Our Little Grocery Helpers

My kids always want to help. Or maybe I should say, they always want to "help."

If you are a parent, I know you know what I'm talking about.

Once a week, I go grocery shopping, and come home to find four little helpers anxious to "help" me unload and put away the groceries. Of course, I think part of it is that they want to see what I brought home for them. It's true. I've found teeth marks in random packages of food that are still sealed.

I finally took a little video of the chaos that ensues as we try to unload and put away our groceries.
As my smiling dad used to say about me and my siblings when we were little, "They take a one hour job and turn it into a three hour job!"

Aw, but they are so cute while they do it!

My kids always want to help. Or maybe I should say, they always want to "help."

If you are a parent, I know you know what I'm talking about.

Once a week, I go grocery shopping, and come home to find four little helpers anxious to "help" me unload and put away the groceries. Of course, I think part of it is that they want to see what I brought home for them. It's true. I've found teeth marks in random packages of food that are still sealed.

I finally took a little video of the chaos that ensues as we try to unload and put away our groceries.
As my smiling dad used to say about me and my siblings when we were little, "They take a one hour job and turn it into a three hour job!"

Aw, but they are so cute while they do it!

{2013 Summer Bucket List} First Trip to Walmart

I know what you're thinking:

        "How is a grocery shopping trip to Walmart worthy of the Summer Bucket List?"

Hey, I get it. I never figured that Walmart would be such a major milestone in our family's life. Weirdly enough, it is.

Since our quads were so premature, born at 27 weeks, 6 days, they haven't had much of an immune system. With two years of being on lockdown, only broken up by a few trips to church last summer, we haven't really gone anywhere normal.

So last week, I decided it was time to do something normal with them. A grocery shopping trip was in order, so I seized the moment.

Thankfully, my good friend Beth was hanging out with us that day, so I roped her into helping me. She thought it would be a grand adventure while I was nervous about how it would turn out. We loaded up the kids in the car, I remembered to grab my grocery list, and we drove to Walmart.

And then I thoroughly spazzed out. It wasn't the people or the potential questions. It was the thought of all of the germs floating around in there. Having preemies has instilled in me some major germaphobia.

So while Beth wiped down two carts with the Clorox wipes we brought with us, I gathered my courage to unload the kids and charge into the germ infested public store.

We split the kids into two carts and buckled in the kids most likely to try to bolt. I started to feel better about the idea as we walked in, but then some guy sneezed and didn't cover his mouth right in front of us. Only a smile from Beth kept me going.

Elijah, Caleb, Mommy, Abby, and Ellie

Now that you have a good look at the crazy workings of my mind, I can tell you that the trip went really well! The boys' cart had to keep moving, or Caleb would try to stand up, and Ellie couldn't believe all the "yummy!" things the grocery store had. In fact, she kept trying to eat the produce in our cart. During the time we were in there, she tried to eat a banana (peel and all), a sweet potato, and managed to open the package of strawberries and start in on those. It was kind of hilarious because she couldn't understand why she had food in front of her but wasn't supposed to eat it. I really should have stopped to take a photo. It was pretty cute!

The kids only started getting impatient once we got to the checkout line, but we successfully walked out with a week's worth of groceries and no meltdowns. Score!

 Beth, Elijah, Caleb, Mommy, Abby, and Ellie

Beth and I rewarded ourselves with a job well done by swinging through Chipotle with my buy-one-get-one-free coupon for lunch. Call me silly, but in our family, it was celebration worthy!

Now I just hope no one gets sick...

I know what you're thinking:

        "How is a grocery shopping trip to Walmart worthy of the Summer Bucket List?"

Hey, I get it. I never figured that Walmart would be such a major milestone in our family's life. Weirdly enough, it is.

Since our quads were so premature, born at 27 weeks, 6 days, they haven't had much of an immune system. With two years of being on lockdown, only broken up by a few trips to church last summer, we haven't really gone anywhere normal.

So last week, I decided it was time to do something normal with them. A grocery shopping trip was in order, so I seized the moment.

Thankfully, my good friend Beth was hanging out with us that day, so I roped her into helping me. She thought it would be a grand adventure while I was nervous about how it would turn out. We loaded up the kids in the car, I remembered to grab my grocery list, and we drove to Walmart.

And then I thoroughly spazzed out. It wasn't the people or the potential questions. It was the thought of all of the germs floating around in there. Having preemies has instilled in me some major germaphobia.

So while Beth wiped down two carts with the Clorox wipes we brought with us, I gathered my courage to unload the kids and charge into the germ infested public store.

We split the kids into two carts and buckled in the kids most likely to try to bolt. I started to feel better about the idea as we walked in, but then some guy sneezed and didn't cover his mouth right in front of us. Only a smile from Beth kept me going.

Elijah, Caleb, Mommy, Abby, and Ellie

Now that you have a good look at the crazy workings of my mind, I can tell you that the trip went really well! The boys' cart had to keep moving, or Caleb would try to stand up, and Ellie couldn't believe all the "yummy!" things the grocery store had. In fact, she kept trying to eat the produce in our cart. During the time we were in there, she tried to eat a banana (peel and all), a sweet potato, and managed to open the package of strawberries and start in on those. It was kind of hilarious because she couldn't understand why she had food in front of her but wasn't supposed to eat it. I really should have stopped to take a photo. It was pretty cute!

The kids only started getting impatient once we got to the checkout line, but we successfully walked out with a week's worth of groceries and no meltdowns. Score!

 Beth, Elijah, Caleb, Mommy, Abby, and Ellie

Beth and I rewarded ourselves with a job well done by swinging through Chipotle with my buy-one-get-one-free coupon for lunch. Call me silly, but in our family, it was celebration worthy!

Now I just hope no one gets sick...

Meal Tip #3: Price Matching + 3 Strategies to Make it Easy!

This is the third post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!

Pin for future reference! 

Price Matching is my number one go-to strategy for saving money at the grocery store. Every week, I go through the sale ads, base my grocery list around what is on sale according to my grocery price book, and then price match my way through the checkout line. It takes a few extra minutes of prep at home, but the payoff is awesome! 

Where I Price Match

I know that a lot of people have varying opinions about shopping at Walmart. While I can't say that it's my favorite place to go (too many people!), it is really convenient for us. Why? Because Walmart has an awesome price matching policy. They will match just about anything in a competitor's ad. Honestly, it's a brilliant marketing move because I now know that I can get just about everything on my list at the cheapest price possible in one place.

But what a lot of people don't know is that you don't even have to have the ads with you to price match. I've come across people in the store visibly debating with themselves about whether to go with version A or B of a product. I've mentioned to them which product is on sale, and they inevitably respond, "Oh, but I don't have the ad with me." Guess what? They will still honor the price match even if you can't "show" it to them! With that being said, they do keep a book of ads at the customer service desk that they can double check customer's prices against if something doesn't seem right. And yes, I've also watched them catch customer's lying about sale prices. But as long as you are honest with the price matching, it's a great tool to cut your grocery costs and save time!

As a bonus, they also let you price match other store brand sales to Walmart's store brand! I just learned about this one! Every Walmart is different, so make sure you check with a customer service manager before trying this (note: check with a manager, not a store employee. The turn over is huge, so a lot of employees don't know the rules). I now price match HyVee, Best Choice, Save-A-Lot , etc all at Walmart and it reduces the need to drive around and pick up loss leaders elsewhere.

Top Three Strategies for Easy Price Matching

in the Checkout Line

1. Go early in the morning and learn which cashiers are experienced. I go first thing on a weekend morning to beat the rush (again, too many people). I can now count 3-4 cashiers who know me, plus I'm on a first name basis with the Customer Service Manager. Best Walmart advice? Learn which cashiers know how to price match quickly, and then engage them in conversation and be polite. They are people too, and enjoy being treated as such! It makes the whole process go more smoothly.

2. Group all of your price match items at the end of the transaction. When I check out, I put all of my regular priced items on the belt first, then use something large (like a sack of potatoes or a couple boxes of crackers) to separate the first half of the transaction from the last half. Then, when the cashier gets to my order, I let her know that I'm price matching everything "from the row of bananas to the end." It makes it much simpler for them to ring the first part through quickly and then stop before running through the end. Whatever you do, do not mix your price match items in with your regular items. It will be a complete headache for the cashier as they have to back out any of your sale items and adjust the price again.

3. Know exactly what the cost of your price match items are. I take my ads, a list of the sale items that I might like, and a highlighter to the store. As I pick up my price matched items, I highlight them on my list along with the sale price so that I can find them easily at the register. I rarely use the ads in store, but having them with makes it much easier to "prove" a price if necessary. The one thing you want to avoid, is looking through your ads, trying to find a price while the cashier, and everyone else in line waits on you. It's just bad manners.

I'm not an extreme couponer. In fact, I don't use coupons very often because I just don't have time to hunt them down. Instead, I use this price matching tactic to reduce our grocery costs as much as possible. All it takes is a few minutes of planning to cut dollars off of your grocery total!

Pin for future reference!  

What is your best in-store strategy to save money while grocery shopping?

This is the third post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!

Pin for future reference! 

Price Matching is my number one go-to strategy for saving money at the grocery store. Every week, I go through the sale ads, base my grocery list around what is on sale according to my grocery price book, and then price match my way through the checkout line. It takes a few extra minutes of prep at home, but the payoff is awesome! 

Where I Price Match

I know that a lot of people have varying opinions about shopping at Walmart. While I can't say that it's my favorite place to go (too many people!), it is really convenient for us. Why? Because Walmart has an awesome price matching policy. They will match just about anything in a competitor's ad. Honestly, it's a brilliant marketing move because I now know that I can get just about everything on my list at the cheapest price possible in one place.

But what a lot of people don't know is that you don't even have to have the ads with you to price match. I've come across people in the store visibly debating with themselves about whether to go with version A or B of a product. I've mentioned to them which product is on sale, and they inevitably respond, "Oh, but I don't have the ad with me." Guess what? They will still honor the price match even if you can't "show" it to them! With that being said, they do keep a book of ads at the customer service desk that they can double check customer's prices against if something doesn't seem right. And yes, I've also watched them catch customer's lying about sale prices. But as long as you are honest with the price matching, it's a great tool to cut your grocery costs and save time!

As a bonus, they also let you price match other store brand sales to Walmart's store brand! I just learned about this one! Every Walmart is different, so make sure you check with a customer service manager before trying this (note: check with a manager, not a store employee. The turn over is huge, so a lot of employees don't know the rules). I now price match HyVee, Best Choice, Save-A-Lot , etc all at Walmart and it reduces the need to drive around and pick up loss leaders elsewhere.

Top Three Strategies for Easy Price Matching

in the Checkout Line

1. Go early in the morning and learn which cashiers are experienced. I go first thing on a weekend morning to beat the rush (again, too many people). I can now count 3-4 cashiers who know me, plus I'm on a first name basis with the Customer Service Manager. Best Walmart advice? Learn which cashiers know how to price match quickly, and then engage them in conversation and be polite. They are people too, and enjoy being treated as such! It makes the whole process go more smoothly.

2. Group all of your price match items at the end of the transaction. When I check out, I put all of my regular priced items on the belt first, then use something large (like a sack of potatoes or a couple boxes of crackers) to separate the first half of the transaction from the last half. Then, when the cashier gets to my order, I let her know that I'm price matching everything "from the row of bananas to the end." It makes it much simpler for them to ring the first part through quickly and then stop before running through the end. Whatever you do, do not mix your price match items in with your regular items. It will be a complete headache for the cashier as they have to back out any of your sale items and adjust the price again.

3. Know exactly what the cost of your price match items are. I take my ads, a list of the sale items that I might like, and a highlighter to the store. As I pick up my price matched items, I highlight them on my list along with the sale price so that I can find them easily at the register. I rarely use the ads in store, but having them with makes it much easier to "prove" a price if necessary. The one thing you want to avoid, is looking through your ads, trying to find a price while the cashier, and everyone else in line waits on you. It's just bad manners.

I'm not an extreme couponer. In fact, I don't use coupons very often because I just don't have time to hunt them down. Instead, I use this price matching tactic to reduce our grocery costs as much as possible. All it takes is a few minutes of planning to cut dollars off of your grocery total!

Pin for future reference!  

What is your best in-store strategy to save money while grocery shopping?

Meal Tip #2: Theme Nights

This is the second post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!

Have you noticed that the price of groceries keeps climbing? About a year ago, I started keeping a spreadsheet on my computer of how much I spend on groceries, personal care items, household items, etc. That grocery category keeps ticking up. Yikes!

One of the biggest culprits of grocery budget sky-rocketing is the cost of meat. Before kids, I honestly didn't think twice about Sean and I devouring an entire pound of ground beef between the two of us in one meal. Not anymore! Now, I look for ways to cut our costs as much as possible without losing the benefits of having meat in our diet.

Since having the kids, we've adopted a version of a meal "theme night." Or, "theme nights," rather.

As I sit down every week and work through the sale ads, I keep in mind three types of meals that I want to include in my menu plan:

• Breakfast for Dinner
• Meatless Meal
• Pasta Dish

By including each of these types of meals every week, we've been able to reduce our grocery budget. Let's break them down a bit so that you can get an idea of what I cook...keeping in mind that what we cook changes based on what's on sale.

1. Breakfast for Dinner: This is a personal favorite of mine, so it wasn't hard to incorporate. Sean, on the other hand, is not a huge fan of breakfast items. I think he is learning to adapt though. On breakfast night, I typically whip up pancakes, french toast, or waffles, and serve them with a side of my Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. The majority of this meal is made from bread and eggs. That's cheap, folks. Really cheap.

What's more, I've figured out how to stretch one pound of bacon to feed all six of us for three different "Breakfast for Dinner" meals:

Meal 1: Cook the entire package of bacon on the stove or in the oven. The kids each get one piece, Sean gets 2-3, and I eat one. I like bacon but don't love it so I choose to stop after one and save it for another meal. Then I freeze the leftover cooked bacon.

Meal 2: Take 1/2 of the leftover frozen cooked bacon (which at this point is about 1/3 of a package) and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. A little bacon adds a huge flavor punch to the scramble!

Meal 3: Take the last of the leftover frozen cooked bacon and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. It honestly tastes like there is a lot more bacon in the eggs than what I throw in there.

At the same time, making sure that the family gets enough protein is really important to me. Because of that, I've started making pancakes and waffles with cottage cheese blended into them. Cottage cheese is almost always on sale (plus, you can't even taste it this way!) Between the high-protein pancakes/waffles and the eggs, the family is still getting a pretty good dose of protein!

2. Meatless Meal: I started making these last summer when we were in a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA). I'd end up with these bags of vegetables that I wasn't sure what to do with. To use them all up, I started putting the veggies in everything, often using them in place of the meat in a dish. I couldn't stand the thought of them going bad before we had a chance to eat them!

In the process, I discovered that meat really isn't a necessity for a great meal! Some of our favorite meals have become Baked Eggplant Parmesean, Summer Spaghetti, and Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Skillet. We really don't even miss the meat because there is so much flavor from the veggies, spices, and herbs that lace each dish.

A lot of people think that veggies are expensive. The truth is that veggies on sale are cheaper per pound than meat when it is on sale. Don't believe me? Take a look at your sale ads this week. You'll save money by buying more fresh, frozen, and canned veggies!

3. Pasta Dish: Pasta is insanely cheap. If you watch for sales, you can easily pick up a pound of pasta for $1.00 or less. This week, a local grocery store had pasta for $0.88 per pound! That's the base for a whole meal! Even if you add in 1/2 pound of ground beef, or a couple chopped chicken breasts, you are still ahead of the game. If you are worried about the nutrition (or lack thereof) in white enriched pasta, spring for the whole wheat version (there are some really good, non-cardboard-y options out there these days!) and only add an extra $1 or so to your meal total.

Also, spices and herbs are your best friends when it comes to taking an "okay" dish to a "great" dish. Don't be afraid to throw some in the skillet!

The truth of the matter is this: Our eating habits DID change when kids entered the picture. And yes, we DO miss some of the splurge items and getting to eat out (goodness, I totally miss the eating out part!), but that doesn't mean that we aren't eating well.

Your budget doesn't have to influence the taste of your food.

Feel free to adopt that as your mantra as well!

I realized while writing this that maybe I should post some of the quick, easy, and cheap meals that our family eats for dinner. Would that be of interest to anyone?

Don't forget to pin this post for reference! 
This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

This is the second post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!

Have you noticed that the price of groceries keeps climbing? About a year ago, I started keeping a spreadsheet on my computer of how much I spend on groceries, personal care items, household items, etc. That grocery category keeps ticking up. Yikes!

One of the biggest culprits of grocery budget sky-rocketing is the cost of meat. Before kids, I honestly didn't think twice about Sean and I devouring an entire pound of ground beef between the two of us in one meal. Not anymore! Now, I look for ways to cut our costs as much as possible without losing the benefits of having meat in our diet.

Since having the kids, we've adopted a version of a meal "theme night." Or, "theme nights," rather.

As I sit down every week and work through the sale ads, I keep in mind three types of meals that I want to include in my menu plan:

• Breakfast for Dinner
• Meatless Meal
• Pasta Dish

By including each of these types of meals every week, we've been able to reduce our grocery budget. Let's break them down a bit so that you can get an idea of what I cook...keeping in mind that what we cook changes based on what's on sale.

1. Breakfast for Dinner: This is a personal favorite of mine, so it wasn't hard to incorporate. Sean, on the other hand, is not a huge fan of breakfast items. I think he is learning to adapt though. On breakfast night, I typically whip up pancakes, french toast, or waffles, and serve them with a side of my Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. The majority of this meal is made from bread and eggs. That's cheap, folks. Really cheap.

What's more, I've figured out how to stretch one pound of bacon to feed all six of us for three different "Breakfast for Dinner" meals:

Meal 1: Cook the entire package of bacon on the stove or in the oven. The kids each get one piece, Sean gets 2-3, and I eat one. I like bacon but don't love it so I choose to stop after one and save it for another meal. Then I freeze the leftover cooked bacon.

Meal 2: Take 1/2 of the leftover frozen cooked bacon (which at this point is about 1/3 of a package) and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. A little bacon adds a huge flavor punch to the scramble!

Meal 3: Take the last of the leftover frozen cooked bacon and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. It honestly tastes like there is a lot more bacon in the eggs than what I throw in there.

At the same time, making sure that the family gets enough protein is really important to me. Because of that, I've started making pancakes and waffles with cottage cheese blended into them. Cottage cheese is almost always on sale (plus, you can't even taste it this way!) Between the high-protein pancakes/waffles and the eggs, the family is still getting a pretty good dose of protein!

2. Meatless Meal: I started making these last summer when we were in a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA). I'd end up with these bags of vegetables that I wasn't sure what to do with. To use them all up, I started putting the veggies in everything, often using them in place of the meat in a dish. I couldn't stand the thought of them going bad before we had a chance to eat them!

In the process, I discovered that meat really isn't a necessity for a great meal! Some of our favorite meals have become Baked Eggplant Parmesean, Summer Spaghetti, and Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Skillet. We really don't even miss the meat because there is so much flavor from the veggies, spices, and herbs that lace each dish.

A lot of people think that veggies are expensive. The truth is that veggies on sale are cheaper per pound than meat when it is on sale. Don't believe me? Take a look at your sale ads this week. You'll save money by buying more fresh, frozen, and canned veggies!

3. Pasta Dish: Pasta is insanely cheap. If you watch for sales, you can easily pick up a pound of pasta for $1.00 or less. This week, a local grocery store had pasta for $0.88 per pound! That's the base for a whole meal! Even if you add in 1/2 pound of ground beef, or a couple chopped chicken breasts, you are still ahead of the game. If you are worried about the nutrition (or lack thereof) in white enriched pasta, spring for the whole wheat version (there are some really good, non-cardboard-y options out there these days!) and only add an extra $1 or so to your meal total.

Also, spices and herbs are your best friends when it comes to taking an "okay" dish to a "great" dish. Don't be afraid to throw some in the skillet!

The truth of the matter is this: Our eating habits DID change when kids entered the picture. And yes, we DO miss some of the splurge items and getting to eat out (goodness, I totally miss the eating out part!), but that doesn't mean that we aren't eating well.

Your budget doesn't have to influence the taste of your food.

Feel free to adopt that as your mantra as well!

I realized while writing this that maybe I should post some of the quick, easy, and cheap meals that our family eats for dinner. Would that be of interest to anyone?

Don't forget to pin this post for reference! 
This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

Is This Real Life??

Walmart is already an adventure even though I haven't actually taken the kids shopping with me yet.

Every month I pick up 32 cans of formula to feed our little people.

Yeah, that's over $1000 worth of formula if you are curious. We are blessed to qualify for a little assistance with that. Otherwise...holy cow!

Anyway, I can't go to pick up that much formula without creating a bit of a scene. I try to do it all at one time so I don't have to think about it every week, but it always ends up drawing attention. Last week was no different.



I unloaded 19 cans of formula (that's all they had, I'll get more this week) onto the checkout belt and proceeded to start unloading the rest of our regular groceries.

 Cashier: Those aren't all for one baby, are they?!
Me: Oh no. I have quadruplets.
Lady in front of me: *stops mid-credit card swipe and her jaw drops* You have what?!
Me: I have quadruplets. *still unloading groceries*
Lady: How many IS that?
Me: That's four.
Lady: You have four babies? I've seen stuff about people like you on TV but I've never actually met someone in real life!
Me: Oh...yep. We're real!



Too funny! Based on the response to just buying formula, I'm guessing that the stories will get even better once we are finished with lock down and we actually start taking the kids out with us!

Walmart is already an adventure even though I haven't actually taken the kids shopping with me yet.

Every month I pick up 32 cans of formula to feed our little people.

Yeah, that's over $1000 worth of formula if you are curious. We are blessed to qualify for a little assistance with that. Otherwise...holy cow!

Anyway, I can't go to pick up that much formula without creating a bit of a scene. I try to do it all at one time so I don't have to think about it every week, but it always ends up drawing attention. Last week was no different.



I unloaded 19 cans of formula (that's all they had, I'll get more this week) onto the checkout belt and proceeded to start unloading the rest of our regular groceries.

 Cashier: Those aren't all for one baby, are they?!
Me: Oh no. I have quadruplets.
Lady in front of me: *stops mid-credit card swipe and her jaw drops* You have what?!
Me: I have quadruplets. *still unloading groceries*
Lady: How many IS that?
Me: That's four.
Lady: You have four babies? I've seen stuff about people like you on TV but I've never actually met someone in real life!
Me: Oh...yep. We're real!



Too funny! Based on the response to just buying formula, I'm guessing that the stories will get even better once we are finished with lock down and we actually start taking the kids out with us!