May 2017 Frugal Chatter thread

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning! I do not want to be at work today. I am thinking about taking tomorrow off just for me. Wake up to do the school send off and then just putter. I need to go grocery shopping today on my lunch break. Our fridge is empty. DS has hockey tonight and it is an hour away so no time tonight. Made sure to grab the flyers this morning and put in my vehicle so I am ready. Lots of good deals on produce so will be a cheap stock up which is great.

[saundyl]

MIL passed away last Wednesday after a long and drawn out struggle with cancer. On the Thursday before, the family was called in and were told she only had a few days based on the scans. Her body was giving out and they did not expect her to make it through the weekend. On Monday, they told everyone she only had a few hours left. Finally, on Wednesday, they stopped giving estimates and that was when she passed. Since then, I've had to spend several days alone with the children, sometimes overnight. It's been exhausting. The laundry, cooking, cleaning, and entertaining both still needs to be done, and if they wake during the night, I'm it. There is no Plan B.

Boy, was LO difficult. This one has gone on until now with every pain kissed, every bump hugged, every word responded to. Now with just me and a baby demanding attention, I feel quite drained in the evenings. Well, most of the day, but the evenings are the only quiet that I had to be able to listen to my body.

Slowly, slowly, I've been weaning LO out of tantrums and dealing with problems herself. I've been explaining that I am sometimes unavailable, and she does not always have to accompany me to the washroom. Unfortunately, with DH gone, I leave the hall lights on all night because I'm too exhausted to respond to her waking at night and the subsequent whining about how she needs company the entire night.

She still gets upset and has fits, but thank goodness the throw-yourself-on-the-floor and hurl-solid-objects-across-the-room phase is over. Daddy's absences are hard to explain sometimes and DH has not wanted to tell her that her grandmother is gone. Sometimes I feel I have a new respect for single moms, but at the same time, I feel they don't have to deal with a super clingy child insistent upon the absent parent. DD1 practically has a breakdown if DH so much as tries to pick up take-out or goes out to weed the front lawn without her in tow.

So, I've been trying to make allowances for her crying for DH and the strange goings-on that she must be noticing. My friend tells me that children sometimes act out if their routine is disrupted, like Daddy suddenly not being there to say goodnight in the evenings, or that the weekends (when Daddy is home) somehow seem as though they're never here. I am so looking forward for a return to some degree of normalcy, but there is no normal in the death of a parent, is there?

Im so sorry for your loss.

The old normal doesn't return...a new normal grows but your parent is always missed. Always a i wish mom or dad could see this or be here.

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[saundyl]

We went to grande prairie this,weekend. Visited family and shopped.

We got a kitchen island and a chair/table set for our deck. As well as a little over 1000 dollars worth of groceries. We did cash in 146 in costco rebates as well as 390 in pc plus points and 50 dollars in airmiles to go to gaurdians of the galaxy vol. 2

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[Frugalbigmama]

We went to grande prairie this,weekend. Visited family and shopped.

We got a kitchen island and a chair/table set for our deck. As well as a little over 1000 dollars worth of groceries. We did cash in 146 in costco rebates as well as 390 in pc plus points and 50 dollars in airmiles to go to gaurdians of the galaxy vol. 2

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Over $1000 worth of groceries?? Oh my! I know you have to take advantage of getting groceries for cheaper when you can since it is so expensive where you are. I'm guessing most of that is for the freezer/cupboard? I know for us I can only buy certain fresh stuff to last a few days. Hope you are stocked up on things for a long while

[Frugalbigmama]

Well I was reminded today again why I should go to No Frills during the week. I usually do my main grocery shop on the weekend but we were busy/away. Decided to go to No Frills 1st and see what I could price match/deal get. Found a nice rye bread for .88 cents after discount. It expires May 31st!!! So grabbed some green onions and egg salad sandwiches will be my work lunch Thursday and Friday (meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow). Had PC pts for 200 per $1 spent on Cucumbers. Bought 4 at .77 each and received 600 pts. I will use up this week/weekend (I slice up as side for my youngest with many meals) Lots of deals for making good healthy lunches the rest of the week. I also grabbed one family tray of lean beef (we have some in freezer but easier to make burger patties when fresh) So burgers will be on the menu one night this week/weekend.
Still have to go to RCSS tomorrow to grab a few things- Apples/asparagus didn't look nice at No Frills or Food Basics.

Friday night for date night we made homemade pizza on the bbq. My oldest was home with his girlfriend so we made them each one too so it was a production line bbqing the chicken/sausage and peppers. Then making each pizza with the proper toppings. The best part was having it for lunch Saturday. We were working in the yard/house so it was quick to heat up and eat when hungry. Saturday night we had steak, baked potato, mushrooms and onions with Greek salad. I took the steak out Friday night so had it not been thawed then we may have gotten Chinese since we didn't eat till 9pm! Glad I had planned dinner!! Then we had steak again Sunday lol. I had a reservation at a steak house (it was a free dinner) that I made a month ago. We were going to cancel it but all the other restaurants were so busy we decided to just eat steak again
So I need to plan our dinners for the week now. Tonight we are off to hockey but have an hour at home before we have to leave so thinking just simple- Eggs/bacon and toast.

[saundyl]

Over $1000 worth of groceries?? Oh my! I know you have to take advantage of getting groceries for cheaper when you can since it is so expensive where you are. I'm guessing most of that is for the freezer/cupboard? I know for us I can only buy certain fresh stuff to last a few days. Hope you are stocked up on things for a long while

Yes dry goods (cereal, pasta, crackers, lunch snacks for school) canned goods like beans and tomatoes, frozen foods (hashbrowns, chicken sone ribs, pizza pops, frozen veggies we cant get here like green beans and brussel sprouts) for the most part. Also things like allergy meds, tp, laundry soap. Potatoes, rice, dog food, pancake mix, syrup, ice tea, juice boxes.

Its honestly the most we've spent out of town in 4 years but we were low on alot of things we would have picked up earlier but didn't want to while moving.


We did get some sandwich meats to freeze and a gallon of milk. some meats and veggies, disposable plates n cups cutlery for a get together this week.

Its pleasent to know we won'tbe spending alot on groceries for a while and ive finally broken bf of a daily shopping for supper food.


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[Angela273]

Dad called to update me on grandma's condition. Grandma has improved. She is supposed to have an assessment tomorrow to check her swallowing since she inhaled the soup.

[GoodBoy]

Dad called to update me on grandma's condition. Grandma has improved. She is supposed to have an assessment tomorrow to check her swallowing since she inhaled the soup.

Good news!

[Frugalbigmama]

Yes dry goods (cereal, pasta, crackers, lunch snacks for school) canned goods like beans and tomatoes, frozen foods (hashbrowns, chicken sone ribs, pizza pops, frozen veggies we cant get here like green beans and brussel sprouts) for the most part. Also things like allergy meds, tp, laundry soap. Potatoes, rice, dog food, pancake mix, syrup, ice tea, juice boxes.

Its honestly the most we've spent out of town in 4 years but we were low on alot of things we would have picked up earlier but didn't want to while moving.


We did get some sandwich meats to freeze and a gallon of milk. some meats and veggies, disposable plates n cups cutlery for a get together this week.

Its pleasent to know we won'tbe spending alot on groceries for a while and ive finally broken bf of a daily shopping for supper food.


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Ok yes then that makes it not so bad since you did move and weren't shopping. I did the same thing and even though it sounds like a lot you weren't spending as much earlier. I'm sure it feels good to be stocked up on stuff.

[Granger]

Well, we bit the bullet and bought a new-to-us van last night (replacing the one with the dead tranny from a few weeks ago). Thank goodness my husband's tax refund covered 2/3 of the cost - we did get a good deal on it, the owner had reduced the price already because they are moving to ON and had to sell.

Congrats on the vehicle.

I became dizzy last night, but it has gotten worse. Now I'm constantly dizzy, even while sitting down. My head hurts some, but I do not have any other symptoms at this time. I'm trying not to push it and I think some Gatorade might help, one bottle is in the fridge.

Dad called to update me on grandma's condition. Grandma has improved. She is supposed to have an assessment tomorrow to check her swallowing since she inhaled the soup.

I am glad you and grandma are feeling better.

***

We have done our garden clear out. Our goals this season are to edge, top up and turn/till all the gardens. We have a lot so it will probably take us until fall. We are also reconfiguring two gardens. Next year we plan to mulch and in the reconfigure should have made some room to grow veggies. I am just going to do tomatoes and beans in planters this year.

Had a good long weekend. Husband worked. I caught up on dishes and laundry too. I am now organizing a garage sale for the weekend if the weather stays nice!

[Frugalbigmama]

@Granger. I have the same planting garden plan. I can buy the veggies on sale for cheap at harvest time so I am going to just do a few planters for fun. I have seen the hanging cherry tomatoes so I may do that since I have hanging baskets in the garage and can buy the plants for $2 (Instead of paying $9.99-$14.99 already planted) I will try one and see how it works out

[Frugalbigmama]

I looked at the upcoming posted grocery flyers. Have my list ready. Lots of fresh stuff deals so will be another good/cheap week for groceries. Will pull meat from the freezer and use up what we have.

@ Sassyashley- I woke up this morning to the cutting board, knife and Kraft Peanut butter on the counter. Guess the teen had a late night snack. The jar is almost empty and thought of your post the other day saying how you bought some at Costco because you were out and no sales on. Just looked at the upcoming flyers and FB has it for $2.88 and SDM for $2.99. Stocking up!!

[saundyl]

Ok yes then that makes it not so bad since you did move and weren't shopping. I did the same thing and even though it sounds like a lot you weren't spending as much earlier. I'm sure it feels good to be stocked up on stuff.

We wont spend much for a while now. It sure felt likealot to spend.


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[saundyl]

Before we left for the weekend we went over to the community garden and tilled up our 2 outdoor plots and our greenhouse plot. We got seed potatoes, carrots and i want to say beans while we were south. I have cauliflower peppers tomatoes cucumbers and spaghetti squash started.

We got 3 geraniums, petunias (36) a tiger lilly and an African violet while south.

Today i planted 25 tulips (yes im late ) 2 bleeding hearts and 12 lillies of some sort along with my tiger lilly in the side and front flower bed of the new house. I planted my petunias in the driveway flower box. I also transplanted my geraniums, violet, spaghetti squash and cucumber into larger pots.

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[GoodBoy]

Before we left for the weekend we went over to the community garden and tilled up our 2 outdoor plots and our greenhouse plot. We got seed potatoes, carrots and i want to say beans while we were south. I have cauliflower peppers tomatoes cucumbers and spaghetti squash started.

We got 3 geraniums, petunias (36) a tiger lilly and an African violet while south.

Today i planted 25 tulips (yes im late ) 2 bleeding hearts and 12 lillies of some sort along with my tiger lilly in the side and front flower bed of the new house. I planted my petunias in the driveway flower box. I also transplanted my geraniums, violet, spaghetti squash and cucumber into larger pots.

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Sounds excellent!