Baby Shower Frugal

Sometimes I wonder exactly what I could pull off if I was able to make it to the store -- just once -- without children!!!

I thought my purchase tonight was not so great until I got it home and stacked it up. (I think I win the prize for the highest stacking job I have ever had to maneuver. It was just really hard to make everything visible, but I tried!) My pretax total came in at, and I did it allllllll with the baby screaming through the store. That's right. I'm Super Mom. Except...if I were really Super Mom, perhaps my kid wouldn't have been screaming in the first place. Regardless, here is what we got:

1 quarter of unsalted butter
1 family sized Starkist tuna
1/2 gallon of generic OJ
3 Bertolli dinners
1 package of Philadelphia single servings (free)
1 lb of Dole frozen mangoes
1 Minute Maid Limeade concentrate
1 lb of C&H powdered sugar
1 Duncan Hines cake mix
2 cans of Dole mandarin oranges
1 big jar of Hellmans
1 box of Corn Pops
1 bag of Kraft marshmallows
1 package of generic unsweetened applesauce
1 package of Sara Lee bagels
5 jars of Skippy Natural peanut butter
1 1/2 gallon of Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip
1/2 gallon of chocolate 2% milk
5 packages of Activia
1 gallon of hormone free whole milk
1 lb of generic cottage cheese
1 packages of blackberries
1 10 lb (I think) bag of potatoes
9 kiwis

My pretax total came to about $67.00. I had a $10 gift card, which put me at $57.00 pre tax out of pocket. I also got a $10 bounce back coupon from the Unilever purchases.

On the subject of being Super Mom, I'm hosting a baby shower this weekend, so I allowed a little bit of breathing room. I'm responsible for lime shortbread and fresh fruit for 30 people. I grabbed what I thought I needed for both the week and the party, and got out of there as fast as I possibly could. I really had no idea what my grand total would amount to at the check out, but I think we fared pretty well. I'm going to pick up a pineapple and a pound of strawberries tomorrow at Target, and we'll be set. Who said throwing a party had to be expensive??? I just always offer to bring or provide whatever I know I can pull off with ingredients I have on hand or by shopping the sales on any given week.

I don't have an elaborate meal plan for the rest of the week, but I am going to try making Resurrection Biscuits with the girls for the first time. I also am going to make another batch of baby's favorite. This time I think I'm going to try apple/mango/pumpkin. The girls have been eating through a batch SO fast lately. I keep telling myself I'm not going to make it anymore, but it's hard to say no. They really love it, and I love that I've even figured out how to make it delicious while incorporating a vegetable. It's too good for them to quit making it!