Questions Answered--Food Edition

A few more of your questions:

Blurry phone picture, sorry

I remember you saying Evie isn't a fan of hugging/kissing? That must be hard...does she ever feel like cuddling? Ever?
Not really.  If I get a 30-second hug when she gets out of bed in the morning, I consider myself very lucky indeed. She is a strong-willed, independent little lady.  Don't know where she gets it (unless you ask my mom, she'll tell you!)

How much is your weekly grocery bill? Also, do you have any advice on how you budget or save.
Hmmmm.  This question is harder to answer than you'd think.  Admittedly, I'm not the budgeter.  We started out our marriage with me doing the finances, and I was pretty pathetic at it.  Plus, Brad really likes to know where everything is going and when, so he took it over.  I have a set amount of cash I withdraw every few weeks, and when it's gone, it's gone.  I make a mammoth trip to Sam's Club or Costco every few weeks, and that isn't included in the budget.  I try to keep it under $300--the picture above is from my trip yesterday and the total was $366, but I bought dog food and diapers, so that set me over.  We also use our Southwest Visa for the miles--gotta go see those big kids, you know.
Lame answer.  Sorry.

My question is about your grocery shopping routine! We're just a family of 3...and I feel like I am always needing to run to the store b/c I am out of something. I'm so curious how you feed your big family and what dinner time is like. Do you ever run out of food? Do you plan all your meals ahead of time? Do you have an ongoing list? Ok, I'll stop there!
Dinner time at our house is almost religious--5:30 pm is dinner time, and we try to abide by that.  I'm also a mediocre cook at best, so anything I have to say needs to be tempered by my "cooking-is-a-chore" attitude.
I set a menu Monday morning, taking into consideration what our schedule will be like for the week--fast meals like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and salad on busy evenings. Then, I try to have all the ingredients in the house to make all seven meals--Sam's Club and the grocery store on Monday or Tuesday.
I have two freezers where I keep staples on hand--hamburger, chicken, bread, shredded cheese, roast, Otter Pops.  Rarely do I run out of something (other than milk or bread), since I stick to my menu plan pretty strictly.  I have a clip board that hangs in my pantry with a computerized list of my staples.  When I take a can of corn out, for example, I just make a mark next to corn on the list, and I know what I need next time I shop.  Maybe someday I'll take a picture of my pantry.  Not today.  Ew.

One child's chore for the day is to help me make dinner.  They'll chop vegies, assemble a salad, brown meat, whatever I need done and according to their age. Another child sets the table, and we all eat together.  Our dinner time revolves around two questions:  What was your best today?  Your worst?  Each child gets a turn to share--usually Hyrum is really funny.  Last night he said his worst was, "I asked Matthew not to tell on me, but he did." What did you do?  "Uh-oh."  When dinner's over, Micah has to clear and wipe the table and chairs, Hyrum has to push them all in, and Lily and Ben alternate between sweeping and the kitchen counters.

What are the rules at your house about snacking? Do you choose the snacks? Allow them only at certain times?
This is a list I came up with last summer that still hangs on my pantry.  Although not complete, this does give the kids an idea of what they can have to eat.  Most importantly, it tells them WHEN they can eat.  This saves my life in the summer.  During school, it's not so necessary to have assigned times, since Hyrum is usually busy in the morning, and then they all get a snack after school.  I'm not a big believer in snacks. My mom didn't give us snacks, and I grew up just fine.  I'm a believer in eating your meals, so limiting snacks encourages that.

Good questions.  Hope I answered them.  Any more wisdom from the audience?