Saturday, January 3, 2009

Boy Briefs: The Chocolate Covered Potty Training Grocery Version

We're enjoying the last few days of our holiday break before heading back to the grind on Monday. In the meantime enjoy these HHBBs!


I've taken advantage of the down time and decided to buckle down on potty training Eli. When they say the second kid is easier it is SO true! The combo of Eli emulating his brother and ratio of PPTE (Parent Potty Training Experience) has resulted in only two accidents total so far. Today was five of no Pull-Ups, and we even braved the grocery store and nap time in big boy britches. I'm still putting him in Pull-Ups at night but he's usually dry in the morning.

Eli's been so proud of himself and excited to be a Big Boy. So has his Mamma.

Big Boy2
Contrary to the way this photo appears, Eli is laughing & smiling for the camera... as opposed to something else.


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Just about every year, Caleb gets me a Chocolate Cadbury Biscuit tin for Christmas. It's one of my favorite things on earth.

I was sneaking a taste in the kitchen when Finn snuck up behind me.

Finn: "Mom, you sposeta SHARE. Can I have a cookie... please?"

Me: "Why is it you only remember the magic word when it involves cookies?"
I went ahead and sacrificed a biscuit to my eldest son. The reaction was instant and so very worth it.

Finn: rolling his eyes up in his head "Oh, MOMMY. Oh... this... has changed my life forever!"

That's my boy.


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I always heard that boys eat lots of food, but I didn't expect that to start at the HH until Finn & Eli were much older. I was WRONG. We go through four gallons of milk a week, over 2 loaves of bread, a gallon of juice, 2 bunches of bananas, and a dozen apples. And this is just liquids and fruit snacks. I find myself going to the grocery store 2-3 times a week, and each time I inadvertently walk out spending more than I intended.

I blame this on myself. If I see something and we need it and will eat it, I usually get it. It's the girl scout in me I guess, but it can be a real problem when I pop in to get a couple ingredients for a recipe and walk out with $70 worth of groceries. So I thought I'd conduct a little experiment. Today I went to the grocery store and got $139 worth of groceries. I'm going to see how long it takes for us to eat this down without having to go back. Even if it means having something for dinner we aren't in the mood for, or isn't a particular favorite.

I've planned some meals for the week (it made it much easier to shop with coupons) and will try to stretch some meals out. Who know? Maybe we'll save some money & I can take the time I was spending in Publix and use it to do something productive... like clean, or laundry, or organize a closet. (Or sleep!)

Here are my dinner ideas: (listed here especially for Sandypants)
  • Beans, fried cabbage, & ham - ham leftover from New Years
  • Chili - using leftover beans
  • Sarah's Picante Pot Roast 
  • Taco Salad (made with ground turkey)
  • Salmon, spinach couscous, steamed broccoli
  • Spaghetti & Meatballs
  • Asian garlic chicken with cashew broccoli & brown rice
  • Shepherds or Cottage Pie
  • BBQ chicken, green beans, baked potatoes
  • Leftovers and/or sandwich night
  • Breakfast for Dinner night

I think the key is to use all your fresh veggies ASAP then switch to frozen after we've eaten those up. We always have canned in the pantry but I use those sparingly due to the convenience factor (plus canned veggies have more sodium). I think I can make it at least one whole week before I need to go back to the grocery store for anything, with the exception of milk.

Especially now that I don't have to get those craptastic Pull-Ups anymore!


If you have any good "scrappy" meals you can recommend I would love to see them - just leave them in the comments.

8 comments:

Sophie said...

Congratulations!! I just realized this is the first full year where no one in the house needs potty training!!! Wow. I now need to sit back and digest that realization!!

Gay said...

Love this post... brings back so many memories, especially now that my daughter will turn 19 next week. How did THAT happen???)

With her, we didn't get too worked up about accidents. Kids don't like wet drawers, and once they get the idea that it's up to them to prevent them (sort of like Smoky Bear's "only you can prevent forest fires") they try pretty hard to prevent them. She just needed reminding when she was going to be away from the potty for awhile, so she could prepare ahead of time.

Looking forward to updates.

--Gay Walker
http://www.gaymwalker.blogspot.com

ArtistUnplugged said...

So proud of Eli!!!!!! Woo hoo, I know you are excited! Finn, the little funny boy. You have a wonderful menu for this week. I will get around this week to sending you the Taco Pie recipe. BigBoy leaves for school today, will be different, he will be home more this semester since football is over, club volleyball starts now.

Dr. P said...

That is great about Eli - isn't it strange to be proud that your boy can put his own poo in the toilet?

I know what you mean about groceries - I went to the store yesterday for 5 things and came out $94 lighter! We are trying to eat out less so your menu will come in handy. Thanks for the great ideas and tips.

Amy said...

At the beginning of the year we go through the cabinets and find all kinds of things we bought but never ate. It's a fun experiment to see what you can come up with before going grocery shopping again.
Sandy needs to send his "Souper Chili" recipe. It's low in WW points, too! It's easy with canned veggies, but you could use fresh ones, too, of course.

Congrats to Eli!! We'll use that for peer pressure for Connery. "Eli's doing it. Don't you wanna?" He'll say, "Mom, if Eli jumped off a bridge..."

Aracely said...

When my last baby is finally potty trained, THAT will be the happiest day of my life!

I'm so happy for you, and Eli (Eli is my baby's name too... Elian)

4funboys said...

I thought I was done potty training years ago... but with boys... it's ongoing! It just turns into the whole concept of "PRACTICING their AIM!!"

Tyne said...

Great challenge. We pull cash from Caleb's paycheck every week and that is what we use for allllll of our food. So if I spend 3/4 of it at the grocery store, I try not to go back so we can eat out or get take out once a week. I am despising cooking lately, wish I had a recipe for you... Sorry I haven't been by lately, I am with you on the busy factor.

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