When tummy's are grumbling feed them -

I am regularly asked as I do my weekly shopping how many children I have. Sometimes people also ask if I am "stocking up".
My weekly shop usually makes the trolley groan as I whiz in and out of aisles. Sometimes I think I need two trolleys, but with only two hands that isn't very practical.


Not only do we buy an assortment of crap toilet paper,soap,washing powder etc, there is always loads of food.
I buy alot of fresh produce. Fruit doesn't last long around these parts so I must buy loads!
I only buy milk in 3 litre lots or we run out quick smart. And bread is always in bulk.


I limit my children snacks to healthy foods or healthy alternatives.
The after school rush is very busy. We arrive home after a hectic nice leisurely walk and the first question out of the kids mouth is "whats for afternoon tea??".

Two weeks ago I was sent a large box by a company you all know as Sirena. 
After arguing with Cgirl that the present that came to the door was marked for me and not her, we opened it up and inside found packs of yummy goodness.

Their new snack packs are called Tonno E Riso.
These scrumptious little containers were delicious.
Basically it is a mix of tuna, veggies and rice...which come in 4 different flavours.
Rustic Bean
Italian salad
Puttenesca and
Spicy tomato

Now most of my kids aren't fans of seafood. Usually Tman and I split whatever tuna is about while the other kids turn their nose up.
But this taste testing went very differently.

Cgirls remarks were - Please can I have some more mummy, It's so yummy and I promise to eat my dinner.
Hboy's remarks were - mmmm Hyummy Mummy
Jboy's remarks were - Tuna? ewwww and then after trying them - Yummy mum are you sure its tuna?
Tmans remarks were - *slurppp* *smile*

So overall we had a winner. I thought they were pretty tasty and even hid a few for later snack-age.

I found the packs great for the kids to take for lunch.

They don't have any nasty artificial additives or preservatives.

They are also gluten free!

You can serve them cold or hot and they are quick and easy.

They taste delicious.

They are very well priced.

They can be used in a salad,sushi,with pasta, on sandwiches and in wraps.

Some facts on Sirena - 

Did you know that Sirena means mermaid in Italian?

Sirena have been supplying Australians with quality canned tuna for over 55 years. The creator Carlos Valmorbida immigrated from his homeland in 1946 and decided to introduce a new type of tuna with an Italian twist.

Final consensus in the O household says - Yum yum. these tasty little morsels will definitely become a regular snack in our house.

Menu Planning VS Me

2012 is my year of organisation.

 I am so very proud of myself for keeping on top of life the past few weeks.

I have formed some fantastic cleaning patterns, finances are staying in check and my exercise increases daily.

I have started taking a shopping list when I go out and am ignoring temptations. I have been leaving myself reminders around the house, finished tidying up before I relax at night and making sure the bathroom floor doesn't get soaked.

All in all my happiness levels have risen by far. I feel good...maybe even great. I am becoming the mummy I want to be.

Over the past few months I have been reading some super, amazing, ladies blogs. Many of which have meal plans they post on specific days.

Meal plans seem to be fantastic for keeping on track and taking confusion out of the picture.

This all got me thinking. I'd love a meal plan! Something I can look at and say "terakyi chook for tea tonight".

So I have been mulling over ideas, ways I can incorporate this in our lives.

I have noticed some differences though, it seems most create their list before they go grocery shopping so they know what to get.

I cannot do that.

I only buy what meat is on special. If it doesn't have a price reduction I walk away.

So how do I know what to plan every week if I have no idea what will be on special?

I have decided some investigation needs to happen. I can check the woollies and coles sites before I go...hoping the items are in stock is a bit of a concern, but nothing I can't improvise on.

So this afternoon I will be compiling a list of meals that we eat regularly. Spaghetti bolagnaise, Terakyi chicken, Chili con carne, chicken and salad, ham and salad, Lamb cutlets with vegies and so on.

I figure if i have a good starting base, I can look for meat and veggies that will suit and improvise here and there.

It won't be as planned as I like, but I figure structure at a minimum is better than none at all.

How do you decide which meals to serve weekly?

 Do you have a Menu Plan?..how does it fit into your life?

Do you have any tips?

Frugal + Thrift

Being frugal requires effort. It doesn't mean you have to live poorly or do without. It means you are being wise with your income. It requires looking into your finances and changing the way you spend. In our little cherry house we have 3 set criteria when making purchases.

Need
Want 
Save.
Do we need the item?
Do we want the item?
Would the money spent be better off as savings.

Trimming down on excess is a big key in saving you money.
Do you need to watch 60 reruns of your favourite TV show on fox tel? $100 a month
$100 a month x 12 is $1200, sounds like an end of year holiday to me!
Do you need that extra Internet bandwidth that you never use? $20 a month
$20 a month x 12 is $240, a smart weekend aways worth.
Do you need new clothing every month? $400 a month
$400!! That x 12 is $4800. Maybe an overseas holiday?

Being thrifty requires investing.
Buy the larger pack of toilet paper.
Buy yourself a sewing machine.
Buy the bigger packs of meat.
Learn to cut your pets hair yourself.
Buy bigger packs of washing powder on special.

Being frugal and thrifty requires thought
How can you get around receiving a massive electricity bill every quarter?

It's simple. Find your last bill, Divide it by 12 (weeks), round it off to the nearest 10 and have centrepay or bpay extract the amount weekly. Not only will your bills always be paid come due date, you will be in credit!

Make your own cleaning products

1. I cup of vinegar
2. 1 cup of water
3. 5 drops of washing liquid.

I used to think wow that wouldn't clean a thing. But it is possibly the best multipurpose cleaner i have found.


Make your own washing powder.


My kids are allergic to some brands of washing powder and the ones they were okay with were costing a fortune.
So i make my own. Not only does it stretch alot further but smells divine and is soft and gentle.


1. 1/2 bar of soap (preferably unscented or sunlight)
2. One cup of bicarb soda
3. One cup of washing soda (find this in the laundry section at the supermarket)


Grate the soap into granules, Add the bicarb and washing soda's. Just double or triple mixtures for however much you would like. And because it doesn't foam it is perfect for front loaders too.


Being frugal requires planning

I set my Sundays as my baking and cooking day. I make large batches of biscuits and muffins. Half of these get frozen to pull out and cook through the week. The other half i make up for the following few days.

I make meals and freeze them in chinese containers for nights we cant be bothered cooking. Using off cuts and bones you can creates soups and stews, stretching your money further.

Where is your money going?
If you use eftpos alot or incur alot of bank fee's it might be best to change to a bank that has a no monthly fee or a flat rate.

Are you paying monthly late fees? by direct debitting the smaller amount weekly you could be saving over $100 a year.

Being thrifty and frugal is beneficial for family life, especially whilst living on one income. It does take effort but the rewards absolutely pay off.

Big Kev style "I'm Excited!!"

It's amazing how the little things in life can uplift your mood by far.
I posted about shopping for goodies on Monday and I am happy to inform that we are once again the owners of a television that has more colours than purple and green! We are also owners of a new portable hard drive and  surround sound system. Yay Yay!
The Daddy Man worked his awesomely good haggling skills today and hit our budget proudly. 
I love that he got such a great bargain but that's not why I am in such a cheery mood.


See I'm of the thinking - If it isn't required we can do without. We don't own an IPAD or a soda stream or even fancy washing baskets.  I punch out these posts on a computer I would liken to dinosaurs. But it does the trick and I cannot complain.
Today though I decided to treat myself, after reading so many blogs of late I noticed a small necessity that I did not have. A printer!
Jman and I went shopping today and picked up a printer for a smidgen price...on sale! and a gorgeous little laminator.
I have spent the night printing and laminating anything I can get my hands on. I feel very crafty.

2011 ended on a sour and crappy note, but I am taking a running head start on completing my goals for 2012 and I feel great!! Listing and planning my goals seems to be doing the trick. Little things like budgeting better and purchasing items I always put off. 


After reading through Diminishing Lucy's awesome blog these past few night's I am so inspired to drop all my extra kg's. I signed up with a group she recommended Calorie King, so far so good! I even purchased breakfast cereal and low fat milk for myself. Now that's something.


For three days now my house has been relatively tidy, that is a huge goal for me and I am feeling very successful. Organization has never been a strong point for me but slowly I seem to be getting the hang of it.


How are your New Year Resolutions going so far??

Money, Money. Money

We are in the market for a new TV.


After what happened with our last one, we decided to replace it finally.
For the past few months we have been using a TV I bought when Jman was a baby. So thats about 6 years ago now.
A big bulky beast that needs magnets at the back if we wish to watch more colours than just purple and green.
Just after Christmas doesn't seem the best time to buy said luxury right?

Well with a little research and compromise between The Daddy Man and I we have found some great deals.


The Daddy Man is a techno whizz. In his early 20's he was married. They were DINKS*. He thought nothing of heading out and buying a brand new gadget for over $1000 without shopping around.
Then he got divorced, met me, had a hoard of kids and realised we needed to be very smart with our dollars.


Although I call The Daddy Man terms of endearment like "Scrooge Mc'Duck", "Mr Stinge" and "A cheap bastard". Sometimes It comes in handy.

The Daddy Man is gifted in the sense he can haggle. I am the worst haggler ever and so leave this up to him.
I have seen him single handedly haggle items hundreds of dollars lower than their ticket price, and get stuff thrown in for free. Awesome right? He is also very talented in bargain spotting.


So tomorrow he will be putting his haggling skills to the test and not only getting us an awesome TV that has colours other than purple and green, but a Surround Sound System thrown in. For free. He will succeed. He's good like that.

This all got me thinking.
How do you purchase goods?


Do you haggle?
Do you buy cash back items? (these can be good if you read the fine print early)
Do you shop around?
Do you buy when items are on sale?
Do you ask for rain checks?
Having a little bit of courage, bravado and smart thinking can save you money.


We thrive on the fact that we never buy anything (aside from groceries) that aren't on sale or without haggling a discount.


Call it cheap, stingey or thrifty. I call it smart!


# DINKS = Double income no kids.

Going down, down

We have all heard this phrase heaps lately. 


On the tv, radio and even in the stores. Coles' latest catch phrase is not only annoying but stays in your brain, like a worm, willing you to hum it, all day long!

In reality though is it true? Are the prices really going and staying down??

I don't think so.

Sure some products seem to have hit an all time cheap or are staying at a fairly decent price but what about the prices that are shooting through the roof?

I don't know about you but my local coles seems to be keeping prices down on bread and milk...and that seems to be about it.


 While shopping today I needed to buy a number of items that they, as i found out, no longer stock. Quite a few of their own brand items seem to be disappearing on a weekly basis, which raises the price of your shopping list!

It seems that by showing they have lowered prices on everyday basics they are trying to get customers to turn back from other grocery stores. I think it's a lost cause. Without keeping all cheaper products in stock and offering low prices on everyday basics, its not going to make a difference!
 Increasing the price of everything else in store while keeping milk and bread prices down will definately encourage shoppers to come in....and only buy milk and bread!


I now understand why shoppers seem to be fleeing to stores like ALDI..unfortunately i don't have time to stand outside their stores and pack my own shopping bags while 2-4 children run loose.


Woolies seem to be keeping things at a compareable price so i think The Daddy Man's hard earned dollars can go to them!