Illegal Immigrants, Health care, and the IRS

What do they have in common? Well, quite a lot, actually.

Now, before I go too deeply into this topic, I need to file my disclaimer.

**I married a man who was illegal at the time we married. We then worked within the system to straighten his status out. We were fully prepared for the moment when we may have had to pack up and go to his home. Technically, I would not have been required to, but the day my husband and I live apart is the day one of us will be lowered into the ground.

**I also realize, that despite the current trend of trampling our constitutional rights by the past and current administrations, we still live in the most prosperous, free, and desirable country on the face of the earth. I understand why people will do whatever it takes to get here. What I don't understand is why we (the system) don't enforce our immigration laws or seal our borders.

So, now you know where I am coming from....

You realize that if you have no health insurance- for what ever reason- that you will now be forced to obtain "insurance" from private or public sources.

Who is going to know? How will it be enforced? Well, that's where the IRS comes in. You will be required to show on some sort of 1040 schedule that you have paid your health care premium.

Who doesn't have to have health care? The government has written themselves out of this legislation. I have heard the Amish are exempt. And any one who does not pay taxes. Who would that be? Oh, yes, illegal immigrants. But where do illegals obtain their health care? From ER's that are forbidden to turn them away.

Who is paying? All law abiding citizens.

Who is receiving? Illegals.

Since I hate taxes, don't care much for doctors and hospitals, and abhor most politicians, I'm thinking about becoming plain.

Here's The Deal: Don't Touch Me

Quirks. They kinda' take on a life of their own, don't they?
I don't like to be touched.
I'm not a hugger.
Don't stroke my arm as you are talking to me.
In fact, could you move about 1 foot away?

I know, I know. I can hear you...
"How is it that you don't like to be touched? You have five kids. You OBVIOUSLY like to be touched."

Really? That's none of your business and, frankly, it's rude.
But, let's unpack this box just a little.
I have 5 kids. They like to come and lay their head on my shoulder while I am sitting down. They like to get into my bed at night. They like to sit rightbesidemewhileIwatchtv. They hang over the back of my chair while I am on the computer. They follow me around the kitchen, always *right there* when I turn around. They pull on my arm in the grocery store. I love my kids and they need to touch me.

Believe me, the last thing I want to have happen, is to be in a room of adults and have them start touching me. AAAAHHHHH!

It only gets worse if you are pregnant. Why is it that people feel they have a right to fondle a pregnant woman's belly? WHY? Would it be cute for them to come and pinch my fat? The belly is almost as big now. Want me to pull my shirt up and flash my stretch marks?

This used to TICK ME OFF! Well, after all, I was pregnant and hormonal. I was being molested at MOPs one day and I kindly asked the woman to stop touching me. She laughed and did it all the more. Ob-nox-ious. She ended up getting her hand slapped like a naughty child. No one ever tried to touch my belly again. I'm just sayin'.

So, Here's the deal: Don't touch me.

By the way, I read the book. I loved it. If lewdity (Is that even a word?) and crass humor make you squirm, don't read it. If you want to read about how someone deals with a crippling phobia and triumphs, and peppers his story with signature raunchy humor, go for it. Just make sure you get some latex gloves and do not, I repeat, DO NOT read it in the bathroom.

In Which I Rant- Again

Remember how much I like shopping with dogs?

Well, here's another stellar example of rampant disregard to put on the pile:

I was in Target about a week ago with my girls and I noticed that some skangy looking guy and his equally skangy friend were shopping with their rats dogs. I muttered under my breath as I walked in another direction about how I hate it when people bring their rats dogs into store with them.
Later, we were wandering into electronics when we passed Skangy Dude 1 again. My daughter was fiddling with her coat and had it over her head as she passed by the cart. The cart with the rat dog that I didn't even see. The cart that was about 2 feet away from her.
The little rat dog craned her neck, bared her teeth and growled/barked/snapped at my daughter and startled us all.
Skangy Dude whirled around (He did not see a thing) and snapped at my daughter for approaching his rat dog.

#1 All of my children from the 12 year old to the 4 year old have been trained to never approach a dog unless they have asked permission from the master- and then to approach the dog in a non-threatening, even submissive position.

#2 Dogs do not belong in the store!!!!

I yelled at him that she didn't even know the dog was there and that his rat dog didn't even belong inside the store, and I promptly informed the front end supervisor that I think the policy of allowing dogs in a store sucks. And then I left.

My point is this:
I respect the fact that people need service dogs.
I can even buy the argument that there are some people who need a companion dog to function on some level of normal.
The thing is, that ONLY service dogs should be allowed in stores, and those dogs should be marked as service dogs and fully trained not to interact with the general public- And certainly not to snap at a little girl who happens to pass by.

The dog is just lucky that it didn't touch my daughter... I'm just sayin.

Now, I have a letter to write to the Target headquarters and a newspaper editorial page.

Maybe I'll get a dog like Marmaduke and take it shopping. We'll see how long that stupid PC policy of not requiring dogs to be service animals lasts.

In Which I Lose My Mind- And My Car Keys

First day of school!!! Hooray, Hooray, Hoo-
Except the school called me to come get my sick kid. After snacks and homework we went to the next town to the 10 minute walk in clinic at The Pharmacy. My husband is out of town. You do the math. 1 parent+ 5 kids(1 near teenager)( 1 preschooler)=MADNESS.
Said preschooler was asleep in my arms for the entire visit which included a trip to the pharmacy counter to check in, a trip to the clinic entrance and into the exam room, a trip back to the pharmacy counter to get the prescription filled, a trip to the greeting cards to listen to all the obnoxious Hoops and YoYo cards while we wait for said prescription, a trip back to the pharmacy counter to pick up the prescription and finally, back out to the car. Everyone buckles, get in, reach for my keys... reach for my keys... look for my keys... Go back inside and look for my keys... come back to the car and dump out my purse... unbuckle the car seat and shake it out... go back in to check the exam room... check at the pharmacy counter...turn the kids upside down and shake them... Check the clock to see that an hour has passed since I started looking for my keys... Call my husband to have him call our semi permanent house guest who doesn't understand me well to have him look for the spare... wait 1/2 hour for the spare to show up... Take children in various stages of melt down home to eat...something.

I have this theory about how my keys disappeared, too. It's a really good one. It goes like this:
I stop by the pharmacy counter and set down my keys. Then I walk away, but my keys do not. While I am otherwise engaged, another pharmacy patron finishes their own business, sees the keys out of the corner of their eye as they are turning to go. They grab "their" keys puts them into their pocket, goes out to the car, reaches into their purse, gets their keys, and drives away. You can totally see how this could happen, no?

By the time I was almost home and 2 1/2 hours have passed since I took the 45 minute trip, my brother in law called to tell me that he was at my house to pick up a piece of furniture- which requires that I totally rearrange the girls' room- since it was their bed, and all. An hour later, with the new beds set up, I bent over to pick something up off the floor and the hood of my sweatshirt flopped over my head. Guess what fell out of my sweatshirt hood? Yep, my keys. Please don't tell anyone, OK? Good.

And, before you ask, I have NO idea how they got there since the 4 year old was asleep the whole time.

A Disneyland Vocabulary Primer

Courtesy (n)
1.excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior.
2. a courteous, respectful, or considerate act or expression.

You should not, for example, push your way through the line- even while saying "Excuse me"- to get to the other 2 people you were with who couldn't be bothered to wait for you while you went to the bathroom.
And, more subtly, you should not crowd around my 2 little girls standing alone in the kiddy ride line until you are in front of them.

Integrity (n)
adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
A prime example of integrity is when you see a digital cameralying on the pool deck, you take it to the hotel's lost and found and buy your own instead of taking mine.

This world would be such a nice place if it wasn't for all the damn people in it

When The Government Really SCREWS Things Up

Actually, when doesn't it?

There is a little girl who used to live near my parents.  Used to.

She is a foster child in the Washington State foster care system headed up by DSHS.

Her name is Poca.  I have tried to figure out what it means- it is not her real name- and I have come up with the feminine diminutive of little in Spanish- as in "Little Girl".  I don't know why that matters, but if you are a geek like me, it would have bugged you.  So there you go.

Anyway, Poca's foster parents have been hosting special needs children for 10 years, and they have hosted 20 children.  Poca was with them from infancy.  They love her and she loves them.  These are the only parents she has ever known.

According to Washington State family law, when a child is removed from their biological home, the bio parents have one year to reform or fix the issues.  After one year their parental rights are to be revoked and the child is to be placed permanently in a home.  In this case, Poca, who is 4, should have been adopted by her foster family when she was 1.

But her foster parents had the gall to question decisions made by DSHS.  They were labeled as trouble makers and had their licence suspended.  A court ruled that they were being unjustly retaliated against by a ruffled case worker and reinstated their licence.  Now, they have been told that they will not be able to renew their licence when it comes time this year.  This is plainly and simply retaliation.

But the real problem is that Poca has been removed from a licenced foster home, where she has PARENTS, and has been placed in the home of friends of her bio parents.  THIS IS NOT A LICENCED FOSTER HOME!  Explain this to me.  Poca has not been adopted at this point because the state will not terminate the bio parents rights.

Poca has a little brother who's case is also not being handled correctly by DSHS, and therefore his foster family, who are willing to adopt him, are facing losing him, too.  They also have another sibling, an infant, who was removed from the bio home recently because the parents left him in the care of a FELON that they were harboring!!!!  What in the H-E-DOUBLEHOCKEYSTICKS is DSHS thinking?  These people are not fit to be parents!  I have heard (but not confirmed) that they have had 3 other biological children die under their care....

Poca's family- her REAL family- is fighting to get her back.  This is an outrage and a travesty.  Unfortunately, it is also expensive and they are now in foreclosure proceedings and yet facing more legal expenses.  A fund has been created at Washington Mutual/Chase bank for them under the name "Amy Langley".  I know times are tight all around, but I am asking all of us to bless the socks off of this family who are being persecuted for doing the right thing. 

To read more about Poca and the Langley's click here or click the sidebar button.

Earth Day, And Other Stupid Stuff That Should Be Common Sense

I heard a radio commercial last night.  I'm sure the phrase they used is going to be, or already was, some kind of buzz word.

Trip Chaining.

You know, when you combine all your errands into a single trip.

Right.  Because in this economy, none of us can figure out that doing all your stuff in one trip saves you gas, which saves you money.

Here's my beef with the "green" movement (which is heavily populated by lefties who think they invented it {Insert big shout-out to my favorite lefty here}):

It's common sense to conserve.

It isn't new.

We, as a collective, consume far too much.  We are fat, we are in debt, and we are drowning in possessions.  If we learned to live without much of the superfluous fluff, we'd be doing a whole lot better on the green front.

So, I really don't need a radio ad to tell me how to "Trip Chain."  Conserve your breath. 

PUH-Lease

Case #1:

This wild child is a celebrity.

She has done some work, and I loved her as a child actress.

Less work recently, but then, the rumors of nose candy are swirling again.

The point is, she has worked to be famous.  

I get it.  Kind of.

Case #2:

This princess has done nothing short of s few skanky Carl's Jr. ads.

It just goes to show that money can in fact buy anything.

Did you know that the word "Celebutant" was coined for her?

I don't get it, really.

Case #3:

This...this...well, what do I call her?

Of course she falls into the category of celebutant, but really!

Do you know what her claim to fame is?

Her father successfully defended the piece of human waste that is O.J. Simpson.

Yep.  That is it.

I don't get it.   At all.

In Which I Rail Against Society

Dear Lazy Parents;

I think you are rude. There I said it. You are lazy, rude and discourteous. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for ruining my enjoyment of my daughter’s choir concert. I realize that from where we were sitting it would have been hard to hear anything anyway, but it was downright impossible to hear over the basketballs. To your children’s credit, they did stop playing ball when my dad scolded them. Some of them even brought their balls and sat down.

But to the really thoughtless parent who let their child run back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and… You really frosted me.

I, of all people, understand that it is hard to make your child(ren) sit still for an hour. I understand that children get fussy. But let me assure you that letting them RUN around in a concert is the WRONG thing to do. I had to scold my 6 and 4 year olds several times. Next time we sit through something (admittedly tedious) it will be somewhat easier for them and for all those around us.

Let’s just do a little social supposition here:
Suppose you never tell your 2 year old “No” when they demand to run around at inappropriate times. That 2 year old will become a 4 year old who demands to be allowed to do whatever they want- LOUDLY. They will become a wild and unmanageable 6, 8, and then 10 year old. At some point this child may even be bigger than you. Believe me, they will know when this happens.
Said big child will take to stealing things- because no one ever made an attempt to harness this child. Said child will take to running away, using drugs, felony, and possibly murder. The parents of said child will still be totally clueless. They will even blame society for the mess that they have created. BUT IT WILL BE THEIR OWN FAULTS.

So, yes, I know that setting boundaries around your children is hard. But it is much harder to deal with your own failure at a later date.

And let me just say, one more time, Thank you for ruining my child’s concert with your rudeness. And yes, I am blaming you, the parent of the running 2 year old, and not your child.



P.S. Could you please forward this to all your friends who sit in the video venue at church and let them know that we do in fact have a nursery if they really want to allow their children to run and play during church. OOH, and have them pass it on to their friends who stand in the hall and kitchen and talk (not whisper) just because we are not actually in the sanctuary. Thanks.

I'm Beginning To Wonder

Why I am writing. For me? Cuz' I seem to be almost alone here folks (Sorry Lizzie, LeeAnn, and Newly-Commenting-BIL-David).

Come on people. Quit holding out. Pass me some lovin'.

Dear Blog Spammers,

I am breaking up with you.

Actually, I never agreed to be with you, so I think you're pretty presumptuous- hanging around here saying all your random stuff.

Believe me, I have never offered you a product for $5.  Any product.  Because I don't pimp products.  I don't even have ads!

Also, let me just be frank here.  I'm straight.  So, it goes to follow that I would not be interested in an Asian/Latina/Russian mail order bride.  But believe me, if I ever decided to switch teams, the Internet is the first place I would look.  I would probably even end up on your site. 

I don't need to rent a skip hauler form the U.K.

I will never buy a mattress from the Internet.  I'm a "lay and try" kind of girl.

So, please, leave me alone.

It's not like I haven't tried gentle dissuasion.  I have word verification.  For most blog gals that is enough.  But, I understand that you find me irresistible.

Do me a favor, though, and just read in silence.

Because, honestly, I can't stand to see your broken English blather on my blog.

Go. Away.     Now!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

MOST of the time I steer clear of airing my political/social views.  Not that you all don't know that I am uber-right wing, just that I usually reserve this space for the cute stuff my kids do.

Well, once in a while my childerns' cuteness and politics come together.

Remember, that you never want to wander into my 11 year old's mind unattended.  This is his latest.

Anchor babies.  Babies- usually Mexican- that are born to illegal imigrants in the US.  Anchor babies are US citizens, and the parents are not deported because the child cannot be deported.

"Mom, you know Anchor Babies?"

"Yeah...."

"I have a plan.  You wanna hear it?"

"OK."

"Since anchor babies are US citizens, they should still deport the parents.  The citizen child can be taken with them without losing thier citizenship, and they could come back at any time that the parents could make arrangements for them to stay with a friend or relative.  Or the child could be surrendered to the foster care system.  When the child turns 18 they are free to live in the US alone and if they are in Mexico, they are welcome to come back to live.

"Don't you think that would cut way back on anchor babies?"

"I think that may just do the job, son."

Folks, if an 11 year old can figure out a solution to the problem of Anchor Babies, why can't government? 

School Pictures...Or, Not.

I hate school pictures. I do.

You pick an outfit that will show up well in the pictures.

You wash your cherub, making sure to scrub behind their ears and between their toes.

You comb your munchkin's hair just so. You plaster it in place with water, gel, and hairspray. Or if you are my sister, you don't.

Then you send your precious angel skipping into school.

Where they do a project with glue and glitter.

And go out to morning recess.

Just before lunch it starts to rain.

Lunch that day happens to be corn dogs.

Since your child is a lot like you, they eat their corn dogs with mustard.

And wipe their mouth with their sleeve. Fabulous.

By recess time the rain has stopped.

And one of the older kids has organised a "touch" football game and has graciously allowed your cutie bug to play- for the other team.

Hot, sweaty, mustardy, muddy, and slightly sparkly, your child lines up after recess and their class goes directly to pictures.

Where your child hands over the $45 for package "F" which you chose because it was the least expensive package that has both an 8x10 and a class picture.

And this is what you get back 4 to 6 weeks later:

Which is why I won't buy them. Instead, I make an appointment at my local portrait studio for a weekend day when my husband will be home. I leave 4 children with him and take the child to be photographed. We do pictures to roughly coincide with their birthdays, so there's no huge rush in September.

You pick an outfit that will show up well in the pictures.
You wash your cherub, making sure to scrub behind their ears and between their toes.
You comb your munchkin's hair just so. You plaster it in place with water, gel, and hairspray.

You get into the car and drive to the studio.

You work with the photographer for 30 minutes.

You pay $25.

You have enough pictures for your humongous family.

They will be back in 2 weeks.

And this is what you get:

And then, as a special treat for sitting and cooperating so well, you let your child make a truly hideous face and have it printed up in wallet size to pass out to all of their friends at school.

Actually, I'm not positive that she doesn't belong to Lizzy, as this is a talent that I absolutely do not possess.

What Could Possibly Be That Important?

You may or may not know that we do not buy Christmas gifts. It's a personal choice. Sebastian and I have decided that there is not a single thing that our children need, and spending oodles of money on things our kids won't appreciate does nothing to honor Christ. We have held this conviction since we became a WE.

Even more so this year as I look at the pictures of my mom's mission trip to Africa. I am struck by how very little we need to survive. I am struck by the joy on the faces of people when they have a chance to see a loved one. There is not a child in the pictures playing a game boy, listening to their I-pod, or leaving their junk all over the house. There are pictures of children cuddled into my mom's lap. There are pictures of the food that they fed to my mother- I'm sure it was meant to be their own dinner. There are pictures of filth, malnutrition, and JOY.

And today 4 people lost their lives in the mad dash to accumulate. In Long Island a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death as crowds broke into the store. In the same melee an 8 month pregnant woman lost her baby from injuries received in the mad dash for STUFF. In California 2 people were shot to death after an argument broke out in a Toys-R-Us store. I sure hope that the toy can replace the daddy a child lost today.

Wake up at 3 am to stand in line for hours just to feed the beast of the CHRIST-less-MAS gluttony? No thank you. I would rather snuggle further under my comforter with the child who has climbed in with me. And isn't Christmas really about a child?

I wrote this almost exactly a year ago. I decided to edit it to reflect this year's schedule, and repost it since I am feeling overwhelmed again.

Is it just me, or are there other people who would like to step off of the crazy carousel ride that we seem so eager to get onto at first? I will say that my children do not join every club, team, or sport that comes down the pike. But there are 5 of them, so any little thing that they do is magnified 5-fold. So here is what a typical week looks like at our house:
Sunday- Church. Always 5- 10 minutes late. I hate to be late especially to church. It seems irreverent.
Monday-
6:30 am Get Jesse going
7am Kiss Jesse goodbye kiss Sebastian goodbye
Read- preferably my Bible, though admittedly not often enough
7:30 Shower, dress, drink coffee
8 am Get Caleb, Libby, and Abby going
8:45 Kiss Caleb, Libby, and Abby goodbye get Jonah going drink coffee
9 am Pick Jesse up from the midle school. He goes in for a 1st period PE class.
9:15 am Talk to Andreena. This is a standing Mon. morning phone date.
9:30- 3 pm Clean house. This whole day is devoted to sort, wash, dry, fold laundry. When
the kids get home they must put it away.
Drink coffee
3:30-4 Snack
4-5 pm Homework
5-6 pm Make dinner
6-6:10 Devour dinner
6:10- 7 Clean the kitchen
7-8 pm Baths and reading
8-8:30 Prayers, kisses, much stalling
8:30-11pm I hide in my office and blog or I watch a movie
11ish Drop into bed exhausted.
Tuesday-
Much the same until 8:45 am
8:45 am Load Jonah up, pick up Jesse, and go to Mops until about noon.
12:30 Lunch and get Jesse going on his lessons
3:30 See above
5:40 Take Jesse to catch the shuttle for youth group.
6:15 Take the younger kids to AWANA
7pm- 8:00 Catch up on any office work I have missed or any remaining house work.
8:00 Pick Jesse up from the shuttle and then pick up the other kids from AWANA
8:45 Return with wired kids
8:50-9:00 Eat a piece of fruit or some crackers and get your butts in bed! Oh yeah, I love you. Wednesday-
Same thing as Monday except school starts an hour and twenty minutes late every
Wednesday so I skip the kiss Sebastian goodbye thing.
Thursday-
Same as Monday am routine until 8:45
8:45 Take JoJo to daycare. Jesse goes to his "school" day. He is on campus with the other
HS kids registered with the district. Work until the kids come home from school.
2:00 Pick up Jesse, keep working until 3:30
4:30 Dress the girls for ballet.
5:00 Pick Up Jonah.
5:30 Drop the girls off at ballet, go home, fix dinner.
6:30 Pick girls up, go home, eat.
Friday-
Same morning. Some time during the day I go grocery shopping.
I also strip and remake the beds (This is the only time during the week that I make
my kid's beds. The rest of the week it is up to them- or not. I don't care.)
wash, dry fold, put away bedding.
Same evening. Sometimes we go out on Fri night to play and stay up until really late.
This is also the day the video games come out and they get to stay out until Sun
night- absolutely no video games before church.
Saturday-
Do the "BIG" clean. AKA all the kids' junk gets put away by the kids so that I can
clean easier on Mon. Then play all day. No schedule.

I feel like we are extremely busy all the time. I will admit, though, that unless I am in my office I am not very productive. Aside from all the time I spend chasing Jonah around making him clean things like all the soap he has pumped into the sink, or all the paper he has pulled out of my shredder bin, or all the cards he has spread all over the living room, or all the crayons that he has... I know I spend a lot of time puttering. Not really getting anything done- but busy none the less.
Does any one have a large family and tips for me- especially about how to change my time so that it is more productive and I can be more prepared for when the buzz of kids is all around me? Please let me know.

A Vast Conspiracy

Some of you (*Kat*) are shaking your head about what a right wing nut job I am.

"Oh, no," you groan as you read my title.

But I'm telling you it's a conspiracy.

I went to the grocery store today and did my shopping. As I make my way through our store, frozen foods are last. I was almost out of the store when I became a victim of this VAST CONSPIRACY.

I swear that the stores hire a "Juice Watcher" so that when someone finally manages to get a can of juice concentrate out of the tightly packed, horizontal row, the Watcher rushes over and fills that spot. Now the juices are once again fully stocked in tight packed, horizontal rows with nowhere to wedge your fingers for a grip on the frozen juice!

Convince me that it is not a conspiracy. I dare you.

Make sure you do too.

I won't lie to you and say that I don't care who you vote for, because I do.

You may know that I lean right- very hard.

I will say that if you don't vote you have no right to complain about the system.

We live in the free-est, most prosperous nation in the world.

Do your part to keep it that way.

Go exercise your civic duty that has been hard won.

I Figured Out Where The Money Went

I was so bugged all day yesterday about how I managed to spend $189 on groceries that I sat down with my receipt and broke down my menu by price. For anything I had on hand the price is zero- and we do have a side of beef in the freezer. Here's what it looks like:

Monday: Whole Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Whole Fryer $7.55
Corn 3 @$1
Mashed Potatoes $0
Salad (I'm lazy) $3.55
Total $14.10

Tuesday: Split Pea Soup
Pork $2.08
Saltines $1.19
Split Peas $.79
Total $4.06

Wednesday: Build Your Own Pizza
Home Made Pizza Crust $0
Pizza Sauce $0
Mushrooms $1.69
Pineapple $1.99
Olives 2@ $1.19
Peperoni $3.99
Total $10.05
I'm thinking that the real cost of this meal is more like $13. Does that make it a better deal? We sure like it homemade and I don't have to try to make sure that everyone has only what they like because the pizzas are individual.

Thursday: Taco Salad
Ground Beef $0
Salad $3.99
Doritos $3.79
Tomatoes $4.32
Onion $1.15
Salad dressing $0
Cheese $6.99 (I certainly wont use the whole brick,
but I did have to buy it to make this...)
Total $20.24
This one really weighs in at about $15 when you factor in the actual amount of ingredients used.

Friday: BBQ Steak, Salad, Potatoes
Steak $0
Potatoes $0
Salad $4.00
Sour Cream $3.19
Total $7.19
Again, I think the real cost of this meal is about $12.

Saturday: Chicken Pot Pie
Pie Crust $3.59
Veg All 2@ $1.49
Chicken $0 (Left over from Monday)
Total $6.57

Sunday: Roast Beef, Potatoes, Carrots, Dinner Rolls
Roast Beef $0
Carrots $3.39
Potatoes $0
Home Made Dinner Rolls $0
Total $3.39
This meal would cost about $10 to make based on the ingredients.

Lunch is packed from home, except on Wednesday when the kids can buy hot lunch. That leaves only Saturday and Sunday to plan out:

Saturday: Hot Dogs, Chips, Fruit
Hot Dogs $1.50 (I know I said I hate them,
but Caleb asked for them specifically)
Buns $1.29
Chips $2.29
Total $5.08

Sunday: Mamaliga (Which is the Romanian word for polenta)
Corn Meal $2.28
Sour Cream $0
Cheese $0
Total $2.28
I would estimate the real cost of this meal to be about $4.50 because some of the ingredients were figured into other meal costs.

Then there are the other things I need to buy such as:

Fruit:
1 pear $.90 (Yes, just 1. It was a bribe to be good in the store)
Bananas $1.44
Green Grapes $4.00
Red Grapes $4.92
Watermelon $4.94
Total $16.20

Snacks:
Yogurt 14@ $.77 (The kids eat this as snack,
never breakfast. I don't know why,
but ok. I'm sure I could get this
cheaper, but they like Yoplait and
they don't waste any of it.)
Fruit Snacks 2@ $1.59
Rice Crispy Treats
Rice Crispies $2.99
Marshmallows $1.29
Cheezit's (BOGO) $3.39
Uncle Dan's $1.50
Total $23.13

Jelly Supplies (Remember those blackberries?)
Freezer Jars $3.89
Sure Jell $3.19
Lemon Juice $1.99
Total $9.07

Cereal and Milk
Cereal 3 bags for $7
Milk 1 free with cereal
Milk $2.75
Total $9.75

Staples and Misc
Butter 2 @ $2.50
Eggs 2 @ $1.99
Nally Chili $1.29
Spagetti O's $1.99
Dish Soap $3.50
Total $15.76

Beverages
Coffee $4.99
Wine $4.99
$8.99
$9.99
$6.99
Wine discount -$3.10
Coke $8.79
Total $41.64
Yes, folks I think we have found a gaping hole here- but neither one of us can function without coffee and neither one of us is willing to give up their vice. Mine is the Coke, by the way.

When I look at this from a different perspective, we can't eat out for less than $70. I can deal with $15 meals, but I wish I could figure out more of them for $5 or $6.

$$$$$$$$Grocery Shopping$$$$$$$$

The last couple of times I went grocery shopping I spent over $250! Are you kidding me?! Last week we ate out of our refrigerator and pantry, but this week it was looking pretty bare. I just got back from the grocery store and I thought I had made a cheap menu. Thought. I spent a total of $180 today. So much for a cheap menu. I even found a couple of bargains. Malt-O-Meal cereal was on sale 3 bags for $7. While I realize that this is more than $2 each, you get more cereal than a standard box. Not only that, but when you bought 3 bags you got a free gallon of milk. I spent $9 on Coke, and about $30 on wine. Please tell me what on earth I spent the other $134 on?

Is this a reasonable amount to spend for a family of 7? Really?

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to get this number lower?

I don't clip coupons because A) I don't take the paper, and B) The coupons are usually for things I don't buy.

And please don't suggest any recipes with hot dogs as the meat. I HATE them!

The Gae Family Mint

****Soapbox Alert****

Where does money come from?

Do we as adults even know?

How do we teach our children to value money?

Here's what works for us:

I frequently take my kids shopping with me. In the grocery store I have my eldest calculate the best unit price for a particular item. The next two have learned to look for the unit price on the shelf tag and I am teaching them about finding the best deal, Because it is not always cheapest to buy the least expensive item- think unit price. The 4th is in charge of finding cereal for $2 or less and the 5th is in charge of not touching anything and looking cute when he asks for a FREE cookie. (Or "lick cream" at Starbucks.)

When we go to the clothing store, we shop the clearance racks and I have taught my children no disdain for 2nd hand.

We have recently committed to no more eating out. *Sob* This includes my beloved Starbucks. Sorry, Jonah, no more "lick cream" for you. But even before the new commitment to eating out of our own refrigerator I could learn you a thing or two about eating cheap on the town.

Red Robin has coupons that they give to doctors, dentists, and chiropractors for free kids meals. My dad happens to be a chiropractor. At the local Denny's, kids eat free from 4pm to 10 pm Tuesday through Friday. And not just one or two kids per paying adults. I once took all 5 of my kids in for a free linner all by my self. On Sundays a local Mexican restaurant has kid's meals for 99 cents. And they don't care if I only order a coke and eat all the chips and mild salsa. I asked.

As for financial responsibility on the kiddo side....

We decided before our first child had teeth that there were no "magical creatures" that would leave money lying around. Lose a tooth, bring it to mom, walk away a dollar richer. All presents come from mom and dad, not some fat guy with infinite resources. And there is no rabbit dropping money filled plastic eggs in the yard each spring. That's not reality.

We have a job board, where each week the jobs are posted. The jobs that are beside each kid's name are the ones they are expected to do each day. There are other jobs on the board too that can be done for extra money- but only after all the regular chores have been finished for the day. The kids can do as much "overtime" as they want, provided they have already finished their assigned jobs. If they are asked to do a job that is not on the board, and believe me there are plenty, then it is understood that it is a job they do because they are members of the family.

If the kids miss no more than one day of chores in a week, the pay is $5. If they miss 2 or more days then the pay is $0- and we don't work on Sundays. From the $5 they tithe $.50, and $2.25 goes into each child's savings account. I make the kids go through the exercise of splitting the money up and I make it easy by providing the correct denominations. Then we make the trip to the bank where they make their own deposits. The other $2.25 is theirs to do with as they please. The catch? If we are at the store and the kids ask for something that is not a basic need, the answer to their question will always be a question of my own: "Did you bring your money?"

OK, I'll climb off my soap box now. I want to hear what works for you- and I especially want to hear from you, Kris.

If you want to read more people's ideas about how to teach kids the value of money, go to The Parent Bloggers Network, who not so coincidentally is giving away 3 iPhones in conjunction with Capitol One.