Spartan Sale

Once a year, we load up on THE sale of the year.

Spartan brand is a brand is a local brand here.  Stores are "Spartan Stores" or not.  Spartan is your brand name like a Walmart brand.  And once a year, they have a huge "Stock Up Sale".  We wait all  year for this sale.

I have been watching for the sale this year because this year, our garden did not grow.  For years - okay, since we moved here - we have been the place you would call to get tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, strawberries, etc.  This year we had asparagus.  

Yes, just asparagus.

The drought hit us so very hard.  It hit my friends hard.  We have been visiting our town's community garden wagon for free produce, my friends have given us what they have too much of and some blessed person dropped us off a bin of tomatoes on our front porch on a day we weren't home.  I canned those tomatoes so fast!  They were beautiful.

Grocery prices have been going up so high.  My grocery bill is higher than ever and I am attempting to buy as wisely as possible.

I wasn't sure how the Spartan Sale would look this year, but God bless the people at Spartan who put this sale on every year because this sale is a lifesaver for our family.

Yes, really.  This sale helps us more than I could ever put into words.

We buy all our canned vegetables for the entire year at this sale.  Once that is purchased and put away, we load up on as much soups (cream of mushroom, tomato), beans (chili, kidney), baking needs (flour, sugar, cooking oil) and anything else we can cram into our tiny house.  Jake built me a pantry largely with this sale and my canning in mind.

The sale is once a year for one week.  And as I was afraid, they have severely scaled back the sale this year.  But they still put the sale on and for that, this mama thanks them with a full heart.

So, if you are looking to stock your house, your church pantry, a food bank...here you go....

Here are the best prices I have found for my little local area.....

I looked at three stores...Family Fare, Hardings and a little family owned store Weicks.

Family Fare is the largest of all the stores and is located all over the Grand Rapids area. If you purchase canned vegetables here, they are buy six, get six with a limit of 24 cans of each variety.

Hardings is a smaller version of Family Fare, still a Spartan store.  If you are looking to really really really stock up on vegetables, this is the store to visit.  For every two cans you purchase, you get three free and there is no limit. 

Weicks has the same sale prices as Family Fare, buy six, get six, limit 24.

For canned soups (tomato, cream of mushroom) all stores are the same - four cans for $3.00.

If you are looking for canned fruit, all three stores are the same - buy ten for $10.00.

Family Fare shows three pound bags of russet potatoes at 10 bags for $10.00.  Hardings and Weicks did not show potatoes for sale, that does not mean they are not for sale.

Shredded cheese and brick cheese is three packages for $5.00 at Family Fare, they are buy one get one free at Hardings and Weicks.

While Family Fare has the most to show for sale (I looked at their flyer on line), Weicks is equal to them on nearly every price.  On butter, Weicks is one pound for $1.99 and the other stores are $2.29 or $2.50.  You can freeze butter.  I'll probably buy twenty pounds of butter.

That's not a joke.

There is something that puts me at peace knowing that the pantry is packed this time of the year.  If we get snowed in (keep in mind, I live all of 1.5 miles from a grocery store), I know we can survive on kidney beans and canned corn.  Not survive well, but still.

I literally worry over food costs and feeding my boys.  This is one of my biggest concerns.  I joke about our grocery bill and my growing boys but this is seriously one of my hugest stresses.  This sale is sets my mind at ease a bit...even if the drought seems to have effected the prices by quite a bit.

If you care to read on, I'll list what I found (quickly) as I looked over the flyers for the best prices.  Just because Weicks and Hardings aren't listing all the same items for sale, it does not mean that they are not on sale, they just can't list it all in their tiny flyers.  But this will give you some sort of starting point for price watching.

Go to Family Fare for....

Tuna - 69 cents

Sugar - 2.79

Soup - 4 for $3

Lunch cheese - $1.97 a pack

Pasta sauce - 4 for $5

Ravioli - 10 for $10

Cooking Oil - 2.99

Orange Juice - 2.47

Oatmeal - 1.77

These prices were only in the FF flyer - 

Ketchup - 1.69

String Cheese - 2.97

Shredded cheese is 3 for $5

3 lb Potato bags - 10 for $10

canned mushrooms - 4 for $3

Chili and Kidney beans - 12 for $8

Ham (like for a dinner) is $1.99 a pound

Watch at Family Fare to make sure that you are paying a particular price of a price using your Yes Points.  There is a big difference if you use your Yes Points, but if you don't, some prices are higher. 

Go to Harding's for....

Vegetables - Buy 2, get 3 - NO LIMIT

Soup - 4 for $3

Chicken Broth - 2 for $3

Old fashioned dinner ham - .$0.99 a pound

Smoky links - Buy 1, Get 1

Go to Weicks for.....

Sugar - 2.79

BUTTER - $1.99

Soup - 4 for $3

Cooking oil - 2.99

Bread - 4 loaves for $5

Orange juice - $2.47

Cheese - buy one, get one

Cream cheese - $1.27

Bottled juice - $2.29

Dinner ham - $1.99

Mac and Cheese - Buy 6, get 6

Pasta - 10 pkgs for $10

Jam - 2.99

Smoky links - Buy 1, Get 1 ($3.49)

And check back here to see if I update this post through the week or if YOU know of a great deal this week or a great price on something PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Thank you, Spartan stores, for this once a year sale!!!

A good stock up pantry post is by the Pioneer Woman, just giving you her "must be in the pantry" items if you want an idea to look at. 

Grilled Smashed Red Potatoes with Bacon and Onion

Sue Cramer told me about some amazing red potato recipe she found on Pinterest.

I tried it (you can HERE. They originally posted on the Pioneer Woman, you know they are good) and it was great.

Then one day I had a brilliant moment (I must have drunken enough coffee) and made a new recipe.

I had made a lunch of brunch for my hubby and little men.  I only had the bacon done and planned to do the eggs and toast when they arrived home.  They arrived home and had already eaten.  So what was I to do with a pound of wonderful cooked bacon?

That's when the brilliance set in.

I made the red potatoes as I had before, boiled whole in the pot until just done.

Then I took a piece of tinfoil, added a bit of olive oil and smashed the potato with my Great Grandma's potato masher just a bit.

Then I topped the potato with crumbled bacon, diced onion and slab of butter.

I wrapped each individual potato up in tinfoil teepees.

Then my husband grilled them with our steak.

Where he normally despises cooking potatoes on the grill, these were basically done when he put them out there so he didn't have to worry about them at all!

I should have taken a photo of the finished product, but we were too busy eating them all.

Yes, they were that good.

I topped mine with shredded cheese - because when doesn't cheese make things better?

Fourth of July is coming up.  I guarantee you will have a hit if you try these potatoes!

Yoga AKA Torture

Does this image fill you with peace?

I seriously would love to do that.  And looking at this picture of the beach and a perfect pose makes me a little bitter, I must admit.  Okay, a lot bitter.

I have two very dear friends (who shall remain completely anonymous) who are slightly older than me.  They have been dispensing advice to me and I have been mentally taking notes.  But now I have been trying to follow through with their advice and not just taking notes.

My husband loves to tease me that he can't wait to find my first gray hair (Stephanie will keep this from happening for a good long time. If you are in West Michigan, you should be booking her to do your hair too.).  But the thing is, I am obviously not getting any younger and I want to do all I can to make getting older easier instead of painful.

Enter yoga.

One of my anonymous friends has had back and neck pain.  She is slight in frame and skinny as can be, even if I do bring her cookies, dumplings and such.  The doctor told her she needed to try yoga because - get this - one of her side muscles had shrunk so much it was causing her entire leg to go numb.

How did this happen?  Because she, who plays softball with veracity and works to stay in shape, has a job that has her sitting for long stretches.  Her not stretching caused this problem.

I figured I may as well do yoga too to keep this from happening to me.

I rented a yoga video from the library (library's rock, people.  Embrace them!) and when all my family was far away at school and work, I tried yoga.

First of all, I do not get having my spine feel as though it has roots into the ground and my head is crown of light.  Once I got past that and tried not to snicker at their seriousness, we began the stretching.

I've always been flexible, I thought, and did not think the Yoga For Beginners would be too tough.

Ha.  Ha.

I started easy enough, but then they did some crazy-you-should-never-bend-this-way-pose and suddenly I am craning my neck to see the pose and trying to not get my nose too close to the stinky carpet (WHY do we have carpet?) and wondering if I will ever be able to get up from this position and sorta wishing Jake were home to help me if I break something.

I heard my body crack in many places.

I moved in many positions I did not know was possible.

And when they went in to corpse position, I sighed with relief for surviving.

My cat jumped on my tummy as I laid there, as if to laugh at me for doing a cat stretch at one point.

And this is beginning yoga.

The video instructor promised I would feel energized and at peace.  I felt sore all over my body and dug out the motrin.

I tweeted this....
I attempted yoga today. I think I heard the women in the video laughing at me. I do not feel amazing like they promised...try super sore.

This response to that tweet totally cracked me up.....

@life4boys I have tried yoga videos so many times and it is terrible. I did not feel the air pour into my inner soul cleansing my body.

At our Praise and Coffee online night, I kept moving positions.  Every way I sat hurt.

Yoga is painful.

But, it did stretch me and if I am that sore I must be that inflexible and if I am that inflexible I may be on the way to numb limbs like my friend so I figured I had better try the video again.

So this Saturday morning I tried again.  I wanted to have it done before The Pioneer Woman's show came on.  My husband was leaving for the day, S1 was gone to a friends, S2 was going with Daddy and the two little ones were doing bike races.  I figured I could just get the warm up done while my husband left and that would get me done with the torture in time to drink coffee and watch how to make chocolate cake.

Except my husband found me entertaining so he kept coming back in to see how I was doing.  I would be in the middle of some downward dog type pose or some funky bird pose and he would have all sorts of smart comments for me.

I recalled how my friend had just told me that I should NEVER do yoga in front of Jake and I had solemnly agreed.  And here I was, the very next day, doing yoga poses in front of my husband - who was suppose to not be home, I might add.

The boys just thought I had gone crazy.  They would walk in, look at me, shake their heads and go back outside.

Humiliating.

And when I was done I found the time for the Pioneer Woman's show had moved.  Perfect.

And the second time doing yoga is just about as painful as the first time.

The things I will have to do to have a good, movable life when I am ancient old - however, even when I am ancient old I will be WAY younger than my now starting to go gray husband and will be able to dance a jig around him if I continue this regime.  At least that is my evil plan.  It keeps me motivated.

And once my husband reads that evil plan, he will start doing yoga and will do it with ease, I am sure.  Men are evil that way.

If anyone has any advice for me, please let me know.  Have a video you really like? Pass the title or isbn number on my way.

If you don't hear from for a long time, I did some weirdo pose, my spine went CREAK instead of "relaxing" and I am stuck in a knot in my living room.  Bring help, motrin and coffee.

The Pioneer Woman Makes Me a Cool Mom

Every Saturday morning at ten am you can find me in the same place.

My kitchen.

And I will be there with my Life Is Good coffee mug, filled with fresh coffee, sitting on my little red stool, watching the Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.

The Pioneer Woman makes me a cool mom.

I didn't expect that.

I have the Pioneer Woman's first cookbook (the image above is for her second book, out this spring.  You can pre-order it HERE.)

We have a few of her recipes that I make regularly for dinner and the boys like a lot.  But when they watch her show on the Food Network station with me on Saturdays, they think all her food looks good.

Last Saturday, Ree made Strawberry Jam.

Three boys turned to me and said, "Hey, WE make jam with you!"

I instantly became a cool mom.

The boys are quite certain that Ree and their Moma would get along grandly.

(I think I would have to agree with them on that.)

S2 is certain he would be an excellent rancher because he likes to wake up at insane hours of the morning. S3 is sure that Ree could use some boy help in the kitchen.  S4 just hopes to get to ride in a gator.  Or play football.  And eat lots of food.

I made something new for dinner the other day.  S3 looked at me and said, "Did the pioneer woman make this before?"

"I don't know," I answered, looking again at my well used Betty Crocker cookbook.

"Hmm," he answered.  I can interpet that for you. "Well, it won't be very good then."


This Saturday, we gathered in the kitchen again to watch it.

It's quickly becoming one of my most favorite times of the week.

Because of the Pioneer Woman, sure, but mostly 
because of the time with  my boys.

Have you read her book?
Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
I HIGHLY recommend it.
I figured it would be good, it was even better than good.

In Which I Whisper Hello to You

It's early in the morning here.

Okay, technically it's not early but it's early enough that the boys aren't awake.

I have nada to blog about but I miss blogging so much I thought I would give you a long rambling hello...to let you know we are doing fine and all is well and things like that.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love summer?

Long pause of joy.....

I do.

I love that as I type this the sunflower S2 gave me is smiling at me. I love that I have flowers on the table and in the kitchen and in the yard. I love that I go barefoot about every day. I love to see the boys all filthy dirty with their hair all sweaty knowing they are having the time of the of their lives. I love that all my windows are open to hear the birdsongs. I love that my husband goes out in the field and comes back smiling about growing plants.

I love summer.

This week we went blueberry picking. I took along two extra friends of the boys and they had a lot of fun with some other friends we met up there. We got about 2o pounds of blueberries...but that isn't what they were most impressed with. They were most impressed with all the goats and ducks and baby chickens. S3 has learned to read VERY well and he read they were all for sale.

S3 and S4 have concocted a plan on how they can get a goat home without me knowing. They would prefer I DID know, but, I might say no, so they are sure they can fit in the back seat and get it home where I will fall in love with it and it will live forever with them eating popcorn and blueberries.

S2 got the okay from Daddy to play football this fall and I filled out the paper last night. It brought a tear to my eye. My little boy, getting all big on me. I know nothing of football but according to the schedule of practices and games I think I will be learning much about it.

But I'm not ready for that to happen yet, because I loooooove summer.

And I don't want it to end.

I'm watching S1 grow out of this boy stage into young man stage.

It chokes me with pride and the grasping of how little time I really have with him.

Yup, I want summer to last forever.

Today the boys have two friends over and later today I get to watch Jr. and his little baby brother, lil cuz. I am soooooooooo excited!

And even though it is steamy hot today, I have blueberry pie to make and zucchini bread to whip up.

Summer food - the best!

But, to accomplish all that, I'll need more caffeine, I'm sure. I stumbled upon this recipe looking for the Pioneer Woman's maple peach crisp to share with someone (again, summer food is the BEST) so I thought I'd share it with all my coffee loving friends (because those of you who are giving up coffee, I do not understand you. At all.)

Here's the recipe for iced coffee. Make it immediately. I plan to..... http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

So until I can sneak away to whisper hello again, thanks for reading the rambling blog post of the day. Tell me how YOU are, I'm missing you all so!

It's Spring Break - S3's Near Death Experience

Saturday was a rough day for me. I'll sum it up to say that by 9:20 in the morning, I was curled up in my bed and bawling my eyes out.

Yup, I really was. It really was that kind of a day.

When my phone rang a bit later, I seen I had to answer it. When my friend heard my voice, she immediately asked me what was wrong but I played it off telling her I had a cold. Which I totally do, so, technically I didn't lie to her.

She chatted happily away with me and soon I found myself giggling a bit and soon I was spilling my whole morning...right down to the crying fest I had just before she had called. When I finished spilling my guts, we both started giggling.

Her phone call meant more to me than she could possibly understand. Friends are the greatest.

As I chatted with her, I began making the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls because, well, the day now called for something to sweeten it up.

Just the two youngest boys were home and they were outside playing with their chickens.

S3 hadn't held a chicken in a while (this picture is form last year when the boys tried to hypnotize a chicken) and decided it was time to get reacquainted with them.

Suddenly, S4 came running into the kitchen. "MOMA!!!! COME QUICK!!! E-WHY IS HURT. BAD!!!!!"

This is never good.

I stepped out of the kitchen and could hear S3 - Eli - screaming.

"I don't want to die, I want to LIVE." Live was emphasized as though by saying "live!" he would truly live and not die.

"What happened?" I asked S4, suddenly very concerned and thinking a bandaid may not work on this injury.

"He stepped on a nail and it went right into his foot.

Right.

In.

His.

Foot, Moma.

It's bad."

All the while S3 is still screaming "I don't want to die, I want to LIVE."

The boys had gotten into the chicken coop, crawled out the chicken sized door and were in the chicken yard. S3 was sitting on the ground, his shoe off, his foot in his hand and huge tears falling from his blue eyes.

One look at me and he got even more loud and panicked. "I don't want to die, I want to LIVE," he seemed to plead with me.

"You'll live," was all I said as I helped him out of the pen.

"But there is blood and I don't want to die, I want to LIVE."

I was really trying not to laugh at him. But it was getting nearly impossible.

I scooped him up in my arms, carried him to the house and we doused his foot with hydrogen peroxide and then set him in the tub to soak in some soapy water.

He was still muttering "I don't want to die...." but it wasn't so intense anymore.

Since it was SATURDAY...all traumatic things occur on a Saturday when the pediatric office is closed...I facebooked message our pediatric nurse who now drives Ambulance. If anyone could help me know if I needed to rush him in, she would. And she, being the sweetest most kindest nurse ever took time from her yard clean up on her day off and talked me through it all so I could, in fact, assure him that even Nurse Sherrie said he would live.

We bandaged up his foot with neosporine and gauze and gauze tape (I have boys, these things are always on hand...but I now realize I need to stock up a bit more as spring has arrived.). We then let him wear S2's socks (um, an un-named person in this house hasn't folded socks in some time, apparently) and knowing he would make his older brother mad by wearing his socks, he was all smiles.

And his new shoes from his good friend Jacob weren't damaged so he would wear them again.

And cinnamon rolls were being made.

So his life was wonderful again and he went on living.

Daddy burned the board that had the nail in it that he stepped on. Because, can you imagine if a chicken had stepped on that?

That chickie mighta died.

Because Eli almost did.

Just ask him.

Monday Monday

Today is Monday, the first official full day of spring. It was thunderstorms and rain and full spring like last night. One would think Monday would be rocking great today.

It's not.

So I shall give you my Random Monday Post.

This week has been..........long. I'll be sure to catch you all up on my Great Grandma's funeral, the busy week, the Ultimate Sports Expo, the huge moon, Jake and my date to the grocery store where I was reminded why I don't shop with him (which made me love him even more!)......

And this was just this week, people.

You can understand why Sunday morning I set my alarm back till seven am, and then Jake and I slept in till 8:30, how when the boys and I arrived home from church on Sunday night (Jake stayed for a trustee meeting that we had made the meal for) I just had all five of us eat instant oatmeal and then I brewed a super strong cup of coffee, poured in the almond joy creamer and then snuggled on the couch with the boys and read to them for half an hour (one boy who had fallen asleep at church and fell back asleep on the way home and then was carried to the couch where he curled up next to me and fell asleep again didn't hear much of the dinosaur book).

But when I went to bed after washing dishes till 10:15 pm, I forgot to set my alarm to the regular time.

I should have known this could happen, I mean, when your husband says to you at 10:30 - "Hey, do I have any clean underwear anymore?" you should know something bad will happen in the morning because you are obviously not prepared for the day.

For me it meant I awoke to two dogs breathing into my face and licking my elbow waiting for me to let them out - because it was an hour past potty time.

An hour late on a Monday.

And we know how Monday's go. Especially rainy, dreary, foggy ones.

It wasn't pretty.

S1 was attempting to keep order in the house while I jumped in the shower. S2 was flittering about looking for a paper he needed me to sign (and I refused to because I gave him fair warning I do not sign papers I haven't looked over). S3 was in a sleepy haze looking for all his homework to be gathered up and put into his school folder he could not find. S4 was too sleepy to get dressed.

We left late for school. And had to back up before we left the driveway for S3's glasses.

When we arrived at school, Sadie decided to make a run for it. I was holding her collar, trying to down some more coffee, and hollering "Go go go go go! Hurry hurry hurry hurry! Shut the door! Shut the door! Shut the door! Shut the door!" (because for some reason I speak in fours.....)

The mom who parked next to me this morning shuttled her son far away from us. I imagine she will not ever park near our dirty suburban again.

So there we were. Me with wet hair plastered flat to my head wearing water boots because who has time to tie shoes? S1 was barely walking, his eyes half open. S2 was running toward the school, afraid he may be late. S3, who had a white toothpaste stain running down his shirt, was death gripping two completed school papers crying that this was the worst school day ever. S4 was silent. S4 is NEVER silent.

So I should not have been shocked when we were walking down the hallway and S4 declared through a contorted face that his leg no longer worked and there was no way he could ever walk again.

I had to drag him away from the wall he was leaning into to get his point across.

S2 attempted one last time to get me to sign the paper he had just shown me that morning and I refused and am now overridden with guilt.

When we arrived home, S4 refused to get out of the suburban. Refused. Because, he informed me, home is not fun and he would rather go somewhere to someone's house and play.

I left him in the suburban. Went in the house, ate a bowl of cereal and then grabbed my Pioneer Woman cookbook and went to the little grocery store down the road where I picked up all the ingredients to make homemade meatballs because my sister promises me the boys will love them. The Pioneer Woman has them listed under "comfort food". I think we need all the comfort we can get today.

At the grocery story I was introduced to the new cashier by one of my favorite people who work at the grocery store as one of their most loyal customers - and she stressed it was because we have four boys. The new cashiers eyes went a bit wide. And I promptly forgot to sign my check.......

So I came home and blogged.

Please please please let Tuesday be better.

the Blizzard in Photos, Part Two

The day before the blizzard hit, I got message from Fox 17 asking if they could talk to the Morning Mom and her boys on the snow day.

Are you kidding me? I love my Fox 17 and was thrilled they asked! The boys were sooooo excited to say hello to everyone!

The morning was insanely busy with weather reports. All our roads were closed, all our schools were closed, businesses were closed.....we went on at the end of the seven am hour. They had us up on Skype so we were all prepared to see our friends...

...but we were facing a wall....

and while we could hear their voices, we couldn't see them and Abraham cried in dejected sadness no one was there to see his Camo apron on. He wailed in sadness.

On live tv.

Andrew came in to save the day talking about his tractor.

We didn't see that one coming!!!! But we were happy to have a moment to chat with them...and so grateful they called and wanted to talk to us for that traumatic moment! :)

Afterwards, the boys set up a tent city in true snowed in mode.

And we only have our dogs read the best books on snowed in days......

I spent a good portion of the day making these oh so yummy smell wonderful make you drool cinnamon rolls from the Pioneer Woman. Oh. So. Good. The boys and I could have lived on these and cocoa (well, coffee for moma). We pretty much did.

We ventured outside and climbed a snow bank. It was truly lovely how as soon as the blowing and snowing was done, the sunshine came out and it was breathtaking.

I am sure you can sense their excitement. This was a snow bank that Hubs had begun before, now just huger.....

Ah, I love my boys.

And snow days.

The Pioneer Woman

Because I find her hilarious and touching and inspirational and I am sure if we sat for coffee we would chat the whole day away...and need a regular coffee date once a week.

Seriously.

Here is her post on Blogging for all my blogging friends. I thought I'd share it if you missed it, and because, frankly, I wanted to have it saved on my blog so I didn't loose it.

It's a quick read...but good!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/09/ten-important-things-ive-learned-about-blogging/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thepioneerwoman+%28Confessions+of+a+Pioneer+Woman%29