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We spent $62.05 on groceries last week (+ what we ate)

My Goals for This Week

Gretchen’s $82 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 5

A peek into our week: Pregnancy Update (week 32), indoor water park, and Discipleship retreat

We spent $62.05 on groceries last week (+ what we ate)

Want to see what we bought for this week’s $70 grocery budget? I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

This week we had a lot of different things going on — Jesse got home from the men’s Discipleship retreat on Sunday, we had things going on almost every evening, Kathrynne left for a 9-day trip to Suriname on Friday, and I spent Friday-Sunday out of town at the women’s Discipleship retreat (both Jesse and I are small group co-leaders for our church’s Discipleship Intensive program).

We also went with our youth group to the indoor waterpark at the Gaylord Opryland on Wednesday evening (Jesse and I both co-lead a small group of teens in our church’s youth group, too).

So, when you see our menu plan below, you’ll notice we didn’t have a lot of “normal” dinners as a result. 🙂 But hey, this is real life right now!

Kroger Shopping Trip #1:

5 boxes Kellogg’s Raisin Bran — $1.79 per box when you buy 5 participating items, get $0.60 back from iBotta for each box purchased
Oscar Mayer Deli Meat — marked down to $1.79 — earned Fetch rewards
Lettuce — $1.79
Half & Half — $1.99
Sandwich buns — marked down to $1.29
3 lbs. ground turkey — marked down to $2.09
3 bags of marked down produce — $0.99 each
2 gallons water — $0.89
Milk — $2.99
Total with tax: $31.47

I was excited about the Friday-Saturday deals!

Especially the $0.99 Prego!

And the $1.49 Kellogg’s cereal!

Kroger Shopping Trip #2:

5 boxes Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes — $1.49 each with the Friday-Saturday deals
2 boxes Krusteaz Sugar Cookie Mix — marked down to $0.49 each
5 Ghirardelli Chocolate Cake Mix — marked down to $0.49 each
Baking powder — $1.05
Salt — $0.49
Beefaroni — marked down to $0.39
Refried Beans — marked down to $0.39
Progresso Soup — marked down to $0.49
5 jars Prego (only 4 are pictured because we accidentally dropped one while bringing in the groceries!) — $0.99 each as part of the Friday-Saturday deals — earned $0.75 cash back from iBotta
Milk — $2.99
Apples — $3.99, used $0.50/1 Kroger digital coupon = $3.49
Bag of avocados — marked down to $0.99
Kroger lemonade — marked down to $0.89
Kroger orange juice — marked down to $0.99
King’s Hawaiian Rolls — marked down to $0.79
Total with tax: $30.58

Our Menu Plan This Week

Note: When you see the meals below, please remember this: I buy ahead often. Which means that when I find a great deal on something I know we’ll use, I buy as much as I can afford in our budget to have on hand.

This means that you aren’t going to see all of the groceries my shopping trip that I used to make all of the meals we ate.

Please also remember that I’m putting this out there and it’s not a perfectly balanced menu. This is just really what we ate — and I hope that it encourages you to see the real-ness and lack of perfection here.

Breakfasts: Cereal

Lunches/Snacks: Leftovers, Salad, Turkey/Cheese Sandwiches, Apples/Peanut Butter, Mac & Cheese, Danimals, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Cookies, Pears, Random other markdowns/sale items 🙂

Dinners:

Sunday — Fend for yourself

Monday — Turkey meatballs, Acorn Squash

Tuesday — Broccoli, Creamed Corn, Garlic Bread, Meatloaf

Wednesday — Pizza (Jesse, Kaitlynn, and I were at a youth group event and they served pizza & ice cream), Silas and Kathrynne had cereal

Thursday — Pot Roast + Sweet Potatoes & Carrots, Pears/Apples, Spaghetti Squash, Biscuits

Friday — Leftover Buffet (I was out of town at a retreat.)

Saturday — Chili’s (I was out of town at a retreat.)

Total spent on groceries: $62.05

Cash back earned: 375 points earned from Fetch Rewards + $4.05 earned from iBotta

My Goals for This Week

As I mentioned in yesterday’s posts, last week was very full — and I didn’t get to cross a whole lot off my goals list. But that’s okay!

This Week’s Goals — 2020 — Week 9

Personal Goals

~~1. Get in 54,000 steps total. (I use the FitBit Ulta HR to track my steps every day.)~~

2. Finish reading Risen Motherhood, Made to Move Mountains, and ~~finish listening to The Austen Escape~~.

Home/Family Goals

3. Read 30 more pages of Carry a Big Stick aloud as a family.

~~4. Wash all baby clothes in Dreft.~~

Work/Blog Goals

~~5. Finish the rough draft of chapter 6 of my manuscript.~~

Word of the Year Goals

6. Pop popcorn and watch another classic movie as a family.

It’s another full week here, so I’m — once again — keeping my goals simple! Here’s what’s on my list for this week:

This Week’s Goals — 2020 — Week 10

Personal Goals

1. Get in 54,000 steps total. (I use the FitBit Ulta HR to track my steps every day.)

2. Finish reading Risen Motherhood, Made to Move Mountains, and The Gospel Comes with a House Key.

Home/Family Goals

3. Read 30 more pages of Carry a Big Stick aloud as a family.

4. Attend foster care training class on Saturday.

Work/Blog Goals

5. Finish the rough draft of chapter 7 of my manuscript.

Word of the Year Goals

6. Pop popcorn and watch another classic movie as a family.

What are YOUR goals for this week? How did you do on last week’s goals? Tell us in the comments!

Gretchen’s $82 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 5

Aldi

3 pkg Strawberries – $1.19 each

1 bag Spinach – $1.39

1.43 lbs Bananas – $1.36

2 pkg Shredded Cheese – $2.75 each

1 Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.95

1 pkg Hot Dog Buns – $0.85

1 pkg Oven Roasted Turkey Breast – $3.99

1 Soy Sauce – $1.29

1 pkg Cinnamon Raisin Bagels – $1.49

1 bag Frozen Peas – $0.79

1 bag Frozen Blueberries – $1.79

1 loaf Bread – $0.95

2 Cucumbers – $0.55 each

1 pkg Chocolate Chips – $1.69

1 gallon Milk – $2.19

2.06 lbs Red Grapes – $3.69

2 Avocados – $0.89 each

1 Half & Half – $1.55

1 bag Oyster Crackers – $0.79

1 pkg Hot Dogs – $0.79

1 canister Raisins – $2.89

1 box Thin Wheat Crackers – $0.98

1 pkg Sugar – $1.73

1 can Pineapple Chunks – $0.95

1 bag Corn Chips – $0.75

1 pkg Flour Tortillas – $1.25

Total: $47.05

Kroger

1 loaf French Bread – Marked down to $0.49

3 bags Produce – Marked down to $0.99 each

1 Kroger Sour Cream – $1.99, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $1.49 after coupon

1 half Gallon Milk – Marked down to $1.09

2 Lettuce – $1.69 each

1 pkg Roast – Marked down to $5.83

2 boxes Kellogg’s Cereal – $1.49 each after coupon (no longer available)

1 box Quaker Oatmeal – $2.79 (I accidentally picked this one up instead of the Kroger brand and did not realize it until I was home.)

1 box Kroger Oatmeal – $1.49, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $0.99 after coupon

1 bag Kroger Flour – $1.59

2.08 lbs Bananas – $1.23

1 Yoplait Yogurt – $0.60, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon

2 Kroger Peanut Butter – $1.49 each, used 2 $0.50/1 e-coupon – $0.99 each after coupon

1 Kroger Natural Peanut Butter – $1.79, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $1.29 after coupon

1 Kroger Half & Half – $1.99

1 Oscar Meyer Bacon – Marked down to $1.99

2 dozen Kroger Eggs – $0.99 each

3 Kraft Barbecue Sauce – $1.49 each, used 3 $1/1 e-coupon – $0.49 each after coupons

Total after coupons: $35.53

Total for both stores: $82.58

Menu Plan for This Week

Breakfasts

Cereal, Oatmeal, Fruit Smoothies, Eggs, Bagels

Lunches

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, Turkey Sandwiches, Tossed Salad Bar, Hard Boiled Eggs/Cheese/Crackers/Veggies, Apples & Peanut Butter/Crackers, Leftovers

Dinners

Cheese Pizza

Italian Chicken, Homemade Bread, Steamed Peas, Fruit Salad

Build Your Own Haystacks

Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, French Bread

Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice, Spinach Salad

Pancakes, Eggs, Bacon

Baked Pork Ribs (marked down last week), Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Corn

A peek into our week: Pregnancy Update (week 32), indoor water park, and Discipleship retreat

32 weeks!!!

Highlights

I had another OB appointment this week and all is looking well! I hadn’t really asked anything about the birth up until this point, so I figured I should ask if my OB was good with my hopes for the birth.

My biggest hopes: that I could birth in whatever position felt right to me (I usually birth on hands and knees), that I could move around a lot in labor if things were going well (I prefer to be on the ball or on my hands and knees when I’m having contractions), that the girls could be at the birth (this was their biggest request from when we found out I was expecting!), and whether we could do delayed cord clamping.

I was so thrilled to hear that she was super happy to accommodate all of my requests (provided both baby and I are doing well) and I’m hopeful to have another non-medicated, natural, really positive birth experience like I had with all three so far!
That said, I always go into birth with an open mind knowing that things can change and I will freely chuck all of my hopes and plans if medical intervention is necessary. But it feels good to know that my doctor is very much on board with my hopes for the birth.

Notable

I started to feel more pregnant this week. 😉 While I’m still feeling so good overall, I’m definitely noticing that I’m walking slower, waddling more, getting more clumsy, needing to take a lot more breaks, experiencing more swelling and heartburn (though lots of water and being super careful with my diet is still making such a big difference there!), and just generally experiencing more of the usual aches and pains involved with getting nearer to the end of pregnancy.

I’m nowhere near the “l’m miserable and desperately need to get this baby out!” stage (though that stage is probably coming!!), yet… and considering I still have quite a few more words to write on my manuscript rough draft and tasks to accomplish and to do’s to tie up in the next 6 weeks, I’m grateful that I likely have quite a bit more time until baby gets here (I usually go late).

Cravings

This week, I was all about the cheese and beef. Gratefully, those are two things that don’t give me heartburn!

Weight gain: 24 lbs.

We spent Wednesday night at the Gaylord Opryland Indoor Waterpark with our youth group (Jesse and I both co-lead a small group in our church’s youth group). Jesse had fun doing the FlowRider and a number of the water slides.

I could only do the lazy river, but I still had so much fun watching my girls have a blast!

These girls bring so much joy to my life!

And then I spent Friday-Sunday at a retreat center in TN with around 130 other women who are part of our church’s Discipleship Intensive program. (This is my 4th year to be involved in this program. It’s such an honor to get to co-lead and walk with a small group of women through this!)

My Say Yes Season

“Say Yes!” This has been one of my life themes the past 8 months.

On the macro level, I’ve said yes to getting licensed as a foster mama, said yes to a 3-book deal, said yes to more speaking and travel, said yes to co-leading another small group for Year 1 of our church’s Discipleship Intensive program, said yes to being a youth group leader, and said yes to opening our home every opportunity we’ve had.

On the micro level, I’ve been saying yes to opportunities to hang out and do more fun things with the kids and Jesse — like saying yes this week to putting on a bathing suit at 32 weeks pregnant and laughing and waddling around an indoor waterpark with Jesse & Kaitlynn for our youth group’s indoor waterpark night or spending two nights sleeping on a cot in the tiny kitchen area in the small room that I shared with three other women at the retreat center this weekend.

In all of my other pregnancies, I stayed home a LOT. Yes, I had younger kids so it was harder to get out. But I also stayed home because it was uncomfortable to get out — you never know when heartburn or nausea is going to hit, you’re often dog tired, and walking and standing can be difficult in the last few months of pregnancy.

This time around, I committed from the get go that I would get up, exercise, shower, and get dressed every day — no matter how I felt. Except for a few rare days, I have kept that commitment. And I truly believe it has made such a difference for me. After all, it’s much easier to say yes to fun and adventure and going places when you’re dressed and ready for the day! 😉

I look back on the last 8 months and see how this commitment to “Say Yes!” has brought so many unexpected blessings and people and relationships and opportunities into my life. And I have a whole catalog of memories, funny stories, and life-changing experiences I would have missed out on had a stayed home and played it safe.

I’ve also gotten to see God show up in powerful ways and give me energy when I felt weary and I get to see Him multiply my time and strength on an almost daily basis. It has been stretching in the most beautiful of ways!

Important note: While this is something that’s been simmering on my heart to share for the past few months, please note that this is my season of life that I am in right now. This is not to make anyone who is in a season of quiet feel guilty nor is it something I’m advocating for everyone. It is just where God has ME right now.

And my season of life will probably look a lot different come April/May when our baby arrives. Also, in the midst of this Say Yes season, I’ve made sure to have daily downtime (I take a nap almost every day + aim for 7-8 hours of sleep at night.) and weekly Sabbath (I take Sundays off.) There is no way I could go at the pace I do without these regular rhythms of rest.