Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

  • Home
    • About
    • FAQs
  • Recipes
    • Bread and Breakfast
    • Condiments
    • Dairy
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes and Snacks
    • Desserts
    • Gluten Free
    • Instant Pot
    • Crock Pot
    • Heavenly Homemaker’s Weekly Menus
  • Homemaking
    • Real Food Sources
  • Store
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Simple Meals
  • Club Members!

Our Groceries, Our Menu, Our First Week of School…and Our Mannequins?

August 16, 2015 by Laura 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Well, here we are at the beginning of our first week of school for 2015-2016. I’ve made a few meals and convenience foods ahead of time. I’ve ordered and purchased a lot of groceries. I’ve organized our books and classes for the year. I’ve made a 30-Day Real Food Menu to help make meal time easier. I’ve moved the mannequins out of my office. Hold on. Did I forget to tell you about Sheila and Robert?

Creepy Alert…

mannequins

Why, oh why?

Asa was working on a new video project for a friend last week, and they needed mannequins. What does a person do when he needs mannequins? Well, his mom puts a request out on Facebook, and hopes a friend has some to lend. I truly almost wet myself watching our friend haul two necked mannequins across the street to our porch. I would love to know what the neighbors were thinking.

Ever dressed a mannequin? It’s harder than one would think. Sheila lost two fingers in the process, for which we are truly sorry. I gave up on pants and simply wrapped her legs in a blanket. Then we stored her (as well as a little boy mannequin – see him back there?) on the bed in my office. I jumped every time I walked in – because obviously – and I felt as though Sheila was watching my every move while I tried to work. It is very hard to write sentences while being watched by someone who doesn’t blink. So we moved them to our other guest room. In the process, her legs came off. As did her arms. And her blanket. Then Asa and his friend ended up not needing them for the video after all.
mannequins 4

See sometimes you just don’t want to know all the goings on in other people’s homes. Please still love us.

Want to talk about food now? Yes, let’s move on to the more normal (and I use that term lightly) life of the Coppinger household, shall we? Truly, looking at my bottle of vinegar will be a blessed relief after the previous pictures.

Saturday I picked up an enormous Bountiful Basket order. Along with lots of fruits and veggies we got tortillas, bread, and pizza crusts for the freezer. Ah yes, and a bottle of vinegar. As I was saying earlier, life is so normal, simple, and boring around here.

bountiful basket 815

My August Subscribe and Save order is beginning to trickle in. I should have the rest by Monday, but so far we’ve received Organic Cacao Powder, a case of Kashi cereal, and a case of Rapunzel sucanat.

amazon 815

Our garden tomatoes are producing well! Soon it will be time to make a batch of tomato sauce.

garden tomatoes 2

And guess what? Our green bean plants are reviving themselves and we already got to pick a few beans. Take that, bunnies! (Yes, we’re still keeping the cat.)

garden beans

I ordered 50 pounds of potatoes and 50 pounds of wheat (not pictured) from Azure Standard. Soooo, we are all set on food for a while!

potatoes

Along with school, some of our boys’ soccer practices also begin this week. I took the 30-Day Real Food Menu list and my Menu Planning Notebook, and I jotted down meals from the list I have food on hand to make. This is so much better than having all the info and thoughts floating around in my head. Yay for a list on my fridge (and for the iced coffee I drank while making it)!

meal planning before school

First Week of School Food

  • Homemade Pizza
  • BLT Chopped Salad
  • Meat and Cheese Burritos
  • Easy Noodle Stir Fry
  • Tuna Casserole
  • Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
  • Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (from Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks)
  • Hawaiian Beef and Rice (from Eat Right Away: Slow Cooker Beef Edition)
  • Taco Potatoes
  • Real Food Meat and Velveeta Dip with chips
  • Crepes

Last but not least, here are some boring pictures of a few of the books our three younger boys will be using this year. (Justus – 10th grade, Elias – 8th grade, Malachi – 5th grade)

school books 2015

This isn’t all of them, but these are some of the piles I was working through for a few hours over the weekend. I got the boys’ assignment lists printed, so we’ll begin bright and early (yeah right) Monday morning.

school books 20152

 

Hopefully, the mannequins will not be terribly distracting while the boys work on their math and Spanish on Matt’s office computer. We’re running out of options for places to move them. Our porch, perhaps? That could be fun.

Here’s to a great first week of school! How about you? What are you up to this week? Care to share anything about your normal (or not so normal) goings on? Have any mannequin creepers?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Filed Under: Feeding the Family, Homeschool Hubbub, Menu Plans Tagged With: healthy menu, homeschool, real food, routine

Comments

  1. Melissa says

    August 16, 2015 at 2:25 pm

    Just curious about organics. Do you buy the organic Bountiful Basket? I did once, but it seemed much smaller than the conventional one. Also, do you buy the potatoes organic from Azure?

    What are your favorite bulk items to buy from Azure? I’m starting to buy in bulk, but I’m a bit overwhelmed. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 16, 2015 at 2:30 pm

      I’ve gone back and forth on organics through the years. I buy organic when I can (like the Azure potatoes), but as our grocery budget has had to increase as our boys get older, I’ve been buying more conventional produce. We already spend a LOT on groceries to keep us all fed, so it was either buy conventional sometimes or go without fresh fruits and veggies. I want us to eat the produce! I get a regular BB instead of the organic one.

      Reply
  2. Sheila Laurence says

    August 16, 2015 at 2:57 pm

    Ok, I have to ask. How did Sheila get her name?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 16, 2015 at 3:01 pm

      Ha! Thanks for asking…Sheila. :) :) It was a random selection. I asked our boys at lunch one day what we should name them. Without thinking, our 15 year old (who can come up with names and words very spontaneously), simply said, “Let’s go with Sheila…and Robert.” And that was that. :)

      Reply
  3. Sheila Laurence says

    August 16, 2015 at 4:05 pm

    :)

    Reply
  4. Sheila H. says

    August 16, 2015 at 4:46 pm

    I am Sheila and my son is Robert so the mannequins are a hoot. We are starting school tomorrow as well.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 16, 2015 at 7:51 pm

      Wow, how did we do that so perfectly?? Have a great first day of school!

      Reply
  5. Ashley says

    August 16, 2015 at 7:05 pm

    Our homeschool co-op meets in a church building and shares a storage closet with the youth ministry there. For a while they had a mannequin in there (why? I have no idea) and it made me jump every time I went in there to get something because I had forgotten it was in there! They are so creepy.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 16, 2015 at 7:52 pm

      Whoa, that would be creepy! You should get to the bottom of why they were in there. I bet there’s a good story. :)

      Reply
  6. Andrea Smith says

    August 17, 2015 at 2:45 am

    What I want to know is are you feeling Volley ball girls? Leiah is on her way! :)

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 17, 2015 at 6:20 am

      I am so glad you reminded me of this! I will be sure to find her and meet her!! (How do you pronounce her name? Is it like Leah? or more like Lay-ah?)

      Reply
  7. Pam Custer says

    August 17, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    Just have to let you know…I soooo enjoy your writing! <3

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Join Our Community!

 Facebook Twitter RSS E-mail Instagram Pinterest

Popular Posts

~ Will All of the Real Moms Please Stand Up?
~ Easy! Stir-and-Pour Whole Wheat Bread
~ How to Make Gatorade
~ 31 Real Food Breakfast Ideas
~ Dear Teenage Girls...
~ When Mom Takes a Step Back
~ The Inexpensive Health Insurance We Love!
~ Let's Talk Real Food Grocery Budgets

Check out our latest posts!

  • Easy Chili Cheese Dip
  • How to Make 5 Meals with 1 Pork Roast
  • Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwich Ideas
  • Parmesan Chicken and Rice Recipe – $1.00/person!
  • How to Beat Inflation at the Grocery Store
Home  ~  Simple Meals  ~  Club Membership  ~  Shop  ~  Privacy Policy  ~  Disclosure  ~ Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in