Works for me Wednesday

Rocks in My Dryer has a Works for me Wednesday. So heres mine.

I've had sick kids...seems each one has been sick a long time, but one at a time (with the exception of the weekend when we had to travel, of course!). And earaches often accompany runny noses & croupy eyes. My solution? Sweet oil! You can find it in the pharmacy (olive oil works if you don't have any) and you put it on a cotton ball, I like to heat it for about 10 seconds, and put it in the ear. A bit greasy, but usually within a day or two earaches are gone. Why does this work? I dunno. Mom, any ideas???

No Posts

Posting has been far and few between this past week. Sick kids, traveling (with sick kids) and other whatnot has kept me busy and away from the computer. I'm now home, minus 2 kids, and it's quiet around here! I've been able to sleep in every day until at least 9am, dinner has been easy, went out to dinner last night & hubby cooked on grill tonight, and the next 2 nights are just me and 1 1/2 kids. Of course with it being so quiet, I should have gotten lots more done (house wise). Well, we did kid wise! My daughter and I have made puppets, read stories, went to see Kung Fu Panda, & general laying around. I feel like such a bum! I do miss my boys though. I know they are having a good time at Gma's and Papa's, and I'm happy for them. Looking forward to the weekend when we head down and pick them up. Wonder if they miss us any?!?

What will they be?

My kids. I love them, of course. But I think about their future, their spouses (when they grow up), and so on. What will the world be like when the get big? I think about their personalities now and can only imagine. Really the only thing that I've got going for me is praying. According to God's word, if I train up a child the way he should go, he will not depart. Wow, I think that's a great promise. I guess, though, day to day it's up to me. Hugging, instructing, disciplining, etc... I do feel some days I missed too much. (I have got to turn off the computer!). Here they are 11, 4,3 and 8 mo. Tomorrow they'll be gone. <>
I came across these verses while surfing this morning. Thanks to Mother-Wit for listing these verses to pray over my kids:

1. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will guide you with My eye.Psalm 32:8

2. For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.Isaiah 54:10

3. It is God who arms me with strength,And makes my way perfect.Psalm 18:32

4. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.Psalm 119:34

5. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.Joshua 1:7

6. The LORD knows the days of the upright,And their inheritance shall be forever.Psalm 37:18

7. The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,Slow to anger and great in mercy.Psalm 145:8

8. Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
9. But certainly God has heard me;He has attended to the voice of my prayer.Psalm 66:19

10. For He shall give His angels charge over you,To keep you in all your ways.Psalm 91:11

11. Behold, I will bring it health and healing;I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.Jeremiah 33:6

12. Trust in the LORD, and do good;Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.Psalm 37:3

13. Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;Philippians 1:6

Family Circus

I have that little boy from the Family Circus. You know, the little boy that roams all over the yard back and forth, at least a 1000 steps, and when mom calls him in and asks what he's been doing all day, he says nothing?!? Yup, him. He has shaggy blond hair, beautiful brown eyes, and a great smile (he uses it to get him out of trouble!!). As I was reading the funnies yesterday, there was the Family Circus. There was the boy(picture to left), coloring on the walls, scaring his little brother (in our case, making him laugh harder), banging on the pots and singing, climbing up to get cookies out of the jar (he did this the night before last), and hitting his sister on the head with a ball. Grandma says to him, "You're being a real handful today", to which Jeffy replies, "No, Grandma, I'm only 3, I won't be a real handful 'til I'm five!" Yikes!!! Will I (or he) survive to 5?!? I'm sure the neighbors only think we have 1 child as his is usually the only one I call to --get down, stop jumping, stay off your brother/sister, turn off the water, no, you can't slingshoot your brother across the yard! I do love that little stinker though!
On another note, I didn't spend any money today. Not for a lack of wanting, though. Personally I would prefer NOT to pay the house payment and go shopping instead....the practical side so far took over though, and I didn't go.
Looking for something sweet but not much in the kitchen? I made these tonight for dessert for my/neighborhood kids. My mom use to make these for us. Quick to fix, and hits that sugar spot.
Flour tortillas
Veg oil
Butter
Powdered sugar
(I didn't say healthy!)

Heat the oil over med heat. If desired, cut tortillas into smaller shape (I usually cut in quarters). Fry tortillas till brown, both sides. Rub butter on 1st side, sprinkle w/powdered sugar. Turn and repeat.

Kids

Well, the best laid plans....gone bad. My daughter, got sick after we got to my friend's house (she was to watch them). Yucky eyes, fever and overall sluggishness. So, after visiting with friend, me and hunny loaded up 3 of the 4 (4 stayed to spend the night with her son), and came home. We watched Juno instead. Good movie, although I'm afraid that's how life must really be like out there! Daughter's feeling better today, and is excited about going to Seaworld tomorrow. I spent the last of my grocery money + some at Publix. I am really trying hard to stay under $100, how do those that do it for $40 a week do it????? I was over by $18. I did have to buy formula since the nursery forgot to put it back in my bag last Sunday. I'll get it tomorrow, and I should be good for the next couple of weeks. I guess I'd better get back to life, I have a french toast to put in the fridge and floor to mop. BTW---I love this recipe, I prepare it the night before, get up and put it in the oven. Try it sometime!

Overnight French Toast II
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, sliced
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt


Combine the corn syrup , butter, and brown sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has melted. Pour this mixture over the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch casserole dish.
Place the bread slices over the sugar-butter mixture in the dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt; pour this mixture over the bread. Cover the dish and let it stand in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Uncover the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Serve while hot or warm or the French toast will harden in the pan. It can be reheated. (compliments of Allrecipes.com)

It's Friday!

WooHoo! Payday....too bad I already spent all of it. I did save enough to go see a movie and dinner at Tijuana Flats. If you have one nearby but haven't tried it, give it a go! They have very yummy food, cool decor, and of course they are well known for their hot sauces (My fave is Slap my Ass and Call Me Sally). I do love Tex-Mex food anyway. Then off to the dollar theater for a flick. We heart our dollar theater! Clean, family friendly, and good popcorn. My fam of 6 has gone many times for under $20--and that includes: tix, popcorn, drinks and candy. You can't beat that! Tonight it's just me and my hunny though. We were unable to go on my birthday/Mother's day due to a sick kid. Every mom needs a date night at least once a month. Where do you go?
On another note, I did go grocery shopping last night. At least, I tried to go grocery shopping. 4 hungry, unhappy children accompanied me, and our trip was cut short. I knew better, but I tried to go anyway. Oh well, thank goodness for my grocery list/menu. I was able to get about 70% of what I needed and didn't pick up anything extra that was not on my list...AND I dilligently used all my coupons, saving $12:)

Debt Goal

How do you like my debt reducing graph? It will be staring at me in the face from now on....might keep me on track.
This is actually our second goal, over the past year and half we've paid off over $20,000 (WooHoo!). This is the last of our debt except for car/house. Of those 2, we should have car paid off by early 2010. It's a Honda, so I'm betting it to last at least another 100,000 miles. No, this goal is for my hubby's 2nd (?) love, a Harley. Now, it's not a new fad he's got in mind, we've had bikes around here for many years. His last bike was sold several years ago since we were having lots more kids, and he had a lack of time to ride! So here we go again, our goal to pay off this old debt before we purchase the bike. If all goes ok, debt should be paid off and the bike paid for. I'm trying, really! Today I did NOT go out to dinner as I would normally would on shopping day. I went to the grocery store and then came home to eat dinner. It was a struggle! I'm pretty sure Sonny's was calling my name! On the plus side, I received a check in the mail from a mystery shop I did. www.shopperscritique.com is one of my faves, and they pay on time! Check them out when you get a chance.

Summer Fun!

School's out (kinda, sorta, we homeschool year round), but my children's friends are out. We always are looking for something to entertain ourselves with. Our local AMC (check yours here) is not hosting free movies close by:(, but our Regal theaters are showing movies all summer long! Regal Cinemas. We of course will be using our season passes to a local water park, LIBRARY, and we'll make use of free days at the museums. What do you do this summer? At home or out, I want to know! I'm always up for new ideas....

Time for bed (I wish)

It's 9:30, and one of 4+1 friend staying over are asleep. I feel I'm about at my limit, so here I am for some quiet time. Before I head to bed I still want to walk a mile on the treadmill, clean up the kitchen sink (yes, Flylady), make cookies for the park tomorrow, and 2 loads of laundry. Wow, I didn't think I had that much to do until I wrote it all down! On a fun note, I think I've got my CVS order all planned out for tomorrow. It does involve several different orders, but I think I will make out. Probably not as well as those seasoned pros, but not too shabby for a newbie. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

Welcome to June!

It's June already! How did that happen? I really should get started in putting some money back for Christmas. It will be there before I know it! (ugh). Not that I don't love Christmas, it is my fave time of year. However, with 4 kids (and 1 large adult kid), numerous cousins, aunts, uncles and whatnot, the tab for Christmas adds up quickly. And we even play the white elephant game on my side of the family so it cuts down dramatically on my wallet. I did read somewhere that the average family spends about 800 at Christmas. I would be estatic to spend that! I actually don't know of anybody that spends that amount!?!
Anyway, it's a new month, and a new chance to stay on budget, on course, this month. I was all excited to get the paper today (new coupons, woo hoo!), and check out the new ads. I'm on the search for low cost drinks and snacks for an upcoming reunion. I'm still trying to figure out how many drinks I need for 55-60 people for 2 days!
I think I found my first good deal. Walgreens has their sodas on sale for 4/11, and you get 3 register rewards back. If I go back and use my 3 rewards, it will be $2 ea. That's better than most I've seen yet. If you've got any good deals, would you pass it on?
BTW-for great CVS deals, check out Money Saving Mom. Get the most bang for your buck!