BEDA #9 pasta night and more little tweaks as we make this home work for 7

Hello everyone 

This was outside the bathroom that the only sick child was using.

My daughter  kept the bathroom all clean and disinfected and wore gloves to protect herself. 

 So far, only 1 of us was sick and is better now we think. 

Some other changes are 

The banana keeper box is staying on the kitchen counter again.  

7 people eat lots of bananas and we have to keep them in something

I think it helps a tiny bit to slow the ripening but I would not re-buy it. 

Our trash is picked up by our city as part of our utility services.  We have a big rolling can for recycling and it is free.  

I think we pay about $20 a month for the same size rolling can for trash.  

I’d rather not have a third giant trash can so we are trying to be diligent putting all recycle stuff in the recycle bin.

Our city accepts metal cans, paper and cardboard, and plastic that are class 2, 3 and 5.  

The very first week our daughters family moved in, my son took 1 sack of our trash to put in his rolling can.

 But all the other weeks we have filled both trash cans but not needed to figure out any other disposal methods. 

We already had this double trash can in the kitchen- the big side is trash and the smaller side is recycles. 

Supper tonight for 4 of us was what we call spaghetti but is actually a homemade red sauce on pasta and topped with cheese- no meat. 

I blogged how I make this on my first blog- if you want to know how

http://ahomewithasmile.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-ive-been-up-to.html

  

I made a big enough batch to put some in the freezer and left handed 1st grade grandson helped label them.  

   

Above is just cooked pasta and the sides were a leftover baked sweet potato, leftover green beans and fresh fruit.  

I’m guessing many people who previously didn’t eat leftovers are eating them now as grocery prices soar and many things are hard to find.  

Our supper was delicious- both the fresh cooked part and the reheated leftover parts.  

Hope you are all having a good weekend 

❤️ Rhonda 

BEDA #8 Taco pizza night

Hello  supper tonight was a use stuff before it spoils night. 

There was some raw ground beef left from Wednesday’s burgers and I wanted to use it.  \

Friday or Saturday is usually pizza night. 

So,  I decided to cook the beef with some taco seasoning and make taco pizzas.  

For the sauce, I used tomato sauce mixed with taco sauce.  

We used mozzarella and cheddar cheese and some had jalapeños 

            

Dessert was fresh fruit and leftover ice cream sandwich cake.  

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However one of the children came home from school with a stomach bug and we are praying the rest of us don’t get it.  

Tammy- yes, the ballon arch was a kit from Amazon.  Nina has made several balloon arches for other birthdays, showers, school events.  She says the kits and an electric balloon pump are the way to do it. 

❤️ Rhonda 

BEDA #7 Aldi butter sale and clearance

I went to Aldi this morning, moslty for their butter on sale for $1.97 pound and for some fresh fruit.  

I also shopped in their clearance aisles that I heard about on YouTube.  

So many things were discounted by 75% or so- I didn’t need or buy much but I’ll show y’all in case any of you want to go there shop as soon as possible 

And what I bought 

   

Car was $4.99 and will be perfect for Cora 

Humidifier was $6.25! I’m most happy for this.  

Pillows were $1.50 each 

❤️ Rhonda 

BEDA #6 birthday fun for a new 9 year old

Hello,

Today a grandson turned 9.  

When I woke up,  I saw this balloon arch with a baseball theme, constructed by his mom and aunt, while I slept. 

Fourteen of us had burgers cooked in the house because it was too windy to grill,  pasta salad, chips and dip for supper.

Dessert was an ice cream sandwich cake. It’s just unwrapped ice cream sandwiches put in whatever size container you want in layers. 

In between the layers and on top, we put whipped topping, chocolate syrup and a magic shell. This frozen treat can be made whatever size you like. 

Ours was in a 13 x 9 container and used about  18 ice cream sandwiches.

The magic shell turns hard and it was pretty hard for the younger eaters to cut. So we decided that if we make it again we will just use hot fudge or caramel topping or some thing that does not get as hard as magic shell.

I think there’s nine year old had a very happy birthday!

❤️ Rhonda 

BEDA #5 Dollar Tree is now $1.25 Tree but it’s still good

Hello everyone

I went to Dollar Tree today for the first time in months,  maybe since before Christmas. 

I’d heard they were increasing their prices and I don’t see how they could prevent it.  

So now, instead of most everything being $1, things are $1.25 

I just wish at the grocery store that every price increase was only a quarter.  

Here’s what I bought 

6 shelf stable quarts of  milk 

Mini Oreos for a birthday ice cream cake 

4 packs of disposable plates

Furniture polish 

Some turtles to wear inside face masks- I still wear a mask sometimes, like at my parents retirement home and yesterday when I went to the dentist and eye dr.  Masks are required at all those places.  And who can predict The future and who knows if masks will ever be a common thing again? Hopefully not but for $1.25 I thought a package of six turtles was a good deal.

2 9 x 13 food containers - I bought these before and they hold up very well. I know one of ours got switched over to hold perlor  beads. 

6 Packages of lip balm 

About the furniture polish,  I cleaned our dining table with it and it seemed to do as good a job as Pledge and Endust. It is made in the USA. The brand is Chase. It has a mild orange scent.

A few replies

Tammy I’ve never frozen pizza dough with any success but I know Dawn makes and freezes ready to bake pizza and I think Terri freezes pizza dough.  

Tammy blogs at http://myprairiecorner.blogspot.com/

Terri blogs at https://bluehousejournal.blogspot.com/

Dawn blogs at http://ahomeinthecountry.blogspot.com/

For. https://moreparsimony.blogspot.com/      BEDA Stands for blog every day in April 

Until tomorrow, 

❤️ Rhonda 

BEDA #4 to do list for the week and tonight’s supper

Hello everyone

This is the first proper to do list I’ve written out in months.  I’m more than ready to be back to normal and have a plan for our days..

Sometimes plans get accomplished and sometimes they don’t- we will just try and then see how it goes, right?

Supper tonight will be 

https://theskinnyishdish.com/beef-rice-taco-casserole/

I’ve made this multiple times and it’s delicious!  I have an eye dr appointment this afternoon and this casserole will be easy to put together after that.  

Hope you’re all having a great Monday 

❤️Rhonda 

BEDA #3 changes in our kitchen

Hello everyone 

I thought y’all might like to see the changes I made to our kitchen as I switch from feeding 2 to feeding 7.  

The 5 younger members of our household all take water bottles to school and work so I cleared off this top shelf to store them.

The bread machine stays on the counter now instead of stored on the pantry floor.  We’ve been enjoying fresh bread, rolls and of course pizza, courtesy of this handy helper. 

I did buy 2 bigger pans for cooking, both are from Home Goods and we’re about $50 total. 

They don’t have measurements on them but I think the biggest one is maybe 10-12 quarts and the smaller one may be 4-5 quarts capacity. 

The brand is Deane and White 

Besides the groceries we most always have,  there seems to be food everywhere in our home,  brought by Daughter and family 

  

In the breakfast room, hall and garage 

Daughter and family are more social than we are.  They went to a birthday party yesterday and brought home leftover cupcakes from a fancy local bakery 

Right now, they are at a another birthday party and I’m wondering what they might bring home this time.  

Our youngest granddaughter Cora turned 3 in February.

Today she was baptized at their church.  

We love her so much!

❤️ Rhonda 

BEDA- #2 crafting, Pizza Friday and Walmart delivery

Hello again

I really enjoy reading all your sweet comments welcoming me back, thank you!

A craft I have enjoyment doing is plastic canvas. I first started doing plastic canvas maybe 35 years or so ago. It’s an economical craft because all you need is the plastic canvas, yarn, scissors and a blunt needle. I also like that the finished items are flat and are easy to store away for the different seasons.

Above are some Easter magnets that are on our refrigerator right now.

 I stitched the carrots several years ago and the bunny just got stitched  this year.

The grandchildren have asked to learn how to do it. First I did a stitch along with Elizabeth who is almost 12.

 We both made a rainbow magnet.

I found this simple pattern online and I don’t know who gets the credit for it.

Daughter Nina remembered doing plastic canvas when she was about Elizabeth’s age. She has started a set of gnomes for Easter, they are also refrigerator magnets.

Then JJ who is almost 9 wanted to start a project. His mother drew a flag with permanent markers onto the canvas and he is stitching it.

Jackson is almost 7 and he has started a very simple striped coaster. It’s a little harder for him and I’m not sure he’ll finish it but maybe he will. He has also been painting with watercolors and I think this painting is especially nice.

For meals, we have decided that either Friday or Saturday night will be pizza night. And last night was Friday and it was pizza night. I made the crust and the bread machine. We also had a simple salad.  I cubed the homemade bread left from a Thursday supper and made a few croutons for the salad. Dessert was frozen peaches from the freezer.

  

Walmart delivery - I know many people do not like Walmart and that’s fine.  But I am a Walmart shopper and have been taking advantage of their free delivery 

Not the delivery where you have a pay a subscription for, but free shipping for some items as long  as your total is $35+

This delivery is only for staples- not for fresh produce or frozen things or fresh dairy, bread or meat. 

I have ordered things like canned goods, soft drinks, flour, crackers, salsa in plastic jugs, 

 paper products, personal care items, pet food, underwear, socks, office supplies- lots of things! 

Delivery seems to come within 48 hours  and Walmart always alerts me when it is out for delivery and when it has been left at my front door.

Sometimes the items come straight from a local Walmart and are delivered in White sacks. 

And sometimes they come through FedEx and are in a box.

I also check out first through Swagbucks and have been getting a few Swagbucks back on all my Walmart purchases, even though the Swagbucks site says they do not credit for groceries. But so far might have all credited.

The tricky part about it is some things can be shipped and sometimes Walmart wants you to pick them up at the store. I do grocery pick up sometime but with gas prices, I really prefer them to just bring my purchases  to my front door. So if you try this, before you check out on the Walmart app, make sure you see what the shipping or the pick up method is. If your order gets split and one part is less than $35 then you will be charged a shipping fee. So far I have had no problems because I do look at everything closely when I check out.

Another disadvantage is sometimes things are delivered at several different times. If you live in an area with a lot of porch Pirates or you don’t like multiple deliveries, then this Walmart shipping may not be for you. 

I am home most of the time so it’s not inconvenient at all for me.


I know that people in rural areas can have problems with deliveries. So this method might not be for you. Below is an actual post from someone I know that was put on Facebook yesterday. They live in a rural area in Texas and this delivery they got through UPS really takes the cake.

Can you see their delivery is in a white sack tied up in a bush! If I lived where they did and had this kind of delivery service, I don’t think I would ever get anything delivered!

❤️ Rhonda