Thanksgiving 2015 + Aldi Finds

Whew, we had such a whirlwind of a week last week and were able to cram in so much in our visit back home to Mississippi! Before I do a little holiday recap, I wanted to throw in some of my weekly Aldi finds! (especially since most are holiday finds)

 

 

 I actually found this wine a few weeks ago and forgot to post, but since I saw it still there today I wanted to share! It's a dessert wine and is only $6.99! It is very sweet, so be prepared. To me it's like a delicious coffee/chocolate milk/wine mix.

 

 

 

I don't know about yall, but I am obsessed with the white chocolate peppermint pretzels.  BUT I don't love the price tag of the popular Pretzel Crisps brand that is $3.99 for only 4oz.  So let's just say I was jumping for joy when I saw the Aldi version for only $1.99 for 7oz! What?!? I snatched up 2 bags and will likely go back for more ASAP!  Next, these Greek Yogurt caramel corn bites are DELICIOUS! I got these a few weeks ago as well and was so excited I saw them again today.  They are only $2.69 and a pretty big bag.  I actually only ran in for a few items today so I did hold back on all the delicious holiday treats I saw.  I'm sure I'll be getting quite a few goodies next week!

And lastly, I grabbed these cute Christmas quart bags for only $1.99! I love their Boulder brand baggies and thought these would be nice for the holidays!

 

 

 

I love seafood, and Aldi always has the best deal on their frozen selection. I quickly grabbed a bag of these scallops when I saw them in the special buy section for only $4.99.

 

 

 

 

 

Now on to the Thanksgiving fun and picture overload!!

 

 

We decided to fly to MS to be with my family for the week of Thanksgiving since Lance had the week off work and we have only been back once this year.  We knew we needed to fly as much as possible before Tilly is 2 since she is free in our lap.  I was pretty nervous this time since she is a VERY active toddler.  We have flown twice with her before, at 5 months and 9 months, and she literally slept the whole flight there and back. Well.. this time was a different story.  On the way to Memphis she was very much awake and we spent the hour and 15 min flight picking her up and down, shoving a million goldfish at her, and trying to distract her with the iPad. Thankfully that all managed to keep her pretty happy even though it was exhausting for us.  Now the way home was a bit of a different story.  She is currently getting 4 molars in and while that is going shockingly well, you can tell they are bugging her and making her overly grumpy when she is sleepy.  She woke up a bit early the morning of our flight home, so by the time we got to the airport she was super sleepy.  She decided to have her first ever temper tantrum (I'm talking scream throw yourself on the ground tantrum) right as the flight was boarding.  The other passengers looked thrilled we were getting on with this raging toddler! ha  Lance looked at me like, Um what do we do? We just snatched her up and carried her on.. I mean what else do you do?!? Luckily once we got on she calmed down as we let her shred our boarding passes. As soon as we took off she was so pitiful chewing on her hand as she was so exhausted. Thank goodness I got her to sleep on me and she slept almost the whole way back to Charlotte, whew! Our plan was to fly one more time in the spring before her birthday, but we are both a bit scarred from that lovely tantrum! ah

 

 

 

 

 

Once we arrived Monday morning, we went back to my Dad's and Tilly got to visit with her first set of great grandparents.  After lunch and a nap, we then headed over and visited her other set.  It was so nice for them to get to spend time with her since they hardly get to see her with the distance between us.  We ended out the day by stopping by my best friend Lexie's and visiting with her and her 3 boys. All of my friends had boys up until this May, and then Lauren had sweet Luella so there is one other girl in the bunch!

 

 

 

 

Tilly is obsessed with dogs and I knew she would be in doggie heaven with our 2 at Dad's.  While she loved them, she was mostly fascinated with our cat. Poor Romey got LOTS of attention! haha

 

 

 

 

Tuesday morning we woke up and made our way over to my other friend Amy's to visit with her and her 2 boys! It's so nice to squeeze in time to visit all my best girlfriends when we are home.  I miss these girls so much and even the little time we have is enough to keep our friendships going!  This day none of the kids were feeling the group photo! haha

 

 

 

 

 

After we visited for a few hours that morning, it was time to go home and get a good nap in before we went to take our family photos.  It was so funny trying to get Tilly to sit still and see just how much energy this girl has.  Every time we are around other kids her age it always amazes me to see how much more active she is. This girl NEVER stops.  Never.  I honestly can not pick a favorite of the pictures Lexie took, because they are all so great.  I'm so thankful she captures these moments for us when we come home!

 

 

 

After we wrapped up our session, we headed back to Dad's.  Time for some more visits! This night my brother and his girlfriend came by along with another best friend, Kristen.  Jason and Claire stayed at the house to sit while Tilly slept so Lance and I could go have dinner with Kristen.  It was nice to get out past dark and do something. Since Tilly is asleep by 6:30/7, we rarely leave the house past 5ish.

 

 

Wednesday morning we got to relax at home and just lounge around a few hours.  Once Tilly was up from her nap, we went back over to Lexie's and had a baby pow wow. All my girlfriends with our new babies met up and had a few hours to catch up.  We had Lexie with Canion, Harber, and Knox. Ashley with Jameson, Lauren with Luella, and little Ms Tilly.  It's so crazy how much things have changed the last few years.  From our crazy college nights out to now mommy get togethers.  I miss this group of girls so much and am so thankful we all keep in touch and so close.  We were only missing our NYC girl, Sarah!

 

 

Finally came Thanksgiving day and we had no plans except to stay at Dad's and eat eat eat!  Kristen came over that morning for one last visit as well.  It was a great day relaxing and spending time with all my family.  Of course my piglet child who never stops eating LOVED Thanksgiving. She pretty much ate all day and then stole Jason and Claire's desserts! haha

 

 

And that's a wrap! We were up bright and early for our not so fun flight home!

 

 

 

I do have to add in a little fun we had that weekend.  We got our tree Saturday morning and also visited Santa. As much as this might make me sound cruel, I think her picture this year is so hilarious.  Santa was not our friend! haha  She was all smiles before we left, and would only calm down there if I held her. Maybe better luck next year?!

 

 

 

Now time to enjoy all the Christmas fun!!!

 

 

Halloween 2015

This year for Halloween I knew we probably wouldn't do tick or treating yet for a few reasons. One, we don't live in a neighborhood, so we would've had to figure out where to go and what neighborhood to crash. And second, she still is an early bedtime girl and is asleep by 6:30/7, so the time we would have had to take her would have been too early. We are normally starting the whole routine by 5ish- dinner, bath time, etc.  And she is NOT in a good mood if you try to keep her awake.  So with all that being said, I still wanted to find something fun to do.  I found a Hall-o-wine festival not far from our house that a winery was hosting.  They had a band, food trucks, vendors, wine tasting, etc.  I knew she would love running around and we could enjoy the rest! 

 

We went with my mom and stayed around 2 hours and had so much fun!  We started with looking at the local vendor booths while Ms Tills munched on some crackers. We stopped to get her face painted and she wasn't so sure about us holding her head while some stranger painted on her face! haha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It actually was supposed to be a butterfly, but she jerked her head at one point and it ended up being fixed into a flower!   Next we let her down to walk around and play while we ate.  She is OBSESSED with dogs right now (and no, we aren't getting her one! lol). She says doggie about 900 times a day. Lots of people brought their dogs, so she was in doggie Heaven! She was also dancing (her other favorite thing) to the band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we left, we decided to stop at one more food truck and get the ice cream.  Let's just say someone is a big fan...

 

 

 

Overall it was a great day hanging out with our cute little pumpkin! I can't wait until next year when we will start trick or treating! :)

 

Mommy Funnies

So.. sometimes I am productive during nap time.  And sometimes I look up mommy humor on Pinterest.  Enjoy!

Weekly Aldi Finds - 10/19

So, I am definitely turning into an old lady when I enjoy grocery shopping so much that I blog about it. Whatever.. it takes little to excite me these days!  I posted before how I find some great finds here, so I thought I would randomly share some.  Aldi is one of those stores that does have it's weekly regulars, but also has great finds here and there that might not always be available. Here are just a few things from my grocery run yesterday that I wanted to share!

 

I am definitely one of "those girls" who gets into everything pumpkin themed.  Some things are really good, and some not so much! I saw this and thought it would be something great to try and have for lunch during the week.  Lance is the opposite and hates anything pumpkin, so I try to buy items I know I will be able to eat myself.  I made this for lunch today (it's 2 servings per container so I can have it again tomorrow!) and it was delicious! Once I boiled it, I drizzled on some olive oil and Parmesan cheese and it was perfect!  I love Trader Joe's pasta and this compared perfect.  I read the companies were started by brothers, so I think a lot of their products are very similar!  Oh, and this was only $2.79.

 

 

 

I am a cheese lover and love picking up their specialty selections to try.  I had a slice today, and it was as yummy as I expected! This rang in at $2.99.

 

 

 

 

And lastly, a few items from their Simply Nature Organic line.  I normally buy the 4 packs of their kid's apple sauce pouches, but this week I found the big 12 pack box.  These were only $4.29!  The coffee pods were $4.99 (the most expensive item from my whole cart of a week's worth of groceries). Then the salsa was $1.89 and Teddy Grahams $2.69. 

 

 

Side note- They did have pumpkins for only $2.99, but our store was all sold out!

 

 

Happy Monday!!

Toddler Meals

When it comes to feeding Tilly, I didn't really know where to start.  We try to keep her options as healthy as we can while throwing in some good stuff as well.  I also try to switch it up a bit so she isn't constantly eating the same things.  Especially since she will love a certain food one week, and then throw it across the kitchen the next.  I figured I would write a post on what we are eating in our house (well, what she is!) to give some ideas to other mama's, and also to get some responses on what yall are feeding that I haven't thought of.  I always like to get new ideas and see what I can mix in her meals!

First I'll start with liquids.  Mainly here I just want to say that for some reason I can not seem to find a sippy cup that doesn't leak (that my child actually likes).. or that doesn't have to be on at the EXACT spot for it not to leak. Why is that so hard to invent?!? I did finally find one that has been working pretty good for us.  She mainly just wants a straw cup, and of course it has to be a straw that sticks out far. (high maintenance)  This cup barely leaks, and works great for getting the very last drop out.  You can find it in most stores like Target, Walmart, etc, or get it on Amazon HERE. I think it comes in pink, blue, and green for the color options.

Next I'm just going to list all the different options we switch up between each meal.  She eats A LOT, so sometimes it's quite a few of these at once! haha Most of these things are quick, easy meals to put together.

Breakfast:

Frozen Blueberry Waffles with PB

Yogurt Pouches

Banana, Avocado, or Blueberries

Scrambled eggs with cheese

Donuts

Breakfast toast or bagel thins with cream cheese

(For weekend mornings when we cook more time consuming meals, she also loves pancakes, sausage, potatoes, etc.)

Lunch/Dinner/Snacks:
Items for all of these are the same mixture of options, so I figured I would do one big list.

Turkey hotdogs
Fish Sticks
Tuna Packs
Lunch Meat
Kielbasa Sausage
Grilled Chicken
Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches (so easy to thaw out and cut up)
Grilled Cheese sandwiches
Any form of Pasta
Aldi Veggie Bites (more info below)
String cheese
Veggies- Peas, Carrots, Beans (green, black, pinto, lima), Corn, Rice
Mac and Cheese
Flavored Apple Sauce pouches
Fruit cups (mandarin oranges, pineapple, peach, pear)
Prunes
Fig Newtons
Wafer Cookies
Mini Nilla Wafers
Ritz crackers with cream cheese
Goldfish
Cheerios
Teddy Grahams


Ok, let me say I am kind of obsessed with shopping at Aldi now.  I can literally spend $50 a week instead of my old normal $100.  Plus they have great healthy and organic options.  I also love how many great kid options they have.  A lot of these items below are from Aldi! I should just do a whole post soon on what great deals I find there.  Here is a little bit more info on some of the items listed above.

My child could eat pasta every meal, she LOVES it.  I was buying the Easy Mac packs, but even getting the organic ones still seemed kind of weird with the powder "cheese".  The ingredients are a million weird chemicals I can not even pronounce.  My mom actually told me about these, and I love that it's basically real cheese and noodles frozen! Tilly loveeees these, and I might sneak a few bites myself! They are in the frozen section, but separate from the regular stouffer meals.. you kind of have to search around.  They also have a few different flavors.

She is hit or miss on tuna, but I do like to squeeze in fish as much as I can.  These packs are so easy to grab and open.  I get her the milder flavor ones, and she'll normally eat around half a pack a serving.

One of my Aldi finds.  Cheap, healthy, many different flavor options, and my child loves them!

Same here.. Aldi find!

This is a basket I always keep full for go to snacks, or to throw at her as she's freaking out she already inhaled her plate.  Fruit cups and apple sauce pouches.

Yall, this is my favorite Aldi find EVER.  Sadly, it said it was a "Special Buy" which means it's only in stock until they sold out.  I grabbed 2 of each flavor (at $2.99 each) and sadly when I knew she loved them, they were already all gone!  These taste AMAZING. (Yes, I steal some) and I love it gets her eating her vegetables.  She is so picky with veggies and I honestly throw away more than she eats. She actually loves these and normally will eat all that I serve her.  I found out about these from another blogger, and she did mention there is a name brand version of these with the EXACT ingredients that runs around $5.99 at other stores. Boo. I think they're also hard to find.  Please restock Aldi so I can buy them all! Other Aldi stores might still have them, so check and see.  I found them in the floor freezer section.

Just thought I would share our favorite turkey hotdogs.  Some turkey dogs can have a weird texture or funky taste, but these are actually really good!

Incase you aren't familiar with these, here are the Uncrustables. They are in the freezer section and you just thaw them in the fridge before hand, or pop in the microwave for a few seconds if frozen, when ready to eat. I always try to get her the Whole Wheat, Reduced Sugar option.  Super Target has these on sale, plus on Cartwheel, pretty frequent!

And lastly, I love the name brand on the right, but that pack is $4.99 in most stores.  I can't remember the exact price of the Aldi brand on the left, but I am thinking around $2?! These compare exact in flavor and texture.  Some store brand string cheese is hard in texture so of course Miss Priss won't eat it that way. Sigh.

Alright mama's- I hope this can help if you are struggling for new ideas.  Of course we throw in other random things here and there, but these are the main things I could think of that we go to a lot.  Please pass on anything else you recommend that your little one loves!! :)