|| Mumma Daze ||

Okay so I've voiced before our f/t grocery budget is $350 - this figure was derived not from what was left after other expenses but rather based on what we actually spent when we bought everything we needed. This means it's a generous budget and it always works - very hard to go over it! This fortnight I've beaten it AGAIN! By following my own little set of rules that I've previously shared with you...it looks something like this: FIRST STOP :: Aldi - lots of snack food (more than I usually would) incl crackers, sweets, muesli bars etc, nappies and other grocery items...total $115.72 SECOND STOP :: Woolworths - just a few key items that were in their specials catalogue ... only one of them a necessity - the others are treats... total $28.45 THIRD STOP :: Butcher & Fruit and Veg - lots of meat, and a trolley full of fruit & veg...total $81.93 Now I do need to pay a visit to Coles for a few particular items (some on special, some not) and I estimate I...

Whilst the shopping to a list and meal plan is the best way to save yourself money / time there is also another nifty tip that for me works well and go hand in hand with this process. I have certain grocery items that are just in the pantry - as I am sure we all do - sauce, dressing, mayo, plain crackers, pappadums, curry powder etc Rather than try and remember what you need each week / fortnight - attach a piece of paper to your fridge or your cupboard and when you run out of something whilst cooking write it down. Make the list a permanent fixture in your kitchen so this tiny tiny task also becomes a fixture.. you'll no longer have 3 bottles of tomato sauce and no BBQ. French dressing but not italian, curry powder but not mustard powder and all types of pasta instead of 5 packets of fettucine!!!

Think Again! So you don't have kids, you think that all this money & time saving stuff Mum's go on about doesn't apply to you... Well here's news, it can! There are also many OTHER tips for people who are time poor but with some disposable income.... *Buy your fruit & veg at the fruit shop and meat at the butcher, yep you'll save money but you'll get better quality too! *Do your groceries online and have them delivered, when you're working full-time why waste your weekend at the supermarket? *Hire a cleaner - once a week / fortnight / month. You might be surprised how affordable it is... And the time you gain is worth it, not to mention the lack of stress that can be associated with keeping house whilst working 40-50 hours a week. *Learn to follow a recipe and create a yummy meal out of a good cookbook, you'll enjoy the task, the outcome and you might save a few bucks eating at home instead of heading out to the latest & greatest restaurant i...

Folding washing that has been on my ottoman for a couple of days... Pick up a pair of Bonds socks that have the non slip rubber stuff on the bottom and realise they are literally black with ants. Entirely covered. Upon closer attention realise the rubber has been almost entirely eaten off! There are specks of blue all through the clean washing! Never seen this before, and hopefully never again! YICK!!!

I have just downloaded an app for my iPhone that allows me to post to my blog... This is the trial post! Having only a desktop PC I find that whilst I have much to share I often forget it by the time I get to my desk or simply run out of time... So if this works maybe you'll see more of mummadaze :)

Faced with a family birthday yesterday and a little stumped on gift ideas...I did have one brilliant idea but of course none of the shops I visited produced what I was looking for... ANYWAY..... Whilst wandering through my local shopping centre I thought hmmmmm Did you know.. Gloria Jeans sells gift vouchers? YES they do! In $5 increments. Well I'll have 4 of those thank you very much. Beautiful idea, thoughtful, practical and not another piece of junk to occupy space in your house that you probably won't use. Way better than a scratchie too! So the next time you buy a birthday card and are heading to the newsagency to stuff it full of scratchies consider a cup of coffee for your friend or family member instead :) p.s. I prefer Zaraffa's coffee over anything else..and they do gift cards too - a pre-paid card of 10 of your favourite drinks :)

it seems this is one of the 'greatest debates' at the moment. a hot topic. when you're pregnant / a new mum somehow or other it becomes ingrained knowledge that Huggies are the one, the only, the best nappy for all children...and parents. this somehow leads to a division between huggies users and those that don't (oh my! you don't use huggies? I ONLY use huggies...) and I have witnessed this first hand in the real world....almost as if you don't use Huggies you're a second class parent. WELL .... I used huggies & modern cloth nappies from the word go...and from the word go Huggies leaked. they leaked in Newborn, they leaked in Infant, Toddler & Walker.... i have had no less than 4 Huggies replacement packets left on my doorstep by their lovely courier people - they must deliver ALOT of nappies to unhappy parents. It definitely pays to complain. However, having had it knocked into me that Huggies were the one & only I just didn't know w...

I dragged my heels heading to the butcher / fruit market today..why? because I still had no meal plan and only a skerrick of shopping list. Seriously lacking in energy and motivation I sourced my meal plan inspiration from the butcher / fresh produce / my husband and whatever I already had in the pantry! For a change it was nice, although we did the Aldi stop too and without a list that was tough... I had a rough idea what I needed and a little adlib was okay too. I have now produced my meal plan, albeit vague! beef strog chicken carbonara rissoles (could be hamburgers?) slow cooked lamb shanks chicken sausages & vegies honey mustard chicken sweet & sour chicken steak (with whatever takes my fancy... potato salad maybe?) marinated chicken wings & rice LOTS of chicken, but it's always that way in our house. tonight DH & I have no idea what we're eating for tea. Personally I'm leaning towards a scrumptious chocolate & cream cake roll paire...

Never in my life has time moved so fast as it did last weekend. From Thursday family began to arrive and by Friday afternoon we were all here! That's 13 of us in total!!! Time went by so fast, after two park trips, lots of naps, nappy changes, and a mountain of food it was Monday before I knew and half of my beautiful family had already left and the others were due to leave that day :( The two little people got along brilliantly, and by geez when they're just a little bit older I think they'll get up to mischief whenever they're together. Meal plan? what Meal plan? Any plans I had made at the beginning of the fortnight were quickly shoved out the window. Before everyone got here I was too busy planning their arrival to follow a plan...and after they left I was too buggered! So we've just pulled something together from what we have and now lo & behold it's bloody shopping day again!!! I have my work cut out for me with no meal plan for the coming tw...