Something new

I decided not to post my menu this week because it was very blah and boring. In fact, I had $15 left over from my $35 budget, and Brad suggested I go back to the store and use it to "pep" up the menu a little bit :). I thought it would be very thrifty of me to use up some of our not-so-favorite things. He said my budget might get cut if I make a habit of this. Somehow, I think we will all survive :).

Kathryn and Olivia have always been crazy about pushing each other around in their baby doll stroller. I remembered this picture the other day and thought it would be fun to get a recent one to compare with.



Then I just had to post my crazy deals from CVS last week! I wanted to post them last week so you all could take advantage of them, but I just never got around to it. If you're interested in learning how it works, go to Money Saving Mom and look over to the right for the CVS 101 Tutorial. She has literally saved us hundreds of dollars!



1 - Jumbo pack Pampers Swaddlers
1 - 8 roll pack Bounty paper towels
2 - 32 loads Tide
5 tubes of Colgate toothpaste
2 bottles Garnier face wash
5 full size TRESemme products (hairspray, shampoo)
1 Secret deoderant
2 Johnson's kid's soap
4 bags Hershey's candy
8 Russel Stover's eggs
2 - 10 packs Wrigley's gum
1 bag CVS brand candy
1 Venus razor (not pictured)
1 Fusion razor (not pictured)
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$11 out of pocket

When I went to Target later that afternoon, I just sort of walked around comparing prices, and I figured up that I had $95 worth of products! Crazy, huh?!?

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: French Dip Sandwiches with French Rolls, brocolli & cheese

Tuesday: Pepperoni rolls (with leftever french rolls), carrots/dip, apples

Wednesday: Taco night - taco dip (see recipe below), taco meat, chips & tortillas

Thursday: Brad eats at work... leftover night

Friday: Bacon wrapped chicken, rice, peas & corn

Saturday: (Brad's parents here!!!) Lasagna, breadsticks, salad

Taco Dip:

This recipe originally came from my favorite sister-in-law, Teri :). They used to have this for Sunday night supper. It's also a really great "party" food. My little girls gobble it up!!

8 oz cream cheese

1 can refried beans

1 package taco seasoning

grated cheese

Blend together cream cheese, beans, taco seasoning. Put in pam sprayed pie plate. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

For those of you not into the menu planning thing (cough, Daryl :), here's a Kathryn story. She has really been trying to incorporate our expressions into her sentences lately. There are so many things that I don't realize that I say until I hear it coming from her. Yesterday was one of those moments. Brad went to get her from Bible class and asked her what she had studied. She looked at her takehome papers and said, "Ummm... I have no idea." Don't tell her teachers! I guess we have some work to do this week :)