Sandbox, meals to go, CVS and some thrift store finds

Hello everyone! 

Grandpa built a sandbox for our backyard.  All the grands are enjoying it, even 11 month old Jackson.  

We had a big family gathering here for Mothers Day lunch.  My husband smoked turkey and I fixed green beans in the crockpot with cole slaw, tabouli, fresh fruit and banana pudding.  I did everything ahead so it was ready to eat when we got home from church.  

Daughter in law Sheena brought an adult dot to dot workbook.  She and son Jimmy both did one.  

The numbers are teeny-tiny and I think they went up to 600 or 900 or so.  

Sheena and Jimmy enjoyed doing them but just looking close at them makes me cross-eyed.  

Where adult coloring are supposed to be relaxing, I think adult dot to dot books might just stress a person out :) 

I've been mostly cooking things off of my May menu plan. I made 2 meals to go- each was shared with my parents and my daughters family.  They are especially easy meals and very kid-friendly.  

Above is Homemade rolls, fresh fruit salad, homemade fried rice with lots of veggies, and Tyson Popcorn chicken.  

We don't eat a lot of prepared foods but we do like frozen Tyson chicken.  These 2 kinds are made with whole white meat, not chopped up and formed back together, and they taste really good.  

Below is Tyson Crispy chicken strips, strawberries and tiny potatoes cooked with whole green beans. 

CVS drug store 

I am so stocked from previous CVS shopping that we just don't need much. 

Last week, I had a 30% off email coupon good on anything not on sale.  

So I used it along with my ExtraCareBucks to get a great deal on the press on nails I like so much.  

My total was low and I saved 84%.  

But I was a wee bit sad to not get any ExtraCareBucks back even though I knew I wouldn't.  

I may go to CVS this week but I will probably wait until the new sale.  CVS sent me a $5 BeautyBucksExtraCareBucks, a $6/$30 coupon and a 20% off coupon. They sure know how to entice this bargain shopper.  

Thrift store finds 

I don't think I've been in a month or so.  Here is what I bought this morning......

2 free books for my husband 

2 picture frames for my daughter - she plans to do a photo collage wall soon

Shorts for the 3 youngest grand sons 

A skort and play shorts for one granddaughter

A brand new Disney top for another granddaughter 

3 nice pair of long pants, size 4T, for next winter.  It is really hard to find like-new long pants for little boys- they seem to always have worn knees or stains.

Columbia brand shorts for my dad and North Face shorts for my husband. 

And a bundle of needed plastic hangers.

I had a lot of comments on my last post about the Silver Dollar City skillet meal on our May Menu.  I haven't made it yet, but when I do, I will photograph and blog about it.  

That's about it from here.  My husband has had several Doctor appointments that have kept us busy, nothing serious.  The oldest grands are busy with end of school activities and summer sports. 

And we are very excited about the upcoming birth of grandchild #8, a brother to these pretty sisters.  

Enjoy May everyone, it's going fast! 

May Menu plan

Hello again,

I am trying to better job of having some meal variety and to spend less.  So I made a May menu plan inspired by Dawn at Blessed Beyond Measure. 

You can visit her sweet blog here  Blessed Beyond Measure

 She plans out a month of meals in no particular order and allows 7 days open to use up leftovers.  That sounds like a plan that will work for us. I like leaving some days open to allow for leftovers or change of plans.  

May 1 was already a day I didn't cook a meal at home.  We were not very hungry after the big meal at church so I just fixed us some cheese toast for a light supper.

I planned this menu around groceries we already have.  I made notes by a few dishes about ingredients still needed.

I should not have to do much shopping this month except for fresh ingredients and the few ingredients needed for recipes.  

The menus are chicken-heavy as we found a good chicken sale last week at the commissary. They are also Mexican-heavy as we have big packs of both corn and flour tortillas.  And we like spicy, Mexican dishes.  

May 2 We had green enchiladas and they were so good!  I softened 8 corn tortillas in about 1 Tablespoon of hot oil and drained them.  Then I filled each one with some cooked chicken and cheese and rolled them up.  I put them in a greased baking pan and poured a little can of verde salsa on top (about 8 ounces). I put a little more cheese on top and baked for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

May 3 Dirt E Rice, slightly modified, still delicious 

We have leftover enchiladas and leftover Dirt E Rice tomorrow's supper will be a leftovers of choice night.  

This week's to do list

Good morning!

I still like my old school method of a weekly to do list with notebook paper decorated with rubber stamps and washi on a clipboard.  It hangs outside our pantry.  

This list just keeps us on track and doesn't add clutter to our counter tops.  

Do what works for you! 

Dishes to go

Happy first day of May everyone.

One day last week we took supper to my parent's retirement apartment and my daughter and her family also ate there.  Last week was especially busy so we prepared a very simple meal.  My husband cooked 2 whole chickens in his barbecue rotisserie.  I added green beans and quick cheddar cheese bread.  

I increased this recipe by 50% so it would fill up the Pampered Chef mini 4 loaf pan.  

I clipped this recipe from a magazine, probably 20 years ago and have baked it many times.  It is especially good still warm from the oven.  

Today our church had a family meal and communion service. 

I made banana pudding cups.  I ordered some 6 ounce portion cups on Amazon for them and they were just the right size.  

I also made 2 trays of fresh fruit skewers. 

My husband grilled meat provided by the church - 2 trays of chicken legs 

And 2 pans of pork loin.  

We attend a tiny church in a tiny town a short drive from our home.  

The auditorium was turned into the banquet room and the 2 ladies in charge did just  a beautiful job in this very humble little building. 

Grandsons Gavin and Braeden liked the food and fellowship too.  

Happy May Day everyone! 

Spring organizing, free stuff, family, a little gardening and CVS

I haven't blogged in 2 weeks because it has just been busy here.

One of my April goals was to organize and clean out a few problem spots.

I'm so happy all the grands clothes have been switched from cold weather to warm weather things.  

Also, the changing table with its mish-mash of storage baskets was bugging me.  I remembered the set of plastic ones in the attic and they fit fine.  

Not Pinterest Worthy but I'm a lot happier with similar storage tubs and it cost no money. 

 The top row holds clothes for the 11 month old and socks for all grands. 

The bottom row is for the two 3 year old grandsons.  

All the other clothes are in the closet.  

The hall linen closet was also a mess.....

Below is the pile of sheets that were on the empty shelf.

Once everything was sorted and folded neatly, it fits and looks much better. 

A few things are being passed on and the toys were put in the toy room closet.  

My husband saw some ground work happening near our home and they were loading up nice dirt to haul off.  He went over and asked about it.  The driver offered to give it to us and dumped a load right outside our back gate.  

We need dirt to fill in some low spots and some can be added to our raised beds.  

Granddaughter Andie thought the dirt pile was a wonderful place to play.  

I'm just glad I had Tide detergent to clean her clothes afterward :) 

I saw on Facebook that a nearby home had their yard sale leftovers up for grabs.  There was a coffee pot and baby toys in the pictures I was interested in but they were already gone when I got there.

But, I must be crazy, because I did bring home this giant heavy mirror.  

I'll let you know if I paint it and keep it, or if I pass it on.  

Did I mention it's heavy and tall? 

We've had plenty of needed rain this spring. 

And you can see some of the low spots that will be filled with dirt soon......

Our little garden is keeping us in leaf lettuce, radishes, onions and a cauliflower so far.  

Granddaughter Elizabeth brought this Sprout House here from kindergarten  and I think it is such a neat idea.  

It is a paper house shape with a zipper sandwich bag taped to the back. 

Inside are some bean seeds and a wet paper napkin.  

I don't know how long they took to grow but you can really see the seed opening up with the roots and leaves.  

Grandpa planted the little sprouts in a raised bed and we all hope they keep growing.  

My main reason for the blog break is our grandchildren have been here the last 2 weeks, almost everyday, in various combinations.  

They are all lots of fun but I don't do much when they are here except play with them and keep them fed with easy meals.  

little boys can throw rocks and sticks into a pond for a long time and be happy the whole time

CVS

I am way behind on blogging about my CVS purchases.  

Below is what I bought last Sunday morning. 

After coupons and CVS coupons and bucks, I think it was about $19

and I got back a lot of CVS extracarebucks. 

Today at CVS,  I planned out my list matching up coupons to the deals I liked and cut out from this weeks sales flyer

after coupons and deals and extracare bucks, the total went from $136 to $17

I did not plan to buy Charmin but Cole, my favorite CVS manager, said it is on clearance and I could buy all I want at $5 a pack.  I only took 5

The Wet and Wild mascara is a very good deal,  there were $1 in the Sunday paper last week.  It sells for $1.87 and is buy one get one free this week. 

I think anyone with access to CVS can learn to do these CVS deals..  Look on Facebook for a CVS deals group.  Look on YouTube for CVS experts and the deals they do.  Also look at I Heart CVS for the CVS flyers and to read comments. 

At CVS,  first get a CVS extracarecard.  Then register it on line for the Beauty Club and for the pharmacy if you fill presciptions there.  Whenever you go to CVS,  scan your card at the red Kiosk multiple times until it quits printing CVS coupons.  Also,  get the CVS app on an Apple or Android device for even more CVS deals. 

Sign up for CVS emails.  They have been sending me $6/$30 coupons almost weekly. 

Look at the ad and match up your coupons to the CVS deals you need. 

I try to buy things that are pretty much free or that offer high value extracarebucks. 

It is a little complicated but it becomes easy once you figure it out. 

It's a good thing we have a toilet paper stockpile because little ones can go through a roll just having a good time.  

Hope you all have a good week ahead!