End of Month Recap - April

April is coming to an end.  This has been a LONG month for me to say the least.  Trying to keep up with all the day-to-day stuff plus so much personal stuff going on.  But I made it.  And I still managed to do pretty well with my goals for April.  Here's a recap:

Cost Savings:

I am still recording spending and sales.  I'm starting to see a few sale trends.  But it will take a few more months to really get a feel for things.  And as I am changing what products we buy regularly I'll have to look for new trends.  It is nice to see how much we're really spending every week.

I did calculate some homemade costs (separate post to come).  I've found that most bread products (bread, bagels, pita, etc.) are way cheaper if you make them from scratch...even with high quality ingredients.  For sweets it's a toss up.  Some are cheaper, some are more expensive.  But part of that is the ingedient quality factor.  I like knowing exactly what's in my food.  So I'll still make it from scratch even if it costs more that way.  Both sugar and dairy products are quite expensive if you get good stuff and are what make baked goods expensive.  But it's worth it.  And it's a good way to limit your intake of sweets...you  know it will save money :)

My meal planning has been going well.  It's fun when I can put a meal on the table that is made 100% from stuff we have on hand at home :)  I can already see a difference in my spending this month planning based on what we have and only buying what's on sale.

I have been doing a lot of baking again this month.  Here is what I made:
whole wheat coffee cake
whole wheat cinnamon raisin bagels (check out the updated photos of Rebecca enjoying one:)
whole wheat apple raisin bread pudding
whole wheat corn dog muffins
crunchy granola bars
chewy granola bars
chocolate cupcakes
coconut cupcakes (later today)
2 birthday cakes
pumpkin choocolate chip muffins
orange muffins
giant breakfast cookies
homemade ice cream
whole wheat pancakes
whole wheat french toast
ice cream cones
pie crust
cinnamon applesauce bread

I still plan to do a lot of our shopping at 2nd hand sales, garage sales, etc.  But we just haven't really done any shopping this month :P  I guess that's even better.  No shopping = no spending.

Food:

I didn't end up making all of the cakes I wanted to.  But most of them.  The last couple will be done in May instead of April...I'll be working on them this weekend and next weekend.  Recipes to come :)  But I did manage to make and decorate 3 birthday cakes.  Not too bad.

I didn't have a chance to grind my own flour...I've got the grain mill out...and it's on my agenda for tomorrow!  And I have a few baking projects lined up to try out the fresh flour.

I did get started on soaking grains.  I tried pancakes, corn dog muffins, coffee cake and breakfast cookies.  They all turned out great!  And it was super easy.  I still have a lot to learn, but I'm glad I at least tried a few things.  Definitely something I want to keep doing.  Good for your health and good for your tummy.  What's not to like?

I did use up some stuff from the freezer and pantry.  But there is plenty more to go.  Hopefully that will help keep food costs down in May as I keep using up what we've got.

Spring Cleaning:

With my focus on food and keeping busy with Dr. appts., etc. I didn't have a ton of time for cleaning.  I did manage to swap winter/summer clothes, clean out the fridge, do some more thorough cleaning in the kitchen and clean up some odds and ends in other rooms.  Not quite as much as I would have liked, but oh well.  The dirt isn't going anywhere.  It'll be waiting for me when I have time to deal with it :)

Breakfast:

Our current trend seems to be 1 cereal breakfast a week!  Crazy.  Just a couple months ago it was a stretch to eat something different twice a week.  Now I have to intentionally do cereal once a week to use it up :P

Despite a lot of down time, physical limitations, Dr. appts. and having my focus on personal issues I did manage to get quite a bit done.  I have to say I am glad April is over :p  It did have 2 very bright spots at least...celebrating Justin's 30th birthday and Rebecca's 2nd birthday!  My 2 most precious blessings :)  I'm looking forward to things to come in May.  Check back tomorrow for May's goals...it'll be a bit of a whirlwind :)