Introducing Grand #8

We are blessed with another sweet grand this week - Richard James or RJ

He is 9 pounds 9 ounces with plenty of brown hair 

He scrunches up his face so tight, it makes a deep crease at the top of his nose.  

❤️

Another big meal, CVS, some family fun & a retro kitchen

We had a big group here for Saturday breakfast - 5 children and 6 adults.

Mornings can be a bit crazy so I did as much prep as I could Friday night.  

The table was set and stools were brought in of extra seating for little ones.

The breakfast meat was put in the fridge to thaw and I set out the skillet and plates that would be used to cook it.  I used precooked bacon and turkey sausage patties.  I buy them discounted at a military commissary with coupons and the extra price is worth it to me for their ease and convenience.  

Back when our budget was much tighter I couldn't even consider them, but now, I am quite thankful to afford these treats.  

I also made a big batch of pancake batter.  My daughter was commenting how tasty my pancakes always are.  I told her that I've got several pancake recipes but I always use brown sugar instead of white sugar and I add a good splash of vanilla to every pancake recipe I use.

I set up the coffeemaker with water and coffee.  I set out the right combination of sippy cups and child size cups we would need. 

I also laid out clothes for the overnight grandchildren to dress in and I even set out mine and my husband's morning prescription and vitamin doses.  

Our morning went especially smooth, even cooking breakfast for 11.  😄

CVS 

I'm still shopping there though I have skipped a few weeks this summer.  

2 weeks ago, I got $140 worth of stuff seen below for $40 and got back $37 ECBs.  I don't usually spend that much cash but I got a lot of stuff, including 2 expensive lipsticks that were not on special.  

This past week,  I bought $93 worth and spent just $4 cash.  

I used manufacturer coupons, ECBs personal CVS coupons from their app and from the red machine in CVS stores to drop my total so low.  

And I earned more ECBs with this purchase for the next CVS sale I do.

By the way,  the Gold Emblem deluxe mixed nuts and cashews are delicious. 

Family Fun 

Our 4th grandchild, Braeden, turned 4 and we celebrated at a local restaurant that also has 4 bowling lanes.  It was very fun and the food was delicious!  

The grandchildren really enjoy homemade Popsicles - just orange juice frozen in an old fashioned Tupperware mold.  

Jackson wasn't too sure he liked his first orange juice Popsicle

But after a few tastes, he decided they were very good.  

My daughter took this photo on their recent 2 week road trip.  This is her husband's great aunt's kitchen in North Carolina.  

Retro appliances like this are not something common nowaways as most everyone seems to want stainless steel and granite. But I think these old appliances are so cool.  My electrician brother pointed out that the burner controls are the buttons on the vent hood.

That's the highlights from around here- have a wonderful Sunday everyone! 

Aldi finds

Hello everyone!  

When I saw this week's Aldi ad, I knew I wanted to check out these jumbo containers.  

My daughter and I both went and we both liked them and bought some.  

They truly are JUMBO 😀 They sell for $4.99 for either a single 10 liter or two 5 liter containers.  

I plan to use mine in our pantry to hold flour, sugar or other dry goods.  They are way too large to fit In my upper kitchen cabinets.  

My daughter's upper cabinets are bigger than ours.  She is using her jumbo containers for flour, sugar and powdered sugar.  And she is way ahead of me, having hers already in use and mine are still in their wrappers, unfilled.  

I also bought this 9 gallon utility basket for $6.99.  It is bigger than the shopping baskets in some retail stores but smaller than a laundry basket.  They also came in red, blue and gray.  

I am so thankful for a local Aldi.  It is such a nice store with great values.  

Another great giveaway from Sluggy

Giveaway at Sluggy's blog

Sluggy has another great giveaway box on her blog.  I won a box of goodies from  her in the spring and it was so fun.  She is for real, just go enter if you have time.
And enter every day for better chances of winning. 

She is offering health products, skin care things, chocolate and Mardi Gras beads.  

Really, go enter every day.  You just might win.  

4th of July and happenings

Hello everyone!

This is the front page of our newspaper today, I think it is the  nicest front page I've seen in a long time

This is an odd sight in our town - 4 giant dogs in a storage lot.  We don't know what they are for but they are great looking dogs and very well made.  My husband is 5'11" and they are taller than he is!

I made a batch of granola last week.  It uses very simple ingredients and turned out great!  I like to eat a little granola on top of yogurt.  

This is tastier and much cheaper than buying those little flip cups of yogurt with topping.  

I got the recipe from an Internet friend, Michelle @ homemakingwithlove

You can find her on Instagram and YouTube. 

Thanks Michelle ❤️

I followed this recipe, adding about 1/2 cup of coconut and because we have a bounty of pecans, about 1 1/2 cups.  I also baked about 25 minutes as I like granola extra crunchy.

Sewing - I cut out more than 20 burp cloths for my grandchildren and for gifts.  

The fabric is from Joanns.  

Below is another meal for a group that ended up being a meal to go.  

My aunt and uncle were in our town and they met us along with my parents at our daughter's house.  

Steak fingers,

Mashed potatoes

Gravy

Chopped tomatoes, onions and cucumbers dressed with a little balsamic dressing

Chopped fresh fruit

And a box of Aldi cookies- my daughter surprised us with a warm blackberry cobbler so all the adults had cobbler and only the children had cookies. 

I packed all the food into Dollar Tree plastic containers and everything carried nicely in my big Thirty One Gifts tote.  I put cold foods on one side and hot foods on the other.  

My husband put in a small garden, this first summer of his retirement.  He enjoys it and has harvested quite a few radishes, onions, yellow squash and bell peppers.  The tomatoes are starting to ripen like crazy 😍

 

We always seem to have a craft or two going on here.  

Below is Elizabeth making a birthday card for her dad.  

JJ likes to cut- I think we could hire him out as a confetti maker.  

He likes to ham for camera too 😍

Perler beads are so fun 

Elizabeth made a Grand Old Flag 

And I made a big Captain America.  

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

                                       Happy 4th of July to all my American readers 

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸