Category: parenting

Big Kid Favorites at Aldi
foodie · kids · natural lifestyle · parenting

Big Kid Favorites at Aldi

Essentially Better LivingLeave a comment

I have two girls, ages 6 and 10. One is a picky eater and the other is a foodie. When I announce we are going to Aldi, they both chant “yay!” because they know good food is on the way.

Here are some of our favorites:

1. Fruit. Berries, Honeycrisp apples, grapes, mandarins, whole pineapples and kiwis are some of our faves. Many of them organic. Great prices.

2. Cheese. My picky eater loves the spiral string cheese (cheddar and mozzarella). We also grab her a ball of mozzarella. My foodie girl loves Havarti, Gouda, Muenster and especially blue cheese crumbles.

3. Meats. My picky eater loves the bite-sized salamis and smoked turkey. She also loves their Dino nuggets which has one of the best ingredient lists I’ve seen. My big girl loves the smoked salmon, capocollo, sopressata, and prosciutto. We grab mussels for her from time to time too.

4. Pasta. We love their pasta shells. There is just something about them that is better than what you can get a Walmart. Maybe it’s the pretty bag and great price? They also like any of the raviolis in the refrigerated section. Five cheese is our current fave. Mushroom is good too!

5. Drinks. Both girls love the Pineapple Orange juice and Mango Orange juice. They also like the Kiwi Strawberry drink pouches. The mini water bottles are perfect to grab and go for sports.

6. Snacks and treats. Dark chocolate peanut butter granola bars are delicious and all natural! We love the cookies and cream ice cream. We alternate between the “go go squeeze” type of applesauces and the cups. Both are good. We are also loving the sea salt caramel chocolate chunk cookie dough.

Teaching Kids to Behave in Public
parenting

Teaching Kids to Behave in Public

Essentially Better LivingLeave a comment

 

Do you bribe your children to be good in public?

I definitely do. I’ve seen a huge turnaround in Madeline’s behavior since I started intentionally talking to her about where we are going and painting a clear picture for her of what her behavior should look like BEFORE we go in each place we visit (inside voice, walking not running, no begging, complaining or whining, no running away).

That word “before” is so key. We sit in the car for an extra minute and talk about how she should and should not behave before EACH place we visit. Do it every time. After a few days it will just become habit to have these chats and you’ll be motivated to keep doing it when you see the improvement!

Then we talk about what she will earn as a reward. Something small. It doesn’t take much to put a smile on her face.

Since I started doing this consistently she is becoming really fun to shop with!

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This morning we went to Kohl’s, Target, Office Depot, Clothes Mentor and Walmart. The outing cost me this fluffy pillow that I was planning to get her anyway ($4.88 at Walmart) and half a chocolate chip muffie from Panera…I got the other half.

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If at any point on the outing she forgot, I could just say “fluffy pillow” or “muffie” and see a total 180. People around us probably thought her name was Muffy today. 😂