Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 7-13, 2024 post!
Big Family Food and Fun: April 7-13, 2024
We planned to stay after church on Sunday to enjoy a Focus Group meeting as our church family prayerfully considers our mission and vision and how to grow faithfully in the direction God wants us to grow. After the meeting, Keith had a soccer game. So we needed to pack a lunch, snacks, soccer gear, jackets, and oh yeah, don’t forget to pack the kids. :)
The day before, I had put together a 10″x15″ casserole dish full of Simple Egg Casserole so that I could easily slide it into the oven to bake before leaving for church.
Once it came out of the oven, I cut it into 20 pieces and put it into a crock pot so we could plug it in at church to stay hot for our lunch.
This plan worked great and after church we ate our Casserole with Banana Muffins, Applesauce, and a couple of Pound Cakes we’d been given at last week’s Food Distribution.
Childcare was provided for us during our Focus Group meeting and the kids played hard with their friends. And what about Keith’s soccer game? Ugh. It had been rained out…again. Maybe, maybe he’ll have his first soccer game by the time his third scheduled game rolls around?!
We drove by his soccer field to at least show him where he’d be playing, then we headed home. Some of us couldn’t keep our eyes open.
Later that afternoon, our friend Paula dropped off school lunches for the week and Acacia used all her muscles to drag them into the pantry for me. :)
I made a simple dinner of Chicken Strips and Popcorn Chicken with Fries and Buttered Peas.
When I was cleaning the kitchen that evening and writing tomorrow’s menu on our white board, Anna wanted to practice writing her name. Look at what a great job she is doing!!
We assigned some clean up chores to the kids before bed. Keith used his skateboard to help pick up toys and drive them to the playroom for the night. :)
Monday morning our friend Caitlyn came over to help me all day so that Matt and Elias could go to York and work on a house we’re trying to finish and put on the market. She was amazing and the kids and I loved spending the day with her.
It was beautiful outside that day so we spent a lot of time playing in the fresh air and sunshine.
For dinner that night, I made Spaghetti with Sauce, Meatballs, and Green Beans.
This meal is a huge hit with all the kids. Pasta is one of my least favorites, but I will be making it more often because all the kids eat it very well. I like it when the kids eat well. ;)
Monday we finished off the Banana Muffins along with Scrambled Cheesy Eggs and Apples.
We had almost no fresh fruit or veggies in the house, plus BabyBoy#11 was getting low on his special Pediasure drinks. So after we got Brayden and Kiya off to school, we loaded up the other five and headed to the store to get some WIC items. (Side note, speaking of BabyBoy#11! On Monday I was able to get him to eat five tiny bites of a peach – a huge break through!)
Matt dropped Anna, Acacia, and me off at Walmart, then he took the other three kids to Great Clips so Keith could get a hair cut.
This handsome boy greeted us when we met back up after hair cut and shopping!
That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution to help hand out food to people in the community.
I had made a big bowl of Tuna Salad beforehand. When we got home, I cut up two pounds of strawberries and whipped some cream. It was a super simple meal, but we all loved it.
Malachi surprised us by stopping over and he took kids outside to skateboard for a while. :)
Wednesday morning we had big plans to get Brayden and Kiya off to school, and then Matt, Elias, Acacia, Josie, and BabyBoy#11 off to York. So we just pulled out cereal and fruit for breakfast.
Acacia and Josie were so excited to spend the day at their beloved Emma’s house that when I told them to load up they RAN to the door!
That left just Anna, Keith, and me for the morning. We read some books then Keith had a therapy appointment.
Before the bus arrived, Keith wanted an apple and was excited to try cutting it himself with the special apple cutter.
I had three and a half glorious hours of quiet that afternoon while everyone was away. Thank you, God, for providing what we need!
Once Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Anna were all home from school we played outside while I grilled burgers for dinner. Brayden practiced his ukulele and everyone enjoyed the concert. :)
Friends were coming over for dinner that night so to go with our Burgers I made Baked Beans and Stir Fry.
When I brought the burgers in from the smoker, I put them into a crock pot to keep them warm.
I cut up 2-pounds of strawberries and whipped some cream to go with two pound cakes for dessert.
Thursday morning I used the leftover hamburger buns to make Breakfast Sandwiches. I cheated and cooked browned sausage right in the eggs and cheese. This worked great for the sandwiches!
I was hoping to get ahead a little bit that morning so I made a double batch of Bran Muffins, made Stick of Butter Rice, and browned three pounds of hamburger meat.
Some friends were coming with their homeschool group to the Lincoln Zoo for the day so we packed up some food to meet them there. I buttered some of the hot muffins to take and they were melty and good when it was time to each later!
With this many kids, I’ve decided that I no longer care if the baby’s socks match so long as he’s actually wearing socks. :)
Not only did we get to see several friends we don’t see very often, we got to enjoy watching the penguins get fed that day.
Afterward, our friends came over to hang out at our house. The kids played and played, then ate and ate. :) Malachi wanted to come say hi to everyone before they left so he stopped by.
That evening, Matt needed to exchange something at Menards and I wanted to pick up some items at Walmart and Sam’s. Hadn’t I just been to Walmart, you ask? Indeed I had. But BabyBoy#11 needs 18 6-packs of his Pediasure every month and each Walmart only carries 5-6 packs at a time. So all month long we hit up every Walmart in town to get what he needs. We’re thankful for the provision, even if it does mean we have to shop a little bit extra.
Before we loaded up to shop, I warmed up leftover spaghetti to feed everyone a fast dinner.
Spaghetti Hack: I’ve found that once it’s in bowls for the little ones to eat, I can easily cut the noodles with kitchen shears so that they can easily eat it with a spoon.
Shopping Hack: NEVER take the Coppinger children to the store in the evening after a full day of going to the zoo and/or school. Don’t do it. They can’t handle it. They’re already overstimulated and exhausted and they will not be able to hold themselves together at the store. The fits will be horrible and there will be many fits. You don’t need groceries that badly.
Oy.
So Walmart was a disaster. Kids back in the van, Matt went into Menards by himself to quickly make his exchange. Then I ran into Sam’s by myself while Matt fed the kids a cookie and apples. I really just went in for these few things but I saw a few other items I needed and this was the result:
Every time I shop I think we’ll be stocked up for a while. Hahaha. The groceries go fast at our house. :)
Friday morning I used the hamburger meat I’d browned on Thursday plus the Stick of Butter Rice to make a huge batch of Burritos. I plan to share them with some friends whose kids currently have some major health struggles.
Well. Sure I’d been to Walmart twice that week and Sam’s the day before. But there are certain items I also needed from Costco (diapers!!) so off we went on Friday morning. The shopping trip went much better than the evening before because the kids were rested and we only had five with us this time. ;)
I wasn’t planning to buy boneless chicken thighs, but wowza! They were on sale for $6.00 off per package, which made them only $2.65/pound. Now that we can grill more, you can bet I stocked up big time!
I also picked up some special treats for a picnic we were planning on Sunday. I almost never buy individual bags of chips, but they were highly discounted and will be very fun for the picnic!
Our friend Mallorie was visiting and Acacia sat still for quite a while letting Mallorie braid her hair that afternoon. :)
We had a huge weekend planned with friends coming in from Texas and all of the grown-ups going to Kansas City to watch Messi play soccer.
Justus had been over all afternoon and was smoking two racks of ribs for us to enjoy for dinner when our TX friends arrived. I made hotdogs for the kids and Brayden made Caesar salad. For other sides, I simply washed two kinds of grapes and two pounds of strawberries, got out sweet peppers and tomatoes, and set out rolls with butter.
Dinner was going to be later than normal so we fed the kids at their regular time to avoid extra meltdowns.
All of our older kids were able to come over to join us for dinner, plus our friend Ricky and his son Cooper had arrived from TX. Gathering in our kitchen and dining room like this is my favorite.
Justus’ Barbecue Ribs turned out AMAZING.
Saturday morning I spent getting ready to go on our day trip and getting everything ready for our kids and their sitters while we were gone.
I made Crunchy Ranch Chicken and Steamed Broccoli for lunch, then sitters came and we got out the door. I’ll share photos of our Messi experience next week!!