Showing posts with label April. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April. Show all posts

Friday, April 19, 2013

April 2013

It has been quiet around here.
Changes happening.
One of us found out we can't eat gluten.
A birthday.
A celebration of Christ.
New season of cleaning and hope and praying.

I woke up to the strangest sound on Easter Morning.

Easter 2013

Oops forgot to add the water when I set the coffee the night before. Life has been really long and tiring here. I turned in my French Press and got a coffee pot with a timer. The only rule we have for mornings is to leave mama alone till she has had her coffee.

Easter 2013

Someone beat me to it.


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An egg hunt and a newly found aversion to itchy clothes. She insists on wearing what she calls her gym shirt underneath the itchy princess dress.

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And, this guy is double digits now.
He was told there was one last egg.
An orange one.
He didn't believe it was for him.



Friday, April 30, 2010

Waving Hello to Daddy!


Waving Hello to Daddy!
Originally uploaded by OakBlossoms
Our youngest has been growing like, well, wildflowers. Sweet, pretty, and fast. She is waving, climbing the stairs, eating, and growling. She does have three older brothers. Growling seems like a must.

We have been having a lot of fun. Spring is beautiful in Washington this year. It's just gorgeous out. We have had just enough rain to enjoy it. And, enough sunshine to bring out the much needed sunshine happiness.

Our butterflies have hatched and they have been so much fun to watch. I want to let them go. But, I don't want to let them go. If you want to see what else we have been up to, check out our learning adventures at OakBlossoms Academy.

This winter has been much better then last year. Even when times were tough or too cold, there was a new little person to watch.

New little people remind you that each day is new.
New for everyone,
not just babies.
We all learn something new.
We all can get up in the morning
and watch the sunrise.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A capful of oil, Food in April, meal planning, stretching the pantry,

So, I mentioned that we had another budget cut.  I can't see our budget getting any smaller.  Ouch...it really does hurt.  I did go and get on WIC.   That was a bit difficult for me.  I don't want to be dependent on services.  It has helped quite a bit.  I'll venture to say it's going to be the thing that helps us get through.  I have $100 a week for food plus WIC.  I have to be out of the house most days for things like the YMCA classes, taking my Grandma to her classes, friends, or church activities.  So, I'm not really menu planning.  I'm just buying enough groceries to get us through a few days.  Then, I try to stretch that food another day or two.  I have a pretty meager pantry currently and almost nothing in the freezer.  But, I just don't feel right stocking up on stuff.  We need to eat what we have.

A few months ago I was watching TV.  There was a woman doing her shopping in an open market. I want to say Africa, but I can't recall.  I just remember she got oil in the capful.  Just enough for that meal of cooking.  And, all I could think of was how I had been complaining about being low on oil.  And, yet I had so many capfuls of oil in my fridge.  

Thank you God for your abundant blessings.  
Food is on our table.
Food is in our bellies.  

Breakfasts we have eaten: 
Cold cereal with soymilk
eggs and toast
baked beans
smoothies (blueberries from Costco, flaxseed, soymilk, banana, and raw oatmeal)

Lunches and snacks we have eaten: 
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Chickpea salad on bread
leftovers
ramen
hard boiled eggs
deviled eggs
fruit
peanut butter cookies
Bread pretzels with mustard

Dinners we have eaten 
(I offer salad, fruit, and/or frozen veggies on the side.  We have had some canned veggies this month.  I don't usually do that, but it's one of those things I'm willing to do now.):  
We ate out a friends house once. 
Orange chicken, Peanut Butter Chicken, cornbread, rice, and spinach. (This was a clean out the freezer meal.)
Salmon Burgers with tater tots and canned green beans.
Veggie Burgers (got a big box at Costco).  
Soup and bread
Grilled Cheese, salad, and tater tots.
Taco Soup with all the fixins.
Tacos with all the fixins (I fry corn tortillas.  It's really tasty and much cheaper than those boxes of taco shells.)  We top ours with refried beans, shredded cheese, cilantro, onion, radish, finely sliced lettuce, salsa, pico pica sauce.  Rice with fresh lime juice on the side.
Homemade pizza.  We usually make personal size pizzas.  We top with a variety of stuff from whatever was on sale or I have around the house.  This time we had red sauce, pepperoni, black olives, green onions, black refried beans, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, chopped tomato.  I like to make pizza on Friday and use our leftovers from the last few days.  You can use barbecued chicken, curried meats or veggies, the list goes on.  It's amazing what's good on pizza.