trying something new

So last week the hubby and i decided we are so over eating out.We seriously used to eat it out 4 of 7 nights...thats ridiculous, costly and bad for our health. We got to the point where it would take us 15 minutes to figure out what sounded good for dinner. We were just eating the same thing over and over. So for the past few days i've been looking through the cookbooks- jotting down recipes, making grocery lists etc.I figured out that I have 15 meals to rotate and today i went to sams and kroger and got all the ingredients for said meals.It was a little higher bill for us, but when u compare all that I got its really not that bad!! Also this beats going to the store every few days for a few things and coming out with 30 dollars worth of junk...
so the menu planning goes...do u all do that? if yes what are some of your fav meals?


spent 99 at sams-
spent 106 at kroger-

total: $205- this includes roast, beef tips, 6 pounds of chicken, 4 pounds of chicken nuggets, pork chops, ground beef..and all the ingredients for my 15 meals that i plan to rotate...kroger was having a great sale on meat!..also includes fabric softner and laundry detergent...etc...
i still have a huge stockpile on shampoo, razors, toothpaste, etc from my cvs walgreens awesome deals.....

um im totally ashamed of this next number but it needs to be said
from 7-15---7-29 we spent $349 on food..wow..that is unbelievable...OMG for a family of 4 that is not ok! This is a few of those run to the store for milk, come back with a 30 reciept...
u know a trip to mcdonalds can run us 15.00, a trip to arbys 12...it really adds up quickly!!
I hope this will be a challenge to us all to be wise stewards!
I am going to work my hardest to make that total on food to go way down!

great deal on toddler girl shoes

so my 4 year old is going to pre-k and they aren't allowed to wear crocs at school, and thats all my child wears..so we went shoe shopping:)
found some great deals!
these are from finish line

original price: $44.99
on sale for 14.00!!!
and the best part my girl Loves them:)
savings of 30.99, 69%

the best life jacket ever:)

so we've been spending lots of time at the pool this summer...

and my 2 year old has no fear, doesnt like to be held while in the water...so my sister told me about these floats... called puddle jumpers they are AMAZING!
i got ours at walmart for 15.00---here's an example

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stearns-Puddle-Jumpers-Vest-for-Children-30-50-lb-Red_W0QQitemZ260433314176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca3090180&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116


they have a frog, duckling, lobster, and a shark:)

so fab== seriously