Wednesday Shopping & Weekly Menu Plan 11/9-11/16 2016

Hey everyone! I know this is a few days late! I had a rough week. I was a bit ill at the beginning of the week and so that made me slow motion. Can anyone relate? I am a bit perked up and ready to roll!

Last week we had a lot of leftovers so Wednesday was Leftover Night again! Aldi had chicken thighs on sale this week so I rearranged money and took a big chunk from somewhere else that had extra. I also re-evaluated my budget and although my weekly goal will remain $100, I can safely spend $120 and still manage the rest of our responsibilities comfortably. Budgeting is very important and if anyone needs a great budgeting (and coupon) book then go to my friend Kristin Cooper at Couponing to Disney. Her budget book is a life saver for us! You can find the book HERE. Krisitn is a friend. I am not compensated for referring her. I just really believe in her and her book.

A few reminders:

Lunches are almost always vegetables and fruit. I usually buy frozen vegetables unless I can snag better deals on fresh. I cook the frozen veggies in ways that bring out the best quality and taste possible. Fruit is always decided at the store. I look at prices and then decide between fresh, canned, or frozen. When I buy canned, I buy ones in their own juices.

I plan for 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. We do not do a morning snack, but instead eat an earlier lunch. My plans are for 7 people, except lunch and snacks. Lunch is for 6 people (Mark eats at work for free) and snacks for 5 (the kids). Every Friday Mark brings home rotisserie chicken from his work. He gets a great deal and it is so much better than the stuff they sell at the store. This is NOT part of our food budget.

On Tuesdays we have homeschool co-op. We have to have lunch to-go. This has upped our Tuesday food cost a little bit.

I try to keep cheese sticks and 100% fruit bars and dried fruit in the house for those days when you are just so hungry you need a bit more food. These are not everyday foods so when I buy them they do last longer than a week.

Breakfast
Suasage, Oatmeal*, & GF Pumpkin Muffins
Egg for me

*I buy a big canister of quick-cook oats and make “packets” of 1/4 C oats, chopped freeze dried fruit, and seasonings (cinnamon, etc). The kids use the kettle of hot water to make their own instant oatmeal for far less then pre-packaged!

Lunch
Fruit everyday — guava or oranges

This week everyday will be Garden Salad and Celery Sticks w/ choice of filling (hummus, cream cheese, nut butter)

Snack
baby carrots and apples

Dinner
(Thurs) Spinach and Artichoke Chicken with Rice
(Fri) Chicken, Mashed Potato, Green Beans
(Sat) Eggplant or Chicken Parmesan w/ GF Spaghetti (I am trying to find a cheap eggplant, but I have chicken already.)
(Sun) Roasted Vegetable Salad over GF Pasta
(Mon) Baked Sweet Potato Hash w/ Sausage
(Tues) Asian Rice Noodle Stir Fry
(Wed) Roasted Garlic Lemon Chicken

Snack
Halloween Candy

ALDI:

$1.99 Fresh Pamesan Cheese (Holiday Food)
$1.89 GF Pretzles (Co-op Food)
$2.99 x 2 Coconut Water (now I have enough in pantry for next swim meet)
$1.99 Fig Spread
$1.89 x3 Organic Pasta Sauce (this one has safe ingredients for us)
$1.79 x 3 Bagged Flat Leaf Spinach
99¢ x 2 Bagged Garden Salad Mix
79¢ x 4 Fresh Cranberries 12 oz
$1.29 Fresh Brussels Spouts 16 oz
99¢ Green Onions
$1.49 Red Onions 2 lbs
$1.69 x 4 Fuji Apples 3 lbs
79¢ x 2 Sweet Potato (cheaper than last week, so I bought more!)
$2.99 x 2 Medley Potatoes
$2.99 Lemons 2 lbs
79¢ x 4 Celery
$1.29 Avocado (super frustrated, Walmart had these chepaer and I didn’t realize)
$1.69 Butternut Squash
$1.24 Bananas
99¢ Gluten Free Baking Powder
$1.69 Rosemary
$1.69 Sea Salt
$1.79 Feta Cheese
$2.29 Organic Humus
$2.99 x 3 Organic Vanilla Yogurt 32 oz each
$1.99 x 2 Almond Milk (for the boys)
$1.99 x 3 Hot/Italian Pork Sausage
$5.89 x 2 Shredded Cheese 2 lbs
45¢ Large Eggs 1 dozen
$2.99 x 2 Chicken Sausage (for hash)
$1.99 x 2 Pepita/Pumpkin Seeds 6 oz
$1.59 Dried Pineapple 6 oz
$1.99 x 2 Peanuts 16 oz
$1.89 x 2 GF Spaghetti
$11.82 Chicken Thighs 4 packages @ 69¢/lb

Total: $134.98

WALMART:

78¢ x 2 Gluten Free Brown Gravy Mix (Holiday Food, and I had a coupon I didn’t want to expire so one was only 28¢)
$2.24 Artichoke Hearts 16 oz
$2.18 So Delicious Coconut Milk (for my Elf)
$3.68 x 2 Earth Balnce Soy Free Buttery Spread
$2.28 Fresh Guava 1 lb
$2.99 x 2 Oranges 4 lbs
43¢ Garlic
$8.86 Cabt White Cheddar Cheese Block 2 lbs
$6.93 Coffee
Total: $37.32

Goal: $190
Paid: $172.30
Leftover from budgeted: $17.70
Overage this month: $16.19
Things on my list I didn’t buy: I bought everything!

I am really happy with how much I have learned. I know how to better plan each week. I am done with this month, as our new food budget begins November 14. I think that being over $16.19 isn’t too shabby.

I did buy items I do not need this week (more sweet potatoes for example), but the prices were too good to pass and I planned ahead and moved money as needed. My primary goal is to keep the kids on a healthy diet. My secondary goal is to satisfy needs and not feel like we are missing out while doing so. The subgoal of that is to help others cut their food budget down and give meal ideas.

Have a great week, y’all!

~Andrea

Wednesday Shopping & Weekly Menu Plan 11/2-11/8 2016

Hey everyone! I am ready to head out to Aldi for my weekly shop. I am really getting the hang of this new budget, but until I am a bit more comfortable our menu plans will have a lot of repeats. Once I get used to our new normal I will shake things up! I am also cleaning out a lot of pantry items. This means lots of bean-based meals for a bit longer.

Last week we had a lot of leftovers so Wednesday was Leftover Night. I also forgot that Saturday was the monthly meal at church so we didn’t make the fried rice. This means I used less food than bought! Marco still bought the chicken on Friday even though we had pizza. The chicken is from a different part of our budget so he decided to still buy 2. He removed the chicken and saved it and made broth from the carcasses and the turkey carcass we had.

This Saturday is a swim meet so that means I bought items I do not normally buy. They weren’t budget busters though, especially since I already had some items at home!

I did buy some holiday items that weren’t originally planned. These are items Aldi will sell until they are out. I want them before they are gone so I thought ahead and rearranged my budget to be a bit bigger and added them in. I added $20. It looks like I went over budget, but not really because they are items I need in the future for the Holidays and now I have them!

A few reminders:

Lunches are almost always vegetables and fruit. I buy frozen vegetables unless I can snag better deals on fresh. I cook the frozen veggies in ways that bring out the best quality and taste possible. Fruit is always decided at the store. I look at prices and then decide between fresh, canned, or frozen. When I buy canned, I buy ones in their own juices.

I plan for 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. We do not do a morning snack, but instead eat an earlier lunch. My plans are for 7 people, except lunch and snacks. Lunch is for 6 people (Mark eats at work for free) and snacks for 5 (the kids). Every Friday Mark brings home rotisserie chicken from his work. He gets a great deal and it is so much better than the stuff they sell at the store. This is NOT part of our food budget.

On Tuesdays we have homeschool co-op. We have to have lunch to-go. This has upped our Tuesday food cost a little bit.

I try to keep cheese sticks and 100% fruit bars and dried fruit in the house for those days when you are just so hungry you need a bit more food. These are not everyday foods so when I buy them they do last longer than a week.

The start of my holiday cooking supplies!

Breakfast
Suasage, Oatmeal*, & GF Pumpkin Muffins
Yogurt and Egg for me

*I buy a big canister of quick-cook oats and make “packets” of 1/4 C oats, chopped freeze dried fruit, and seasonings (cinnamon, etc). The kids use the kettle of hot water to make their own instant oatmeal for far less then pre-packaged! 

Lunch
Fruit everyday

(Thurs) Garlic Carrots
(Fri) Peas & Onions
(Sat) *SWIM MEET* Lettuce Roll-Ups
(Sun) Honey-Glazed Carrots
(Mon) Roasted Green Beans
(Tues) Rice Cakes w/ Spreads
(Wed) Peas & Onions

Snack
Baby Carrots and No Bake Cranberry Bites & Tea

Dinner
(Thurs) Either BBQ Chicken or Naked Chicken Fajitias w/Rice (I haven’t decided)
(Fri) Chicken, Mashed Potato, Prince Edward Mix
(Sat) Cabbage and Potato Bake
(Sun) Tacos
(Mon) Chili Potatoes (I am inventing a dish here y’all!)
(Tues) Beans & Quinoa
(Wed) Rice Noodles w/ Veggies

Snack
(Thurs) Jell-O
(Fri) Homemade Popsicle
(Sat) Jell-O
(Sun) Homemade Popsicle
(Mon) Jell-O
(Tues) Homemade Popsicle
(Wed) Jell-O

ALDI:

$2.49 Salami (swim meet food)
$1.29 Iceburg Lettus (swim meet food)
$1.29 Rice Cakes (co-op food)
$1.99 Plum Fruit Spread (co-op food)
$1.99 Hazelnut Spread (co-op food)
$1.49 Cream Cheese Spread (co-op food)
$2.69 Gluten Free French Fried Onions (Holiday Food)
$1.79 x 2 Ricotta Cheese Whole Milk (Holiday Food)
$2.89 x 2 Gluten Free Stuffing (Holiday Food)
$1.49 Russet Potatoes 10 lbs (sale)
$1.69 Cabbage
69¢ x 2 Yellow Onions 3 lbs each (sale)
99¢ x 2 Sweet Potatoes 3 lbs (sale)
49¢ x 7 Baby Carrots (sale)
$1.37 Bananas (44¢/lb)
$1.79 Green Peppers 3-pack
$2.99 Multi-Colored Pepers 3-pack
$2.99 Mini Sweet Peppers
89¢ x 2 Pomegranates (sale)
$2.99 Bartlett Pears 3 lbs
$2.99 Grany Smith Apples 3 lbs
$1.70 Whole Plums 1 lb 14 oz
$2.99 x 2 Organic Vanilla Yogurt 32 oz each
39¢ x 6 Yogurt Cups
$1.99 Almond Milk (for the boys)
$1.99 x 2 Hot/Italian Pork Sausage
$1.65 x 2 Potato Puffs (frozen bags)
$1.29 Long Grain Rice 3lbs
$1.69 Organic Diced Tomato 28 oz can
$3.99 Coconut Oil
$1.69 x2 Vegetable Broth
79¢ x 3 Kidney Beans (canned)
$3.79 x2 Dried Mango/Coconut
$1.59 Dried Cranberries
$2.99 Freeze Dried Apples
$1.99 x 2 Peanuts

Total: $97.70

WALMART:

$6.24 Case of Peach Cups in 100% juice (swim meet & co-op treat)
78¢ x 4 Gluten Free Brown Gravy Mix (Holiday Food)
$4.94 String Cheese
$2.22 Muenster Cheese (They didn’t have my giant block of Cabot Whote Cheddar! Oh no!)
$3.64 Coffee
Total: $20.16

Goal: $100
Paid: $117.89
Holiday Overage: $15.17
Real Overage: $2.72 (I am getting better!)

Overage this month:$33.89

Things on my list I didn’t buy: I bought everything!

I am still learning and I have work to do. I learned we need more protein snacks. Elf is hard (no nuts for her), but the rest of us need a handful of nuts (or something) once in awhile. I have some pretty amazing friends and family who have rallied and are cheering me on. Y’all are awesome and I treasure you and so wish we lived closer. Your support and belief in me is more than you know.

I did buy items I do not need this week (sweet potatoes for example), but the prices were too good to pass. My primary goal is to keep the kids on a healthy diet. My secondary goal is to satisfy needs and not feel like we are missing out while doing so. The subgoal of that is to help others cut their food budget down and give meal ideas.

Have a great week, y’all!

~Andrea

Wednesday Shopping & Weekly Menu Plan 10/27-11/2 2016

Hi all! It is Wednesday (although you will read this on Thursday) and I am getting ready to tackle my weekly Aldi trip. I am far more more optimistic this week. Last week’s list was 2 pages. This week’s is less than a page! We had a few Food Fairies ship us random things; meat, flour, canned coconut milk, taco shells….
I also have pantry items I will be using. I created this week’s menu around what we have. There are two “glitches” to our food budget this week. Today (Wednesday) Marco came home from work with Chicken Curry! This did NOT come from our food budget, but from a different part of our budget. This means tonight’s planned meal will be moved to tomorrow. I already have everything for that meal so that really helped my planning! Friday is Princess’s birthday. We will splurge and I will make pizza and cake!

Aldi had several insane deals. I bought 10 bags of baby carrots becasue they were 49¢ each! On Saturday I have 2 vegetables listed. My kids have never had acorn squash; but the sale price was 59¢. I decided now is the time to buy and try. I know that I like it, but we shall see what the rest think. We will also have peas just in case people aren’t thrilled with the new dish.

I opted to buy the coconut water for the November swim meet now instead of later. It is an Aldi Special Buy and $1 cheaper than the cheapest at any other store. We use coconut water instead of Gatorade or Powerade. Much healthier and, frankly, tastes better. Although not on the list this week, I saved us $4 in the long run.

I had 2 pantry items ont he list this week: oregano and brown sugar. I bought dates for my holiday baking (I make a paste with them). Birthday treats also made the list. These items aren’t weekly buys.

A few reminders:

Lunches are vegetables and fruit. I buy frozen vegetables unless I can snag better deals on fresh. I cook the frozen veggies in ways that bring out the best quality and taste possible. Fruit is always decided at the store. I look at prices and then decide between fresh, canned, or frozen. When I buy canned, I buy ones in their own juices.

I plan for 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. We do not do a morning snack, but instead eat an earlier lunch. My plans are for 7 people, except lunch and snacks. Lunch is for 6 people (Mark eats at work for free) and snacks for 5 (the kids). Every Friday Mark brings home rotisserie chicken from his work. He gets a great deal and it is so much better than the stuff they sell at the store. This is NOT part of our food budget.*This week he will not buy this*

On Tuesdays we have homeschool co-op. We have to have lunch to-go. This has upped our Tuesday food cost a little bit.

I try to keep cheese sticks and 100% fruit bars and dried fruit in the house for those days when you are just so hungry you need a bit more food. These are not everyday foods so when I buy them they do last longer than a week.

Aldi Special Buy. Medley Potatoes! The purples are so beautiful! 

Breakfast
Yogurt & GF Squash Muffins
Homemade Coconut Yogurt for Elf
Egg for me instead of muffin

Lunch
Fruit everyday (grapes until they are gone and then apples)

(Thurs) Oven Roasted Green Beans
(Fri) Honey-Glazed Carrots
(Sat) Roasted Acron Squash w/ Cinnamon and/or Peas & Onions w/ salt & pepper
(Sun) Garlic Butter Carrots
(Mon) Curried California Blend
(Tues) Rice Cakes w/ Spreads
(Wed) Balsamic Roasted Carrots

Snack
Grape Tomatoes, Baby Carrots, or No Bake Cranberry Bites & Tea

Dinner
(Thurs) Naked Burritos
(Fri) Pizza
(Sat) Vegetable Fried Rice
(Sun) Loaded Baked Potato Soup
(Mon) Roast Turkey, Roasted Heirloom Poatotoes, Roasted Carrots
(Tues) Chili
(Wed) Tacos

Snack
(Thurs) Jell-O
(Fri) Homemade Popsicle
(Sat) Jell-O
(Sun) Homemade Popsicle
(Mon) Jell-O
(Tues) Homemade Popsicle
(Wed) Jell-O

I had numerous things in my house already. Here is my shopping list with prices

ALDI:

$2.99 x 4 Coconut Water (swim meet food)
$1.28 Applesauce Cups 6-pack (co-op food)
$1.29 Rice Cakes (co-op food)
$2.99 Apple Cider (special buy)
99¢ x 2 Red Potatoes 5 lbs (sale)
59¢ Acorn Squash (sale)
$2.99 x 2 Medley Potatoes (special buy)
49¢ x 10 Baby Carrots (sale)
15¢ x 2 Limes (sale)
$1.16 Bananas (44¢/lb)
99¢ x 3 Grape Tomatoes (sale)
$1.98 x 3 Green Grapes 2 lbs (sale)
$1.89 Dates 8 oz (seasonal)
39¢ x 48 Yogurt Cups
$3.49 Greek Yogurt 32 oz (instead of sour cream for burritos, soup, & tacos)
$1.39 x 2 Prince Edward Medley (frozen vegetable) *price drop!*
$1.39 x 2 Fozen Green Beans *price drop!*
95¢ x 4 Frozen Sweet Peas
$5.89 Shredded Mozzerella Cheese 2 lbs (for pizza)
$2.69 Sharp Shredded Cheese (for potato soup)
$2.69 Mexican Shredded Cheese (for burritos & tacos)
$3.89 Prunes 1 lb 2 oz
$1.19 Oregano
99¢ Confecioner’s Sugar (birthday)
99¢ Brown Sugar
$2.49 x 2 Breakfast Sausage (birthday)
$1.25 Fudge Mint Cookies (for Marco)

Total: $99.36

WALMART:
$1.94 Pepperoni (for pizzas)
$1.72 Pizza Sauce (there was cheaper, but the is the only allergy friendly one)
$2.18 x 2 So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk 1 quart (the kids have been begging me for milk to drink)
$5.98 x2 Bird’s Eye California Blend 60 oz bag (this large bag is far cheaper than even Aldi!)

Total: $19.98

Goal: $100 (but I wanted to try to stick to $88.17 to cover last week’s overage)
Paid: $119.34

Overage this month:$31.17

If I had paid better attention I could have bought 6 less yogurt and 2 less peas. I didn’t have to buy Mark cookies. He rolled his eyes at me for doing this. I also now realize I could have done without one of the California Blands as I had bought lots of carrots. I could have therefore saved myself $11.47.

Things on my list I didn’t buy: I bought everything!

What have I learned? I still have work to do on meeting my weekly goal. I learned the desire to impulse buy is strong (like those cookies). The journey is hard, but community (friends and family) make it easier. I have learned to better calculate our needs. I over bought this week, but this means I will already have some items for next week!  My goal is to keep the kids on a healthy diet. I despise the fact I cannot let them eat whenever they want, but I am reminded we do have far more food than most people. I am trying to focus on the fact that maybe this will help someone cut their food budget down and/or give them meal ideas.

~Andrea

Wednesday Shopping & Weekly Menu Plan 10/20-10/26 2016

I shop on Wednesday evenings. It is my alone time while the boys are across the road at youth group. How convenient that our church is 2 minutes away from Aldi!

Because I shop on Wednesdays I meal plan Thursday-Wednesday. I know, I know. It is odd, but it works for us since Wednesday is the easiest and most convenient time for me to shop.

I am on a very, very tight budget. A bit suffocating, but I manage it. My budget just took another hit and while I am in transition I am frustrated. A dear friend told me she is very interested in my meal plans and shopping habits, especially considering our overly-tight budget. I manage to make meals happen for a food-restricted family without breaking the bank. I told her I will try really hard to post once a week about my menu and shopping from now on.

A few things you should know:
Lunches are vegetables and fruit. I buy frozen vegetables unless I can snag better deals on fresh. I cook the frozen veggies in ways that bring out the best quality and taste possible. Fruit is always decided at the store. I look at prices and then decide between fresh, canned, or frozen. When I buy canned, I buy ones in their own juices.
I plan for 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. We do not do a morning snack, but instead eat an earlier lunch. My plans are for 7 people, except lunch and snacks. Lunch is for 6 people (Mark eats at work for free) and snacks for 5 (the kids). Every Friday Mark brings home rotisserie chicken from his work. He gets a great deal and it is so much better than the stuff they sell at the store. This is NOT part of our food budget.
On Tuesdays we have homeschool co-op. We have to have lunch to-go. This has upped our Tuesday food cost a little bit.
I try to keep cheese sticks and 100% fruit bars and dried fruit in the house for those days when you are just so hungry you need a bit more food. These are not everyday foods so when I buy them they do last longer than a week.
This week’s plan is a bit off as the 3 oldest kids and I will be away at a swim meet all day on Sunday. This means extra snacks as the kids are far hungrier and need more energy on swim meet days. Sunday’s dinner is for Marco and the 2 little ones. I have yet to figure out what the swimmers and I will eat.

Breakfast
Yogurt GF Squash Muffins
Fruit for Elf instead of yogurt
Egg for me instead of muffin

Lunch
Fruit everyday

(Thurs) Oven Roasted Green Beans
(Fri) Curried California Mix
(Sat) Peas & Onions w/ salt & pepper
(Sun) GF Mac & Cheese**
Lettuce Roll-Up**
(Mon) Cheesy California Mix
(Tues) Rice Cakes w/ Spreads
(Wed) Honey-Glazed Carrots

Snack
No Bake Cranberry Bites & Tea

Dinner
(Thurs) Colcannon
(Fri) Chicken, Rice, Prince Edward Medley
(Sat) Refried Bean Burritos
(Sun) GF Pasta
(Mon) Millet Congee
(Tues) White Bean Stew
(Wed) Naked Burritos

Snack
(Thurs) Jell-O
(Fri) Homemade Popsicle
(Sat) Jell-O
(Sun) Homemade Popsicle
(Mon) Jell-O
(Tues) Homemade Popsicle
(Wed) Jell-O

I had numerous things in my house already. Here is my shopping list with prices

ALDI:

$1.99 Honey Roasted Peanuts (swim meet food)
95¢ x 2 Gummi Bears (swim meet food)
$2.99 Natural Ham Deli Meat (swim meet food)
$1.29 Iceberg Lettuce (swim meet food)
$1.99 x 2 Organic Chewy Bars (swim meet & co-op food)
$1.49 x 2 Applesauce Cups 6-pack (swim meet & co-op food)
$1.29 Rice Cakes (co-op food)
$1.49 x 4 Gala Apples 3 lbs each
$1.69 Sweet Potato 3 lbs
$1.79 Yellow Onions 3 lbs
$1.79 Green Peppers 3-pack
$2.99 Multi-Colored Peppers 3-pack
$1.21 Bananas (44¢/lb)
$1.29 Celery
99¢ Flat Leaf Spinach (bag)
99¢ Green Onions 5.5 oz bag
$2.99 Coconut Spread (Elf-safe butter)
$2.83 Whole Milk 1 gallon (for the 2 big boys for after swim, I add protein powder which is                NOT part of the food budget)
39¢ x 24 Yogurt Cups (yes, I pay for convenience, but the price is really good)
$2.99 Organic Yogurt 32 oz (for when we run out of the cups)
$2.99 Apple Wood Smoked Cheese
$1.59 x 2 Prince Edward Medley (frozen vegetable)
$1.99 Quick Oats (I am very risky & do not buy GF even though I know I should, but $ talks)
$1.89 Unsweet Applesauce (this is our egg replacer for the muffins
$1.79 x 2 Vegetable Broth (I am out of our homemade stuff)
$2.89 GF Pasta
$1.19 x 2 Gluten Free Mac & Cheese
$3.99 Coconut oil (I was out)
$1.49 Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (cheapest corn-free I have able to find)
$1.99 Pumpkin Butter (this is an Aldi Special Buy and I thought the change would be nice)
$1.99 Fruit Spread (this is the cheapest corn-free jelly I have able to find)
$1.69 Great Northern Beans (dried 32 oz)
$1.69 Popcorn Kernels (Aldi does not carry these year round so I buy them when I can)

Total: $85.03

WALMART:
2.32 x 2 Celestial Seasoning Tea (less $1/2 coupon)
$2.67 x 2 CheeseHeads Cheese Sticks 10-pack (less 2 $1/1 coupons)
$8.86 Cabot White Cheddar Cheese 2 lbs
$4.98 Log Cabin All Natural Table Syrup 22 fl oz (cheaper than pure maple syrup and only other corn-free alternative I have found
$5.98 Bird’s Eye California Blend 60 oz bag (this large bag is far cheaper than even Aldi!)

Total: $26.80

Goal: $100
Paid: $111.83

If I had cut out the “splurge” items (gummi bears, smoked cheese, and pumpkin butter) I would have saved myself $6.88. I still would have been $4.95 over my goal.

Things on my list I didn’t buy: 4 cans full fat coconut milk (to make Elf coconut yogurt), coconut milk beverage half-gallon, 1 sea salt peanuts, chicken stock (they were out), gluten-free flour, smoked paprika, gluten free tortillas, snacking peppers (they were out), 2 pomegranates, 2 mangoes, microwave popcorn (for after swim practice), sausage (Aldi has a good one with no nitrates and ingredients I can read).

So what have I learned? I have learned I still have work to do on meeting my goal and that it will be a really hard journey. My goal is to keep the kids on a healthy diet. I despise the fact I cannot let them eat whenever they want, but I am reminded we do have far more food than most people. I am trying to focus on the fact that maybe this will help someone cut their food budget down or give them meal ideas.

~Andrea

A Surprise Gift

Zen Baby got a Secret Santa gift. Unfortunately, the generous person (people?) had no clue that a dishonest person had previously bought and returned the gift. This kind person bought a gift that, once opened we discovered, was used. It was missing pieces, the stickers were already added, and one piece was actually broken. Seriously people, be cool. Don’t return stuff broken and then NOT tell the store!

Zen is 2.5 years old, for those who have lost count. He was disappointed he couldn’t play with his toy. “But WHY, Momma? I want to play!”
Two year old toddlers aren’t always reasonable. I tried telling him it was broken and I was working on getting him a new one.

Here is a recent picture of Zen. He is getting so big! 

 

I tried to figure out where the toy came from. I still am not sure.
Zen just kept pointing to the box and asking hopefully “I play with that?”
I felt so badly.

During one of my Goggle searches for the mystery toy I discovered Kohl’s has something similar enough that Zen would love. Even better, the item was on clearance. Top it off with the fact I have had Kohl’s Merchandise Credit sitting in my wallet for some time now and nothing important to spend it on.

Off to Kohl’s I went. I quickly found the toy. It was originally priced at $69.99. The website had it listed at $28 (for those wondering, it isn’t on the website anymore. My guess is they sold out).
The store had a clearance sticker price on it for $34.99. I went to the register and hopefully asked if they price match to their site. For the record, they do not. Darn. Oh well.

Original price and clearance sticker price. 

The cashier rang it up and it came up at $27.99! One penny cheaper than online! Yay! Yes, a penny matters to me and I was thrilled! I also had a coupon for 15% off. This took $4.20 off the sale price. My total, after tax, was $25.60. Not bad considering retail value is $69.99. However, I was not done. I still had my Merchandise Credit to use. That took an additional $22.25 off my total. Out of pocket I paid an amazing $3.35! Can you believe that?

Zen doesn’t have the original toy, but he has a pretty awesome substitute and he is thrilled with it! So what did I buy? I got him the Vtech Go!Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Amazement Park Playset. The set we got is a Kohl’s exclusive and included an extra 15 pieces of track! Here it is:

Pretty cool! Especially since I paid a whopping $3.35 for it! I am going to write another post about putting it together (I grumbled a lot more than I thought I would) and reviewing it. No, I am not being compensated in any way. I just want to review it on my own accord for those who are interested in it. You can get this set, without the extra 15 pieces, at other stores. It looks like the smaller set retails for $59.99, but a quick Google search tells me all the big stores also have this on post-holiday clearance!

Zen knows this is not really from me. It is a special gift from a Secret Santa; someone with a kind and generous heart who just wanted to put a smile on my baby’s face. That person is amazing and we send them our thanks and love.

~Andrea

Grocery Store Positives and Parenting Mistakes

Here is a new picture of me and my guy. Picture by Zachary Maricle Photography

Earlier today (at the time of publishing it was actually last week) I was at the grocery store shopping and a woman stopped me to tell me I am “stunning.” She was talking to a friend and interrupted her conversation to tell me this. She wanted to make sure I understood just how beautiful she thinks I am. The conversation was only about a minute, but she said a lot in a few words and it impacted me.

Today I am not wearing make up and my hair is simply back in the same bun at the nap of my neck that I put it in every single day. I have only my wedding ring on for jewelry. I am wearing a simple black maxi skirt and a black tank top and flip flops. I blend in. I am completely average, yet she noticed me and felt I needed to hear that I am beautiful.

The thing she did next is what got me. She turned to my daughters and said “Your Momma is beautiful and you look just like her. You are beautiful children.”

Their faces glowed with pride. They smiled so beautifully at this stranger. They went from average children shopping with their Momma to beautiful angels in the matter of seconds.

Elf is dressed in her low-maintenance shorts and t-shirt with a simply pony tail. Princess is wearing a simple sundress that cost me a whole $1. Her hair is down and disheveled (the look she sports by mid day). They are clean, but they certainly aren’t “at their best.” They look like average children.

There are times I look at their freshly washed hair and their nicer clothes and I think “Gosh they are gorgeous.” Rarely do I think this when they are at the normal appearance. This isn’t because I do not think they are beautiful; they are. They are incredibly gorgeous. They have thick dark eyelashes and eyes that twinkle so prettily. Their smiles beam joy. When they are at their average I just don’t really fully appreciate these things.

Worse is I never, ever think I am beautiful. There are times I think “OK, I look well enough.” I never think I look great though. In fact, I am downright critical of my appearance. Some days I just do not care, but other days it bugs me. My hair is frizzy, I have wrinkles forming, I need to color my hair, I need to lose this blasted baby weight.

I know this self-criticism annoys my husband, but I can’t seem to stop it. I could go into details of my childhood and teen years, but that isn’t necessary to know I have self-image issues.

Today was a bit of an eye-opener. When this stranger complemented me and then turned to my girls and made sure they saw my beauty in them I realized I kind of stink at making sure my girls don’t grow up with self-image issues. I never, ever refer to them in a negative way…well, except when they have morning breathe. Gah, that is awful stuff. However, they see me and hear me criticize myself. This has GOT to be impacting them.

Sigh, I thought I was doing so good. I tell them they are smart and funny and creative. I dropped the ball at showing them how to love themselves by loving myself.

They never hear me embrace my strengths. I am not just talking about physical appearances. It is hard for me to even think about what my talents and strengths are. Do they even know what I am good at besides wiping snotty noses? Do they know I used to have a fully functioning brain, as opposed to the auto-pilot I seem to currently function on.

Not only is all of this impacting my girls, it is impacting my sons. I want them to marry strong people. I want the people they marry to have confidence. I want them to be successful in whatever they chose to do. However, they spend all their time with me and I am not showing them these qualities why would they look for them in their partner? I need to make some changes before it is too late.

Who was this woman? How did she know that I needed to hear these words when I didn’t even know I needed to hear them. I wasn’t feeling badly about myself at all. I was feeling average. Just a mom out shopping with 3 of her kids. Nothing spectacular and nothing really worth noticing, but she did notice. She noticed and made sure I knew and for that I am thankful.

Maybe we all need to start noticing those around us more. We don’t know what their struggles are. We don’t know their self-doubts. They could be having a perfectly fine day, but does that meant they aren’t deserving of a little extra positive also?

I learned three things:
1) Stop being self-critical, especially in front of the children. Instead embrace the qualities that matter and focus on that.
2) Notice people around me more and let them know they matter.
3) Apparently the grocery store is where life changing events happen for me. Maybe I need to start hanging out there 😉