{convicted, yes}

Whatever word you want to use....burdened, guilty {although I know that

is not the same thing as convicted}, concerned.....or, a mixture of all of the above.

Over.........food.

There you have it. 

Basically because of my nutty schedule that I have, my family

is putting junk into their mouths.  Literally. 

So, I spent HOURS in the grocery store this week reading and 

reading label after label.  I toted bags of groceries home with a feeling

of uneasiness as much of these items the boys have never tasted. 

Our pantry and refrigerator has been filled with processed, nutritionless junk.

I had a "family meeting" last week and told all of them that we would

be transitioning to some big changes.   I explained my reasoning and 

that as the mom of the house I felt a huge responsibility and knew I had totally

made a gradual slip into a territory I didn't want any of us to stay in. 

Surprisingly, they accepted the challenge with smiles.   Then, it began.

And, I have slowly implemented more things in.  I have completed

some major tossing out of the cabinets.   And, I have a progress report to

announce!  It is going SOOOOOOOOO much better than I could have

ever anticipated.   Basically, we are going down the path of

things being "God made" and steering away from things that do

not fall into this category the majority of the time.  Will we still have

treats?  Absolutely!  But, they will be "treats",  not staples in our diet. 

Here are a few things the boys {all three} have tried and LOVED. 

Morning Star veggie corndogs,  almond milk {huge success},

no more processed cereals....Kashi's, tons of fresh fruits, 100%

whole wheat rounds, natural peanut butter, pure fruit spreads instead of jelly,

whole wheat spaghetti, eggs, organic and greek yogurt {jury is still

out on the greek for the boys}, rice chips, whole wheat pita chips just to name

a few, bottled water instead of juice, milk or SODA. 

 And, I have so many things to try and that is the part they

are enjoying the most.   They are actually meal planning which is funny!

But, things to try are......Morning Star chicken strips,  hummus {we will see!},

natural almonds,   air-popped pop corn {have done this in the past, just

not in a while}, homemade french fries and chicken strips,  homemade

salsa {they have never wanted to eat salsa before},  turkey sausage 

roll ups on wheat tortillas, etc, etc, etc.    

I just want to be a good steward with their health and mine of course!

Will keep you posted!!!  So far, so much better than I thought it would be!

{new blog}

I stumbled upon this one a few days ago.

You know I love me some Amazon and have been intrigued by some of the 

Amazon deals that she posts.  I may dive in and try some out.

Will keep you posted, but just wanted to share.  

So sorry, adding the link would be helpful.
Coupon Gal

I'll blame that laspe on my elevated temperature. {JK!}

{OVER-budget}

but, not by much, so I'm pleased. 

I had to run up to the FS Post Office unexpectedly this morning, as ours was closed at 10 am {I did not know that!}  So, I went ahead and got next week's groceries.  We did pretty well last week, with the boys being sick, I bought extra things that I probably wouldn't have, but basically anything they requested to eat or drink, they got.  Well, except for the Mazzio's pizza when Noah was vomiting, but that's another story for another day. ;)

The above I picked up today at Aldi's.  I went over by $6, so the total for the above with $56 {including tax}.  I was pretty pleased with everything and it seems like I got ALOT of food.  A quick rundown:  

2 boxes Capri-sun "like" drinks. 

4 pounds of bananas {not shown}

4 lunchables

2 bags of chips

1 {1.5 pounds} container of pork chops

4 avocados {0.29 each!}

4 pounds of oranges

4 dozen eggs

1 tub of shortening {I think that's the first I've ever bought in my life, but 

Pioneer Woman Southern biscuits on are the menu this week}

1 big package of roma tomatoes

2 packages of fresh zucchini

1 bag of hoagie rolls

1 can of cinnamon rolls

4 canned biscuits {Sunday morning Monkey Bread}

1 can of fruit cocktail

1 bag of light brown sugar

1 bag of French Fries

4 boxes of crackers

1 Pineapple

4 cans of chili beans

2 boxes of cream cheese

1 bottle of cherries {making my own diet Cherry Limeades}

1 bag of lettuce {that is from Sam's - wrong pile} {$2+}

I had to pick up bread, soft drinks and turkey pepperoni from WM.

So, in total I spent about $70.  Over my plan, I know - but a lo t of the above will be carrying over for into next week {for ex, the FOUR dozen eggs, fruit, cream cheese, beans, etc}

Regardless, $70 is MUCH better than the $300+.  I'm cooking ALOT more and it's more nutritious and fresh which is an added bonus.  According to me, not necessarily the boys.

I have decided to keep my household items separate as there is NO way I can do that.  Today I also had to pick up TP, paper plates, bleach, trash bags, light bulbs etc.  But, I did well on those too.    Next I will have to come up with a budget for my 'beauty' supplies. That's enough to pay off the National Debt, things may get very scary around here. ;)

Now, if I can muster up the energy {I'm running on empty right about now} I am off to get ready to take the boys to the Jeremy Camp concert.  Fever-free for 24 hours+!  yay!   

   

{new find}

And, yes, this came out of "the new budget."  It is low.

Very, very low! But, we honestly shouldn't need one more thing this week. 
{Remember $300+ trip last week}  

Now, on to the above.  I saw a similar version to this in Wal-mart, but wasn't

impressed with the design.  So, I came home and investigated

a bit.   This is what I found on Amazon.  The reviews were great

as well as the cost.   I'm just excited about not having to trim

crust every morning.   Occasionally I would cave and buy

the Uncrustables - but have you seen the calorie count in those? 

Noah loves them, but Evan refuses the store-bought ones - so

this should solve both issues, be healthier {since I control

how much of what goes into the sandwiches} and save a lot of money! 

I'll let you know!

ps....some of the reviews noted that you could make several pb&j's
at once, ziploc them and freeze them until needed.  I love that.