Former Grocery Store Snob

I must admit, I have been quite the grocery store snob in my day. It all started right when I graduated college.... one of my friends actually ran into the poo of a child smack dab in the middle of a discount grocery store aisle, and from that day forward, I vowed to spare no expense in an attempt to avoid this type of trashery.

However, my husband & I have recently read the book, "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey and are trying to identify different habits in our daily lives that we could change in an attempt to save some money on a day-to-day basis. Right off the bat, my husband (the non-grocery shopper that he is) clued in on my grocery habits. "Babe, you're going to have to hit Shop-n-Save.... and while you're at it, why don't you stop at Aldi, too???"

Immediately, a flashing red warning light started to sound in my mind. Shop n Save?!?!?!? Aldi?!?!?!?!? Who exactly does my husband think I am? Someone who bags her on groceries??? Um, I don't think so!

But, in the financial interest of our family, I decided to give in and at least give it a try. Shop n Save has not been bad at all - and surprisingly, I do get quite excited about the deals that I find there - esp the $10 off $50 Thursdays! My husband & I have been known to join forces on these days with 2 carts, take the store by storm, and end up getting $20 off $100 of groceries. For a gal who does not have all day to cut coupons, this is quite the accomplishment, I feel!!!

However.... Aldi. I pulled up into the parking lot and decided I had nothing to lose and walked inside. Initially, I realize that everyone has a cart except for me. "Dang, I missed grabbing a cart outside!!!!" Amateur.

Then, I realize out of the people who had no carts, they were carrying their own plastic grocery bags to use as a "basket" while shopping. Crap. I had not thought of this either.

I tried to keep my head up and start shopping the price tags, and I was pleasantly surprised! $1.49 for a pound of butter!! $1.99 for a gallon of milk!!! 85 cents for a loaf of bread!!! And, don't even get me started on how great the fruit/veggie prices are!!!

My head started to spin and my hands started to grab all the deals in sight. Before I knew it, my grab was filled to the brim, and I got in line. This is when I really noticed that everyone had brought their own bags. I quickly grabbed a re-useable grocery bag (to the tune of $1.99) and checked out without too much embarassment at my obvious lack of knowing how the heck to work an Aldi!

Since I couldn't take advantage of all the deals initially, I did not hesitate to return the next week. Upon this trip, I remembered that I needed to (a) bring my own bags and (b) grab a cart prior to entering the store. However, a word to the wise - you need a quarter to grab a cart (you get it back when you return it).

2 months have passed and I think I have only been to Schnuck's once and Dierberg's maybe twice since then (all for just little odds & ends) and I have to smile when I think of all the money I've saved!!!

Just Go

So, today is the day before my husband and I get to get the heck out of town and go down to Nashville with friends of ours to go see the one & only Dave Mathews Band. Needless to say, there is a LOT to be done - we have to get our son ready to spend the weekend at Grandma's (and he does not travel light), the dogs ready to be gone all weekend, and of course, everything planned for us to be gone all weekend.

So..hmm... with all this to be done, what does my husband do this afternoon?? Oh, he takes the afternoon off work....to golf. Um, right.

So, starting at 9:15 this morning, JD and I left the house and had been going non-stop. I called my husband at about 3:00 to see what his plans were i.e. when he would be home.

Him: "Um, babe, we just started golfing not that long ago, I probably won't be home for another few hours."

Me: "Well, I was hoping to get to go to the mall before the day is over and it's about J.D.'s naptime."

Him: "Just go to the mall if you want to go."

Hmmm.... let's think about those first 2 words - Just Go. Does a mommy ever get to just go??? I don't think so. Allow me to explain.

I decided to take my husband's advice. I stopped off briefly at the house to unload some groceries & squeeze in a quick bottle for J.D. and started on my way to the mall, hoping that J.D. would just catch a quick snooze in the car and would be able to endure about an hour of me shopping. But, today, mommy did not get so lucky. J.D. was jibber-jabbering the whole ride and did not catch one wink of sleep.

But, I was at the mall (this is a once every few month occasion), and darnit, I was going shopping! I packed him into his stroller and thought I would just do a quick lap around the mall.

Problem #1 - I did not strategically park so that I was close to the elevator, thus I lost a good 15 minutes of shop time just tracking down the elevator and using it to get to the lower level of shopping. Frustrating.

Problem #2 - Finally make it into store #1 and J.D. is doing great. I really could not believe my luck at this point. I stacked up some items to go & try on, had a little teeny-bopper let me into the fitting room which was big enough for J.D. and me both, and I started to try on clothes. Well, let me rephrase that. I stripped down to my skimpies and started to try on a pair of too-small jeans when J.D. started to SCREAM bloody murder and it took me a good 10 minutes to calm him down - at this point, he crashes out in his stroller so I could actually finish trying on in peace (Thank you, God.), however, I'm sure the other teeny-bops lingering around were really enjoying listening to J.D. cry at the top of his lungs.

Problem #3 - Just when I go to leave the fitting room ol' girl teeny-bopper says, "Oh wow! SO CUTE!!!" towards the sleeping baby J.D. which wakes him up, startles him, upon which he starts to SCREAM bloody murder again. Just great. This continues until I'm able to check-out (which there was a line) and we leave the store.

Problem #4 - I did not get to do a full shopping trip because of all the above shenanigans so I was forced to buy a few items un-tried-on which really should be rule #1 on the Don't Do List for new mommies shopping.


So....hmmm.... did I get to just go??? I don't think so. I think my husband got to "just go" golfing all afternoon. I don't think mommies ever get that privilege.



P.S. This does not include my other day's adventures which include entertaining a 6 month old baby while waiting for an hour & 40 minute oil change and trying to calm a baby who insists on high-pitch squealing throughout the grocery store. Just Go?????!???? Um, yeah right.

Opening Day...

So, I was watching a Tivo'd episode of Oprah the other day and the topic was something like "The Other Side of Being a Mom" or something like that, and a few of the women on there had blogs and were talking about how therapeutic it is for them, so I decided to breathe some fresh new life into my myspace blog and begin anew here on blogspot. Back in my younger pre-mommy days, I used to post regularly about my trials and my tribulations through my life, and I actually did enjoy doing it, however, in my older, post-mommy days, it is hard to find the time... but that is one of my '09 Resolutions - time for ME. I will try to keep the pictures of my little precious one to a minimum and try to keep it as real as possible. Like one of the moms on Oprah said, "I love being a mom, I just hate doing it." Not that I hate doing it... most days I love it when I get to cuddle and love my little boy for those precious "at home" hours during the work week, but Good Lord, it can be hard. And with that, I will start....

THE MOM JEAN

I came to a very alarming conclusion today, and I believe I have reached a new low point in my life - I think I actually understand the Mom Jean. *shudder* Just the thought scares me. Seriously.

Some of you may know that I am planning a trip to Nashville this weekend, not to see my sexy single friend Lucy, but to go see the sexy single (I think) man Dave Mathews with my hubby and our friends Mike & Kait. I seriously could NOT be more excited for this outing, and I have been trying to plan my weekend wardrobe for months... or weeks at least.

This brings me to a problem. My wardrobe. *shudder* Just the thought scares me. Seriously. After having my precious little one, my life has stumbled back into a new-found "normalcy" of sorts, and I guess you could say that my body has stumbled into a new-found "normalcy" as well. Emphasis on new-found.

I am proud to say that I am actually 5 lbs lighter than I was before I got pregnant, although, I really don't think that you'd know it by looking at me. After years of following celebrity gossip and celebrity moms and ignorming the real world around me, I was naive enough to think that post-baby bodies actually resemble pre-baby bodies. Oh, how wrong I was.

So, sifting through my closet this morning, I try on top after top (not enough room for boobs or shows too much saggy mom-cleavage or has somehow morphed into being too short) and pant after pant (creates muffin top or does not want to snap around my hips or accentuates curves that should not be shown in public). I thought to myself, "hmmm...I need to go to the mall. Obviously. I need to get some new pants. Obviously. What do I want my pants to look like?"

The Mom Jean popped into my head!! Something high-wasted to conceal and smooth the below-the-belly-button area, dark in wash to give the illusion of a smaller bottom, yet long enough so that I can wear heels (which are a must) to elongate my legs. Doesn't this sound somewhat familiar???

Now, not that I am going to verge into the tapered leg jean (a definite "don't", I believe, for any girl above 18 years old) or go back to the stone-wash jean circa 1987. But, that high waistline is looking oddly attractive.

I'm left wondering where those minus 5 lbs came from??? I think my doctor's scale must seriously be showing me an optical illusion. I am 5 lbs lighter, but my body is definitely not the same. Just for fun I may post pictures of me in a swimming suit. Just for fun. And just maybe. I think it might be oddly liberating.

Anyway, so there you have it. Similar to the pregnancy day where I thought about wearing an entire outfit that was mint-green and came straight from 1994 due to it's stretchy elasticity and comfort, I am now contemplating where in the world one might find a tasteful pair of Mom Jeans.