Sunday, June 23, 2013

No new stuff challenge: Third week of June

0 comments
Went thrift store shopping this week...and found the outfit for little bit for our upcoming family photo shoot ($1 :) ). It is an 18mth top but will fit her like a dress and work perfectly. It was hanging right on the end of the rack and just jumped out at me. I snatched it off that rack so fast I am surprised the rack didn't fall over ;)

Also found swim suits for the three youngest girls today! I actually got 4 suits because I was not sure if my smallest twin would fit a 2T or a 4T (my only two choices close to her size). I will redonate the one she can't wear.

Found some crocs for my son, and a pair of sandals for each of my big girls.

Plus the glasses my husband has been asking for for months. He hates drinking out of the little 8oz glasses and wanted the big 16 oz ones.

Then some random stuff: 2 pairs of shorts for my son, 1 pair of athletic pants for son, pair of pj's for my 6yr old, sun hat for my son, a pair of shoes for my son to grow into (size 11), and a swim suit for my oldest daughter (hers is faded and kind of saggy in the booty ;) ).

All of this for $5.11 :D

Total I would have spent if bought new: $200
Total actually spent: $5.11

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

No New Stuff Challenge: Second week of June

0 comments
Last week was a hard week I am not going to fib. This week however has gone a lot better! First a dear friend sent my son a pair of shoes and a swimsuit that her son had outgrown. They will come in very handy with a little man who seems to grow like a little weed. I wasn't planning on buying anything this week but the base Airman's Attic sent out a message on Facebook asking people to come take as much as they wanted so that they didn't have to move it to a new building. Since they were speaking my language (FREE) I was all in. I did some shopping today and came home with a little bit of something for most of my kids....

9yr old daughter:
Two tops

6yr old daughter:
Two dresses

3yr old twin daughters:
Three tops and three pairs of shorts

2yr old son:
Two tops and a pair of shorts
A large Lightening Mcqueen toy car

Myself:
Two tops

Also this week we are doing a freezer/pantry challenge. The goal is to eat out of our freezer/pantry instead of shopping for ingredients. Last Saturday I was able to get a weeks groceries for $67.38 Most of that was just snacks *sigh* My kids eat like horses I swear. At 3pm it is a feeding frenzy here. The little ones are just getting up from naps and the big ones are just getting home from school. Everyone is hungry  and crabby.

Breakdown of what I spent:

Snacks:
*Chips $1.75
Popcorn $1.39
Pretzels (the GIANT container) $5.23
Peanut butter $2.39  (already gone)
Cereal $2.39 (already gone)

Cooking:
Coconut oil $4.23
Olive oil $2.49
Flour $2.43

Meals:
Hot dogs $2.89
Hot dog buns $1.51
Flat bread pizza (my lunch for that day) $3.99
3 Tombstone pizzas (DH and the kids lunch for that day) $7.50
Sausage biscuits (Dh's breakfasts) $3.59

Dairy:
Almond milk (for me, will last two weeks) $2.79
Whole milk $2.90 *Already gone*

H&B and cleaning:
Dish soap (will last a month or more) $0.75
Toilet paper (will last to end of month) $4.99

Fruit and veg:
Apples $2.69 *almost gone*

Bread:
2 loafs @ $1.27 each

Misc:
Dh's tea $3.79
M&M's for oldest two daughters for helping with the grocery shopping $0.75 x 2

The meal breakdown for the 8th-30th:
Meat stew
Whole chicken with veg
spaghetti
leftovers
creamy farmhouse chicken
Vegetable beef stew
Buffalo chicken salads (greens from my garden)
leftovers
Crockpot pulled pork
pork sirloin tip roast (need recipe for this)
meat stew
leftovers
whole chicken with veg
Vegetable beef soup
Homemade pizzas
Mystery bag (No clue what this is, it lost its label)
*
*
leftovers
Vegetable beef soup
*
*
*

So I need to figure out 5 more meals to finish out the month. I think I have some options in my small freezer just need to go through it. I know there is a bag of wonton filling in there and some chili. Just need to pull it all out.

I plan to do a lot of breakfasts and snacks using the 10lbs of oats and 5lbs of quinoa I have on hand. I am sure by the end of the month my kids and husband are going to be sick of oats ;) 

Total if I had bought the above stuff new: $150
Total actually spent: $0

Saturday, June 8, 2013

No New Stuff Challenge: First Week of June

0 comments
This has been a hard week. I admit we bought several things new this week including a new set of jumper cables and a new part for my husband's car. I don't know folks I think my get up and go has got up and gone.

This is a new week however and I am determined to get back to the challenge full force.

In other news I have been trying to keep my hands busy in the evenings and have decided to start crocheting again. I am currently making newborn hats to sell (hoping to offset some of those costs listed above).

My current obsession is little bear hats....


Isn't it cute? I am asking $15 per newborn hat plus $6 shipping if you just happen to know someone who would like one ;)

If you would like to make one yourself I used the pattern from this website.
 

One Mama's Journey Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved Baby Blog Designed by Ipiet | All Image Presented by Tadpole's Notez