3 Tips for Easier Grocery Shopping

Like many women, you may hate the chore of grocery shopping. I definately used to, UNTIL I started figuring out a few tricks to making it easier and much more enjoyable!

1

Having a grocery list with a pen obvioulsy helps, but keeping up with that pen is the challenge! It's always falling out of the cart and I always hated reaching in and out of my purse or pocket for it to cross things off my list. My simple solution was hot gluing a magnet to the back of the pen. It stays on the cart and is always in a seconds reach!

2

I have more than once been called a "genius" by the check out clerks for this one! I fill a carry basket with all my fruits, veggies, and breads, and then stick this basket on the bottom of the cart. That way, all my fragile and bruisable stuff keeps from getting squished AND I save room in the cart!

3

The Mommy Hook...a brilliant invention that if you don't have, YOU NEED TO! You can buy The Mommy Hook at many large grocery and home goods stores such as Walmart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. I use this to hook my purse on the cart as well as any bags that don't fit nicely in the cart when it's full. If you have children, this really comes in handy when they are sitting in the cart and you don't have to squish your purse beside them. It's also a great way to hang a jacket or an umbrella!

And there you have it!

3 tips for a more enjoyable shopping experience!

 bonus tip...MUSIC!

I carry earphones to plug into my phone and jam out to my favorite songs while I shop the dreary isles. Sometimes I actually look forward to grocery shopping because I get to listen to MY music for a change. The only problem is having to keep from dancing and singing through the isles!  



More Ways to Follow the Fun!

Plastic Cup Phones

Plastic cup phones...an oldie but a goodie! I had originally made them with small metal soup cans, but they didn't work at all! When I asked my awesome FB followers if they had tried making them and what results they had, everyone suggested plastic cups instead. They were right! Plastic cups worked great! These are so easy and quick to make. We had fun playing spys and secret agents :)

How To

I pushed a nail into the bottom of two plastic cups, threaded some yarn through and tied a knot inside. To make best use of the phones, you have to stand far enough away to where the string is taut. This allows the vibrations to more easily travel from cup to cup, producing a clearer sound.

If you like our Plastic Cup Phones, you may also like our Coffee Can Stilts which is another classic and easy to make toy for kids!
(click the title link)



Coffee Can Stilts



More Ways to Follow the Fun!

 

Healthy Frozen Banana Bites

I was making frozen chocolate bananas and banana bites before they were all the rage on Pinterest. Chocolate banana bites are seriously yummy, BUT not so healthy. Though bananas are high in potassium and vitamin B6, they also have a high glycemic index (GI), which means they are a high in sugar. So, being the fiber freak that I am, I came up with a healthier version with the added fiber health bonus! (which helps since bananas cause constipation anyway!)
The flavor resembles banana cream pudding!

1. Chop your banana into small bite sized pieces and pour some MILLED Golden Flaxseed into a bowl. (Milled flax is like a powder)

2. Toss the banana bites to completely cover with the flax

3. Put bites onto a plate and gently shake the plate to shake off excess flax

4. Freeze your bites in a freezer ziplock bag for about an hour or so...

5. then enjoy! They are really yummy! They don't taste "flaxy"

You can eat right out of the freezer or let them sit for 10 minutes or so.

They will still be very cold, but will be a bit softer which my kids seem to like better.


If you like our Banana Bites, you may also like our

Homemade Hidden Veggie Pops

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Fun Learning Activities with Laminated Alphabet Letters

I printed and laminated each letter of the

alphabet to play lots of learning games with L!

Foam Letter Match-up

In the first game we played, I layed out the letters in order on the floor. I then

had him match small foam letters to each laminated letter.

To make it more fun, I played some of L's favorite upbeat music while he matched. I sat nearby to cheer him on and help when he needed it.

Siteword Match-up

In the second game, I used our site word cards for L to match with the letters on the floor. I handed him a card and he found each letter of the word on the card and brought them to me.

When he brought each letter back to me, I put them on the floor in the order that he handed them to me. I made him look at the word on the card again to see if the letters were in the correct order.

"Does this word look like the word on the card?" When he recognized that the letters weren't in order, he looked at the card to put them in correct order.

and then we sounded out the word and celebrated when it was complete!

Alphabet Beanbag Toss

We played another game two different ways with the letters and our homemade no sew beanbags. I called out random letters of the alphabet and L would throw his beanbag onto the letter I called out. We also reversed it where I threw a beanbag onto a letter and he would tell me what letter it was.

Sticks and Strings Letter Tracing

Yet another game we've played with our laminated alphabet was using popsicle sticks and string to trace each letter.

MORE GAMES

Beginning Letter Object Find

We've also played a game where either me or L chooses a letter then we run around and find toys and other objects around the house that start with that letter, and place them on the letter itself. He needs lots of help with this game, but hey...thats why we're doing it!

Letter "I Spy"

I've also been taping letters to the wall in crazy places and we play "I spy the letter...." This is lots of fun for him because he loves to play the game "I Spy" anyway.

More Ways to Follow the Fun!