Category Archives: Nico

Apr 2

So We Went Out For Take-Out

We made it through the entire month of March without picking up any take-out, and to celebrate we decided that April 1st we would have lunch and dinner out. Thade was really excited, and I think James was too. Thade had a plan to pick-up McDonald’s for lunch, and James wanted Wendy’s, I really didn’t want anything, my stomach is not cooperating with me at all.

We decided that after Thade got out of school, we would swing by and pick-up Dad, and then we were off to go and get some lunch. We first drove to Wendy’s to get James favorite Spicy Chicken, and then to McDonald’s for Happy Meals for the kiddos and I would attempt chicken nuggets and fries.

We made it home with our meals in hand, and I was taking off Dylan’s shoes when I heard Thade scream “what the heck! They forgot my toy!!!” James looked into Thade’s Happy Meal sack, and yep there was no toy to be found. “Why did Dylan get a toy, and I didn’t!” Thade was outraged. So we haven’t even taken a bite, and Thade is already hating McDonald’s. Dylan was happy with the chicken nuggets though, and I don’t think he really cared about the toy.

After the toy crisis was over James and I started in on our meals and it wasn’t too good… His chicken didn’t taste like chicken, and the fries tasted like cardboard, mine the same way. Cold chicken nuggets, and cardboard fries. What happened to the yummy salty fries that I had a month ago, had our taste buds really changed that much?!?

James didn’t finish his meal, so I asked him what he wanted to pick up for dinner… He said ” after this, can you just cook instead?” I was really surprised to hear him say that, we had all been looking forward to the meal out, but we were all a little disappointed in the end.

We decided that we’ll pick-up take out every once in a while, but we aren’t going out of our way to go and get it. I’ll be keeping the kitchen well stocked with our favorites, and making as many meals as I can at home.

Apr 1

Not Going Out In March: The Finale

Thank goodness March is over, and I can happily say that we made it through the entire month without picking up any fast food. I’m shocked that we actually made it through the month, I really had my doubts that it could be done. We are going to celebrate on April 1st with a few meals of take-out, so there goes last month’s savings, oh well.

So here is how the month went. Week #1 brought the complaints, and me obsessively stocking the kitchen with all of the needed staple items for meals. Week #2 went smooth, but the dishes were starting to pile up a bit, and the kids really wanted those Spiderman toys at McDonald’s. Week #3 was so tough, I really didn’t think that we were going to make it. I was really tired of cooking non-stop, and James had a few words to say too. Week #4 seemed to go better, and we were all happy just to count down the last few days before April.

The dishes really, truly took over the kitchen. I think I literally only had 2 days where I got them all caught up, and the kitchen wasn’t a total wreck. Also baking all of those homemade goodies from scratch not only used a ton of dishes, but I used 20 pounds of Flour in the month of March, crazy.

Now for the Savings: Well this was interesting, I really thought that not going out vs. purchasing more groceries would even out, and then I decided to factor in gas money. It is one of those things that you wouldn’t really think about, but all of those extra trips out to idle in the drive thru waste a lot of gas. I started noticing just how much gas money we were saving by Week #3, I needed to stop for gas, but my hubby hadn’t had to stop for gas at all. Each of us were stopping for gas at least twice a month for about $20.00 a trip.

So let’s break down the numbers:

  • Gas Money, it is usually $80.00 for two cars, and this month I had to stop and fill up once for $30.00, and James $0.00! So far that gives us a savings of $50.00!
  • Grocery Money: I decided to average out the last 3 months, and put the average against March’s grocery totals. Seeing the totals kinds scared me… Well I was definitely over for the Month of March by about $91.15, so there goes the great gas savings. Now I’m down $41.15 in savings.
  • Now for the fast food totals. I averaged the last seven months of fast food expenses, and it gave me a total of $199, yeah I know it sounds like a lot… Well for the entire month of March we spent $0.00!!!
  • Here is the Grand Total: Gas Savings $50.00, Grocery Overage -$91.15, but Not Going Out In March for fast food saved $199.00, so that gives us $157.85 in savings!

$157.85 isn’t too bad, but I have to admit I really don’t want to see the kitchen again for quite awhile. Thanks for following along on our Not Going Out In March Challenge!

Mar 31

And Then There Were Three

What can I say about this post. The boys are beyond thrilled, my husband is beaming, and I’m a little nervous/worried/happy/excited/freaked out, and so on. It looks like there is going to be another addition to our family, and I’m kinda hoping that I get to paint James office pink!

Mar 30

The Kid’s Choice Awards

When Saturday finally arrived, Thade had the whole day planned out. He was going to watch a Spongebob marathon, and then he would finally get to watch the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards. He couldn’t wait!!! He had voted online for his favorites, and he couldn’t wait to see the show. As the day went on, the bad weather moved in and we lost our satellite connection. Thade was devastated, me too, I really wanted to see the Jonas Brothers…

James found the interview cam online, so the kiddos could watch the Orange Carpet coverage. As it was drawing closer to the start of the show, James bundled up and headed out into the snow storm, and fixed the satellite. Thade was thrilled, and kept saying “my Dad is the man, he saved the day!”

Thanks to my hubby for making his kiddos day, and now I’ve totally got that Jonas Brothers song stuck in my head.

Mar 28

Here Comes The Snow

The snow has arrived… So far it has been snowing for about an hour, and there is a lot more in the forecast. I hope that everyone is staying nice and toasty today. Be careful out there.