Fancy Meals, Valentine's, & Broken Fridge

Last Saturday night we, along with the Bergherms and Ottatis, had the pleasure of being invited over to the Isidro's for a five star meal.  Allen is quite a food connoisseur and we are more than happy to partake of his creations.  I was proud of myself because I generally don't care for tofu but Allen had fried it so that it was crusty and I found it delightful.  I feel like I'm really branching out food wise as I just discovered at the ripe old age of 36 that I, in fact, like red onions.  I've always been anti-onions so you can imagine my surprise.  At any rate, the table was set up all fancy and we really felt like we were on a cruise.  This is not to be confused with one of those cruises where it's just the adults enjoying some solitude as the eight children roaming around the house while we dined quickly reminded us.  My job was the dessert and since I didn't want people to get sick of brownie delight (although it is hard to fathom that could be possible) or think that's all I know how to make, I found a new recipe for blueberry bread pudding and it was fantastic.  So simple too.

Sunday morning we awoke to find ourselves in the midst of a cold wave, I guess you could call it.  This winter has been very mild and we've barely had to use the heat at all.  In fact, it's been in the low 80's more than it's been cold.  But not this weekend.  Sunday morning we were decked out in warm clothes and hats to hit up First Watch.  The day only hit a high of 50.  That did not keep us from enjoying the outdoors however.  Our church was having its annual health fair at the FLA gym so off we went about 11:30.  They had a great set up for the kids with a bouncy house and then a bunch of activities to do.  You had a sheet of paper that listed each activity and as you completed each one, you would get a sticker.  Jennifer and the boys joined us and as soon as they got there, Jennifer and I left the kids with Duncan so we could roam around in the gym to look at all the adult stuff.  Duncan was a good sport and managed the five kids just fine.  I surprised myself again by trying some tofu "egg" salad that they had samples of and I couldn't tell the difference.   

At first she tried to throw it in from a reasonable distance.

In the end, she figured why she waste time missing from so far away when you can just go right up to it and dump it in?

They got all their stickers so they could get a prize.

Sunday evening Duncan and I went to a banquet they were having at the church for couples -- makes sense with Valentine's Day right around the corner.  It started at five so I was able to nurse Brady right before we left and then he would be fine until we got back at eight.  Ron and Elaine obviously came over to do the honors in our absence.  Anyway, the church is trying to put more focus on couples since they are obviously the backbone of the family dynamic.  There were about 10 tables with eight couples at each table so a fairly intimate gathering for a church of our size.  It was just right.  It was a neat concept because a different person was responsible for a table - - decorating it and then inviting three other couples.  Jennifer was in charge of our table and as usual, did an amazing job including personalized cookies for us at our plates. We watched a video of a comedian for Focus on the Family who was fantastic.  A few couples got up and talked about how they do date nights on a regular basis, and then we ate.  It was buffet style and they determined what table would go first based on who had the most kids.  We thought for sure we would have in the bag since the Whitakers were with us and with their triplets now have five kids.  We had 13 kids in total but alas, another table beat us by one.  Oh well.  Maybe next year our ranks will have increased :)  It was a lovely evening and very strange in a way because I've never been out with so many friends in which none of us had our kids.

Our lovely hosts, Bruce and Jennifer

Ashley and David

Allen and Tangie

Our friends at the next table.

Monday morning the home school group for the church that we're part of had their Valentine's party.  It was out in a park in Apopka which was a bit of a hike for us but worthy trip.  Jennifer and I were in charge or the decorating and when I say 'Jennifer and I', I really mean that Jennifer did everything and I was there to just tape down a few things.  If Allen is the food connoisseur, then Jennifer is the decorating and baking connoisseur.  I was just along for the ride.  The weather Monday was still on the chilly side but it not deter us.  I would say there were probably around 35 kids and it's becoming clear to me that there is a very good home schooling network in this area.  Everyone brought something for a picnic lunch, complete with heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and then we did crafts and played a few games.  The craft was to make a Valentine's Day card.  I asked several kids who they were going to make cards for and most of them answered their mothers.  I was anticipating a similar response but when I got to Calleigh, she leaned over and whispered in my ear "I want to make one for Lisa."  So I guess I'm playing second fiddle!!  We ended up leaving a little early because of our 40 minute drive home and naps and working on deck.  I felt really mean because halfway home I stopped at a gas station to take Brady out of his car seat to wake him up.  But I had to do it because he would have slept the whole way home and then a nap would have been out of the question.

Working on Lisa's card.

The best thing about Tuesday wasn't that it was Valentine's Day (Duncan and I basically boycott the holiday) but that we were getting a new fridge.  We've needed one for a few months now since one of the drawers is broken and it drives me nuts.  We just hadn't gotten around to getting one but the decision became much easier for us on Sunday when it stopped working.  So yeah, that was a problem.  Ron and Elaine brought over their coolers and between theirs and ours, I was able to get everything temporarily stored.  Then they took all the frozen stuff to put in their extra fridge in the garage (if only their extra was white instead of off white we could have scored a fridge for really cheap!).  Boy, it sure is a pain living out of coolers.  The unfortunate problem with your fridge biting the dust with no warning is that you don't have time to necessarily get the best deal.  Duncan was able to go to a few places on Monday after work and settled on something from Lowe's (if only we had more time I could have bought a coupon off eBay but alas, waiting on a fridge a few extra days just isn't worth it).  We ended up getting one that was basically new but it had been returned and repaired.  It was half the price it would have been brand new so we decided to take the chance.  Two guys from Lowe's delivered it for free on Tuesday and took the old one with them.  I was slightly offended when one of them noticed the Patriots balloons we still have floating around and said "Oh, was your husband pretty bummed about them losing the Super Bowl?"  What a chauvinist!

Pretty much looks the same as the old one once you get all the magnets on it.

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings found me scurrying around after the kids were in bed.  This week was the week I've been waiting months for.  The MorningStar food was Buy One, Get One Free again...finally.  It's been months.  We just ate our last few breakfast links last week but I've been out of stripples for like two months and I refuse to pay full price.  The sale started last Thursday (2/10) but I had waited to buy anything because I was waiting for my coupons that I bought to arrive.  That proved to be providential because of the fridge fiasco.  Anyway, what that meant was that with the sale ending on Wednesday, I had two days to score my loot.  It was simple process to just go in and buy it all at once.  For one thing, I had many $0.75 coupons and I didn't know if they would take all 50+ coupons at one time.  For another, I had a bunch of $5 of $25 coupons but you could only use one per transaction.  To Tuesday night I went to Publix and bought some stuff, went to my car, dropped it off, and then went back in to do it again. I did that three times.  Yes, it does take longer but saving money is saving money.  The next day, things got even better.  Publix put out their own $5 off $30 coupons (the other was a Save-a-Lot coupon which Publix accepts as a competitor coupon).  One came in the paper Wednesday morning and then I anticipating them also coming in the flier in the mail.  I'm usually able to get a bunch out of the trash next to our mailboxes so I was happily anticipating that outcome.  There is another great sale this week going on so I figured I could use at least 10 of those coupons.  But then, when I got the mail, no flier!  A quick walk up to 7-Eleven with the kids was also a bust as they were out of Sentinels.  The end result is that after the kids went to bed, I ended up driving around town stopping at every pharmacy and gas station trying to get newspapers.  Many had none left, some had one or two.  It was a little stressful because I didn't leave the house until 8:40 and Publix closed at 10:00 which would be the end of the MorningStar BOGO sale.  I was slightly pressed for time.  After a mad dash to about eight different spots, I ended up with 11 papers and figured that would at least be adequate.  On to Publix where I did three more transactions like I did the night before.  I finally got home a few minutes before 10:00 with mission accomplished. In total, I had bought 26 boxes of various Morningstar products, a gallon of milk, and a bag of pita bread for a grand total of $31.  Considering that one box of Morningstar is $4.39 at regular price, I felt like I had been quite successful. Add that to the 30 boxes I had gotten the day before, I'm fairly stocked up.  I say fairly because I had wanted more but they were out of some stuff so I had to get a rain check to buy more later.  The real kicker in all of this is that Thursday morning I went on eBay and bought 10 of those $5 off $30 Publix coupons for cheaper than I had to pay for all those newspapers the night before.  Oh well!

Thursday we did a few errands and then stopped at Ron and Elaine's to pick up our frozen food to take back home.  We ended up staying for lunch.  Friday morning we went to a few yard sales (I swear, it's been overcast and partially rainy for like the last three Fridays.  I'm sick of it!) and then hit up the pharmacies for a few deals and then on to Publix yet again.  I only went through line once though since I wasn't about to pull my multiple transaction thing with the kids in tow.  I want to save money but I'm not crazy.

Lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's

As I mentioned in my post last night, Ron and Elaine came with us to church this morning. I had told them last week how I had gotten a little frustrated with Duncan running the music during Sabbath School since he tended to let him mind wander off between songs and Ron was generous enough to volunteer to take over responsibilities.  It worked out nicely too since Elaine could hold Brady.  And indeed, Ron did a superb job even fading the music away at some points.  We did have the pumpkin ravioli for lunch but it didn't turn out quite as exciting as I would have liked. I had to boil it last night to make sure it turned out okay but then, as I kind of anticipated but still didn't do anything to prevent, it was all stuck together in the bowl this morning.  Nonetheless, it still tasted pretty good although it was a mess to look at.  Next we will be back to our regularly scheduled mac & cheese.

Grandpa and Brady at Sabbath School.  What a handsome little man if I do say so.

This evening we went to outdoor movie night at the church.  This is where you bring your own hot dogs to roast around the fire and then watch a movie on the big screen they set up outside.  The girls were eagerly anticipating it since any time they can watch a movie, it's an exciting day.  It all worked out well because Duncan needed to get some things at Kohls which he was able to do right around the corner while we watched the movie.  The movie was "Dolphin Tale" which is a really great "feel good" true movie and I definitely recommend it. I wasn't sure if the girls would appreciate it but Calleigh was very into it and Aubree was occupied enough with eating her popcorn and drinking her lemonade (which, as a slow eater, was pretty much the entire movie).

Not much else as far as news around here.  Brady hasn't made any progress on the crawling front.  He's still just rocking back and forth and moving backwards but no forwards yet.  He wants to really bad though.  He does now get himself back into a seated position for being on all fours so I guess I could say that's new.

I will end here with a few more pictures. Have a great rest of the weekend.

Playing with some big girls at the playground.

Aubree face

Something got lost in the translation.  Aubree says "Look, Calleigh's a goose!"

Got up all by himself.

The girls fell asleep in Calleigh's bed on Thursday night.

I thought Brady was enjoying the Puffs but this is what I found when I went to clean his highchair.  I presume he must be stockpiling for a rainy day?  There must have been half a can under there!

Our mini bean bag we got at a yard sale Friday.  Calleigh took her nap today on it.