Chex Mix Get-Together

I had fun a couple of weeks ago when we got together with friends and hosted a Chex Mix Get-Together.  We were planning on playing volleyball as couples for a date night and had Chex Mix as a snack.  I had signed up through the Pssst... Network through General Mills.  I like getting the free coupons and this party included 3 bags of Chex Mix - Traditional (my favorite),  Turtle (a second favorite) and Honey Nut. 

Geneal Wilson & Kelly Porter with Turtle Chex

Reed Wilson with Honey Nut Chex Mix

They also provided cute plates & napkins with a football theme and a Chex Mix bowl.  The only problem with the bowl is that it is magical!  When I put Chex Mix in it and walk out of the room the Chex Mix disappears!  My kids say they know nothing about it but I am not sure.

Day 3 and I am already failing

I have a list in my head of meals to fix but not written down so no one can help me with that.  I have a busy day tomorrow and am trying to finish the coupons so I can get some fantastic deals.  I did get the lasagne frozen and 8 pounds of ground beef cooked and frozen.  Quick dinners could be Shepherd's Pie, Hamburger Helper, or a veggie beef stew... I had a yummy corn chowder the other day with bits of beef in it... I need to find the recipe.

Monday - it was rough, nothing got complete but the list has grown.  However; we did take phenomenal photos of Brianna for her Senior Pictures.  We should have them back in a few days.  She is to beautiful and it will be great to have that put together for her.

Goal on Tuesday is to finish inventorying and get the master menu list ready to use.  Let's see if I make that goal.

Rough Days Ahead

Life with teenagers sure can be interesting.  Just when I thought things would slow down just a bit because my #1 headed to college, our #2 got injured when she was square dancing in Wyoming back in July and #3 15-year old got injured after being shot on the bridge of a space ship in September (yeah, you read that right).  Let's just say life is never dull in our home.  Oh, and #4 has now decided to start playing Lacrosse so I am just holding my breath on that one.

So now we have official diagnoses (right labrael hip tear #2, right knee meniscus tear #3) which involve surgeries to fix both children.  #2's surgery is on the 28th and #3's will be scheduled at our appointment this Thursday... I am looking towards the 2nd week of November to give me just a little breathing room but hey, if one is having surgery and down, why not 2?

This means I lose a driver for 4 weeks and with my husband working 40 minutes away from home now instead of 5 minutes (yea for a job, I am NOT complaining about that one) I will be extremely busy as taxi driver for physical therapy, doctor's appointments and just the normal errands.

TIME TO GET MORE ORGANIZED!  So, I really have to plan ahead for meals and shopping and all that is going to happen.  I am going to chronicle the events as they unfold so that hopefully others can learn from this experience.  I hope no one has the exact same experience (teenagers, surgery, pain does not for a happy family make) but maybe you will have experiences that you will need to be prepared for as well.

Day 1:  Saturday
Inventory Pantry & Plan menus through end of November 
Fry 8 pounds of hamburger to use in future meals
Make & freeze a lasagne for future dinner

Day 2: Sunday
Get caught up on clipping coupons


Wish me luck on this... we'll call it an adventure.

Our 5 year Anniversary!

Donna and I are celebrating Prospering Families' 5 year anniversary!  We can't believe how fast it has gone by and how many experiences have happened to us the past 5 years.  We have both experienced spouses with job loss, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Donna went from a full-time working mother to a stay-at-home mother, I have one child living on her own at college, Donna has all kids in school... the list goes on and on!

To celebrate the good we are wanting everyone to get our Feed 5 for 50 software for only $10!  We feel it has been such a valuable tool for both our families and both can personally testify that the concepts we teach have helped our families not only to survive the changes over the past 5 years, but they have thrived!

Get your copy today... Feed 5 for $50

Taught a fun class tonight!

I was privileged to teach a meal planning class tonight to wonderful ladies in Orem!  I learned from them a couple fun things:

• You can keep celery fresh in the fridge for a month!  Wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and keep in the refrigerator.  I am going to try this one out tomorrow!
• I am going to call my leftover night that we have about once a week an "Iron Chef" night.  The kids take whatever ingredients and make their own meals.  That is a fun new term!

I hope the information I shared was valuable to them.  We discussed grocery shopping strategies, meal preparation strategies (freezer, slow cooker, pantry cooking) and how to create their very own Master Menu List and Master Shopping List.  It was a fun way to spend an hour!

Case Lot Sales

Here's a link to KSL report of the case lot sale going on right now at Harmons.  Nice to know I am considered frugal and not cheap!

Case Lot Sales for Frugal Customers

I urge you to go to the Savvy Shopper Deals website to see what items are considered WOW and GREAT prices!   The case lot prices will be up in a few days.  Sale is from Monday, August 30th - Sunday, September 19th

I will keep you updated if I find some great deals!

Discontinued Products

So I am at the store on Saturday looking for my Scrubbing Bubbles Wipes as this tool is something my teens can handle as they clean the bathroom and they are NO WHERE to be found on the shelf.  This disappoints me greatly as I have a $.55 off COUPON for them!  As I am discussing this issue with my husband an employee walks by and says "oh, they discontinued that in August so we took them off the shelf and put them on the cart in the back of the store."  I hurried back there to find 1 container left.  I leave the store with my one container and now wonder which product I will use.

I really enjoyed this product... have you had products that you use that have been discontinued and you then had to switch to something new?  Let me know your thoughts... I am wondering if it is worthy of a call to the company to complain.