Buddy's Story

Right now I wish I could channel Heather's wit because this is a pretty funny story and I do not think I will be able to do it justice!

For Christmas we decided to purchase the kids 2 larger gifts off the theme of God's beautiful creation. So we purchased a nice Art Easel.( which Pearson broke yesterday (dear Wayne has already patched the poor thing) so they can learn to record God's beautiful creation. Kim bought into the plan and got them a Beta fish, bowl, rocks and food. His name is Snoodle (after the veggietale). She also got them an ant farm.

The final gift in the theme to show the girls the wonders of God's wonderful creation was a hamster. So we went to Petco to get them the beast. We get there and they are out of the hamster I wanted. But I found out they were small and really fast but they had a bigger slower hamster , the Black Bear Hamster. So I got the lit fat guy. They box it up and put you through a 30 minute care and feeding explanation, give me several handouts and make sure I am aware of the 'best' choices. This by the way is more information than they gave me about Peyton when they let me take her from the hospital!

So I listened carefully all the while thinking this poor guy doesn't have any idea who he's giving the hamster to. If the hamster manages to avoid the being eaten by the cat and the dog he still has Big Baby (Pearson) to contend with! But finally, after my FBI Background check & an all clear from President Bush was given they released him into my 'care'.

Kim and I still had more shopping to do so we headed over to Target to get stocking stuffers and Starbucks. When we arrived at Target and secured the hamster on the floor board, I asked Kim if she thought he could get out of the box. The Maass' have had hamster's before and she assured me that it could not escape so off we went..........When we returned we got Pearson buckled in, put the items in the back of the truck. Kim picked up the hamsters box and set it in her lap and sat down and started screaming.....

So as I sipped on my Peppermint Mocha I looked at her and said, "Is there a problem?"

She answered, "It's gone!"

"What's gone?"

"The hamster is gone it ate through the box!"

"You said it couldn't eat through the box!"

"It did!"

So now we are both screaming! So we look around the car for the beast which is kind of funny because even if we found it neither one of us was willing to pick it up. Kim popped the hod and we continued to look in the truck and under the dash. Now a good Samaritan comes up to see if we need any help? ...Lets see two women with the hood popped, looking under the dashboard while intermittently screaming....This was a brave man!

He kindly informed us that the hamster most likely could not make its way into the engine.

I asked him, "If we drive the truck to Wal-Mart will we cook the hamster?"

He looked surprised for a moment and then said, "No, I don't think so."

So we thanked the kind stranger and he went on his way. Then Kim tied up the bottom of her pants 80's style so he couldn't make his way up her pant leg. We pulled out of the space and I suddenly noticed that Kim was not looking at the road but at the floor board......I convinced her it was important to look at the road and we continued on to Wal-Mart. Where we were meeting the men who were going to locate this thing in the truck!

We get to Wal-Mart and again look for the beast, we are unwilling to catch. Get Pearson and head in... about 45 minutes later Wayne comes into Wal-Mart (CS) his hair is all crazy and he looks at me and ask: "What kind of killer rat did you purchase?" apparently as they were trying to get thing out of the dash board it scratched the tar out of them , hissed and bit them. Sounds like the perfect Christmas gift doesn't it!

Wayne then informed me that he envisioned all the Petco employee's cheering as we purchased and left the store with the deranged killer hamster. So he came in bought the hamsters little ball thing to contain the little Houdini and he was on his way.

So all is saved and on Christmas we gave the hamster which I named "Cujitso" (combination of Cujo and martial arts) but the kids named Buddy to the overjoyed children.

One would think the story would be over at this point......

Well, Cujitso escaped from his cage on Wednesday night! So all day Thursday we watched for the escaped hamster, listened for the escaped hamster while I cleaned up vomit! Sound ideal......

Well, I washed my phone last week so I couldn't even call Wayne to let him know the hamster was loose! So he gets home gets informed looks for him but decides to wait until night time when the little beast is more active. Since all odd noises wake me up he's pretty sure he's gonna find it. So just like clockwork at about 1 am I pop up and say what's that? He pops up and starts to give me his normal reply "The ice-make.... " and he leaps out of bed and runs into the kitchen.

"I've found him"
"Good."

I need your help, I pretend to sleep, he says he knows I am awake!

"So up I go," and luckily it wasn't the hamster. So I went back to bed.

But apparently Wayne stayed up and in the morning he showed me where he found the hamster. That little beast had gotten under the stove and was digging a hole in my brand new wall! Wayne said he was covered in dust very dirty and acting oddly... again I ponder what a great gift to show the girls God's wonderful creation, a deranged hamster.

Well, Buddy is back in his cage with a shower mat over the top until Wayne has time to cut a lid for the hamster cage.

So hamster anyone?

I'm working on the next kitchen post which I'll probably finish by the 31st! So stay tuned for "Cheap Trix" kitchen edition!

Long Winded, round about plug for LHCB Classes

I'd been kind of irritated at God with the current reading plan He's had me doing. Basically, I thought I was just reading the Bible again and making few "Observations", "Interpretations" or "Applications". But I thought I was drinking milk & getting the meat. This started a couple of years ago when God told me to read through the Bible, again. Why read just read through the Bible for the 2nd year in a row?

"For I knew how stubborn you were;the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze. " Isaiah 48:4 (McTranslation: Kyle you are stiff necked and hard headed!
I think this verse was added just for me!)

The first year I trudged through the reading, irritated because I had already read through the Bible a year or so earlier. Accordingly, it took me two years to read through the Bible, complaining, dragging my feet and questioning all the way....

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil." Provers 3:7

Then my spirits were renewed as I finished in March. Finally, now I can do what I want to do and then the word came for me to read through it again. Argh.....FINE! I guess I figured if this was my fate I better get happy about it! So this year I approached it differently and have read quickly, joyfully & sought him!

15 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt.And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me." Hosea 5:15

Then in September I took "Living in the Book" led by Rusty B. and all of a sudden it was so clear to me that I was just reading the year before. I learned a lot but I was not applying it to my heart (I was busy having a pity party). Then Hendricks talked about reading quickly and learning to 'observe', 'interpret' and 'apply' quickly. I didn't have to spend a month in a book that I should be able to spend moments in the book and make learn to see volumes.Then to top it off Now I felt armed to read quickly and to "Observe","Interpret" & "Apply" quickly and aided by the handy dandy bookmark Rusty gave us, I have been again renewed.

"He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." Isaiah 50:4b

A year or so ago Jenn B. (Rusty's wife) commented on one of my posts that the Bible is a rich tapestry and I remember thinking: "Oh she is so right!" Clearly, I'd seen the connections and my study Bible had like a 100 annotations for each scripture that detailed how this passage was connected to that passage etc... But about a year ago I got a new Bible a Comparative Study Bible that just has translations and is not a Study Bible So I have to go through my self and make my own connections.

This is another thing mentioned in the Hendricks study. Making the connections, interpreting scripture against scripture. Which I have done previously using the notes but now it just flashes into my head.



This morning while reading Hosea 5 the Lord pointed out to me that he was speaking of the sons of Jacob (tribes of Israel). So I went back to Genesis and found in Chapter 46 the genealogy (that is one of the reasons all these crazy genealogies are important, it's not just some crazy tongue twister God has decided to put into the Bible to thwart us! lol)

Now I am thinking about Jacob and his family and specifically Ephraim. What went wrong with him. Why is Ephraim in such deep trouble? My mind was racing which son is he the dude that slept with one of Jacob's wife? Did he mastermind the sell of Joseph??? As I went back to review I noted that he was the second person to get his elder brother's birthright and that Jacob said he too would grow into many nations. (Jacob & Esau and now Ephraim and Manasseh). Then this choice reminded me of Abraham and his sons and his choices. Wow, look at the long term effects of simple decisions how me must guard our hearts and our minds! How cool is that....This was all in less than 5 minutes. Now don't get me wrong I do not think I am some super Bible scholar and Butch is not going to be calling me for a consult on the next sermon. I'm most likely light years behind everyone else, but I'm happy to catch up as long as its toward God!

All I am doing is reading His word daily, obeying God's instruction to me to read through His word and not tarry and with the help of Living by the Book I am armed and ready to interpret, observe and apply on the fly! My friend, Pat Nordstrom, much missed as she's once told me that she read through the Bible every year.There was always a verse on her lips and a piece of wisdom coming out of her mouth. I remember thinking I couldn't do that and get into the meat of the word at the same time, it would take too much time. Little did I know that 4 years later I would understand He was speaking to me through her.

Now, my mind is always looking for connections to Bible Characters, verses etc... I pray for Wayne to be like Joseph & Daniel ("highly esteemed")not just to be a good worker, to not let the girls "feet rush into sin", I desire the "instructed tongue that sustains the weary"....most importantly I am seeking His face.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

So that was a really long winded way to say ...Be sure to sign up for the classes you haven't yet taken...its all part of "...the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

REJOICE!

Quarantine (and a recipe to boot!)

This is a first at the McVay household. We have ever had a sickness work its way through more than one person! I know its odd! I had it last week, Parker got it on the 24th, Pearson woke up with it today. I guess since I was sick I have not been as fastidious to decontaminate the sickie and all traces of the sickie.
But on a comic note Peyton who I think has the start of this STOMACH FLU has been walking around making sure no one touches, so they do not get sick. She's screaming "Pearson is touching Parker", "Parker's touching me", "Can sick kids pet the dog???" lols

Philippians 4:4 ...Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Hopefully, we'll be well soon and I can do another Kitchen post! See you soon!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Side note from Mama McVay...Here is the best Chicken noodle soup recipe I have found. For sick children they start with the broth and advance to the rest. You can freeze this in yogurt cups so anytime someone in your house is sick you can break out your homemade soup as you transform into super MOM!

This is a 5* All Recipe, recipe....

Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups wide egg noodles
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
12 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
3 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and oil, and boil for 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and rinse under cool running water.
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine broth, salt, and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil. Stir in celery and onion. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Gradually add to soup, stirring constantly. Stir in noodles and chicken, and heat through.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmas-Chicken-Noodle-Soup/Detail.aspx

Top 10 things you'd do if you celebrated a Traditional Christmas with the McVays
(remember there's a writers strike on so this may not be very good....)

10.Say "Merry Christmas!" really loudly with great joy to everyone within 100 feet!

9. Listen only to Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving until December 26th!

8. Watch little Pearsy turn into the cutest little "bugger" (literally she drips for about a week) with her constant Asthma flare ups as the weather goes crazy on the poor girl. Check Parker every few minutes to make sure the Christmas tree, dog, ornaments, grass, air, clouds, sky...aren't giving her hives. Because no matter how swollen the kid is under her clothes she's a ball of joy on the outside! Watch Peyton prepare her tell her Dollys that it's Jesus's birthday yet still prepare the dollys for Santa's arrival (she hasn't told them the truth yet).



7. Get less gifts to each other so we can give more gifts to others![each of our our kids gets one gift (a $10 gift and then they all get to share 2 family gifts!)
Voice of the Martyrs:https://www.vombooks.com/qry/qe_store.taf?_id=A373551896

6. I Know if I need Wayne on the 24th to just call Wal-Mart. (Say Hi to the poor man if you see him at the Mall or Wal-Mart!)



5. Have fun & comfy traditions (we are like the Hendricks but I've never washed the PJ's ahead of time until this year after reading Heather's blog about how great new washed PJ's are so I broke down this year and washed them for everyone! Anyways...). We exchange PJ's every year and drink hot chocolate on Christmas Eve. BONUS: Write them down and pass them on to your kids in a handmade Family Traditions and Cookbook at their wedding!



4. Read A Christmas Carol by Dickens every year and talk about redemption!

3. Serve the same food (unless it turns out yucky then we chunk it off the menu!). BONUS: Keep your recipes so you can pass them on to your children on their wedding days! You could hand them a handmade Family Traditions and Cookbook! But Mom, don't forget to leave plenty of blank pages for their families new memories!

2. Read Luke 2: Read a verse a day of Luke 2 starting December 5th and see if the kids can memorize the story by the end. (so on day 1 you read verse 1, day 2 you read verse 1 & 2, Day 3 you read verse 1-3 and so on....)


1. Rejoice & remember as James 1:17 tells us: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Merry Christmas.....and a Blessed New Year!
With Love,
The McVays

Well, I'm gonna go read Heather's Christmas blog...

P.S. you can check out McVay and Tipton Superstars and see them before they get big on KBTX at the following link:http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/12776692.html#
You can go to the above link to see Peyton & Parker McVay and Joshua and Karina Tipton perform on KBTX in the PGM (Part of the Greater Multitude) Choir.

Our Parkey-pine

Asleep with the word, she has wedged herself between her bed, a sisters' bed and the wall.



Deuteronomy 11:18-20
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,

She doesn't read yet (just a few words) but she loves her Bible, totes it around and often sits to look through it. Insists on her quiet time and that no one interupt her (she listens to a NIV Bible CD & turns her pages). She makes up the continuing saga of the different characters. We read to her from the word in the morning & at night and she longs for more and more.

Maybe this is why Jesus said: "...I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."Mat 18:13

These are the moments I live for and my prayer is that as she grows I will often find her like this!

Rejoice!

Grocery, Kitchen & More IV:My Food Pyramid

We are going to start with what I call 'pyramiding'. I am not talking about the famous food pyramid that will let you know how much milk and stuff to drink. I am talking about planning meals in such a way that you are never throwing away left overs! Can you feel the money going back into your wallet....

To pyramid food you should already have a grocery list and you must have a meal plan. So if you have not read those post please go back and quickly read over those two posts and check out the Kim's comments under the meal plan!

What is food pyramiding?
Basically it goes like this.....
Sunday
Crock pot roast, potatoes, carrots, cobbler
Monday
Beans, Rice & Corn bread
Tuesday
Lemon Roasted Chicken, salad, garlic potatoes --
Breakfast: Potato Pancakes or potato & egg Breakfast burritos
Wednesday
Bean & Cheese Burritios with Spanish rice
Breakfast: Hot Rice Cereal or Rice Pancakes
Thursday
BBQ Beef Sandwhiches with, peas & French Fries
Breakfast: Potatoe Pancakes
Friday
Chicken Pot Pie
Saturday
Sloppy Joes & French Fries with Salad

I know that looks like a meal plan ,however,the food is being pyramided!

On Tuesday ...
you will take the leftover potates and make Potato pancakes with eggs or if you just have a little bit left you would make breakfast burritos with egg.

On Wednesday ...
take the rice from Monday and make either Rice Pancakes (these hefty pancakes fill you up and keep you full!) or Hot Rice Cereal if you have a lot of leftover rice. You could also plan to use it in a dessert such as rice pudding!
Then for dinner you take your left over beans from Monday and refry them (warm them up mash them add a fat...again go to hillbillyhousewife for a specific recipe) to use in your bean & cheese burritos.
A DOUBLE WHAMMY TODAY!

On Thursday...
Take the leftover beef from Sunday and make your BBQ Beef Sandwhiches. And take the Garlic potatoes from Tuesday to make potato pancakes to make potato pancakes for breakfast.

On Friday...Take Tuesdays leftover chicken, Sundays carrots and Thrusdays peas and any other left over vegtable languishing in the fridge to make your Chicken pot pie.

By re-using leftovers you will save hundreds of dollars at the store.

HOW you may ask?...
Lets look at the Chicken pot pie meal. You spent $2.68 on a chicken for dinner, on Tuesday, and it feeds your family two meals. So the second meal the chicken was basically free, the peas and carrots are leftovers too so all you have to buy is the crust(or make it!!!), a little milk, a little flour. So your meal will cost you roughly $1.47 to feed your family or 2.94 to double it! Let's look at the BBQ beef/Pork Sandwhiches the meat is paid for in the first meal! So it will cost you roughy $2.50 to produce up to 8 sandwhiches, Salad and french fries. And so it goes...

If you know your family eats most of the chicken it may take two chicken dinners to get your chicken pot pie or 4 dinners if your family needs two pies. But the point is to plan the use of leftovers in your meal plan thus reaping additional financial and time saving benefits! After a while it will become habit... I know anytime we have a roast we are have BBQ sandwhiches or black bean soup that week, I no longer have to think about it. I also have a couple or recipes that together take 1 Can (96oz) of Tomato juice so I make sure to plan them in the same two week interval!

Your goal is to STOP THROWING AWAY FOOD and to start finding a productive way to use our leftovers.

Some Tips:

You know you are planning on using the rice, potatoes etc... on a subsequent day so you may want to make a little bit extra.

You also don't have to feel guilty about spending $2.99# on your pot roast when you know it will feed your family for two days.




Now you have time to sit down and read (You can afford to buy a book), relax and play more with your children and dear husband.

Coming up Saving Time in the Kitchen & Cheap Trix!

Grocery, Kitchen & More III: Price Matching

Pre-requisites: Grocery list & Meal Plan

Hi Guys (That's Californian for 'Howdy Ya'll) welcome back to my thoughts on grocery shopping.

Where do I shop

I shop at Wal-Mart because it is the cheapest grocery store in town. I have actually taken my list from store to store to compare prices. What I found was...when an item at say HEB was cheaper the unit was smaller. So it was a 10# bag for 3.00 (.30 per pound) at Wal-Mart and a 7# bag at HEB (.35 per pound). I do go to Krogers and Albertson to take advantage of their coupon deals and special in store only deals on a semi-regular basis. I also price match and I am not willing to drive from store to store to get the best deal...I'd lose money in gas & time!

Now to shop at Wal-Mart I encourage you to get there before 2 p.m. and then it's just like any other store. In fact, the earlier the better. Grocery shopping on Saturday after 9:30 am is ....well let's say to be avoided if possible.

Chosing your grocery store is very important. The most expensive grocery store in town tends to be Albertsons, Kroger, HEB and the cheapest is Wal-Mart. If at all possible you want to try to save money by staying away from more expensive stores. The benefits of Kroger's and Albertson's is that they double and triple coupons. However, if you are not careful you can still pay more money for that item at these stores (than you would at Wal-Mart) even with the double and triple coupons due to their high prices.

What is Price Matching....

Price Matching is taking the Wednesday ads from all of the stores (Wal-Green, Target, Kroger, Albertsons, Apple Tree & HEB) to Wal-Mart and paying the sale price from the ad. You simply make note of the sale items you plan to take advantage of on a piece of paper or cirle them in the ad. Then when you get to Wal-Mart you get that exact item so if Rotel is on sale at Kroger you get Rotel at Wal-Mart for Kroger's sale price. I personally, write the price on my list so I am not trying to shuffle papers and kids. Then I write the items that are price matched at the top of my grocery list so when I get to the check out I can easily identify them. Also, I am able to tell the checker quickly what I am price matching, how much it is and from what store. I tend to put my price matches at the end of my groceries so I can keep up with them. But do what works for you!

This works for all the stores.... For example last week I got 4# of oranges for $1 (savings of up to 3.38), pineapple for $1, 5# sack of potatoes for $1(savings of about 1.49). These savings were just from me saying to the Checker I am price matching and telling her the sale price at the other store. Make sure you take your ads with you especially if you are matching Walgreens or Target because they may not have a copy at the register.

There are some things you shouldn't buy unless they are on sale:
* toothpaste (in the last few weeks went on sale for .99 I had a .25 off coupon so I paid .74 for Crest)
* deodorant (okay, please if you are out you can buy some especially if you are going to sit next to me! :)),
*soap
Blue Bell Ice Cream
...if I know there are more items and I'll add them to the list!



Now your biggest savings while price matching will be in the meat department. I had to learn my meat prices because I saw I could save BIG, ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC Bucks here! Here are common examples:

Pork Chops sale.99# regular price is 2.36 (Family pack is about 5.5#) savings $6.85
Pork Roast sale .99# regular price 1.62 savings $3.15 for every 5#'s
Cat fish nuggets sale .99# regular price $2.68# savings 8.45 for every 5#
Beef Pot Roasts $1.99# regular price is about $4 savings of 8.04 on 4#'s
Briskets get down to .69#
Chicken goes as low as .19#
Pork Ribs .99#
Country Ribs .99#
Link Sausage .99 a pack (Blue Ribbon)
......do you see a trend

I'm sure there are more meats that go on sale on a regular basis you just have to keep an eye on what your family eats. Now when meat goes on sale it's time to be like the ant! I have been know to buy up to 20# of meat at a time.

Proverbs 30:25 "Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;"

I try to avoid buying meat that is not on sale like the plague! That way I have more meat, a variety of meat, better meat and more money on weeks when I am not buying meat. I try to keep $15-50 in an envelope for the 'Holy smokes, someone has lost their mind' meat sales. (Apple Tree has by far the best meat sales!)



By comparison shopping just on your meat you can easily save your family about a thousand dollars each year (That's $83.33 per month) and you'll eat better meat and more varieties. If you buy 4 Blue Bell's when they go on sale that is a saving so f 2.03 on each gallon and a savings of $8.12. I buy 1-3 when they go on sale because we are some ice cream freaks!

Sometimes you are just saving .10 or .05 on items and it may seem silly or petty to get the better price. For me I just keep in mind it's not my money. Second if you save .05 to .50 on 520 (that's just 10 items per week) you've now saved $52-260 over the year. But I usually save much more than that on items. Last week for example I saved $13.70 on just 4 items and I regularly save an average of $15-20 per trip (excluding meat...)that's $780-$1,020 each year.

Kyle, if I buy that much meat at one time all we will eat is meat...No dear one your goal is to learn to keep your freezer stocked with cheap meat. You can start out slowly with 10 to 15#'s of pork chops and then when you plan pork chops in future meals you have the money you would have spent on pork chops that week to purchase other things. Now, when you first start you may have to have an extra pork chop meal to compensate for not purchasing regularly priced chicken. As you get into the grove you'll find you have more money to spend on other things. Also, keep in mind it is rare for 3 or four meats go on sale at the same time, usually it's just one or two.

Also as you move into advanced grocery shopping as items you use a lot go on sale you need to start buying them at the best price. (WARNING: Only do this with staple items like for me Rotel, Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom etc.... and you have to check your cupboard before grocery shopping to make sure you are not double buying.)

Your goal is to get the best price you can on everything you buy. Sometimes this calls for patience and perseverance, sometimes it calls for freezer space (check American classifieds), it definitely calls for organization and price lists. Now, I only keep a price list of meats, but normally I can recall from what is left from my memory that I pay .50 for Rotel or whatever other regularly purchased item it is.

Think of your self as the purchasing department for a small business...McVay Enterprise (our motto is 'We make girls') and our job is to cut the budget. So how much do I save: $1,779(148 per month)-$2,016 ($168 per month). This is nearly a 23% savings for me!

What could God do with this money?

Next time...saving time & money in the kitchen .... Plus, how do the McVay's eat...

PS- Wal-Mart does not honor buy 1 get one free or any add that says you get a % off. You can match store brand to store brand though!

Grocery, Kitchen & More II : Meal Plan (beg. level)

Proverbs 31: 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

If you have been doing a grocery list and a meal plan for a while than this is just a refresher. I'll move on to intermediate and advanced grocery savings in my next post. But for now, after you start using a grocery list it's time to start making a meal plan.

My life was completed changed when I attended a ladies function at Grace Bible Church and the topic was meal planning. This lady stood up and told us how she planned the meals her family ate and that she spent less time & money at the grocery store. The week before I had 'planned' to make baked chicken,potatoes and carrots for my family. But as I flew through the grocery store with one kid I forgot to buy the chicken. Let me tell you something...your family will notice that the chicken is missing! Due to my inattention I had to have my dear husband go to the store to pick up the chicken for me. I knew something had to change and change drastically. This lady from Grace introduced me to the concept of meal planning and it has done all that she said plus more+. I do consider meal planning as a basic level skill and I will begin to discuss the intermediate and advanced skills in upcoming posts.

So what is Meal Planning?

A meal plan is literally just planning out what meals your family will eat over a period of time. You can do this in a variety of ways: on a calendar, make a list of (7-14 meals and cross them out as eaten, use index cards.... What is important is that you are a woman with a plan.

How do I make a meal plan?

I plan out my meals by using the meal plan that at the top of the page. I look at my calendar and write on the meal plan calendar any events that are occurring that will effect dinner (a long day out, other dinner plans, a meeting where Wayne will be serving dinner (I still make dinner but I need to be aware it cannot be a last minute thing), folks coming over for dinner, etc....). Then I determine which days need to be crock pot, quickie meals and more involved suppers. Also I consider the meat that is in the freezer that still needs to be used and what is on sale that week.

Hopefully, you have been collecting recipes your family loves, recipes you hope to try and recipes that you have already nixed. I write notes in my cookbooks as far as whether or not we like a recipe or not. (I even write a note that says make it in this or that pot, start this early it takes a lot of time etc.... )

If it's your first time doing this sit down and think of 7-14 dinner meals you make for your family on a regular basis. Write them down on a piece of paper. Locate all of the recipes, do not do this from memory, we are moms we do not have a memory anymore (you have children...your memory left years ago!).

SIDE NOTE: I put all of the recipes that I use in a binder so I can avoid going from recipe book to book. If I find a new recipe in a book I scan it print it out and put it into my book. I have a friend who rips the pages out of the cookbook and puts it into her binder. Do whatever works for you! My pages are in page protectors because I am a sloppy cook, Kim's pages are in page protectors also and she is a very neat cook! I add any recipes I have found on line, newspapers, magazines etc.... But only add recipes you have cooked and you like. You can keep the ones you want to try in another folder!



Now that you have determined how many meals you will be planning, and you have made a list of meals you'd like so its time to your recipes binder, cookbooks and grocery list out. You have determined how many meals you need. You have written a list of meals to make. Now you need to look at the actual recipe and check off the ingredients on your grocery list (or write them if you use a handwritten list, like Kim).

How does this save money?
1. Gas...You should have all of the ingredients you need to make your meal(assuming you got your cookbook out and you did not use your memory) So you should not need to make extra trips to the grocery store.
2. You will not purchase items you do not need to make your meals. Those unused items will not sit in your pantry unused and wasting your money.
3. Time...You will spend less time in the grocery store. You will not have to send your husband to the grocery store.(I personally hate to send my husband to the grocery store because he has a stressful job and I prefer he gets to come home and relax. He never complains I just don't like to send him because he never asks me to go to his job to help him.But that's just me....)Proverbs 31:14 She is like the merchant ships,bringing her food from afar.
4. Health Care....your family will start to eat more healthy food. Simply by avoiding Fast food you can increase your families health and lose weight.

Proverbs 31:11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

If you ran a cafeteria, which we do as Moms, you would not show up and tell them lets wing it today. People would go hungry and the food would be poorly made. We make over 1,000 meals a year...Yes you read that correctly. As I began to approach this duty (and all of my duties) as a ministry I began to see how important and how vital my position is in our family. I do not work to make money, I work very hard to save and spend our money wisely.

If you have never done this before do not be discouraged. Just take a deep breath and start slowly. Plan a week, a few days or whatever you can handle and work up to planning a longer period of time. Oh beloved, this is such a wonderful journey we get to go on as wives and mother's we have skills to learn and a families to love with God's help. So just keep on going.

My most important tid-bit before the budget and Kim speaks her piece...Please pray over your grocery list and meal plan. It sounds sill but we needed fruit last week and God put oranges on sale for $1 for 4#. Girlfriend you better believe the One who raised Christ from the dead is in charge of the grocery store prices! Ask God to reveal waste, thrift etc...

*************THE McMaass Budgets Revealed*********
How much do the McVay's spend on Groceries..... $400 per month for a family of 5! (Plus 2 college girls every Tuesday, random visitors, country kids, Maass family & any wayward soul who wanders in during a meal or snack time!)

The Maass's spend $300 per month for a family of 3!

Both of our budgets are exact and they include food, toiletries, diapers, cleaning products, make-up basically anything you can get at Wal-Mart.
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Please see comments for Kim's "two cents"!

Grocery, Kitchen & More

Howdy, I know the topic of saving money in the kitchen came up this summer when I was in my Internet blackout. I love grocery shopping, cooking and penny pinching so I thought I'd let you know some of the things I do and you can tell me what you ladies do...

Proverbs 31:14-15 - "14 She is like the merchant ships,bringing her food from afar.15 She gets up while it is still dark;she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. "

I am trying to present this in a logical manner so I will start with the basics...The Grocery List and I will try to post a new subject every 3-5 days.

What I try to do is avoid walking around the store and picking up what I 'think' I need. Take a look in your pantry do you have any food that's been in there for more than a 4 weeks, that you have no plans of using? At the end of each 3-4 week cycle at my home consumables (excluding bulk purchase items like meat) are pretty much gone.

So when I go to the grocery store I take a list!I use a customized computer check off list (which I'm happy to e-mail to anyone who e-mails me to request it!)it stays on my fridge and as I realize we are out of something we check it off. Everyone who can read is responsible for checking things off on the list as it gets used up (my husband loves this...because I now I rarely forget items).

On that note if you have a comprehensive list you will go to the store less and this will also save you money and precious time. I have found it is very difficult to spend money at the store if I am at home. :) I have also found that Wayne rarely has to go to the store to pick up an item or two...

I look at homemaking as my job and grocery shopping as a skill for me develop. So when I go to the store with my bosses money I have a list on my clip board, a pen, highlighter & calculator. I use the pen to cross of the things I have already purchased and I keep a running total down the side of the page so I can make sure I am on budget. I highlight any item I do not get for what ever reason (not enough money, cannot find etc....). That way I rememeber to put it on the next list I use the calculator to determine the unit value of items, determine price with coupon quickly...... I have been asked several times when I am shopping at Wal-Mart who I work for....McVay Industries (we make girl babies).

I do a big shop once every two weeks and pick up perishables on the off week. I really try not to go to a grocery store more than once a week!

Here are some kinds of lists you may want to use:
• hand written list
• computer generated check off list (http://kyle854.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/grocerylist.xls)
• 4 square list – divided according to basic store locations such as frozen, fresh, canned and dairy pick up a sheet of blank paper and fold it in quarters and write dairy, frozen, canned, fresh on front and cleaning, clothes etc… on the back that is a four square list.Let me know if anyone uses another kind of list I can include on my website.

These are the rules I follow when I grocery shop:
• Do not enter the grocery store without a list.
• Follow the the list
• Have a budget and stick to it
• Do not go to the store hungry (I've walked through the door at Wal-mart headed straight to the bananas grabbed one for everyone then started shopping)
• Pack snacks for kids that tend to get hungry (granola bars something you can chunk in the baby bag/purse) –hungry whiny kids are not a joy to shop with!
• Do not shop during the baby’s nap time

If you just enter the store with a list you will save money as long as you stick strictly to that list (I will allow you to get Toilet Paper, but that's it!). Wandering aimlessly around the store costs me money & time everytime!

Next time...Meal Planning & I will reveal my grocery budget.....