She can swim!

My Little Miss can swim without floaties! I'm so proud of her, she's my little Fishy Miss.

Food blog

Here is the link to a blog I came across today, called Budget Bytes. I haven't had a chance to look in depth but I did see some tasty looking recipes.

I also thought I'd post how we do one of our favorite breakfasts, oatmeal.

Since a couple of the kids don't like oatmeal, and I am never sure how many people have time to eat, I have stopped making an entire pot of oatmeal, only to see half of it eaten. And let's face it, re-heated oatmeal isn't the best. So we now make one bowl at a time. (thanks Tosca Reno from Clean Eating for this idea)

Just put 1/2 cup dry regular oats in a bowl. (not quick oats)

Add 1 cup boiling water.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes, and DONE!

Now the good parts. We add maple syrup (REAL, not that corn syrup junk).

Walnuts, craisins, cinnamon (I LOVE cinnamon, I use a lot.) And come to find out, cinnamon is a fat burner, so bring-it-on. Oh, and a dash of salt and some butter. (again, REAL butter, not yucky margarine, and make sure the ingredients are either just cream or cream and salt. No added extra shtuff in there.)

If you don't want butter or don't have it, grapeseed oil is good too. But not as good as butter. Just sayin'. :)

That's how we do oatmeal. I have to say, it's SO good, that I frequently want it instead of dessert. It's so satisfying, healthy, and tasty!

Budgeting for meals

OK, so our food budget is dropping to about $100 per week. This is food only, no paper goods or diapers included (thank goodness, we've done it that way and it's TOUGH). I figured rather than be too upset about it, I will try to make this a challenge for however long we have to do this. I thought I'd post recipes and things that work or don't work here. I would LOVE any comments/hints/tips/tricks, etc. that anyone has to offer. I do follow the blog Grocery Cart Challenge, and it has some good ideas.
I think some serious organization will be key. I will need to have a menu planned, and take stock of what I have to use in my cooking. (I foresee cleaning out my pantry in the near future...ugh) My goals are to have healthy meals and snacks, stay in budget (no choice there anyway), and have a positive attitude. I also have to send a lunch with DH every day to work. I also plan to make our bread, so that should help too.
We mostly do oatmeal for breakfast, or pancakes or eggs, which are all cheap. Lunch I need to work on planning better to make sure we have food and aren't just eating popcorn and such. (not like we've been doing THAT this summer...) :)
I started out having a brainstorm session for our family's favorite cheap meals. Here are some we came up with:
spaghetti or other pasta with marinara
southwest chicken Caesar salad YUM!
homemade chicken soup
taco soup
breakfast for dinner
burritos
tacos
beans and brown rice bowls
sandwiches
homemade pizza
quesadillas
meat on sale cooked in crockpot served with brown rice
shepherd's pie
grilled cheese and tomato soup

Anyway, that is where I am going to start. Luckily DH works near the Superstition Ranch market, where the produce is sooooo cheap. So I can swing by there when I drop him off in the mornings. A few things I will get at Sam's and most other things at Fry's because I love their sales.

So....look out for upcoming posts on feeding our family of 8 for $100/week!! ...wish me luck!

Signs of the times

It shows our economic status when our kids play like this:

Blondie: "Hey mom, I'm riding the bus right now because I moved to Florida and left my car back in Arizona. The bank took it back, so I'm going to have to get a new car."

Yeah...I never played like that. I didn't even know what that meant! My kids know a lot more about life than I did, I think. Well, I guess I should say they know different things than I did. I like having smarty pants kids. :)

Our campout in pictures

Cooking marshmallows over the campfire that I built with my bare hands. We cooked hot dogs over it, too.

This one cooked enough for ya?

Official campfire s'more. Lovely!

Hey, at least they had potties!!

The hammock was a big hit, as you can see.




This girl has a SERIOUS eye for pictures. She's good!


We went, we took in the breath-taking scenery, we froze, we got DIRTY, we came home.

Fun? Yes!

Ode to my boys

I wanted to write a little somethin' about my boys. They are such a joy to me. Of course, my girls are too, but having boys is still such a new experience that I marvel at them daily. :)

Dr. D-
You are so funny. Seriously funny. Your expressions and the expressive way you talk just gets me! I love the way your little mouth goes sideways when you talk. Your enthusiasm is contagious and makes me smile.

I know I shouldn't, but I think it's hilarious the way you fake burp all the time. I feel like I need to be a responsible parent and so I tell you it's bad manners, yadda yadda, but inside I'm just busting up! It's such a boy thing to do.

It's so funny watching you be impressed with how far you can pee. This was emphasized at our recent campout. :) I think you only used the port-a-potty twice in 3 days! (lucky duck)
You know all the words and like to sing "Castle on a Cloud" to me. You like me to sing it to you, too, but I have to change "Cozette" to "Dr. D (and everyone else in the room's name, too)".

I think it's funny how EVERY NIGHT since Christmas you have asked me to sing Jingle Bells for your bedtime song. If I tell you "no Jingle Bells tonight", you always ask for Frosty the Snowman next. Lately you want to sing Jingle Bells yourself, and you get so into it that you are belting it out by the end. Love it!! (you get that love of Christmas songs from your mother, by the way)
When it's time to get your jammies on, you are so cute. You always pick out your own, they always go together, and you always come show me which ones you picked and are so excited about them.

You LOVE dandelions. If we walk by a yard that has some, you have to pick at least one (preferably more), blow it, and make a wish.

I love how you call marshmallows "smarshmallows".

Whenever I come home, you ALWAYS come running up to me and yell, "Mommy!!" and hug me. It's a thrill to me and I will be sad when that comes to an end as you grow up.


Tail Gunner-
You are developing one hum-dinger of a personality. It's fun to see such a little body so expressive already.

Watching you walk is a delight. It's the cutest thing! You seem too little to be walking around so much, but there's no more crawling for you.

I like watching you get a kick out of things. Like your brother. You two already have a special bond and communication going on.

You have a sweet giggle and smile. Those little teeth add so much to your cuteness!

Though you love to have fun and laugh and smile, you are also contemplative and serious at times. You are an observer (like your mama). There are many times you sit back and watch what is going on around you, taking it all in.

Your independence is budding. Feeding yourself more, playing on your own more, wandering room to room on your own, hearing your brother or sisters playing in another room and you go off to check it out. Becoming a little man!

Two of the sweet spots in my life are these little guys. And boy do they love their momma! It's an interesting thought to me, to realize that I am raising these guys to grow up and be husbands and fathers to their own little rugrats someday. To know that one day, I won't be the main woman in their life anymore. I guess that's the plan for this life, but I'm so so so glad to know that I am their first love and will always have a special spot in their heart as they will in mine.

Feminine Humor

So, does anyone else think commercials for feminine products are sort of ridiculous? If so, this clip is for you. It makes me laugh out loud--I bet you will too! :)

My baby is a walker!

Tail Gunner had his first birthday last month. Here he is with his birthday present, a ball popper toy. He LOVES it! So does Dr. D, and I have to get him to let the baby have a turn with it every once in a while. He sure looks like a little boy now, doesn't he? No more baby look here.


My little Tail Gunner took his first steps on Mother's Day. While we were in Mexico, he really took off with the walking and no longer crawls anywhere. My baby is growing up! (without my permission...) :)

Summer so far

It's hot here. We just got back from Mexico where i don't think it got above 100 degrees. We went for DH's youngest sister's wedding and reception. It was a wonderful time, and all of my in-laws were together. That's a fun group, I tell ya.
For her wedding, we traveled from El Paso across the border to Cuidad Juarez, the most dangerous city in the world at the moment. Despite that fact, I felt very safe and fine about going and while we were there. She was sealed in the temple there, which was surrounded by a gate and guarded. I had the privilege of being her photographer, which was extremely intimidating and fun at the same time. What I didn't like about that experience was the time of day (noon, which is a hard time for pics as there are a lot of hard shadows and there was very little shade on the site), and the fact that we were very rushed. Besides that though, the couple was ADORABLE and very laid back about everything. Here are a few of my favorite shots:


Down home in Colonia Juarez, besides the reception, I had some great fun with the fam. This includes some time spent with my sister in law, C, making soap (LOVELY soap that you'd pay $3 a bar for!) and bath fizzies. We gave each other pedicures, ate chocolate cheerios, played the piano, and sang. Oh, the music! Our new brother in law adds a cello to our family mix and let me say it was BEAUTIFUL. He fits right in!! :)

Well, it's good to be back but we will miss the family all around. I am happy that another one of DH's sisters moved here to the valley! I see some good times in the near future. Good times...

Popsicle-shmicles!

Well, we just got back from Me-hee-co, and I have a few things to write about that, but first...something else. My dear cousin Jen, who totally inspired me to make popsicles like a crazy woman while we were down there (in Mexico), has a giveaway going on. I thought I'd post this to enter before I forget. I have been planning today what kind of ice-lollies to make, and this book would sure be a great help! If I don't win, I may get a copy myself. Or at least borrow one. :)

Jen at Whole Food Kids, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time, Mega-Family Blogs, and life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day, is giving away a Zoku 7-Minute Pop Maker!

And just in case you don't know any awesome Popsicle recipes, she's throwing in THIS book, too!

This entire package is worth over $60! To enter, go HERE.