I'm running super behind updating this weekend! We made two grocery trips yesterday evening after ballet. The girls were barely able to hold it together through all of those things, so we came home and crashed! We spent the morning at a Salvation Army fundraising breakfast, and then we hit Old Navy and Kohl's for some kid's clothing bargain shopping.

I wasn't that impressed with the grocery store ads this week. I am happiest when I think I can save 50%+ at a single location, but that definitely didn't happen this week.

Here is what we got on our trip to Price Chopper:


My pre-tax total was $18.82. I saved $20.66.

This is what we picked up at Hen House:


My pre-tax total here was $22.13. I saved $12.59. It's not the most impressive savings, but for a collection of "staples," I think it's pretty good. Plus, I was thrilled to find water on sale given my goal of building an emergency water supply. That will be coming out of the normal grocery budget, and I think we're off to a good start. So far, we're up to 48 bottles!

I do have $5 or $6 left. I will probably make a very quick trip to Hy-Vee for cottage cheese, yogurt and Hormel sausages. That will about cover it!

For meals this week, we are having an adapted Apricot Chicken for dinner tomorrow night. We'll be eating dinner at Alpha on Monday night. Tuesday night will have to be quick, as we have my baby's first haircut scheduled for later afternoon. Later in the week, we'll be eating informally with our usual "go-tos" -- grilled cheese, tuna noodles and black bean and cheese quesadillas. I also made yet another huge crock pot full of baby's favorite (apple/pear/apricot this time) for the girls to eat for snacks and breakfast. Lunches this week will be brown bagged, except for mine. I am taking a step up from brown bagging and am actually keep bread, PB&J and a piece of fruit at work to make lunch extra simple AND frugal. I'm cutting back my lunch costs to the absolute bare bones. There is method behind the madness. Stay tuned!

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