I am going to try something a little different for December. I am not really going to assign a day for my meals and I have planned a month of meals.

Dinner 11/27-12/31

Chili/cornbread X2
Chicken nuggets/ff X2
Pizza X2
Hot Subs/chips or ff X2
Mac&Cheese/peas
Pasta bake/salad/bread sticks
BLT/chips
Grilled cheese/soup
Pancakes/bacon
General’s chicken/rice/corn
Chicken brushetta/green beans
Beef/broccoli/rice
Smoked Sausage/Spanish rice/corn
Pork Roast/gravy/steamed veggies/baked potatoes
BBQ pork on buns/chips
Salsa chicken/rice/corn
Chicken quesadilla/rice/corn
Fried chicken/stuffing/peas
Taco salad
Chicken patties/ramen noodles/green beans
Teriyaki chicken/rice/peas
Chipolete chicken/rice/corn
Ham/au gratin potatoes/green beans
Pork chops/mac&ch/broccoli
Chicken fried rice
Crock pot cheesy bacon rice/peas
Easy chicken with potatoes/steamed veggies (crock pot)
Sweet & Sour chicken/rice (crock pot)
Beef stew/cornbread (crock pot)
Roast chicken/carrots/potatoes (crock pot)
Ham/stuffing/mashed potatoes/peas/salad (Christmas Eve

Shopping

Shopping today
Okay I did some stockpiling today. I did not do as well as most of you but I am still pretty proud of how well I did. I bought 43 items for a total of $82.31 that is an average of $1.91 per item! Here are the highlights.....
4 frozen pizzas $3.99 each
2 lb of bacon $5.00
2 10 Kroger ham $3.49
4 Starkist tuna $1.00 each
4 frozen veggies $1.00 each
2 packs El Paso taco season $1.00 for both
4 lb ground beef $1.25 each
12 boxes of cereal for $10.00 (that is less than a $1.00 a box!)
2 cans of Dole pineapple FREE!
My girls laughed when they saw the cereal. But I know that it will be gone in no time.

Meal Plan 11/9-11-15

Meal Plan 11/9-11/15
It is Monday again! I am going to try to get myself together again! Because of a new bill that has been added to the list I will be a really tight budget from here on out. I have to work on keeping my food budget to $250.00 a month and $50.00 for household.
So this week we are eating mostly what I have on hand.

Monday-Grilled Cheese/Tomato soup (I made it!)
Tuesday-Crock pot salsa chicken/rice/corn/cornbread
Wednesday-Chicken quesadilla/rice/corn
Thursday-Pancakes/bacon
Friday- OUT
Saturday-Sandwiches/chips/pasta salad
Sunday-Beef Stew/cornbread

I am keeping things simple in the hope that will help me.

This week

Meal Plan

Meal Plan 10/19-10/25
Monday-Smoked Sausage (3.00)/mac&ch (1.00)/mix veggies (1.00)= $5.00
Tuesday- Pancakes (2.00)/eggs (.88)/sausage (2.50)=$5.33
Wednesday- Soup (1.00)/Grilled cheese (2.00)=$3.00
Thursday- Pasta bake (pasta .50/sauce.50/cheese 1.50)/salad (1.00)/crescent rolls (1.50)= $5.00
Friday-Pizza (4.00)/leftover salad (0)=$4.00
Saturday- HB/CB (3.00)/ff (1.00)=$4.00
Sunday-BBQ chicken (3.50)/mac&ch (1.00)/peas (.50)/biscuit (1.50)=$6.50
Weekly total = $33.83 (this is a rough guess)

Meal Plan 10/12-10/18

Meal Plan 10/12-10/18
Monday-Chili/crackers (2lbs ground beef 2.80 Tomatoe soup & juice 2.00 spices .50= $5.30) there is enough for lunch for the rest of the week)
Tuesday-BBQ pork sandwiches (free leftovers from mom)/FF $1.00
Wednesday- Pizza ($4.00)/green salad (1.50) =$5.50
Thursday-Salsa Chicken (4.00)/corn (.50)/rice (.25)/cornbread (.50)=$5.25
Friday-Chicken Quesadilla (tortilla-1.00/cheese-2.00/leftover chicken-0)=$3.00
Saturday-Fried Chicken (4.00)/stuffing (1.00)/peas (.50)/biscuits (1.30)=$6.80
Sunday-Hamburgers/Cheeseburgers (Ground chuck 2.50 on clearance)/buns (.75)/FF (1.00)/corn (1.00)=$5.25
Weekly total= $32.10
Not bad but I spent $88.36 at the store! Snacks and pop killed me. Pop alone was $21.00 I have to find a way to cut this out.

Meal Plan 6/30-7/5

Breakfast:
Fruit, cereal, yogurt, toast and bagels
Snacks:
Brownies, rice krispies and cereal
Lunch:
Leftovers, PB&J, meatballs or rice
Dinner:
6/29- Mac&Ch/peas (We ended up at Wendy's when DS's dr. appt took longer than planned)
6/30: (We ended up just eating what you could find)
7/1: Smoked Sausage/mac&ch/peas
7/2: Terriyaki chicken/rice/peas
7/3: Grilled Hamburgers/green beans/pasta salad
7/4: B-Cin. Rolls L-Leftovers D-Family cookout
7/5: Brunch- Baked French toast/bacon D-Chicken and steak fajitas/rice

Meal Plan 6/22-6/30

I did ok sticking to the meal plan last week. I have found that the worst part about meal planning for me is my kids. DD#1 isn't home enough any more to matter but the twins seem to be on the run too this summer. So what I have come up with is dinner is at 6:00 and if you are not there you can reheat it or make your own. My kitchen is closed for cooking after dinner. Another issue I am having is breakfast and lunch. Monday-Friday they can make their own. On the weekends I have decided you are on your own for breakfast but I will plan a lunch, on Sunday I am going to plan Brunch and Dinner.
My Meal Plan for the rest of June is pretty much planned because I am using what I have but for July I am going back to planning week by week. In July I am going to try to spend only $38 a week for all 3 meals.
Breakfast:
Bagelfuls/bagel, toast w/peanutbutter or cereal
Lunch:
Sloppy Joes, leftovers, pb&j, ramen and taco salad
Dinner:
22: Salsa chicken/rice/corn
23: Taco Bake/rice/green beans
24: Pasta w/sauce/green beans/garlic bread
25:Pork Chops/cornbread stuffing/peas
26: ShakenBake Chicken/fruit/leftover veggies
27: B-OYO L- Ramen/fruit D-Teriyaki chicken/rice/peas
28: LEFTOVER DAY (we eat whatever is on hand)
29: Mac&ch/green beans
30: Smoked Sausage/pasta salad/peas
For more great meal plans go to Orgjunkie.com

210 days

Things to do in 210 days
I got this idea from Elizabeth at http://smalltownblessings.blogspot.com/2009/05/101-things-in-1001-days.html.
Now I could not come up with 101 things over 1001 days. So my goal is to finish 20 things in 210 days. 210 days is the number of days left in 2009 from today. Right now I am a little short on my list I plan to add a few more items of the next few days.
As a mother:
Go to an outdoor play
Plan a "special" day with each child
Teach my kids to cook
Create a photo album for DS #1
Enforce Home Contract

As a friend:
Make a meal to take to someone
Babsit
Help with a big project
Host a dinner party

As a citizen:
Start recycling
Volunteer
Learn 5 things about local history
Donate
-Food
-Clothes

As a friend to myself:
Go to the movies to see
-New Moon
-Eclipse
-Transformers 2
Plan to spend 5 hours a week doing what I want w/o the kids
Blog at least 3 days a week
Read 3 books

Other:
Find a place for everything in my house (organize)
Pay my bills on time (stick to my budget)
Develop a Home Contract
*Bonus Decorate my living room
*Bonus Make a list for 2010

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

I am Thankful for:

2 minutes to myself
A simple touch from that special someone
Good friends who will come when you have car trouble

Budget - June

Budget-June
Well I am starting off in the hole. I am going to try to spend less than $20.00 on food this month. I have should be able to eat mostly from what

Meal Plan 6/1-6/6

Meal Plan 6/1-6/6

I have been bad I will catch you up.
Week 1
Breakfast:
Poptarts, bagels, toast and any of the open cereal
Lunch:
Monday-Wednesday school lunch. Thursday and Friday Make your own.
Dinner:
1-Hotdogs/chips
2-Bisquick chicken nuggets/ff
3-Leftovers
4-Manicotti/salad/garlic bread
5-Baked chicken/pasta salad/green beans
6- B-Poptarts L-Quesadilla D-Grill cheese/ff
Check out other great meal plans at orgjunkie.com !

Bipolar

Okay, my DS is Bi-polar with ADHD. What does this mean? That he is bouncing off the walls and has mood swings that will give you whiplash. Along with the mood swings he has violent outburst in the past the outburst would last hours. Yes, hours of yelling, screaming, punching the wall, banging his head, running away from home, threating family and destroying everything in sight. Now days they only last an hour or so.
One of the problems now is that he is getting bigger. (12 yrs old 112 lbs) It seems that he attacks his twin DD#2 and me more. Now when he "starts" DD#1 just leaves. I worry that he will hurt himself or one of us. This past week has been a bad one.
What sets him off? Being told no, if he thinks some one is laughing at him, not eating at his time,not having complete control and me. That is the worst part is that no matter what I say or do it is not the right thing. If I try to go to the store 2 blocks from my house without him...outburst. If I try to go to dinner with friends....outburst. If I try to talk on the phone he wants to know who, what I am talking about and why. I am truly a prisoner.
When did this start? Before he could walk. When he was still crawling at day care he bit 2 children so bad thier parents removed them.Then it just got worse.
What have I done in the past? A lot. Therapy, he tells them whatever they want to hear then as soon as we get in the car he "starts". Disapline, I have taken everything away. He was left with a bed and dresser for 2 weeks and he didn't care. Grounding, that was BAD I was locked in the house with him! Meds. He has been of several different meds over the years we have not found the right ones yet. Hospital. This year he has got so out of control that I have put him in a children's mental health center three times this year. (which is where he is now)
I am doing my best to keep him out of the court system but at the rate he is going I am not going to be able to for long. This summer he will be spending a lot time with his dad and when he is not with his dad we are looking for activities that will keep him busy and out of the house. I know that it sounds like I am a bad mom but at right now my goals is to keep everyone safe. My fear is that it will come back to bite me in the end.
So for everyone out there living with a Bi-polar family member....I understand

Meal Plan 5/17-5/23

Week 3
May 17-23
17-B-On Your Own L-Pasta Salad D-Salad w/chicken/bread
18-Subs/chips
19-Pizza Pockets (2.00)
20-Grill Cheese/Soup or FF (1.00)
21-Popcorn Chicken/FF (2.00)
22-Quesadilla/salad (1.50)
23-B-Pancakes L-Hotdogs/chips D-Leftovers
For many, many more great meal plans go to http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday

Weekly update

Well I have gone WAY over budget! I went to the store last night and spent $184.24! and I still have to spend at least $20.00 on cat stuff. Now I know that I spent a lot but ... I also saved $72.00 with coupons. I am new to the coupon thing and did not realize that stores had a limit on how many you can use in one transaction. I did two but I put all the coupons on one so I could see if it was really worth it. I think it was. I did alot of stockpiling (I now have 26 boxes of cereal and 8 boxes of rice) of course this weekend I will be working on my June menu, can you guess what we will be eating?

So I guess the extra money spent has to come from somewhere. Maybe from next months budget? I don't know I will have think about that.
At this moment the cable company is at my house installing cable, internet and phone. I can't Well I have gone WAY over budget! I went to the store last night and spent $184.24! and I still have to spend at least $20.00 on cat stuff. Now I know that I spent a lot but ... I also saved $72.00 with coupons. I am new to the coupon thing and did not realize that stores had a limit on how many you can use in one transaction. I did two but I put all the coupons on one so I could see if it was really worth it. I think it was. I did alot of stockpiling (I now have 26 boxes of cereal and 8 boxes of rice) of course this weekend I will be working on my June menu, can you guess what we will be eating?

So I guess the extra money spent has to come from somewhere. Maybe from next months budget? I don't know I will have think about that.
At this moment the cable company is at my house installing cable, internet and phone. I can't wait to have internet at home!

This week has gone by pretty fast. I am happy for the weekend everyone take care and maybe I will see you online over the weekend. wait to have internet at home!
This week has gone by pretty fast. I am happy for the weekend everyone take care and maybe I will see you online over the weekend.

Well I think that I have done pretty well on my food budget. Yesterday I spent $1.00 on chips for dinner.

Dinner last night was 4 Hot dogs on buns (2 each) with chips which worked out to be $.60 per meal for the twins. I didn't really eat, I was busy cleaning. My sink has been slow to drain for a while now, over the weekend it stopped draining all together. I didn't really have the money to pay a plumber and DID NOT want to pay weekend rates at all! So I waited until yesterday my mom and dad had some work done as well and were kind enough to pay the bill. What would I do with out them!

But my deal of the week is cereal. I bought 13 boxes of different cereals for an average of $1.77 per box. We eat cereal for breakfast and snacks so it won't last long. I think that we have gone thru 3 boxes since Thursday, but I am hoping that they will last the rest of the month. I spent $33.79 on 13 boxes of cereal , 1 pack of whole wheat bagels and 2 candy bars.

May food budget remaining- $104.86 (3 weeks left)

Meal Plan 5/10-5/16

Week 2
May 10-16
10- B- French toast L- Pizza Rolls D-Pork Roast
11- Hotdogs/chips
12-Italian baked chicken/peas/au gratin potatoes
13-Pull pork on buns/chips
14-Roasted chicken/mac&ch/green beans
15-Out to eat
16- B-Muffins L-Chicken Wraps D-Leftovers

May Budget

I have done ok I guess. I only spent $48.35 at Walmart but I spent $13.00 last night on fast food. The $48.35 is to TWO WEEKS! I am eating mostly out of the pantry so I didn't have to get much. That leaves $139.65 for food in May.

I sat down with the twins this weekend and went over the budget. I have done this with DD#1 but never with them. Why you ask? I don't know. Recently they have been asking for outragous things. IPhone, Ipod, new shoes, cds, dvds and trips to stores. I know that DD#2 got it but DS still has no clue.

Besides my food and non food budget I also have my bills and living budget. This is where I have the most trouble. This is what my May budget looks like:
1400 Pay
200 food
200 gas
85 car insurance
50 non food
500 cell phone (went WAY over on minutes)
170 phone, cable and internet
100 meds and co pays
30 basketball shoes
That leaves $65.00 for error.

Meal plan 5/3-5/9

Week 1
Sunday: B-Peanut butter pancakes (made my DD#1) (.50)
L-Leftover chicken from mom and dad's lunch out enough left to feed 3 of us! (FREE)
D- Pizza rolls (went spent all day cleaning we were all wore out) (.99)
Monday: Spaghetti, salad and garlic toast (.75)
Tuesday: Taco Salad (1.40)
Wednesday: OPEN-Planned Corndogs and Chips only I could not find Corndogs within my budget price.
Thursday: Smoked sausage w/peppers, onions and potatoes and cornbread (1.35)
Friday: Baked Potato Bar (1.00)
Saturday: B-Cin. Rolls (.55)
L-Cheese and Fruit (.70)
D-Hf deluxe w/salad or green beans (1.00 or less made from mostly leftovers)
That is $8.24 per serving = $49.44 for the week for 3 people. That is NOT what I spent, I had a lot of stuff on hand.
For more meal plans to go http://orgjunkie.com/2009/05/mpm-may-4th-my-top-10-list-for-selecting-recipes.html

May Meal Plan

Week 1

May 1-9
1-Salad and bread (if weather permits we will have a fire for May Day)
2- B- Poptarts L- Beans and franks D-Kentucky Hot Brown
3- B-Eggs w/toast L-Ramen D- Salsa Chicken in Crockpot/ rice / corn / cornbread
4-Spaghetti/salad/garlic toast
5-Taco salad
6-Corndog/chips
7-Smoked Sausage,potatoes, onions and peppers
8-Baked potato bar
9- B-Cin Rolls L-Cheese and fruit D-Hf deluxe/salad

Week 2

May 10-16
10- B- French toast L- Pizza Rolls D-Pork Roast
11- Hotdogs/chips
12-Italian baked chicken/peas/au gratin potatoes
13-Pull pork on buns/chips
14-Roasted chicken/mac&ch/green beans
15-Out to eat
16- B-Muffins L-Chicken Wraps D-Leftovers

Week 3

May 17-23
17-B-On Your Own L-Pasta Salad D-Salad w/chicken/bread
18-Subs/chips
19-Pizza Pockets
20-Grill Cheese/Soup or FF
21-Popcorn Chicken/FF
22-Quesadilla/salad
23-B-Pancakes L-Hotdogs/chips D-Leftovers

Week 4

May 24-31
24-B-Pancakes L-Ramen D-Crockpot Chicken cheesy bacon rice/peas/cornbread
25-Pigs in a blanket/applesauce/corn
26-Mac&ch/green beans
27-Pizza/Salad
28-Bisquick chicken nuggets/ff
29- Out to eat
30-B-Bagels L-HM Lunchables D-Leftovers
31-B-Hf/toast L-Cheese,fruit and crackers D-Pork chops/stuffing/green beans

Weekday Breakfast:
Cin. toast,poptarts, cereal, boiled eggs, toast

Snack:
Popcorn, brownies, chips, chips & salsa, cookies

Weekly update

This week we stuck to the meal plan! But I did not stay on budget. When we went to Burger King to eat last night and spent more than I planned. So I will have to cut back on the food budget a little.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend see you Monday.

Thankful Thursday

From now on we are just going to assume that my family is already on the top on my list. My goal is to look for the other things in my life that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for:

My job

Spring rains

People who can make you see things in a whole new light.

Meal plan 4/27-5/2

This week I am just trying to use what I have and plan easy meals. Some of my meals this week have changed from the beginning of the month.
Monday: Mac&Ch with broccoili (.50) Therapy 4:15 and soccer game 6:30
Tuesday:Smoked Sausage/peas/rice/cornbread (1.25)
Wednesday: Pizza/salad (2.00)
Thursday: Eat out Therapy at 6:00
Friday: Leftovers (0)
Saturday: B-Poptarts (1.00) L-Beans & franks (1.00) D-Kentucky Hot Brown (will post later) Soccer 12:45 and Kentucky Derby
Go to Orgjunkie.com for more!

April Budget

I had $18.67 left for the month. Well this weekend DD#2 and DS had friends over and I used the money for snacks. I can't remember the total but I know that I didn't go over. All and all I did well on my budget this month I am proud of myself.
May is another challenge I am going to try to stay as low as possible again. Summer is coming and I will have to add lunch to the meal plan and that will add up quickly.

Weekly update

All in all it has been a pretty good week. We missed 2 days of this weeks menu. On Tuesday my mom made tacos so I just brought some of my stuff up and we shared and on Wednesday my dad took us all out to eat. (I am not one to pass up free food)

We stil have 2 doctor appointments today and a very busy Saturday the only problem I am having is staying on my cleaning schedule. I have no excuse, I just don't want to do it. I will just keep keep trying and some day it will sink in.

Everyone have a good weekend and I will be here Monday.

Our fav meal

Ultimate Chicken Fingers
SUBMITTED BY: Bisquick®

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt or garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.
Mix Bisquick mix, cheese, salt and paprika in 1-gallon resealable plastic food-storage bag. Dip half the chicken strips into egg; place in bag of Bisquick mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.
Bake 12 to 14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center.

This is one of our favorite meals. The only thing I change is I make nuggets instead of strips. Enojoy!

April Budget

I still have $18.67 to spend. Not really but I have it in the budget. In reality I have $0. I get paid again on 4/30 and I don't know which month to count that for? I think that since it is a 3rd check in the month I may use it to play catch up.
I am finding it very hard to stay on budget. My money is out of control. I have too many medical bills and too many unexpected things come up. Any suggestions? Please? HELP?

Meal plan 4/20-4/26

We did pretty good this weekend the only problem I have is DD#2 is always eating. I told her that she can only eat when it is time and she would have to give her body some time to get used to the new schedule.
This week is pretty easy I have also included a cost per serving in ( ) this is a general idea of the price per serving I am not going to figure the cost of salt! For the most part each meal serves 3.
Monday: Hot Subs, chips and fruit (1.78) DS therapy at 3:00 DD#2 soccer practice at 5:30
To Do: Thaw ground beef for tacos
Tuesday: Taco Salad (1.40) To over to a friends for the evening
To Do: No prep needed
Wednesday: Quesdilla (cheese), rice and corn (1.00) No appointments
To Do: Thaw chicken
Thursday: Quick teriyaki chicken (1.00) No appointments
To Do: Thaw Sausage
Friday: Pasta bake salad and garlic bread (1.50) DS therapy 2:00 Me therapy 3:00
Saturday: B-Muffins (.50) L- Chicken Wraps w/chips (1.25) D- Leftovers (0) DD#2 softball game 12:00 have to be there at 11:30 DD#1 job interview 10-12 OH! I forgot DS and DD#2 are volunteers for Special Olympics 8-1 I need to call the coach and let him know.
Check out more meal plans at OrgJunkie.com
http://orgjunkie.com/2009/04/menu-plan-monday-april-20th.html

I have done better this week with my meal plan and getting back on schedule. I went shopping yesterday and stayed on budget even with the added items!
Walmart shopping list:
Potting soil 4.00
Toilet Paper 3.76
Cat litter (2) 5.87 each
Pork-n-beans (2) .42 each
Butter .96
1/2 gal milk 1.00
Cereal 2.24
Yugioh Cards 3.98 (for my helper)
16lb Cat food 11.52 (should last a month)
Tortilla chips (2) 1.78 each
Ruffles chips(2) 3.50 each family size
Frozen Broccoli 1.12
Sandwich bags 1.05
Grilled Chicken Strips(2) 2.50 each
Swiss Cheese 2.14
Shredded Moz Cheese 1.50
Flour tortilla 1.12
Alum. Foil 1.12
Bread .75
Hotdog buns (2) .75 each
Lettuce .75
1/2lb Ham 2.05
1lb Turkey 4.18
Rye bread 1.83
Hairspray (Ausie) 3.22
Eggs (1 broke) .98
Total-$81.33
Left in April Budget-$18.67
I still have to buy spinach, 2 texas toast, bottle water and soft drinks. That should take care of the budget.

Weekend Plans:
Friday: DS dr. appointment and clean
Saturday: DD#2 therapy, soccer game, out with friends for most of the afternoon.
Sunday: Finish was did not get done and DD#2 softball practice
I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I need this today.

I am thankful for:
My kids health
My parents
My job
A glass of pepsi with ice
Good friends


http://msheriff.xanga.com/weblog

Wow! It has been a long time ....rambling

I feel bad that I have not been here in so long. I am usually on Xanga. But to give an update my ex has moved out. He now have his own place. We are super busy DD#2 is playing soccer and softball and soon basketball. I am also refocusing on my goals for the year.

One of my goals for the year is to become more financial stable. How am I doing this?
1. I am going to stick to my budget (this is VERY hard for me)
2.I am going to plan my meals. ( I like doing this)
3. I plan to paying for everything with cash. (this is going to be another hard one)

There are many more goals but this is where I feel I need to start first. I would love to hear how other manage to stay on budget. Please leave a comment.

Oh my gosh - Long

It is not that I did not intend to be here! First I lost my password and when I reset it I was told that is was invalid. Anyway after I while I got it together. And I am back.

Update on me:

My ex-husband lost his job and has moved in with me and the kids. After 5 months of no job and 2 months of living with us he has a few good leads and hopefully will have something by the end of February. Oddly enough it has been very nice having him around. It has been 12 years that we have been apart and we have gone on and grown up. He has been at home with the kids during off days taken them and picked them up when needed. He has taken out trash and fixed things around the house. He even shoveled my walk and drive. All without even being asked! There has been some talk about "getting back together" but that is still to be seen.

My goal for 2009 is to work on getting out of debt and learn to manage money better. I am paying off my car in the next few weeks. That will give me 300.00 more each month. I will add most of that to other bills to pay them off. I plan on spending only 200.00 for food and 50.00 for non-food items a month (this may change if ex stays and we have a little more money) . I am Meal Planning to help me stay on budget. It worked well in January but February has been bad as far the budget goes. I had a Superbowl party with a few friends last minute and it just threw everything off.

Spent in February as of 2/5:
Food- $179.74
Non-food-$28.26

Now tonight I am going to dinner with a friend and ex is staying home with the kids. He, DD#1 and DS have a stomach bug and are not eating much so DD#2 will be on her own which she loves.

Now my meal plan does not have specified days. That way I don't feel locked into it and I plan a day for leftovers or carryovers (meals that were skipped for whatever reason). I usually go from Sunday-Saturday. But since we have had a few sick days this week I will have more carryover meals than usual. This is what I have planned for the next few days:

Breakfast:
Pop tarts, toast, eggs, yogurt and applesauce

Lunch:
Buy out, leftovers or lunch meat sammies

Dinner:
Shake-n-bake pork chops, cornbread stuffing, green beans, rolls

Chicken Piccata (New) , roast potatoes , peas, rolls

Salsa chicken, rice, green beans, rolls

Bisquick chicken nuggets, french fries, fruit