I Challenged Myself to Stay Out of Wal*Mart

A child care provider's income is inconsistent and usually not a lot. I have to keep my costs low. I stick to a tight budget. My grocery budget is our only flexible expense. Sometimes I have to stretch it very, very thin.

What a difference a year makes! Up until June of 2008 my weekly shopping routine was to go thrift store shopping, go to Wal*Mart (which was NOT a Super Center) and pick up cleaning supplies, health and beauty items, diapers, paper products, etc., then go to a grocery store to get the weekly groceries.

In June of 2008 Wal*Mart moved from the end of town to a new Super Center eight miles out of our town. I live on the opposite end of where they moved it, so I'm up to a 24 mile round-trip. With the climbing gas prices, it was no longer a quick run or on my way to thrift stores. I was certain the Super Center prices and variety would make up for the cost of driving out there.

It was lots of fun shopping in a new, big store! The household items, health & beauty, hardware, electronics, pets, etc. departments contained pretty much the same items as in the old store and the same prices, too. The new grocery section was fun to shop in. The prices are good on just about any packaged item, frozen item, dairy, and more. They have more variety and brands I haven't seen before.

Although I really enjoyed shopping there, it was hard for me to justify spending that much in gas money every week. I reorganized my budget to make it a monthly trip to Wal*Mart. That was half our monthly grocery budget for a once-a-month trip to Wal*Mart for groceries and paper products, health items, pet items, etc. The other half of our budget was spread over three or four weeks of going to a more local to me grocery store and getting milk, produce, etc. that we needed for the week.

I shopped like that for several months and made it work. I became more and more unhappy about it though because each month I would shop I would notice Wal*Mart was out of an item I used to buy there all the time and I would never see it again, the prices kept creeping up, and the last straw was when the big box of Parent's Choice diapers were shrunk down to 10-20 less diapers in the box and the price stayed the same.

My mindset until then was that I would keep my grocery spending low if I bought non-food items at Wal*Mart, but with all the changes, would I?

Earlier this spring, I decided to see if I could make my budget work without a Wal*Mart run. Could I actually stay in my budget by shopping elsewhere? There were many years in my life when I believed I could not live without Wal*Mart. Well, if it doesn't work out, I can take my 24-mile round trip any time I need to.

I think May was the last regular trip to Wal*Mart and I was on my way to find discount prices elsewhere. To my surprise, it wasn't that hard! One of my biggest expenses is diapers and I started with that.

I can find comparable generic diapers at Walgreens, Kmart or Smith's (Kroger), but found I can get Luvs for the same price per diaper through Amazon.com or Diapers.com. They all offer free shipping with a $50 order (some sites less). So now, diapers, Huggies baby wipes (comes to about the same price I can buy them at the store), baby powder, diaper cream and other supplies are delivered right to my doorstep for the same price as going to a store and buying the same amount of diapers and wipes.

I've found many grocery-type items at Amazon.com and have ordered several from Nestle Quick to shampoo. The trick is to look for items that are offered for free shipping for orders over $25, then order at least $25 worth of items.

So what about the other items I would buy at Wal*Mart? It's not hard to catch toothpaste on sale or deodorant in a clearance rack or something. Our Smith's store has a clearance rack that I regularly go though. I've found pet items, baby formula, toiletries, and other items for good prices. Sometimes you have to be a little flexible with your brands and such. Also shopping at our Family Dollar store for laundry soap and dish soap has helped. Reading the store fliers weekly and taking advantage of the loss leaders is a great strategy.

Over-all, I went six months without going to Wal*Mart at all! I didn't miss it or wish I could go. Didn't even think about it. I spend a few more minutes a week reading the sale papers and spend a little extra money if there's something I use all the time on sale and stock-up. I'm very happy with my new shopping routine.

What got me to go to Wal*Mart after six months? Camera shopping :). After looking online and calling around to stores, Wal*Mart had the best price, so for that, we took the trip. Also, I did go to the Black Friday sale (but well after they had opened--somewhere around 9am) and didn't buy much.

So, I've learned I CAN live without Wal*Mart. I think I've learned a new way to use Wal*Mart--to my advantage.

Family Food, Not Baby Food

Baby food--what comes to mind? Little jars of pureed food? A box of dry cereal to be mixed with formula? Anything edible you can find down an infant aisle in a grocery store?

If you ask me, looking down that infant aisle in the grocery store represents big business. I'm not saying there is not a time and place for commercially made baby food, but I'm asking you to think about this differently.

Wikipedia says "The industrial revolution saw the beginning of the baby food market which promoted baby foods as convenience items." What did babies eat before baby food was available? What do babies eat in other countries? If we didn't have baby food available, what would we feed babies?

I bought into the pureed baby food belief, too. While feeding our own children baby food all those years ago, we asked ourselves after a while, "what is the purpose of this?" It wasn't long before our children grabbed the nearest green bean off the table or bread off the nearest plate. Not long after that, our babies were refusing the commercially made baby food and insisting on table food.

After several years of caring for infants and young toddlers, the progression is almost always the same and infants seem ready for table food long before parents are 'ready'.

I did some research and found some interesting facts:

IrishHealth.com: ". . . babies are capable of chewing at six months, and giving them pureed baby foods such as those widely available commercially could delay development of chewing ability. . . Ms Rapley says there is no reason young children need pureed food, as long as they are sitting up straight and supervised by an adult when eating."

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Culinate.com: "Around the globe, babies are started on solids with a variety of foods. In Oceania, babies are given pre-chewed fish, grubs, and liver. The Polynesians prefer a pudding-like mixture of breadfruit and coconut cream. Inuit babies are started on seaweed and seal blubber, while Japanese health-care providers recommend a thin rice porridge, eventually made thicker and topped with dried fish, tuna, tofu, and mashed pumpkin. . .

The point is to get baby prepared to eat with the rest of the family, not be a cause for purchasing special prepared food so baby can learn to expect high-priced separate meals.

. . . Feed them (babies) a little of what you’re eating, mashed up. And if you’re not eating fresh real food — whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, eggs — clean up your act."

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EcoChildsPlay.com: "The fact is, we have become so conditioned to believe that the usual method of beginning our infants with runny rice cereal, gradually progressing through smooth then lumpier purees, in defined quantities and on a defined schedule, keeping flavours bland and simple — is the right and indeed the only way to do things, that we don’t even think about even questioning why this is the way we do it. . . .

Anecdotal evidence suggests that babies who have been spoon-fed have more problems with gagging and ‘choking’ when they start to handle food… than those who have been allowed to experiment much earlier."

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For several years now, in cooperation with parents, I have been working with infants who are ready for table food, offering first smashed fruits and vegetables, then working in other foods as the baby is ready. Most of the time the baby is more ready than the adults are. I agree with the above research that says babies who have not been introduced to solid foods sooner have more problems later when solids are introduced.

So, I'm asking you to look at baby food in a different way: Family Food

This is being cross-posted:

• Leftovers On Purpose
• Pamm's House Demo

This post is being linked to:

• 'Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table at All The Small Stuff

Deep Cleaning

We're always trying to improve things at Pamm's House. Over the weekend, the playroom got a deep cleaning. The vacuum in the background in the photo below is new to us. It's called a Pet Hair Eraser by Bissell. I am very impressed at the job it does! I worked and worked to get every vacuumable (is that a word?) surface in the playroom (and most in the living room) vacuumed over the weekend. I guess I'm "fall cleaning" instead of spring cleaning :)

Another addition we made over the weekend is an air purifier (photo below). Actually we got two! The big one below is for the playroom and living area and it has already made a big difference.

We have a much smaller air purifier for the nap room, too!

Both purifiers contain UV lights, which kills germs.

We got the air purifiers at Lowes and the vacuum at Kmart. I'm very happy with them all.

Giving Your Kids Choices (Repost)

Here's a GREAT article from another blog: Make & Takes

As parents, we want to know that we’re in control. But our kids tend to beg, plead, and whine about the choices we make for them. So I try to give my kids choices without letting them choose. This is a great way to let kids have a choice without giving up all the parental control. But you don’t have to make it a choice between something they want and something you want for them, like cookies or an apple. Choose the apple for them, but they get to choose how they’re going to eat it… in slices or with peanut butter.

Here’s a few examples of giving your kids choices without letting them choose:

• You need to eat your broccoli as it’s good food for your body. But are you going to eat it like a monster or a puppy dog?
• You can play with the toy cars, but you only get to choose one so everyone can share. Which car are you going to pick, the red one or the blue one?
• You need to wash your hands so we can wash away the dirt. Do you want to wash them while we sing the ABC song or while we make silly faces in the mirror?
• You can have chips, but not the whole bag as it’s almost dinner time. Do you want to have 4 chips or 5 chips?
• You can play video games, but you have your chores to do first as we need to all help keep our house picked up. Are you going to take out the trash or make your bed first?

When giving kids these type of choices, first tell them what it is they need to do – the end result. Then tell them why you’re making that choice for them. Then give them some sort of choice to make that will help them with that end result. Kids need to hear a “what” and a “why”, then let them choose the “how”. But for the “how” choice, don’t always leave it open ended. Still make the choice for them, but offer a couple different options. This way you still have control and your child won’t feel as resistant to complete the task. Kids will feel as if they’ve been given some of the responsibility, helping them take ownership. They’re then learning to problem-solve and make decisions, a life long skill. “You are going to do ___ because of ___, but you can either do it this way or that way”.

BUT… what do you do when they don’t want to do either of those choices? They will say this at some point! You can try saying, “That wasn’t one of the choices” or try giving a few more choices for the “how”. But if those don’t work, here’s what I tell my kids, “The last choice is taking a time out!”

Academic Overload in Kindergarten? (Repost)

via Big Little Brain by rachelbuhr on 8/20/09

Do your children have ample play time during the day?

I hope every parent answers “yes” to this question. Kids need time to be kids. They learn through play. I recently read an article on MSNBC that discussed the kindergarten classrooms of today. It made me sad to read that in many classrooms blocks, water tables and dramatic play areas are obsolete. What is kindergarten without a pretend grocery store or an area to dress up like a firefighter? I truly believe that playing dolls, trucks, kitchen and having tea parties are all important activities in a child’s day.

To read more on the academic pressure in our kindergarten classrooms, read this article:

Tutoring Tots? Kids prep for kindergarten

Tip of the Day:

Make sure your children have time for play.

- Set up a kitchen or grocery store area in your house.

- Play office with your children. I recently found an old phone and keyboard at a thrift store. My daughter loves it!

- Have costumes or dress up items for your children. Children love hats, necklaces, glasses and shoes. A mirror close by is also important.

- Encourage the use of puppets. You can buy puppets, make your own or check them out at the library.

It is important for children to do activities that encourage imagination and creativity.

How I Get Toys -OR- The Art Of Thrift Store Shopping

I get a lot of questions as to where I get my toys. Most of the time I don't remember exactly where, but I can tell you it was from either a thrift store, baby resale shop, yard sale, a hand-me-down from clients or friends or there's a few leftovers from when our children were babies (very few). I can count on one hand the number of brand new purchases we've made over the years. There really is no need to pay full price for just about any toy.

I didn't get my lot of toys in a few days or weeks. I've been caring for children for over eleven years and collecting toys for about as long. I have toys come in and go out all the time. Several toys have been completely worn out. Some toys are used all the time, others are barely looked at, some are brought out for special times, most are rotated in one way or another.

There is a trick to buying toys and equipment used. Mostly it consists of lots of being able to wait, consistency, diligence, and a little 'know how'.

My favorite stores I go to for toys and baby equipment are thrift stores and baby resale shops.

The 'know how' part is to get to know these stores (the hours, the lay out, even the people who work there). I know where to go in each store for toys and baby items. I get to know the workers at the stores and can ask them for what I'm looking for. Many times, they will call me when one comes in or can tell me where they last saw one.

The trick to all this is to go often! I try to go at least two or three times a month. I go every chance I get, even if it's just to do a quick pass through my favorite departments (toys). I'm almost always surprised to find some unique item almost every time I go. Sometimes I find only one little thing and sometimes I come home with a trunk-full. I usually go every-other Saturday (more or less) and stroll through each store and chat with the people.

Sometimes you have to see through the dirt. If you're willing to clean items up, you can usually get great stuff for a low price. After a thrift-store run, I come home and have a cleaning party. It's amazing the items that you can toss in the washer or dishwasher and they come out sparkling clean. Vinegar is an excellent cleaner for food, grease, and dirt AND it sterilizes items as you clean. Don't be afraid to buy dirty stuff.

On my way to the thrift stores on Saturday, I will look for yard sales along the way. The signs are generally placed on the main streets with other signs pointing you to the sale. Usually you can drive by with a quick look to see if there's anything you might want, BUT I've also found several times when I thought there was nothing I wanted that I could see from the street, it turned out there were gems hiding in there some where--it almost always pays to take a peek.

My thrift store shopping is not only for toys and baby items, but it's where I get a lot of furniture, clothes, pet items, and kitchen gadgets. I'm always looking for a new crock pot and scrubs :).

Something else is to be open to new things and look around. You never know when you will come across a cool object of some sort.

It made a HUGE mess.......

But they LOVED it!

Here's the original recipe:

Taco Rice Skillet

Brown: 1 pound ground beef, drain off fat

Add:
1 chopped onion
1 can stewed tomatoes

1 cup raw rice
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 cup water1 small can tomato sauce
1 can ranch style beans (optional)

Cook together until rice is tender.

Serve with grated cheese, chopped fresh tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream

and picante sauce (optional).

Pamm's Taco Rice Skillet

(born out of what I had on-hand)

Brown: 1 pound ground beef, drain off fat

Add:

1 tbs. chopped onion flakes

1 large can crushed tomatoes

2 cups raw brown rice

1 pkg. taco seasoning

2 cups water

1 small can tomato sauce

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Cook together until rice is tender. This took much longer than I expected--at least 45 minutes.

I served it plain. I would think adults would like a side of tortilla chips with this along with grated cheese, chopped fresh tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream

and picante sauce.

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It made a HUGE mess, but oh so worth it. Everyone ate all I gave them and asked for more.

My recipes made a lot! I have enough for two more toddler meals. This would be great to make as a supper, then put in the freezer in lunch-sized portions for work days or even freeze for another dinner later on.