Cutting the cost on the grocery bill and a potty training update

 When we moved back here from Germany we took a major pay cut. So with the loss in pay came a huge rework of our budget. One the hardest places to cut is the grocery bill. I have absolutely NO PATIENCE for couponing. When I do take the time to cut out the coupons to them to the store, I end up leaving them at home on the counter.
 So I had to think of another way to cut corners and still feed my family. I started looking at how much leftovers I had every meal, and realized I was buying too much food. Our grocery bill averaged between $160.00 and $200.00 every two weeks. That was just outrages for a family of four (technically 2.5 since one still eats formula and the other eats very little).
 So I decided for a two week budget I would buy seven meals (instead of fourteen) and I would cook one day and the next we would eat leftovers. I was pretty nervous to start it; worrying that I would not have enough to feed my family for two weeks. But it worked out great.  I was able to take our bill down to right at $100.00 every two weeks.
So here is how I set my plan:

First I make a list of seven meals I plan to make ahead of time. For example,
-Chicken and Rice w/veggies
- Baked Spagetti
-Pork chops with brown rice and veggies
-etc.

Then I create my grocery list around those meals. I put the exact amount those things I will need.
Then I list what I need for lunches and breakfast. For us that part is easy. We eat sandwiches for lunch and cereal/poptarts for breakfast.
We don't get sodas or anything fancy to drink.
Koolaid and fruit juice is as fancy as we get.

I found having a very specified list and a calculator with you when you go grocery shopping will help you stay exactly in budget.
If I forget my calculator I always seem to go over budget somehow.

That is how I save my family some money with groceries.

 Next stop is making my own laundry soap, but I have yet to convince the hubs to let me do it :)



Update on Potty Training:
Sarah did great the first couple of days, and then after that fell off the band wagon. She will cry if she has to go to the potty now :/. She prefers just to run around in her panties and cries when she pees on herself. So I am not going to push it. We will step back and let her lead. I know she will go when she is ready.

Funny story:
Sarah sat on her potty tonight begging for a M&M. I told her that if she potties in her big girl potty she will get some. She sat there for 15 minutes crying the entire time for the candy.
I told her that she didn't have to sit there, she could get up and play; but if she realized she needed to go to go the the big girl potty.
So she finally got up. I went to the other room to grab laundry and all of a sudden I heard a scream, "MY FEEEEEEEETT!!!!!" I dropped what I was doing and ran into the livingroom only to find my adorable 2 year old standing a puddle of pee screaming, "MY FEEEEEET! PEE PEE ON MY FEEEEEEEEET!" and hollering like a dying cow. She continued to scream about her feet til I got her panties off and cleaned up the mess. I walked her over to the changing table and tried to calm her down. It wasn't until I put the pull up on her that she immediately dried up and asked for something to eat. Like she turned a switch. The pull up must have given her some kind of security because she didn't shed another tear over then incident.