s not terribly exciting because I make this every other day as Matt and I drink it every morning.

I spent some time packaging up some lunch box items for the upcoming days: crackers, peanuts, sweet potato crackers, and veggie straws.

Little Sweetheart came for the morning and since Malorie was visiting, we decided we weren’t too crazy to take nine kids on a walk to Sunken Gardens. It was a gorgeous morning!

For lunch, I air fried fish sticks and we turned them into Fish Sandwiches.

That afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution.

Right after that, we went home and grabbed hotdogs that I’d made before leaving for Food Distribution. Then we headed over to meet up with Matt, Elias, Malorie, Kermit and the rest of our kids at Atlas. Our church had partnered with them to feed around 150 people in the community that evening.

Heartlands Church provided all the food plus cooked and served the meal so that the staff and volunteers at Atlas could share with the people more about the services they offer. It was an amazing night.

A police officer was there for the event, and Keith spent at least twenty minutes chatting with him. It was so sweet to see.

Wednesday morning, after a four-day weekend, we were all excited to settle back into a school routine. We packed lunches, ate scrambled eggs, and walked kids to school. I didn’t get any photos of our day until Arrow came to hang out that afternoon. Then, of course, I took at least thirty pictures. It’s what grandparents do.

For dinner that evening, we had Burrito Bowls (like Chipotle). So good!

We pulled out random tid-bits from the fridge for Thursday morning’s breakfast: Yogurt, Sausage, Breakfast Casserole, a Biscuit, Bread for toast. I felt like everyone got enough to eat, but just in case, I made a quick snack of Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Sandwiches for the kids to eat on the way to school. (Some of the kids eat as early as 6:30am so by 8:40 when we head to school, they need something more to eat.)

Without fail, this is how Keith and Bonus Buddy walk into school together every day.

We played outside when we got home that morning. I can’t remember what Anna was doing here, but I do know that this was a happy yell, whatever it was.

That morning, I got laundry as caught up as possible plus got some phone calls made. This felt so good as both laundry and phone calls are tricky around here. Little Sweetheart came to hang out for the afternoon, and she helped me cut a watermelon for dinner.

Matt and I had marinated some chicken that afternoon, so I put it on the smoker before picking kids up from school. We helped kids with homework, got lunch bags and back packs put away, and had a lot of post school meltdowns. Eek.

For dinner, we had Smoked Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes (boxed, given to us at Food Distribution last week), Steamed Green Beans, Steamed Carrots (leftover from Sunday), and Watermelon.

Friday morning, the girls hopped out of their strollers and climbed on the bike racks as we were getting Keith and Bonus Buddy’s bikes locked into place for the day.

Once we got home, we loaded up the youngest four and headed out to grocery shop. Matt stayed with the kids in the van at Aldi while I ran in and grabbed everything we needed. Strawberries were on sale again!

At Costco, these two sat in my cart with Acacia and Josie in Matt’s. Notice that Anna had found an orange marker the night before and had drawn all over her arms, legs, and forehead. Nice.

Back at home, we worked together to unload the groceries and keep kids from running into the street (Auggie). Then we got girls on the school bus and Auggie down for a nap, finished putting away the groceries, and ate lunch in SILENCE. How about that?

I had decided to pick up Rotisserie Chicken at Costco for our Sunday lunch and that afternoon, I tried a trick one reader, Elaine, sent to me last month: “I saw a rotisserie chicken hack I think you would love for de-boning a chicken…. Put the hot rotisserie chicken (must be hot) in a ziploc freeezer bag and massage. All the meat comes off the bones!”

It worked, and now we have meat ready for Sunday!

Malorie, Auggie, and I walked together to pick up the kids from school that afternoon, but first I peeled eight clementines for them to eat on the way home.

We played outside while Matt and I worked together to grill burgers for dinner. Our neighbor, Coleman, was out working and Keith and Auggie were frozen while watching him lift a huge log from the back of his truck.

This kindergartener came home with his very first homework on Friday, and he was so diligent to get it done. (We won’t talk about how just a few minutes before this, I was trying to help our fifth grader with his much harder homework while three girls were melting down loudly all over the kitchen floor.)

We’ve learned that once it’s 4:25 and everyone is home – this is not the time to cook dinner. The girls are tired and overstimulated from preschool, Brayden and Kiya have homework and need help, Keith is hungry and needs food asap to help him stay regulated, Auggie is awake and wanting to be held – it’s all basically nuts.

All that to say – we had the burgers finished and staying warm in the crock pot before the girls got off the bus. At mealtime, we air fried the French fries and pulled watermelon out of the fridge. This system of putting grilled meat in the crock pot to stay warm works very well for all the adults in the house too as all of us eat at different times depending on ability and work schedules – so grown-ups can come get their food during the evening whenever it works for them.

Feeding the kids super early is a must – but then it also means that as soon as I wash dishes from dinner I need to start figuring out a substantial bedtime snack for them to eat because they are hungry again by 6:30. While I was doing this, Elias brought up some Sushi he’d picked up and Josie wanted to try it. One bite in she said very slowly and sweetly, “I. Don’t. Wike. It.” Same, girl.

Saturday morning Matt needed to get out the door to head to church for a meeting. Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart came over to help us while he was gone. In case you can’t see him in this photo, Justus is in there under a pile of brothers and sisters…

I cooked two pounds of sausage that morning, putting most of it into a jar of spaghetti sauce for a future dinner. Then I used the rest along with 18 eggs to make Scrambled Cheesy Eggs for breakfast with two pounds of strawberries.

This picture of Auggie is a BIG DEAL. Here he is, confidently poking bites of strawberry all by himself, putting them in his mouth, and chewing them to swallow without choking. He’s come so far – and still has a ways to go – but he’s making such good progress!

Justus joined him for some breakfast, and I loved the image of side-by-side brothers, 23 years apart in age.

I had baked a Chocolate Cake (with spinach, don’t tell) the night before. Then Saturday morning, I made a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream to layer with it and turn it into an Ice Cream Cake for our Sunday Lunch.

Next, we loaded all the kids up in strollers and headed to our Heartlands Little Free Pantry to add to it. We were so happy to see a lot of our friends there when we arrived – and they had already filled it! Hopefully this will be a blessing to a lot in the community during the coming days.

From there, we stopped at a small park to play for a while before heading home for lunch.

I turned leftover hotdogs into Beanie Weanies for lunch with a side of Watermelon. Then Auggie went down for a nap and I gave Brayden and Keith hair cuts.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent giving kids baths and knocking out a few more hair cuts. I smoked two small Pork Loin that I’d picked up at Aldi the day before. We ate it with potatoes and peas.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for August 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for August 2024 post!

Check out how I went way over budget this month. Then read how I feel 100% fine about this. :)

Big Family Grocery Spending for August 2024

1. Costco

August 2, we were out of fresh produce and several other staples. So we headed to Costco for a big stock up trip. Since it’s Back-to-School time, we grabbed lots of sale items like Ziplock bags and Kleenex on sale. Food wise, we filled the bottom of our first cart with fruits and veggies: Strawberries, Carrots, Blueberries, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Spinach, Spring Mix, Bananas, Apples, Broccoli, and Nectarines.

We got Ground Beef, Brats, Pepperoni, White Queso, Chips, Oatmeal, Ranch, Fruit Cups, Fruit Bars, Granola, Eggs, Meatballs, Creamer, Chicken Nuggets, Shredded Cheese, and some drinks (Celsius, Izze, Water).

Total for food at Costco: $427.07

2. Hy-Vee Pick-Up

The first week of August a decision was made to move our five-year-old Bonus Buddy into our home for a while. So we put a few other things on hold while we went full throttle getting him enrolled in school with our other kids, making sure he had everything he needed, and getting his bed ready.

I decided to try Hy-Vee Pick-Up for our WIC items because going to the store during those days wasn’t a possibility. Eva was wonderful and picked it up for us – a huge help!

I forgot to take a picture until almost everything was put away, but we got several boxes of cereal and whole grain pasta, fresh greens, Caesar salad kits, broccoli, frozen green beans and peas, grapes, lunch meat, and snacks for Auggie.

Total out of pocket at Hy-Vee: $29.09

3. Aldi

When Bonus Buddy moved in, a friend offered to help in any way so I sent her an Aldi list. She got everything in multiples – true Coppinger style. :) She grabbed 6 tubs of Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt, several jars of our favorite Salsa,  bags of Veggie Straws, boxes of Crackers, bags of Cube Cheese for kids’ school lunches, and a restock of Fruit/Veggie Pouches for Auggie.

Total from Aldi: $106.27

4. Sam’s

I went to Sam’s on August 9 to get bacon and peanut butter – two items that meet specific preferences for us that I can only find at Sam’s. I also loaded up on cream, hamburger meat, hot dogs, sale items, school lunch items, and lots of fresh produce.

Total for food at Sam’s: $504.35

5. Wal-Mart

August 23, I went to Walmart to finish up our WIC cards for the month. I also picked up three big bags of Caesar salad and Matt’s favorite coffee creamer.

Total out of pocket at Walmart: $27.87

6. Aldi

After Walmart, I ran to Aldi for Fruit/Veggie Pouches for Auggie and four gallons of milk. I always check for sales while there and was very excited that Grass-Fed Hamburger was only $3.99/pound again! I got twelve pounds plus six pounds of Strawberries that were also on sale for $1.89/pound. I grabbed a few other odds and ends – Granola, Onions, Grapes, and Pear Cups.

Total at Aldi: $125.09

7. Costco

After Aldi, I went into Costco for some necessities and sale items. I restocked our Frozen Pizza stash (much cheaper than ordering pizza). For school lunches, I picked up Canned Chicken to make Chicken Salad, Peanuts to put into baggies for lunch bags, and Fruit/Veggie Pouches. We needed Tortilla Chips plus I got Potatoes, Bananas, Blueberries, Spring Mix, Broccoli, and Shredded Cheese. For convenience, I picked up a case of Shredded Hashbrowns to have on hand for an easy side dish.

Total for groceries at Costco: $214.14

8. Amazon

I got a few items from Amazon: GoGo Squeeze Applesauce and Yogurt plus Pizza Crust and Annie’s Mac and Cheese. I didn’t remember to take a picture. :)

Total at Amazon: $31.62

9. Azure Standard

Every few months, I use referral credit I’ve accumulated at Azure Standard to get some of our favorites. This time, I got a case of Tortillas, a bag of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, a case of Frozen Cubed Potatoes, and a case of Mandarin Oranges.

Total after credit used at Azure Standard: $6.87

10. Sam’s

Toward the end of the month, I knew we were over budget but we were also out of a few essentials. Goodness how we are going through the fresh fruit these days! So we went and bought what we needed plus a few sale items. We got Spring Mix, Spinach, Apples, Carrots, Grapes, Eggs, Butter, Pears, Strawberries, Blueberries, Bananas, Yogurt, Sour Cream, Half and Half, Fish Sticks, Almond Butter, and Chips.

Total for food at Sam’s: $134.45

Total food spending for August: $1,611

As you can see, I went $200+ over budget this month. With a new kiddo moving in, we spent a good deal of time and energy getting everyone settled. This means that I bought and used more convenience foods than is typical for us. I also bought some pre-packaged lunch box items to help us as we settled all the kids into a new school routine. All of this added up.

We’ve been significantly under budget most months this year, so our overall family budget isn’t negatively affected by my spending this month. In fact, over all, we are still under budget for groceries. (Average spending for the first eight months of 2024= $1,193.)

I’ve learned that loving and caring for people matters much more than…anything. I overspent because I needed to. And yay, we survived August and all the BIGGNESS that came with it.

Running totals for 2024:

January: $1,178
February: $849
March: $1,356
April: $1148
May: 1091
June: $1,121
July: $1,190
August: $1,611

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 25-31, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 25-31, 2024 post!

First, a quick photo from last Saturday that didn’t make it into last week’s post. As I was prepping small baggies of cheese cubes, meat circles, and peanuts for upcoming lunches, our friend Paula texted to let us know she was on her way to drop off some Sam’s goodies for lunches as needed. Two boxes of Uncrustables and two boxes of Mandarin Oranges later, we were set! Thank you, Paula!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 25-31, 2024

24 of us gathered for lunch after church on Sunday! I made a big Nacho/Burrito Bar which was a huge hit.

I set out 3-pounds of cooked seasoned Taco Meat, 2-pounds of Salsa Chicken, Chips, Tortillas, Black Beans, Corn, Rice, Tomatoes, Spinach, Sour Cream, Shredded Cheese, Nacho Cheese, Salsa, Guacamole, and Olives. Actually, I was holding Arrow and our adult kids set it all out for me. ;)

For dessert, I had made three rounds of Vanilla Ice Cream and prepped some toppings. I hadn’t made Homemade Hot Fudge in a very long time so that was a fun addition to our ice cream topping choices!

Later that afternoon, I stirred together the leftover chicken, rice, salsa, cheese, and beans from our lunch buffet made Burritos for upcoming lunches for the grown-ups.

Monday was incredibly hot again – so hot that our girls’ preschool was canceled. Not all of the school buses are air conditioned, so they couldn’t take risks with putting littles on the hot buses.

We spent a good part of the day playing in water in the shade.

After school, Anna and Auggie were napping but Acacia and Josie hopped into a stroller with me for a very hot ride to pick up the four elementary kids. We had popcorn and water bottles for everyone to help us make it home.

But wait, what is this? As a privileged fifth grader, Brayden is the proud borrower of a trumpet.

He had been taught three notes at school that day, so he attempted to practice them on the front porch. (Thank you, neighbors, for loving us through all of our noise.)

I made a quick double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars for snacks, breakfasts, and lunches.

While I made Skillet Taco Pasta for dinner, the little girls helped Matt make Caesar salad.

I boiled a pound of whole wheat elbow noodles for the kids who didn’t want the Skillet Taco Pasta, and we ate it all with our salad, plus choice of corn, grapes, or peaches.

After dinner, while Kiya helped me clean the kitchen, Brayden made two cans of Chicken Salad for his upcoming school lunches.

Tuesday morning, we ate Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars and Applesauce for breakfast. Matt took the elementary kids to school while I stayed back so that Auggie could have a session with the Early Development Speech Pathologist that comes to work with him.

Later that morning, Anna helped me make a batch of Chocolate Banana Muffins.

I love the simplicity of putting all the ingredients into a blender to mix then pour into muffin tins.

The girls took a fresh Chocolate Banana Muffins outside to snack on as we played and watched for their preschool bus to arrive.

Much to our delight, when we went outside we discovered our neighbors Coleman and Sarah getting all set up to go work their tree service business. These two are some of the best in how they love our kids!

After we got the girls on the bus, I packaged up some of our Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars to have on hand for school lunches.

That afternoon, I put together four pizzas for our dinner that night.

I showed up to school to pick up kids and Keith dove into his after school snack immediately.

Brayden, Kiya, and I headed to our weekly Food Distribution. Kiya got to hand out boxes of potatoes this week, Brayden cleaned out coolers as they got emptied out, and I gave away bags of prepped chicken. Afterward we stayed until the very end to help clean up the distribution rooms.

I didn’t get any pictures the rest of the evening because it’s always hectic when we get back from food distribution. Matt and Elias had baked the pizzas plus made a salad. So we ate Pizza, Salad, and Blueberries, then cleaned up and got everyone ready for bed.

Wednesday morning, we ate Chocolate Banana Muffins with Scrambled Cheesy Eggs.

Once the elementary kids were at school, we loaded the other four kids and headed to Walmart and Menards. Back at home, we hung out outside waiting for the preschool bus. Acacia, the tiny little Mommy, happily took all three girls’ backpacks outside so we’d have them ready when needed.

Matt was spraying the lawn, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. Auggie was giving the best belly laughs each time he reached up and touched the water.

After the girls got picked up and we put Auggie down for his nap, I headed over to Asa and Eva’s to hang with my favorite grandson for a while. It was blissssssss.

When school got out, we picked everyone up and loaded them into the van for a short drive out of town to visit Elina, someone we claim as part of our family.

We then headed to a soccer field close to Elina’s house in hopes to meet up with the YU women’s soccer team to say hello before they started warm-ups for their game. All throughout this afternoon/evening, I was handing out Uncrustables, apples, bananas, applesauce, chips, and juice.

Before driving home for the night, we unloaded everyone for a few minutes to play for a while. There are three kids in this tree. Four maybe.

The trip was slightly on the crazy side, but worth it and good.

Thursday morning, I made French Toast for breakfast. Bonus Buddy loved this and ate two pieces, so please don’t tell him that French Toast is made with eggs. ;)

That afternoon, Malachi stopped by for a few hours and we talked non-stop. Drinking coffee and visiting with our older kids is one of my greatest delights. He was describing a particular coffee selection he likes to get at coffee shops, and I was able to pull out everything he needed (maple syrup, cinnamon, whipped cream) to make it happen at our house.

Beautiful!

Meanwhile, I was getting some wonderful snuggles from Little Sweetheart before I laid her down for a nap.

I grabbed some Snickerdoodle Bites from the fridge as I headed out the door to pick up kids from school that afternoon. All four kids ate them eagerly on the way home.

Matt helped me get Sweet and Sour Chicken Legs on the smoker for dinner and we ate them with Steamed Broccoli, a little bit of Sweet Corn someone had given us, and Toasted Bread.

Just when we thought we’d start the bedtime process, things changed and we thought that instead we might need to take this guy in for stitches in his head. Be grateful I’m not posting photos of what is under that wrap. Once we got the bleeding under control, we determined that stitches weren’t going to be needed. But to bandage something with all that hair is tricky. So Dr. Daddy put a nice piece of gauze in place and wrapped Keith’s head with this to keep it intact for the night. Just a day in the life…

Friday morning I baked these Peanut Butter Cookies x7 for a big event coming up next week.

We played for a while outside with Acacia pausing every few minutes to love on her baby brother.

Then we took the four littlest to Sam’s to pick up some items for the above mentioned event plus to get more fresh produce and a few other items our family needed. There was a “big show” in the parking lot as we were loading up after shopping so we had a great time watching the carts get lined up in a big long train to head back inside for other shoppers.

Back at home, I made this Brownie recipe x4 plus this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe x2 for the event we are working on for next week.

From the time we got the kids home from school until they all finally went to sleep, the night was full of challenge. There was a lot of screaming and defiance, mixed in with a couple of appointments and dinner. As fast as I could boil water, I made five boxes of Mac and Cheese which we ate with peas and grapes.

Somewhere in there I baked Chocolate Cupcakes for Acacia’s birthday on Saturday.

Then we loaded everyone up to take a walk in hopes that the outing, exercise, and fresh air would calm us all. It didn’t, but at least it was bedtime when we got home. Some days are just harder than others. God is still good and He is in this.

Saturday morning I made a huge Egg and Hashbrown Casserole to bake for our Sunday lunch.

I also baked a lot of sheets of bacon to have on hand for the upcoming week.

Auggie got ahold of one of his sister’s bowl of yogurt. Tasty!

It was Acacia’s birthday so I packed a picnic so we could go to the park for her birthday lunch. I made four cans worth of Tuna Salad, plus packed Strawberries, Crackers, Cheese Cubes, Chocolate Cupcakes (with spinach, because well, she chose chocolate cake so…) and toppings for everyone to decorate their cupcake after lunch.

At the park, we unloaded eight bikes and scooters for the kids to ride on the trails.

Everyone was very hungry at lunchtime!

I’m not gifted at decorating cakes, so instead, everyone got to choose which sprinkles they wanted on their birthday cupcake. They loved this, and the fun makes up for my non-fancy cake skills.

Acacia blew her candles out before we finished singing to her. Hey, she’s done this four times now. She knows how it works.

Everyone was fascinated watching Daddy decorate each cupcake according to sprinkle preferences.

We came home for rest time, then warmed up leftovers for a very early dinner to clean out the fridge. Then we got everyone changed into swimsuits so that we could go to the Splash Park before bedtime. This park will close on Labor Day so we wanted to go one last time for the season. Acacia’s birthday seemed to be the perfect day to go!

I had packed eight cheese sticks, eight applesauce pouches, and a box of cookies from Azure Standard that were low in sugar – and the kids were still hungry when we were finished. We had a container of peanuts in the van so they ate several handfuls before we headed home and put them to bed.

And that was our week!

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