Grocery Budget Challenge

We are a family of nine and usually spend between $850 and $1000 per month on groceries. This month, I budgeted $750 and it looks like we might actually be able to pull it off. Don't worry, the children are being very well fed and I have most of my Thanksgiving shopping done.

I usually shop at two grocery/wholesale stores once a week, Winco (employee owned) and Costco. If a store is advertising a loss leader (a grocery item at a very low price) that we usually buy, then I have my husband stop on his way home and pick up that item only.

What I Changed and Rules that I Made:

1. Made Wednesday the only day of the week that I can go grocery shopping.

2. Visited Winco and Costco on a bi-weekly, instead of a weekly, basis (i.e. I went to Costco this week, so I go to Winco next week).

3. Limited my family's milk consumption to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We are only allowed one (breakfast) bowl or glass of milk at each meal. We were drinking ten or more gallons of milk a week; now, we are drinking 8 gallons of milk a week.

4. Only purchased meat or chicken breasts if they were under $2 a pound. Only purchased whole chicken if it was under $0.80 per pound. Turkey was purchased for $0.27 per pound (or less) and I bought two of them (one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas). I want to buy one more turkey for whenever.

5. Only cooked chicken or meat two nights a week. Cut up the leftover meat or chicken and mixed it into other dishes (no recipes, just something that I threw together). This means that we are having meat or chicken at least four times a week, sometimes five.

6. On the remaining two or three nights a week, I made a lentil or bean dish. I bought lentils and beans in bulk or in bags, not canned (the latter gets expensive). To soften the beans, I added a pinch of sugar to the water when I cooked them (I got this tip from Like Mother, Like Daughter). I made enough for two nights and lunch one day. I varied the dish slightly by throwing in some new ingredients the second night (vegetables, spices, barley, brown rice, etc.).

7. I alternated what we had for breakfast each morning. We used to always have breakfast cereal, but this gets expensive.

Now our breakfast menu looks like this:

• Sunday: Eggs, bacon/sausage, and orange juice (made from frozen concentrate)
• Monday: Oatmeal
• Tuesday: Ceareal
• Wednesday: Oatmeal
• Thursday: Eggs, bacon/sausage, and orange juice
• Friday: Cereal
• Saturday: Oatmeal (I want to change it to pancakes or homemade waffles)

8. Limited fruit consumption to one a day. Reminded the children that "An apple a day (not two apples a day) keeps the doctor away." Cut up apples and/or oranges for snacks...this guaranteed that my little boys did not waste any wasted less fruit.

9. Reminded the children that I had purchased plenty of food for the entire week and that it needed to last us a week. In other words, it is not okay for seven children to eat a 2 pound loaf of cheese in one day. Nor is it okay, to eat three or four bananas each in one day (this goes along with number 8).

10. Made a running list of what we needed throughout the week, so that my husband did not need to stop at the grocery store for forgotten items.

What I Need to Do:

1. Encourage the children to eat carrots, celery, etc. for snacks.

2. Be better about alternating our lunches.

Thank you to my husband, my older sister, and my friend (Elena) for their support and ideas.  Thank you to my mom for her example as I was growing up and her advice during the first few years of my marriage (I miss her).  Thank you to my dad who used to enjoy cooking eggs, bacon, and tomatoes for us on Sunday mornings.

Dominus providebit!

All Saints Day Photos - Finally!

Finnian trying on his St. Dominic de Guzman, O.P. costume.

All Saints Day Cupcakes of the North American Martyrs (parish patrons) made by Catherine.

Saint-O-Lantern:  St. Jean Vianney's profile carved my husband.

A very happy St. Isaac Jogues

St. Isidore's Pumpkin Patch: Pumpkin Roll (thank you, Jessica, for the idea)

St. Francis of Assisi rolling the pumpkin.

St. Alice: Our "nun on the run"

Our little St. Dominic looking at our pastor like he is St. Nicholas.

St. Agnes speaking with Father.

Saint-O-Lanterns Carved by Parishioners

All Saints Party Group Photo

This is just a sneak peak of our parish's All Saints Party that took place after Mass on Sunday, November 1.  More photos will hopefully follow throughout the week.  If you're a member of our parish, we will be uploading the photos to Costco and sharing them that way.

Thank you, Elizabeth, Regina, and Meredith for all that you did!

My boys are still talking about St. George's Dragon Hunt.

Glory Stories and Homilies

We have been listening to Glory Stories since Patrick was a baby, possibly even a few years earlier.  As we drove to my parent's house after Mass one Saturday, we heard the story Treasure in Heaven: The Story of Saint Katherine Drexel on Sacred Heart Radio and we knew we had to buy theses CDs (each purchase assists Catholic World Mission in helping the poor).  That year, our children received one each on St. Nicholas' Feast Day, some more (plus the coloring books) in their Christmas stockings, and even more CDs and coloring  books in their Easter baskets.  We were hooked and we still are.  We listen to Glory Stories when we drive to Mass and at other times.  The children really like them and so do my husband and I.

On Sunday, our pastor mentioned the words "Viva Cristo Rey" in his homily a few times and I wondered whether my children were paying attention.  They are very familiar with these words thanks to the Glory Stories Viva Cristo Rey:  The Courageous Saints of the Knights of Columbus and My Battle Name is Jose Luis!.  Last night, I got my answer.  As we sat at the dinner table, Patrick said, "So, Fr. Saguto knows about 'Viva Cristo Rey'.  He talked about it in his homily on Sunday.  He must listen to Glory Stories."  At that point, all of the older children (4 and up) started to discuss Father's homily on rightful authority and standing up for Christ and the Church.

I was temporarily stunned.  Patrick, my son who says he wants to be a priest, but also complains about going to Mass (like a lot of little boys), actually listened to our pastor's homily.  My son, who sits on his Daddy's lap or lies down in the pew and looks like he is trying to sleep during Mass, actually heard and remembered our pastor's words.  I interrupted my children's conversation to ask, "Was it Patrick who just started talking about Fr. Saguto's homily?"  Everyone answered in the affirmative, including Patrick.

Long live Christ the King!

Apology Accepted

Daddy: "Finnian, apologize to Mommy for what you did."

Finnian (in the sweetest voice): "I forgive you, Mommy."

All Saints Day Party Games

Two games that I have not seen mentioned elsewhere are Practice the Virtues like the Saints Race and Find the Keys for St. Peter.  Both games are not my original ideas.

Practice the Virtues like the Saints Race requires cards for various saints placed around a table. Each card has instructions, manipulatives, and sometimes pictures to complete an activity. Each child is timed as they go around the table completing the activities on the cards.  The child who completes the race in the fastest amount of time receives a prize at the end of the evening.  Each child's name needs to be written down, along with the time that it takes for them to complete the race. They can stand in line again and try to beat their previous time.

The virtues that are listed on individual cards are as follows:

• Feed the hungry like St. Elizabeth of Hungary. There is a basket with rolls.  Each child needs to place the rolls in the basket.
• Help build the Church like St. Francis.  There are blocks and a diagram in the shape of a church. Each child uses the blocks to build a church.
• Pray for the living and the dead like St. Cyprian.  A picture of hands folded in prayer is on this card. Each child has to say a prayer.

• Clothe the naked like St. Martin de Tours. Requires an outfit and a doll. The doll has to be dressed.
• Give drink to the thirsty like... There is a pitcher and a glass. Each child pours water into the glass.
• Give to the poor like St. Nicholas. The manipulatives are a bag filled with coins and a stocking or pretend chimney. The coin bag needs to be put in the chimney.
• Teach the Faith like St. Patrick. Shamrock pieces, including the stem, need to be put together.

For Find the Keys for St. Peter, there are three bowls turned upside down. One has two keys taped in it. If the child lifts the correct bowl, they get a piece of candy.

Promoting Reading for Boys (and Girls)

Recently, a friend asked me how I got my oldest son to progress past short books.  The key to my son reading chapter books was involving Dad in read alouds and finding books that grabbed my son's interest.  Some of the books that Brendan really liked listening to his father read are:

The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Alvin's Secret Code by Clifford B. Hicks

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Outlaws of Ravenhurst by M. Imelda Wallace

Brendan often found it hard to wait until the next evening to hear more of the story and would continue reading where his father had stopped.  This is exactly what we were hoping he would do.

Today, my son likes the Alvin Fernald series, Childhood of Famous Americans series (Laura Berquist recommendation), and some old Encounter the Saints books about male saints that were given to him by a lady at 40 Days for Life. Encounter the Saints books are still being printed by the Daughters of St. Paul, but I do not know whether they are the same quality as the ones we have or if the old titles have been reprinted.

Some of the books that the girls enjoyed that would probably appeal to boys, too, are the Boxcar Children books by Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Happy Hollisters series by Jerry West, Carolyn Haywood's Here's a Penny and Penny and Peter, and Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop.  I know there are more books that appeal to boys and girls, but these are the ones that my daughters mentioned.

When I asked Brendan, "What books did and do you like reading?"  He mentioned some of the ones above, plus the following:

Pancakes Paris by Claire Huchet Bishop

The Truffle Pig by Claire Huchet Bishop

Freddy Goes to Florida by Walter R. Brooks (and other books in this series)

The Eddie books by Carolyn Haywood

The Perilous Road by William O. Steele (and the other books in this series)

We always try to have books available for our children to read.  In addition to checking out a lot of books from the library, we give the children a book for their birthday (usually hard cover), baptism anniversary (saint book), Christmas (usually related to Christmas), and after every nine weeks of school (paperback). In other words, they are given seven books each year. They choose the ones that they get for completing each quarter from a big box full of books that I have picked up at library book sales, our Catholic homeschool conference, or for good prices on the web. This seems to entice my children to want to read. An unforeseen side benefit to our book box is if two children want the same book, they sometimes work a little harder to try and finish their 9 weeks of school first.  They also like to ask "Daddy" to read their book to the family.

Where Did the Time Go?

Our little princess is already one.  I still remember how she surprised me with her slightly early entrance into this world and how thankful I was to be holding another baby in my arms.  Her early days, weeks, and months seemed like such a dream.  She was so quiet and peaceful, falling asleep every night around 8.  She has continued to be an easy little girl, bringing us so much joy, love, and laughter.

Finnian used to laugh when he looked at her.  Now, they both laugh when they look at each other.  Love really does keep growing.

Saving the Old

I decided to update my header with more recent photos, but I don't want to lose this one.

The Butterfly Circus

A friend shared the following  with our homeschool group:   "Here is a link to a short film called The Butterfly Circus. It features Eduardo Veresteugi (star of Bella), and it is a beautiful tool for illustrating the dignity of every human life. It is about 20 min. long and well worth watching." (emphasis mine)

http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/The%20Butterfly%20Circus/ 

It is definitely worth watching.  I had tears rolling down my cheeks by the end of the film.

Note:  Parents should watch this video alone first, as it might not be appropriate for their children to see.