Since I had some comments on how in the world I spend on average $100 (and now eating mostly organic) at the grocery per week I thought I would hit on that tonight! And I DO NOT use coupons! I don't have the patience or time to deal with coupons. If I only would commit to coupons I would probably even save a ton more! Oh well, one thing at a time here.
First thing is first...I simply make a list of my meals for the week. Now we do eat out usually twice per week so I don't buy anything for those two eat out days. So I buy five meals a week. As I write down a meal I write down all the ingredients that I will need for that meal. Once all of that is finished for the week my husband or I will go through the ingredients on the list and look in our cupboards and fridge to see what we may already have. If we have it it gets scratched off of the list. This process takes many a little time but it's well worth it. On that list I also add milk, fruit, and cereal for the week along with whatever else we happened to run out of.
Okay, now it's time to shop. I am going to give props out to Giant again because they have a little scanner that you take along with you and it keeps track of your spending (also saves time at check out). I stick to my list for the most part, depending on what my end total is looking like. I buy fruits that are on sale and in season. Once all the major items have been purchased I see what my total is. If it is looking good I go back and buy what we here at the house call our "treats!" Those treat items consists of ice cream, fruit snacks, granola bars, or cookies. Anything fun and yummy! We love our desert!
I do NOT buy any of those prepacked snacks. I buy the big bags of things, then package them up myself! The small prepackaged packets costs you more. I know it is much easier but if you are trying to save those will cost you! I do not venture off the list! I stick to the list and then once all that is done - then have fun...within your personal budget.
Happy Shopping
This morning Emma came in our room as usual to say good morning to us. She asks me, "What are we going to do today Mommy?" I said, "You are going to go to preschool summer fun day today, remember?" The tears and screaming started. She was out of control. Screaming over and over, "I want a Mommy day. I want to stay home with you. I don't want to go." She was also telling us that she was only 3 and not 4 yet so she wasn't old enough to go to school. This screaming went on for about 15 minutes. Brian and I tried hugging and comforting her reassuring things were going to be okay! The smart cookie that she is, she said, "I have a fever and I am sick there is no way I can go to school today. I think I need to stay home with you." Brian and I looked at each other. I said to her, "Well, that's fine. If you are sick you will have to stay in bed all day long. You won't be able to play you will just have to stay upstairs in bed. No tv. No nothing!" She turned over and began to do her pretend sleep thing. The crying stopped and it was over just as fast as it began. She lay there in silence oh for a good 30 seconds and then asked, "Will we get to go outside today? What will we do today?" I asked, "Are you asking what you will do at summer fun day with Miss. Kathy?" She said, "Yes!" I began to list things to her I thought she may do today while holding her very tightly. Emma seemed to begin to feel a little better about her big day in her new environment. She even initiated getting her book bag ready with things that she loves to take along with her. These things included her "eck" which is what she calls her blanket, and her blue bear which her very best friend Sarah Beth gave her. She also asked to take a picture with her of her and I. This will be hard for her and I both. On me because, when I am on summer vacation I want to spend every second with her because of the guilt I feel leaving her throughout the school year. Difficult on her because this is a new place for her. She will have to make new friends and learn a new schedule. I am sure the crying on her part is not over and getting out the door this morning will be difficult. But I know my girl is strong and I know she is going to have a super time today. All I can do do do for her right now is hug her and squeeze her and reassure her she'll be fine and make lots of new friends. More to come on this story this afternoon....
Emma seemed to be so excited about going to Miss. Kathy's. She was eager to get dressed and get her teeth brushed. Then she bolted downstairs to get her book bag that she so carefully packed up, she wanted to put it on like the big kids. She was prancing around the house wearing her book bag and she even ASKED me to take a picture of her with her book bag so she could share it with our family. All was going so well. She kept asking when would it be time to leave.
Leaving time came! It was 9:00 am - time to head out the door. She did so wonderfully - picking out the perfect shoes to wear and packing her "sketchers" so she could play outside. WHEW - I thought it was going to be a fight to get her out the door.
We are driving along in the car - it is seriously like a 7 minute drive if that....she kept asking if we were there yet. No sweet love we are not there yet. Almost! I kept replying to her eagerness!
Then we came to Kathy's driveway...I turned in...and it started. Oh my poor baby started WHALING "I don't want to go, don't leave me, I want to stay with you!" My heart sank deep! I was holding back the tears so I could be strong for her telling her she was going to have the very best day ever. I got her out of the car, she's still screaming and crying uncontrollably, she grabs on to me for dear life! She is squeezing me tighter than ever. I walked her to the front door (a walk that felt like FOREVER), to greet Miss. Kathy. She is still holding tight. I did what I have told tons and tons of parents when dropping their children off at the door for their first day of kindergarten...I left. I gave one last kiss, one last hug, and said my good-byes. I tore her from my body and handed her to Miss. Kathy. Miss. Kathy held her tight and gave her love!
I walked out the door to my car holding back the tears....memories of dropping her off at her Miss. Nicole's two years ago when I had to go back to work came gushing back my way. I started my car and drove down the driveway and then they hit...my tears came pouring down my cheeks. I just left my baby girl in a very unfamiliar place... I kept telling myself it would be okay (and I knew it would) but that is my baby girl I just left! I knew once I left her tears would be gone. I knew she would start making new friends almost instantly. I knew she was going to be okay!
My tears slowly did stop and I did get myself together and went about with the one and only errand I had for the day! I am not going to sit here and tell you that I didn't call Miss. Kathy, that would be a LIE. I most certainly did call Kathy to make sure things did go well and that her tears stopped. Miss. Kathy reassured me (just like Miss. Nicole reassured me 2 years ago) Emma's tears had stopped and she was fitting in.
I can't wait to hear about my baby girl's first day at her new preschool and all the fun that she had. The really sucky part of all of this is that we are going to have to have this first day all over again come August when she starts preschool for good and will be going 5 days a week. Hopefully this day will make it easier for both of us come August.
Not long ago I watched the documentary "Food INC." ( I am sure many of you out there have seen it. It is a true eye opener in how our food is processes. This movie totally scared me and we have since then gone as organic as we can.
I thought in order to go organic the easiest way to do so was to shop at "Whole Foods." Now, don't get me wrong I love Whole Foods, but I just can't afford $200 grocery bills per week. That is absolute craziness. But that's what I did for 3 weeks straight....until Brian was like this is nuts, we CAN'T afford this and went on to tell me that I needed to come up with a cheaper way to go organic. You also have to know that typically, before going organic, our grocery bill per week was between $60 and $80 (and that's was without coupons....I HATE coupons)!
I figured I would go back to my old grocery store Giant and see what they had to offer. So that's just what Emma and I did this morning. We packed up our reusable bags and headed out the door.
To my surprise Giant carried almost everything that I needed on my list in an organic brand. I was so excited. I also noticed how much cheaper their prices are for the organic products versus Whole Foods. (PS my debit card also noticed at check out....will get to that later) They have an organic brand there called "Nature's Promise." They also carry many of the same organic snacks that Emma eats for about the same price if not a bit cheaper.
Now on the down side because there's always a down side! They did not carry any organic fruits. I was so upset about that. They do carry some organic vegetables such as celery, lettuces, and spinach, but that was about it.
So much for one stop shopping. It looks like I will have to go to a local market to get my fruits and veggies! It is really hard to be healthy. I totally see why so many Americans don't want to make the switch to organic. It costs more and it is more difficult to shop! In today's fast pace we prefer one stop shopping such as your local Walmart! I do have to give props to my local Giant though, they are trying to carry more organic products and I hope more and more people buy them so they get an even wider selection!
I came out of the store today spending $120 and got a $10 gift card back because for every $200 you spend you get a $10 gift card!
It is very important to me that we eat dinner as a family! We eat together every night at the dinner table NOT in front of the television. Now, don't get me wrong we go out to eat - one of our very favorite things to do, but we sit down together and eat dinner TOGETHER!
Looking back, this is how I was brought up as a child. We had a set time for dinner and that's just the way it was. We were all gathered around the table together.
Now, I didn't say it's a peaceful quiet dinner. By no means is that the case. My daughter is one of the s l o w e s t eaters ever. She gets side-tracked so easily and she talks non-stop. It absolutely drives me insane. Brian and I are finished eating after about 15 minutes, but NO, not our Emma she's just chatting away and has barely touched her food. I seriously just want to scream "SHUT UP and EAT for crying out loud!" It's not that she's a picky eater. That is NOT the case at all...she's just slow and talks. She usually ends up eating everything on her plate. Thank goodness for that I guess.
Well, tonight was one of those nights, she was completely doing her thing. Tonight she just had to have her baby "Shanna" at the table with us. I opposed to it because seriously did we NEED another distraction? Well, my husband caved (as he usually does)and allowed her to go and get the damn doll!
She began feeding the doll her food beer can chicken and mashed potatoes! All of a sudden she came running over to her Daddy SCREAMING "There's food stuck in Shanna's mouth, GET IT OUT GET IT OUT!" Brian's says to her "it's okay, she'll just chew it up it's no big deal." Well, my friends it was a big deal it was a VERY BIG deal! Emma frantically says to Brian, "Babies don't have teeth. She can't chew it up! Get the food out now!"
You may wonder what in the world am I doing at this point...well, that's quite simple LAUGHING hysterically. I couldn't stop either. Emma is screaming...she seriously thinks this doll is REAL and is going to die if her Daddy doesn't get the food out and quick. I was laughing so hard at my daughter's reaction to this food stuck in this doll's mouth that I was seriously crying.
WHEW - Daddy to the rescue. The food came out of Shanna's mouth. Emma took Shanna back over to her chair and tells us "Well, that's enough food for Shanna, I am going to nurse her" and that's just what she did! Emma began to "nurse" her baby! Yes, I said it she was "nursing" her baby!
Shanna's ALIVE and all is well!
Every day this week we woke up to Emma coming in to our room asking "is my party today?" "No, Emma it's not!" Then we would count the days...okay she got it - at least that's what we thought until the next morning - then we'd do it all over again.
Okay, so today is the BIG day. She comes running in to our room this morning, "My party is today right?" We finally gave her the answer she had been waiting to hear ALL week long, "Yes! Your party is today - woo-hoo!" We totally built it up for her. She crawls in to bed with us, "Well, aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?" Seriously - her words not mine. This is funny to us because you see her birthday isn't until July 12th! I started cracking up, "Well, Emma I would wish you a happy birthday but it's NOT your birthday. Remember your birthday is July 12th, I will wish you happy birthday's all day long on your birthday." Her response, "So today is my pretend birthday?" I just went with it! What else could I do - I think this was the only way she was going to get it!
Let's back up a couple of days now to Thursday night...you see her birthday party is at at water park! Perfect, right? Well, you would think...I mean all I would seriously have to worry about is rain and thunder storms right? NOOOOOOOOOOO - oh we get a major storm - microburst people! Power is out EVERYWHERE - we were without power for 18 hours. This storm shuts down the city! Nothing can operate b/c DUH there's no power....including pools! The pool is NOT open and the news is saying it will not be open for a few days! Okay this is the screaming part! I don't watch the news - we never do anymore but we happened to see our water park flash on the news so we were like WTF - we have to watch it. What are we going to do? This is the party my baby girls has been waiting for ALL WEEK LONG! Seriously is this happening. Meanwhile I tried to get in touch with the pool all day long on Friday...but guess what? No phones either. YES, SCREAM! I am a planner people and this is NOT in my plan. Brian and I sit watching the news - and finally here's our story. They say "ALL city pools will be closed" What? Really? Did they really just say that? Oh but wait you know how the news works - "This just in Emma's water park is the ONLY pool in the city OPEN!" OMG - YES! HUG!
Fast forward - Saturday morning. We are all happy and getting all the party stuff ready. It's going to be a great day. Get to the water park early so we can decorate our tables. I am greeted by the head life guard lady.....with this "We don't have a cake for you" I didn't even know what to say. "What no cake? How am I going to have a birthday party without a cake? Why don't I have a cake?" In my head I am thinking, this is what I get for not having total control. I let go a little and this is what happens. That stupid life guard kept talking and I seriously heard NOTHING she said. I was PISSED. Stupid storm. You see that's why I didn't have a cake, Ben and Jerry's still didn't have power so they couldn't make a cake. I couldn't even tell that lady what I wanted to b/c Emma was at my side and oh she heard there was no cake. Oh the look on her little face. I wanted to rip that whistle off life guard lady's neck and smack her with it. Why is she telling me this 30 minutes before my party. What we don't have phones these days? So I start snapping out on Brian (who knows why - it's just what I do) - Luckily there is a grocery store 5 minutes away from pool - Brian leaves and comes back with an ice cream cake. I remember him saying as he left (while I was huffing and puffing and getting ready to blow whatever down) "Why are you letting something so stupid ruin this party?" He was completely right? Why? It all worked out. It wasn't that big of a deal.
All of Emma's little friends came out to help her celebrate turning 4. It was an amazing day. I am so lucky to have a wonderful friend who just happens to be one of the VERY best photographers ever - capture EVERY detail of the party. The smile on Emma's face was awesome. Not once did I look at her and she wasn't smiling...and that brings us to the HUGS!
Let me tell you a little bit about ME and the folks you will be reading about in my posts! I am an elementary teacher (that is a blog itself...probably will write more about that once school starts back up again - my job even goes along with my blog title "trapped between a scream and a hug"). I have been teaching on and off for 10 years. I took a couple of years off to stay at home with my baby girl, Emma....who I'll get to in a minute. Wish I would have known more about blogging then - Anyhow, going on. I have been married to my husband Brian - who I met in college - for almost 8 years (8 year anniversary in August...close enough!) - again "trapped between a scream and hug" Geesh, the title really does say it all. We had our beautiful, loving, and stubborn baby girl Emma in 2006. She is my everything. I never imagined loving someone SO much. We live in a small lake community in VA. I love it here. We are originally from PA...way too cold up there for me. So we live about 6-7 hours away from our family which can be very difficult at times - we have no support here...it's just us. It makes it hard to have a life outside of parenthood. I also feel very bad for Emma b/c she is so far away fro her immediate family. I guess it makes seeing them that much more special though. But, on the opposite side - I love being away - yeah, I know weird...but it's true. I feel VERY accomplished knowing my husband and I have basically done it on our own! I don't have anyone telling me I should be doing things a different way - well besides Brian but oh well. Does he count?? Many days, especially when I am working full time I just want to scream as loud as I can - but then I look in to those gorgeous blue eyes and I melt - and it truly puts things in perspective for me. I do yell, but I hope that I hug more :) So this is me in a nutshell. I love my little family and we are by no means a perfect family - we are just US!
