Import

I was just able to import my blog from homeschool blogger to here so, if you would like to see what we were up to in years past take a look.

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All in a day - Shopping

Well this is a bit late, but it is also the first time this week I have had time to think.

Shopping in a large family for us has changed as the kids have aged, which is a good thing by the time their appetites have grown to the point that the kids and the food will not fit in the van at the same time I have children old enough to babysit.

When the oldest 5 were all under 9 we used to all go shopping together, and it worked because I had one rule and was not afraid to enforce it. If  any child did not behave with store manners then mommy would give the cart to the nearest store employee apoilze that I was not able to finish shopping at this time and we went home. The offending child then had to explain to daddy why we were having rice and beans for dinner and not the chicken that mom said was for dinner. This only happened about once a year and also we only lived 5 min from the stores.

Then we moved and we are now 45 min from alot of the stores and leaving and going home is no longer a option, but they have also grown so the food and the kids do not fit in the van at the same time. So shopping day happens two different ways now, during the school year I either shop alone while they are in school or I shop with a friend. During the summer and school breaks I use shopping day as a chance to spend some time with the older kids one or two at a time, sometimes I will take them all but not offen. On the very rare times I will have my husband do the shopping on his way home from work, but it is not something he really enjoys doing.

We shop every two weeks and buy in bulk, if meat reaches my price point then we buy what is needed for the next month or more. Like boneless chicken breast when they reach 1.49 lb for a 40 lb case we buy them, ground beef when it reaches 1.69 lb or less, roast I aim for 1.99 or under.

We buy potatoes in the 50lb bag, bananas buy the case when on sale, rice by the 25lb bag, and so on. Since we shop every two weeks if there is a new cashier at Aldi's I will at times get asked for my tax except form as they think I am buying for a group home. I guess seeing two carts filled with 14 gallons of milk, 14 loafs of bread, and more gives that impression.

I have a large pantry that I keep stocked, buying alot of things when on sale. Like this week peanut butter is 99 cents so we spent 20 dollars on peanut butter.  We shop at Aldi's, Maine's ( a restaurant supply store), Wegmans, Sam's Club, Weis and Price Chopper ( for their loss leaders), and Pine Ridge ( a local bulk food store), and Frog Pond ( a local farm stand ), CVS and Rite Aid. We do not shop each of these stores each time we shop some are 1x a month, some are every 2 months.

Here are some older pictures of a shopping day.

And the trunk was also filled.

Visit these other mom's

happybusymama

ourfullhouse

yes-theyre-all-ours

kathymomofmany

homemakerscottage

1happybusymama

naturalmamax4

bakersdozen

All in a day introductions

Well I thought I would join with a group of other mother's many who have families much larger then mine. This week it is all about introductions. Join us if you like the banner can be found here and more details can be found at any of the blogs listed below.

We are a family of 8

Don is the dad of this crew, he enjoys acting in community theater usually with one or more of the kids, he also volunteers for CAP, and is recently retired from the Air Force Reserves. He currently works in a field close to what did in the military.

I am Margery the mom of this crew, I am a stay at home mom most of the time. I enjoy gardening, sewing, cooking, and managing the family. I am a planner at heart, in fact the kids are known to go running when they hear me say " I have a plan"

Patrick is our oldest and is off to college this year, studying Construction management. He is a very hard worker and handles alot of the repairs that we need done around the house. He also enjoys being outside and all that goes with it. We miss him, but enjoy the time we do get to spend with him.

Sarah is our oldest daughter, she is a junior in high school and is also studying law enforcement as part of her high school. She is a wonderful daughter with many interests,she has traveled to Switzerland with her Girl Scout troop, acted in many plays with her dad and siblings, sings in the school choir, lifeguards in the summer,and lots more. She is also a big help at home and can pretty much run the place if I am not here.

 
Conner is child number 3, and in the 8th grade,he loves to read, and his goal in life is to rule the world.
 He also likes soccer and track and field.


Nolan is child number 4 and is in the 7th grade, he enjoys baseball, soccer, reading,and the computer. He also plays the drums, piano, sings,and enjoys acting.

This is Kathryn our youngest daughter and she is in the 5th grade. Kathryn can usually be found playing with or caring for her animals. Or trying to convince the mom that one more animal really won't make much of a difference. She also plays field hockey ,is active in Girl Scouts, and is very much a outdoor girl. She also is in chours, takes piano and drum lessons and acts along with her dad and older siblings.

And last but not least the youngest Aidan who started pre-k this year. He enjoys being outside, and playing at being many things from Bob the Builder to Spider man. He is a big help and wants to grow as big as the big kids and do everything they get to do.

We also have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 hermit crabs, and 10 fish, we live on 7 1/2 acres in a small town in New York.

This post is  linked up at :

Renee at the   Bakers Dozen
Carrie at Our Full House
Kristy at Homemakerscottage
Lori at 1 HappyBusy Mama
Monica at naturalmama
Elizabeth at Yes theyre all ours
Kathy at Kathy Mom of Many

Aprons

Today I had a sewing day, I had seen jeans turned into aprons and had been wanting to try it for a while. So a few weeks ago when our thrift store had 70% off I bought a pair of men's jeans for only two dollars to work with. Out of  the pair of jeans I made 3 aprons, well really 2 are finished and one will be done in another week. I used fabric and thread from my attic stash of items. The pictures are not the best, will try to get some better ones tomorrow in the sunlight.

This one used one leg of the jeans,and is the same one I will be making another one of  next week using the other leg. It is based off of this apron Jeans Half apron, I did add a bib to mine as for most housecleaning I like a full apron to protect my shirts and a extra pocket as I love pockets.

This one I made based off of this idea Jean Apron ,the cloth pocket is plenty big for cloths pins and the jean pockets are perfect for the cell phone, kitchen timer and sharpie, I did add a good size ruffle to the bottom of this one. This apron was supposed to be mine but a certain daughter has decided she wants it, so I will be making myself another one before the weather gets warm enough to hang the laundry. The fabric  is pink with crowns and says princess.

Now I can only hope that having some cute new aprons will inspire me to get out of a winter funk, and get the house cleaned.