Welcome To The Pantry...

Hi!  Welcome to the pantry!  This is my spot in the home.  It's the one room that the kiddos aren't allowed to tear apart (not that they would ever do this, because they are certainly 100% perfectly

well-behaved every second of their sweet little lives).  The pantry houses our water heater and is directly across from the laundry room.  We keep the small hallway leading to both rooms blocked off with a baby gate.  Again, you know my feelings on this one.  The pantry is also the only room we did not paint/remodel when we moved into our home.  Why?  Well, quite honestly nobody really goes in there and well I got tired of painting rooms.  Maybe one day I'll paint it some nice bright color that only I would choose or something like that. 

Here are a few pics of the pantry and the special things it houses...

The Gatorade/Juice are is just a small area on the floor.  It's not exactly the most ideal place for them, but hey it's easy and convenient.  It works.  So this is their home.

 Also, more grocery store relay finds or almost free finds at the grocery store.  The juice boxes in the picture all cost me about $0.45 per box.  Not too bad, huh?

 This is obviously the snack, lunch, treat sweet treat, cracker, baby snack, etc. area.  It used to house our huge stash of baby food.  However, Bennett doesn't need baby food anymore!  It's kind of sad to walk in there and not see baby food on the shelf.

This piece of furniture was my grandparents hutch.  It acts as a medicine cabinet on top and the bottom houses lots of party supplies and odds/ends.  I probably have enough party supplies in the bottom to throw 30 parties this year.  Most of the things I got for free, $0.25 or less, or just leftovers from the kids' parties. 

Ok, so this little piece of furniture houses all kinds of can goods/box goods. My mother got it at a yard sale for $5.00 and painted it.  You have to love another person's junk.  It's worked perfectly to house all of canned goods and stuff.  Please don't judge the Spam, I know it's NASTY!  However, I have a hubby who was in the military and he likes gross stuff like that.  Also, yes we eat Hamburger Helper.  It's not very often, but probably once every couple of months I will be in a quick hurry and fix it super fast.  We actually had it tonight for the first time in a couple of months.  I cooked the hamburger helper and used the other part of the hamburger meat to make chili for hot dogs tomorrow (made the chili in the crock pot of course).

 Part of the cereal stash...now it has dwindled some, but the Cheerios you see I actually got paid to buy after using all of my coupons.  It's not uncommon to see 40 plus boxes of cereal in our pantry.  In fact, I was able to rack up on almost 50 boxes of the Cheerios when Publix had the deal!!!  Score!

More of the stash...

Had to have a place to hide the grocery store bag stash...

This basket houses oatmeal, grits, open bags of Goldfish, granola bars, etc. I put them in gallon zip lock bags once the box has been open.  It makes it easier on me and it doesn't take up as much space.

I got this shelf on clearance at Lowe's a while back.  It's actually kind of bare right now, but it won't take long for me to fill it back.  I almost feel naked having it dwindle down like this.

So, this is how you keep up with food for a family of 6!  I know my hubby just loves it when I come home and say, "Honey I found a really good deal today!"  Bahahaha...bless his heart!  He's a good sport, but after carrying in 50 boxes of Cheerios, 30 boxes of juice boxes, or 30 bags of Chex Mix he sometimes thinks I'm extreme.  However, he doesn't complain when his tummy is full and he has a lot to choose from!  So, welcome to the pantry!  Come on in and pick out a snack!

Grocery Store Relay

Ok, so I have this well kept secret...I LOVE THE GROCERY STORE RELAY!!! There I said it! I have been out of my habit of going to the grocery store relay at one of our local super markets.  This past weekend I went with Tracey and Julia Grace and let me just tell you there are certainly AWESOME grocery store relay partners!  Tracey loves a bargain just as much as I do.  So, this helps out tremendously!  So, I know you all are wondering, what is a grocery store relay and why in the world would this make someone so happy?  Here's the reason...

THESE THREE BOXES!!!

So, what's so wonderful about these 3 boxes?  First of all I got everything in these 3 boxes for exactly $24.00.  The grocery store relay costs $8.00 per box and it's as many things as you can fill in your box.  Secondly, I bought these items with school starting in mind.  I wanted things I could easily put in lunches.  Finally, the $24.00 I spent on these 3 boxes is less than 1/10 of the retail value for everything in the boxes.  What's in the boxes?  Here's my list:

Peanut M and M's - 8 packs *all M and M's will be used to make snack mix for lunch boxes and potty treats for Mason Luke!!!

Ghiradelli - 1 large milk chocolate bar

Pretzel M and M's - 66 packs

Plain M and M's - 22 packs

Dove Chocolates - 2 big bags

Lucky Charms Cereal Bars - 1/2 box (split with Tracey)

Kudos Granola Bars - 1/2 box (split with Tracey)

Quaker 90 Calorie Peanut Butter Granola Bars - 2 boxes

Wishbone Thousand Island Dressing - 2 bottles

Hidden Valley Peppercorn Ranch - 1 bottle

Hidden Valley Fat Free Ranch - 2 bottles

OrganicVille Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette - 2 bottles

Deboles Organic Angel Hair Pasta - 1 box

Muellers 32 oz Thin Spaghetti - 1 box

Old El Paso Enchilda Dinner Kit - 2 boxes

Old El Paso Soft Taco Bake - 1 box

Old El Paso Fajita Kit - 1 box

Old El Paso Burrito Kit - 1 box

Old El Paso Taco Shells and Tortillas - 1 box

Crystal Light Iced Tea w/ Lemon - 3 packs of 4-16 oz bottles

McCormick Worcestershire Ground Black Pepper Blend - 1 box

Inlehoffer Sweet Hot Mustard - 1 bottle

Marias Gamesas Cookies - 3 large boxes

Kraft Honey Mustard Dressing - 1 24oz bottle

Bob's Red Mill Muesil - 1 bag

Cheese Crackers - 1 pack

Rustic Crust Pizza - 2 pizza crusts

Back to Nature Blueberry Granola to Go - 1 bag of 5 packs

Laura Lynn Cheese Crunchies - 5 bags

Smart Puffs Cheddar Cheese Puffs - 5 bags

Peanut Butter Lover's Chex Mix - 5 bags

Applesauce - 1 can

Individual Applesauces - 1 six pack

Pears - 2 containers

Milton's Seasalt Crackers - 2 boxes

Premium Wafers - 1 box

Cardinis Crutons - 6 bags (4 italian, 2 garlic)

Canadian Farms Organic Granola Bars - 2 boxes

Kraft Fat Free Ranch 16 oz - 1 bottle

Newman's Own Organic Alphabet Cookies - 1 bag

Neman O's Chocolate Creme Cookies - 1 package

Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips - 1 bag

Roland Strawberry Tartlettes - 8 packages

Fruit Rings Cereal - 2 boxes

Pediasure Vanilly Sidekicks - 1 four pack

JJ Flats Organic Flatbread Crackers - 1 package

Annie's Organic Chocolate Chip Granola Bars -1 box

Dickinsons Purely Fruit Blueberry Spreadable Fruit -1 jar

Green Giant Whole Kernel Corn - 1 Can

Green Giant Cream Style Corn - 2 cans

Cracker Jacks - 2 boxes

Panni Potato Dumpling - 1 box

Chock Full O Nuts 26 oz Coffee - 1 can (Woo Hoo!)

Sesmark Sesame Thins - 1 package

Hunts Spaghetti Sauce - 2 large cans

Old El Paso Tortilla Stuffers - 4 packages

Hunts Tomatoes - 1 can

Ravioli - 1 can

Green Beans - 1 can

OrganicVille Herbs de Provence Dressing - 1 bottle

Wholesome Sweetener Light Brown Sugar -1 bag

Blue Ribbon Self Rising Flour - 1 large back

Deboles Spaghetti - 3 boxes

Hodgson Mill Spinach Spaghetti 16 oz - 1box

Peaches in Splenda - 1 can

Pace Picante Sauce - 1 jar

Arrowhead Mills Peanut Butter (the good organic/all natural kind) - 2 jars

Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs - 1 container

Lucks Chicken and Dumplings - 2 containers

White House Applesauce - 1 jar

I am sure I missed a thing or two.  Most of these things you can find at places like the Fresh Market or Whole Foods.  The Pediasure and peanut butter would have cost me $24 alone.  Just those 3 things paid for the boxes.  Enjoy the pictures below and a little sample of my pantry (which I did finally take pictures of to share in a post soon)!  



Lots of Items to Sort!!!

This is just the first box of things!



 Lots of M and M's to make trail mix/snack mix for lunches in a couple of weeks!

 The best peanut butter (for sandwiches, smoothies, and icing when I make peanut butter cream cheese icing)

Where do I even start???

It was almost as if it kept multiplying!!!

Finally on the last box!!!



Mallory was a great helper in sorting all of this!!!

By the way, Tracey and I did work hard for all of our deals.  It's not just a walk up and get it kind of experience.  You have to work for what you get, but it's so much fun and worth it.  Basically, it's a free-for-all for about 15 minutes and then you are good!  However, you're really lucky if you have a Julia Grace to sit on the boxes you really want!

Sorting is now complete!  I will also tell you that Tracey has 3 boxes just as full as mine!  She really racked up for her 1st trip as well!  I think both of our hubbies will be happy with this shopping excursion.  Shhhh...don't tell them we totally rewarded ourselves with Panera after this adventure!

Our Daily Bread (well and lots of other things)

I know many of my friends only have one or two children.  I am blessed to have 4 wonderful little people who depend on me (ok 2 of them aren't so little anymore, but we can pretend, right?).  I also have a husband, who when it comes to food is just like having a couple of extra children.  I decided to kind of track what we go through in one day of food around our house.  I think it will make you appreciate the art of couponing and meal management.  Perhaps it will even make me appreciate why I am trying to accomplish the daunting tasks of couponing and meal management. 
Additionally, I keep a baby gate up to the hall leading to my pantry.  The pantry is not open to everyone and mom definitely controls who enters the pantry and when.  Why, you ask?  Here's why:

1.  Children need to know their limitations.  The pantry is a wreck when I allow even the my 12 year old and 8 year old very minimal access to it.  They don't know how to keep things organized like mom likes them to be.
2.  They would eat everything inside.  Going into the pantry and seeing all of the different foods in my stockpile is complete overload for anyone's growling tummy.  If I allowed 24/7 access to everything, I wouldn't have anything and would grocery shop on a daily basis.
3.  The kids don't know everything in the pantry.  If they don't know it's there, they won't ask for it.  Dinner is dinner no matter what your wondering eyes and tummies see in that pantry.  We'll eat what's on the menu not 500 different things because that's what you decided you want.
4.  It's all about teaching them self control.  Given the opportunity they will eat 5 of an item they should only have one of (i.e. brownies, cookies, chips, etc.). 
5.  I simply don't like anybody messing with my stuff.  I don't like them in the kitchen when I cook.  I don't like them moving things in the pantry and me having to rummage around looking for them.  I know selfish, right?

I should also note I keep a lock on the refrigerator.  This is to keep a certain 2 year old out, but it's also to place limitations on the older children (even the 32 year old big boy in the house).  Although they know how to operate the lock, I can still hear that wonderful sound when they slide the lock.  Therefore, I have the ability to control exactly what they're getting, how much, and how often. 

I would encourage you not to be quick to judge the limitations I place on food in our home.  I would encourage you mama's to take control of your kitchen, your pantry, your stockpile, etc.  How many things go to waste in your house just because someone had hungry eyes as opposed to hungry tummies?  How many times are you throwing out things that weren't finished or barely touched?  How much money could you save your family by controlling these things?  Remember mama always said, "There are starving children in (insert 3rd world country here) who would love to get one bite of what you are eating".   This is TRUE folks! 

So, here's what we've gone through today in our house:  (Keep in mind Mallory is doing church activities from 10 am - 3 pm today and Richard is sleeping all day because he worked last night.  So, that makes us down 2 people to feed for a large portion of the day.)

2 packs of oatmeal
4 bowls of cereal
1 cup of dry cereal
1 quarter of a watermelon
3 servings of ham (leftovers from dinner on sunday)
7 servings of mac n cheese (leftovers from dinner on sunday eaten at lunch and dinner)
3 ham rolls for lunch
6 servings of turnip greens
1 bag of popcorn
1 capri sun
8 bottles of water
1 gallon of milk
3 cups of coffee
1/2 cup of granola over bananas
10 bbq ribs
1 pan of baked beans
30 grapes
5 rolls for dinner
6 servings of creamed corn
1 serving of Gerber puffs
1/2 peanut butter sandwich
3 servings of goldfish
1 bottle of powerade

I am sure I missed something along the way.  The items above are in no particular order.  I just listed them as they came to my mind.  So, as you can see on a normal day 6 people consume lots of food.  I'm full just looking at the list.  Now, it's off to start planning next week's menu!

Keeping The Crock Pots Busy

I would like to tell you I have the time to stand in the kitchen all day long and provide gourmet 5 course meals to my Fab 4.  The truth is there are still days where I like to pick up a couple of pizzas and call it a night.  My hearts in the right place and I'd love to provide the children with fresh, organic, homegrown, etc. everything.  This is simply just not possible when managing a house of 6 people.  I utilize my crock pot probably 5 out of 7 nights a week when possible.  It's simple and easy.  It's hands free (only requiring the occasional stirring).  So, I'd like to share some of my recipes here with you and if you have a recipe you'd like me to share with everyone please feel free to send it to me.  Understand most of my recipes are my own concoctions and lots of times I simply use what's in the pantry.  I have a pretty large pantry and I guess I really should share a picture of it as well.  Yesterday I cooked a ham in one crock pot and mac and cheese in the other one.  Here's what we are having tonight (and yes I purely just threw all of this together).

Chicken Chili (I guess that's what we should call it)

A little over 1lb. of chicken
1 packet of dry ranch mix
1 can of corn
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of kidney beans ( you could use whatever you have or whatever beans your family likes)
1 can of tomatoes
1/2 pack chili seasoning
1 tbs. of chili powder
1 block of cream cheese
Milk (to your likening depends on how thick or thin you want your chili)

Throw all of this on the crock pot and cook on low or you can do what I did and speed up the process in the beginning by turning the crock pot on high for a little bit (I typically do this on a regular basis.  It warms up whatever I'm cooking and gets things going a little quicker.  I don't leave it on high very long though unless I am really in a hurry).   

We are serving the chili with a little bit of cheese on top and some AWESOME stone ground tortilla chips from Trader Joes (2lb bag of chips which are by far the best tortilla chips I've ever eaten for only 2.99). 

Personally, cooking in the crock pot is helping simplify my life.  It takes away all the extra time I would be spending in the kitchen cooking and gives me more time to focus on being a mom, school work (MBA stuff), accomplishing my goal of having a more organized life, etc!  Good stuff, I know!

Welcome

Once upon a time, I was an avid blogger.  I used to enjoy blogging.  It was sort of an outlet and honestly there was something therapeutic about blogging.  Since I stopped blogging our family has added another child, Bennett.  I've taken a part-time job with Family Connection of SC.  Richard has been to Kuwait as a government contractor and returned back home to civilian life.  However, things are a little hectic around here sometimes.  It seems as if the kids and the hubby have their own agendas and much of my time is spent struggling to get everyone on the same page.  So, what did I decide to do?  I'll be re-taking control of my household and you all will have the privilege to follow along.  So, what do I mean by "re-taking control"?

1.  Defining family roles, chores, responsibilities, etc. - I'm really weeding my way through this one.  I'm not sure if we'll go to a chore list, responsibility chart, or just simply verbal assigning jobs.  However, we're all a part of this family and we all have to meet certain expectations in order to function as a cohesive unit.  Many times it's just easier for me to do it rather than argue or plead with the kiddos to do what's necessary.  (I know we've all been there)
2.  Setting meal plans - I used to do this regularly and just let it go to the wayside.  Well, how many times have you moms heard, "I don't like that" or "Can you fix me something different"?  The bottom line is...this mom is no longer fixing meals to accommodate unless I simply know you have a genuine dislike of a meal.  If haven't tried it, then you don't have a valid argument.  In the end, meal plans save you money and time.  I'll be doing them weekly to start and hope to graduate to monthly plans.
3.  Couponing - The good Lord knows I need to get back to this one.  It was saving our family so much money and I really enjoyed the whole clipping coupons and researching sales.
4.  Setting a schedule - Oh man, this one is so hard!  How can I possibly set a schedule and stick to it.  However, I firmly believe a schedule is super important to the structure of our household.  Additionally, a schedule is necessary for Mason who requires lots of boundaries.  I feel like this will be most beneficial to him in the long run as he prepares for preschool/kindergarten.
5.  Planned Shopping Trip - Again, I really used to follow this one to a T.  That's not to say if I saw a deal in the store, had coupons, and could practically get it for free, I wouldn't pick it up.  I'm not going to pass up an almost free deal, but I do intend on making shopping lists and sticking to them.  Again, in the beginning I plan on shopping on a week to week basis with the goal being to shop on a monthly basis (with weekly trips only for staples and perishables like milk, bread, eggs, fruits, veggies, etc.).
6.  Setting bed times and sticking to them - This isn't so much for Mallory.  She's pretty good about going to bed when she gets tired and she is 12.  However, for the 3 Miller boys bedtimes are a NECESSITY.  I've let this go to the wayside with Tyler especially and I can see the difference.  So, we'll go back to set bedtimes and maybe just maybe I'll get a little more done in the evenings!
7.  Organize and get rid of clutter - This is where we all fail in this house.  Mallory and Richard are pack rats.  They'd save everything under the sun if  I would let them.  Mallory is really into art and well she's just not organized while enjoying her art.  Richard saves every little piece of paper he possibly can.  Tyler and Mason would rather spread their toys all over the house as opposed to keeping them in one place.  Well, and I quite honestly would love to save every single piece of schoolwork the kids bring home!  This is not feasible nor necessary.  So, we'll rid our lives of things we don't need and keep the important stuff!

Whew!  I feel like that was a lot, but it's just the tip of the iceberg of what I would like to see change.  The one thing I struggle with is; I want change NOW!  I would like to Mary Poppins, snap fingers, and do a little dance and have everything fall into place immediately.  This is of course not going to happen, but I can hope.  Right?  Say a prayer for us as we begin this journey!  I'll share things that work and things that don't work!  I'm hoping to share recipes, menus, and yes even the dreaded clutter!  So sit back and hang on tight, because it's surely going to be a wild ride to to get The Fab Four Involved a Little More!!!