Pantry Challenge: Week 5

Yep, I never posted the pantry challenge update last week. I guess time just got away from me as we were getting ready for and then celebrating Christmas. So this is week five and the last week of the month. It's been a good exercise, but I've found it's hard to not stock up on great deals each week. So as a result I think I've spent more on groceries this month than I intended at the beginning, but I guess I'm okay with that. I did still make a noticeable dent in our food supply.

Here's our menu for the week:

Monday

Parmesan potato soup, salad

Tuesday

Corn, ham and noodle casserole, cooked carrots

Wednesday

Meatless burritos, chips and salsa

Thursday

Leftover potato soup, salad

Friday

L- Hash brown quiche, toast, fruit

D- Baked spaghetti, green beans, garlic toast

Saturday

L- sandwiches, chips, carrots and dip

D- Rice medley, apple slices

Sunday

L- White chicken chili, biscuits

D- Meatloaf, baked potatoes, creamed corn

Peekaboo!

Recently we have had several different people on different occasions tell us what a funny kid Clara is, what a great personality she has, and how expressive she is. But the funny thing is that Jeremy and I are both so mellow and calm we're really not sure where she got this from. We do enjoy it though! She keeps us laughing a lot. And she keeps herself laughing a lot too!

This video was taken a few weeks ago. Jeremy had just gotten home from work and Clara couldn't wait until we were done at the dinner table before she started playing with him.

Clara's first artwork

The other day Jeremy and I were working on some things around the house and Clara was just wandering around playing with toys, reading books and generally getting into things. While we weren't looking, she went into the kitchen, reached up on the table and got herself a pencil and then proceeded to think it would be a good idea to scribble on the wall. Why she would think of that I have no idea, other than the simple fact that she's a kid and the wall was available. Thankfully she picked the one wall in our entire house that is unfinished so it really doesn't matter that she scribbled on it. And isn't her artwork pretty?

Amazing!

So we moved into our new house in October. It had been vacant for two years and needed a good cleaning. On the day we moved, a dear friend offered to clean our bathroom. She scrubbed on hands and knees and made that room sparkle for us! However, the shower and tub had a layer of grime on the lower half that just wouldn't come off no matter how hard she worked at it. Then another friend recommended I try the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser because she said she has had good luck with those in the past. I bought the product pictured above and I was so thoroughly impressed with it that I just had to blog about it. It cut through that scum so easily it almost seemed too good to be true. It is by far the best product I have ever used for cleaning the tub. And it even smells good too! So if you ever need to clean a grimy tub, get the Magic Eraser for kitchen and bath. You won't regret it!

Snow!

Yesterday Jeremy went out to shovel our driveway and he decided it would be a good day to introduce Clara to sledding! So I bundled her all up in her snowsuit and we went outside. At first she didn't like the snowsuit, but once we got outside she got over it.

We put her in this little wooden sled that Jeremy's mom used when she was a kid. Our street was packed with snow so Jeremy just pulled her down the street and around the cul de sac. She thought it was fun!

I did take some video of her adventures, but it's taking forever to load on here so maybe I'll try again another day.

Pantry Challenge: Week 3

It's kind of late in the week to post this, but I'm doing it anyway. It's week three of my pantry challenge. Here's our menu:

Monday
Turkey log (I was going to make it last Sunday, but Jeremy wanted homemade pizza instead while we watched football), biscuits, steamed veggies

Tuesday
Cheesy broccoli strata, toast, homemade canned pears

Wednesday
Leftover strata, fruit

Thursday
Steaks, scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots

Friday
Dinner out with a friend

Saturday
Lunch and dinner at my family's Christmas gathering!

Sunday
L- grilled cheese, tomato soup
D- White chicken chili, cornbread

We did stock up on some chicken this week because there was a great sale at Rainbow, along with a couple bags of frozen veggies, but otherwise we already had everything for this week's menu. On to week #4!

Pantry Challenge: Week 2

Our menu for the week:

Monday
Shake & bake chicken, baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday
Pasta w/meatballs, garlic toast, caesar salad

Wednesday
Jambalaya, biscuits, apple slices

Thursday
Going to a Christmas party

Friday
Leftover pasta w/meatballs, steamed veggie

Saturday
L- leftover Jambalaya, biscuits, fruit
D- homemade pizza, salad or carrots w/dip

Sunday
L- omelets, toast, orange slices
D- turkey log (not a very appealing name, but hopefully it tastes good), biscuits, steamed veggie

I did buy a few fresh produce items for this menu, but everything else I already had. So far it doesn't even feel like I've made a dent in our stock of food here. Maybe I can go longer than a month with this challenge! We'll see.

Baby Update

Wow, the second pregnancy goes so much faster than the first! I've been so busy with taking care of Clara and trying to settle in to our new house that I hardly have time to think about this pregnancy. This friday I will be 27 weeks, which marks the start of the third trimester already. I'm feeling pretty well lately, though I definitely am aware that I am pregnant and getting larger all the time. Baby girl is supposed to be about 14" long and weigh about 1 and 2/3 pounds right now. She's a busy little girl who likes to move around a lot, which I am thankful for!

Pantry Challenge

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted! But I have many excuses. Much of October and November the three of us were sick with colds. We moved into our house at the end of October. A week later we had Clara's birthday party. A couple weekends in a row of house guests. And last week we went to Manitowoc to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with Jeremy's family. So am I off the hook for not posting for so long?

This month I've decided to present myself with a pantry challenge. I'm going to attempt to keep the grocery purchases to a minimum and use up as much as I can that we already have on hand. I thought it might be a fun challenge, plus it will encourage me to use up some of those things that have been in the cupboard for a long time, hopefully cut down on my time spent running errands, and leave us with a little extra cash at the end of the month.

So for this week's menu...

Monday
L- turkey sandwiches, coleslaw, cranberries (all were Thanksgiving leftovers)
D- leftover pizza and pasta, applesauce

Tuesday
Turkey hash, biscuits, cranberries

Wednesday
Summer Sausage soup, biscuits, kiwi

Thursday
Chicken enchiladas, apple slices

Friday
Pork chops, baked potatos, salad

Saturday
Dinner out w/friends

Sunday
Dinner at a Christmas party

I did buy the kiwi and the apples today, along with a few other fresh produce items, but otherwise I already had everything I needed for these meals.

Anyone else want to take on a pantry challenge this week/month?