Grocery Game Update

It's been almost five months since I began playing the Grocery Game and it's time for an update... 

Just some quick background information... I have a family of 5, shop weekly at two large grocery stores and two national drug stores and pay $25 a month for the service. I am careful to strictly follow my list and don't make many impulse purchases. This program includes savings on produce, meat, cleaning products, health and beauty, as well as national brands. And, it is not just prepackaged food. Dinner planning has become much easier because I have so much to choose from and don't have to make last minute runs to the store. My kids also like that they have fun snacks to serve their friends when they come over.

Here's what's happened for my family.

The first 4 weeks were a little time consuming because I was learning how to use the Grocery Game and catching up on clipping coupons. I would spend two hours looking at the sale lists online, selecting the products, printing the lists, and finding coupons. (I only use the coupons found in the newspaper and do not clip coupons online.) Since stockpiling items is part of successfully playing the Grocery Game, it took me longer initially because my lists for the stores I visit were much longer which caused me to spend more time in the stores. But checking out is where the payoff (literally) began! 

The site said that at 12 weeks I would be on the same coupon clipping schedule as the Grocery Game and shopping trips would be easier. They were right on. At 12 weeks, the length of my shopping lists fell dramatically and I had stockpiled so much food that I didn't need to buy as much each week. Also, because the stores in my area are close together, I can now go to four stores and shop for my groceries in one hour; thereby drastically cutting down the time that I spend in the stores. Not only that, I spend, on average, $100 a week for groceries and I have more food than ever! Last week I bought 46 items and only spent $89. The purchase included four packages of chicken breasts and several items that weren't even on sale. I also saved $44 on that trip! I have estimated that the savings is similar to receiving a $3-4,000 raise during the year. But, my favorite part is when I lock up the register at one store because I save so much money.

One drawback is that we may not always have the exact product that everyone likes but it gives us a chance to try new things. Before the Grocery Game, even though we spent a lot of money on food, there seemed to be very little of it. My kids would eat more often because the treats would be eaten first and they wanted to be sure to get some before it disappeared. Now, having this much food in the house prevents my children from over snacking and they make better choices. Who would have thought?

I have looked at other grocery saving websites but find this one the easiest and least time consuming to use. Now, every time I save money my kids ask me if I'm playing the Grocery Game. To try the Grocery Game visit www.grocerygame.com.

It's What's On The Inside That Matters

Yesterday I wrote about the wonderful lesson to be learned by watching Susan Boyle's performance on Britain's Got Talent however, how do we teach younger children to look for the inner beauty in others? The following example is how I taught my classroom students the importance of looking beyond appearance to discover people's real gifts. 

First, select two boxes that are the same size. Fill one box with some candy or treats and the other box with rocks. When you shake the boxes, the sounds should be about the same. Next, take a brown paper bag, crumble it, spill things on it and make it as messy as possible. Wrap the box of candy with this paper. Then, take some pretty wrapping paper, ribbon and bows and wrap the box of rocks. Once both boxes are wrapped, show them to your child and ask him which gift he would like to open and why. Most children will select the beautifully wrapped box thinking that there must be something really special in there. After they have opened it and find the rocks, let them open the messy package and find the candy. Now is the perfect time to start a conversation on the importance of inner beauty.

This is a simple lesson that will have an impact your child and teach the virtues of compassion and respect that will last a lifetime.

A Simple Lesson From a Simple Woman

I have been wanting to write about Susan Boyle ever since she became a worldwide sensation a few weeks ago. She has made a tremendous impact on my life and she doesn't even know it. Who is Susan Boyle and why has she made such an impact, you ask? Susan Boyle was the contestant on Britain's Got Talent who was heckled by the audience when she walked out on stage to sing in this talent competition. I admit, I was very skeptical that she could sing at all just by looking at her dowdy appearance. However, being a mom who abhors teasing, I was appalled by the audiences reaction to her as she took the stage. When Simon Cowell asked her what she was going to sing (I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Mis) and what singer she wanted to be compared to (Elaine Page), my heart began to sink for this underdog. I was sure she was going to be the William Hung of Britain and I certainly didn't want that to happen to the seemingly sweet and unassuming woman. Then, the music began, a hush fell over the audience and I held my breath. The song that came forth was absolutely incredible and brought the audience to their feet in a roar of applause. I didn't even know this woman, but my heart began to fill with joy for her and my eyes filled with tears for this amazing lesson she taught us.

Now Susan Boyle is known by millions, but I stop and think how many Susan Boyles do I come in contact with every day. This simple Scottish woman has reminded me that everyone has a gift and it doesn't matter how the gift is wrapped, just that we need to look inside the package to find the real beauty. A simple lesson, by a simple woman; how much more simple can it get?

Your Child's First Teacher

We know that we are our child's first teacher, but understanding the long term impact of our teaching won't be seen until our children are grown. The most important idea that we need to keep in mind is how we can be an effective teacher to our children.

My friend is a business coach who works with owners, executives and  managers assisting them in strengthening their leadership skills. Last week he wrote a blog about becoming a better leader and teacher in the business world. As I read his blog I compared it to the skills we need as parents and teachers to our children. Teaching children effectively now will provide them with the skills they need to become effective leaders and teachers in the future.

I encourage you to read his blog at http://uncommonsenseforleaders.blogspot.com.

Creativity at Work

I started my creative embroidery project and it started a flurry of creativity in the house. My two daughters, ages 13 and 7, have begun their own projects. My oldest daughter decided that she wanted me to embroider shirts for her and her best friend. Although I didn't want this to be screen related creativity, she found a really cute clip art that she wanted to use for the shirts. Once that was complete, she began to make a friendship bracelet from the multitude of embroidery floss laying about. My youngest daughter wanted to try her hand at embroidering also. Because I thought ahead, I gave her a piece of burlap, an embroidery hoop, a large needle and access to all of the floss. She thought she was really grown up. I was just going to let her make stitches but she surprised me with stitching a castle out of purple thread. Then she put orange and pink together and started to stitch a sunset. Next she moved on to the grass. She was so proud of her work that she brought it to class for sharing. Some of the boys even asked her to let them take a turn stitching. She was so proud. 

While all of us girls were working away in the family room, my son (11) decided to join us. His creative specialty is creative writing and drawing. He sat with us and asked if I would stitch a pillow for him of a golf course hole he designed. Quickly he grabbed a piece of paper and pencil and started in on his drawing. 

It has been a long time since we all sat in one room, without the TV or computer on, talking, laughing and sharing what we were doing. One small step for mom, one giant leap for the Mott Family.

Fostering Creativity in Children

A friend of mine is working on a presentation for her preschool about fostering creativity in children and I told her I would look into the topic to see what I could find that might help her. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable about about creativity since creativity is a high priority in our house. But a little internet searching led me to a fabulous book that I never expected to find. The book is The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule and it brought back wonderful childhood memories of exploration, imagination and discovery. Remember staying outside all day long, making forts, playing games and watching the clouds? Reading this book reminded that creativity is not just art projects; it's walking in nature, making up stories, creating original gifts, and much, much more. This book provided so many simple ideas for our electronic obsessed children that I could hardly decide where to begin. I decided to set an example by doing something creative myself. The project I chose involves taking one of my children's drawings of her and her friend and embroidering it onto a piece of fabric. Then I'm going to sew it onto a t-shirt to send to her friend who lives 1500 miles away. Hopefully it will turn out as cute as I'm imagining. But really, that's not the idea. The idea is for my children to see me being creative and encouraging them to try a new creative outlet rather than sitting in front of a screen. I hope it works!

The Best Christmas Ever

For the past three days, all I have been saying is that this was the best Christmas I had ever had. Not only am I saying this but so are my husband and my three kids! This got me thinking about why this Christmas was so different than any other Christmas I have celebrated.

I tend to be a little stressed when it comes to the holiday season and decide that everything has to be perfect, or better, than the year before. I have no idea where this thought process came from but I'm sure my husband has a few ideas... This year, for some reason, I didn't have any desire to create a celebration that would top the year before. My only desire was to enjoy the holidays. 

Usually, I am the only one who decorates and prepares for the holidays but, this year I insisted everyone pitch in which meant that I had to release some control on how things were done. Only a few lights went up and half of them didn't work but that didn't seem to matter. My mom helped put up some of my holiday decorations and it went so much faster with an extra set of hands. My gift list was ready to go and my shopping, wrapping and mailing was done by early December. I baked several batches of cookies while my kids helped or entertained themselves without arguing. On Christmas Eve Day, we all worked together to prepare the food for that night and we had a great time together! Christmas Eve was spent together, just the five of us, enjoying Christmas service, laughing and just being together. 

The kids hadn't been this excited about a visit from Santa in years and I think the fact that they helped in the preparations helped create this excitement. Christmas Day was filled with relaxation, more time enjoying each other, and playing with new toys. As the day wore on I had planned to cook a wonderful dinner for my family. Instead, we ended up going out for Chinese food just like the family in "The Christmas Story". After that, we drove around for a couple of hours and looked at the Christmas lights. 

I never imagined that Christmas could be so enjoyable and even a little untraditional. But I think that the help I received from my family throughout the season eased the stress I always feel and everyone was so proud of the little things they did to help. I still didn't get my Christmas cards out on time this year...maybe next year.

Oeir reaction when they opened