Gathering the Harvest... at Walmart

If there's one area I am inconsistent in (I'm sure there's way more than one), it's my meal planning. Some weeks, it looks like this: I sit down at the computer looking up recipes (saved or new), come up with a nice little list of Monday thru Sunday meals, make a list of ingredients needed, go to the store, and then try to somewhat stick to that schedule throughout the week. Other weeks, meaning most weeks, it looks like this: I go to the grocery store when I get a chance... especially a chance with only one or two kiddos. Sometimes I take suckers. I didn't learn that trick until a year or so ago, and it can really come in handy. I always have a growing grocery list, and I, like most of you, put it in the order of how I walk through the store. This comes in handy until you go to a different store... then it's just plain annoying. I stay stocked on all of our kid-friendly essentials and try to get the things to make a few good meals. The other nights, we're talking leftovers or quick fix things... and then we often throw a Little Caesar's $5 pizza night in there when it's a crazy day or a busy night. My hard-working hubby doesn't get home at a consistent time every night, so this has contributed to my lack of meal-planning. It's quite frustrating to make a dinner that the kids or may no eat, only to have the hubby call to say he's working late... and then by the time he gets home, he's not hungry anymore. Yay. And coupons... well, I have not conquered that skill at all. I have a great little organizer thing, and I have quite a few coupons in it. But do I use them?? Hardly. Someday I hope to get better at this. And if I had a dollar for every time I was at the grocery store with my children and someone said, "Boy, you sure have your hands full." Well, I'd have a lot of dollars... but I love it. I do have my hands full, and I'm so thankful... even for those moments where Ivy's yelling in the store and I have to hold her while pushing a heavy cart with two other children in it... even then, I am thankful... sweaty and looking like a disoriented, overwhelmed mess, but thankful.

amelia