I Took the Kids Grocery Shopping and Didn't Even Get Out of My Car!

Hey y'all,

So, for once, I'm not complaining about being a mom (I know, right?).

But full disclosure: this is gonna seem like an ad for Walmart; just bear with me because I'm so friggin excited about what I just discovered, like, literally an hour ago.

I guess that's actually already a lie. Technically my mom figured some of it out first and told me about it last week. But I did the heavy lifting. Or really none at all. Just read on.

Are you a busy mom on the run? Or maybe just a busy woman on the run? Maybe you're not on the run, you're just busy at home and find it hard to get out. Or maybe you just don't like to get out and interact with people -- I'm not here to judge.
I'm here to tell you that if you do a lot of your shopping at Walmart -- or you don't, but this may be a game changer like it was for me -- then you DEFINITELY need to look into the Free Grocery Pickup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (<-- lots of exclamation points for emphasis)

Seriously.

You guys may not know this about my life, but, I have two kids under 2 (shocker). One happens to be nearing the Terrible Twos faster than I would like, and thus it is a circus getting them to the store, then in the store, then through the store, then back to the car, loaded up and home without everybody including myself calling it a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day -- and it won't even be noon yet.

Well, Walmart has declared NO MORE! to this era of my life -- or at least to this section of hardship that obtaining food to keep my family alive each week has become.

Here's how it works (without the dramatics):

1. I went to their website and filled my cart just as I would have in the grocery store, but without so much aerobics. You can do it on their app, too; I just had yet to download it. And I love any excuse to get out my dying laptop and check to see if it's still working. I'm just waiting with baited breath for the day it actually dies so that I can have more drama in my life that would be losing all of my family's memories to date. *collective gasp!*

Anyway: Fill your cart, either via website or app.

2. You choose the store you want to pickup at, the day and time you want or need to pickup, and you even pay before you go! It sounds like a tedious process; but including loading my online cart, the entire process maybe took me ten minutes. Of course, I'm that girl that has to keep a written list throughout the week and revise and revise and revise before I actually shop. So at least I had that to refer to. Note: I would recommend finishing this process at least the night before you pickup. You can order as early as a week in advance, though! When Mom and I tried to do it the day of, the morning spots were taken, and by noon the rest of the day was gone as well. But the good news here is that you can fill your cart throughout the week as you think of stuff! Then all you have to do is pay for your stuff and pick it up! It's really that simple. And I'm a mom who needs as much simplicity in my life as possible.

Recap: Pick your store, pick your day and time, pay for your items.

3. Go pick up your purchases!! This, honestly, would be the part I forget to do. *cue facepalm* But Walmart tries to help me out as much as they possibly can. I mean, they've already done the actual shopping for me; now they're sending me a text message, an email, and a notification on my phone to tell me as soon as they have my groceries together and ready. I love it when someone does this mom thing for me, however briefly. (Obviously you can opt out of the text message and the notification if that seems like a little much for you; but trust me, I need all the reminders.)
When you download their grocery app, Walmart will prompt you to check in when you are on your way. Then they track your location, and when you park in their pickup spot, the app will tell them that you've arrived and it will tell you not to sweat it because someone is on the way with your stuff. You can even add the color of your vehicle so that they know which one is you.

However, if you don't feel comfortable letting the app track your location, when you roll up and park in the designated parking spot, there will be a phone number to call to let them know you have arrived. Just don't get your panties in a wad if they need a few minutes to collect your things since you didn't check in and let them know you were coming.

Either way, you don't have to get out of your car at all!

Recap: Check in on the app when you're on your way, and pick up your groceries! Hooray!


Now, I have definitely had my fair share of bad experiences at Walmart; especially the particular one that has the pickup in my area. But here's the thing: those bad experiences have been with the staff inside. With the Free Grocery Pickup, I don't have to interact at all.
That being said, the lady that brought my groceries to my car this morning was the best staff member I've come into contact with at this particular store. She was very smiley and helpful.
I'm one of those people who gets out and helps them load the car. She noticed something was leaking before I did. We easily determined it was the flea spray I had ordered (don't ask). She took it back inside and got me a new one and even replaced the toothpaste that had been in the same bag -- and I didn't even have to ask! I was at Walmart maybe a total of ten minutes. The entire trip took me less than an hour, where if I had had to drag babies into the store and then shop and check myself out (because bye-bye grumpy cashiers, and hello scan-and-go) it would have easily taken me two hours or more. That's really hard to time with naps and feedings to consider.
The lady even handed me a goodie bag. It was one of their durable, reusable shopping bags with coupons and even a bottle of water! Mothers must run this company.

Walmart's Free Grocery Pickup is definitely going to be the way to go for me from here on out!

Edit: So, of course, I forgot to add whatever cons I had this morning. To be honest, it wasn't really anything on Walmart's part:

1. When ordering quantities, make sure you are adding the correct number to your cart. I needed to order six small things of yogurt and three baby bananas for Mason. I thought that I hit the plus button enough times... but I had a similar problem with another quantity item where my hitting the plus button didn't take. So just be checking your cart and make sure that everything you needed to order as far as quantity got added. I only ended up wit five yogurts and one banana. Oops.

2. I ordered flea spray and flea powder in order to treat both my carpets and hard floors. I ended up with two sprays. The lady even showed me the one that was wrong and asked me, "Is this ok?" And I didn't even look when I responded that it was fine. *cue second facepalm* That being said, it is the more expensive spray -- like, twice what I paid for the powder I actually ordered. And since I have only a couple of area rugs and the rest of my house is hard floors, I'm going to make it work. It's all universal anyway.

But yeah, those were the only two cons I could come up with. Happy shopping!

Two Babies Against One Mommy

Hey y'all,

Did your day suck yesterday? Is it kind of already going off the rails for today? Then you definitely could use a laugh, and here's one at my expense (I need to just make these a serious of blog posts, "A Laugh At My Expense"...) Jacob started his new job on Monday; claimed that it and Tuesday were the best first days ever. Now he's away for training until possibly this weekend.

Thus, I present to you: my day (Tuesday) in a nutshell -- and a series of videos, which still don't do the chaos any justice. It's two growing babies against one exhausted mommy. I am trying every food possibility with Mason, who is throwing up and having blowout diapers around the clock. Katie Jo is hitting the terrible twos just a little early; and will someone please explain to me why the ball of yarn and the slinky need to be played with at the same time? 

Finally at the finish line, I came out from putting Mason to bed, and within those ten minutes Katie had turned the printer on and started scanning the dang cat.

Then I came out from putting Munchkin #2 to bed and the cat had eaten this week's cornbread that was cooling on the counter. 

Everyone's against me. Send help.

Inside My Home: My Back Porch/Garden

Hey y'all,

So today I want to invite you once again into my home -- my new home. *cue facepalm*

All you got to see of the previous home we had for only the last year was my living room at Christmas time. Which is ok, since my two absolute favorite rooms in that old farmhouse were my living room and my kitchen. I wish I would have shown you my kitchen: it was painted bright sunny yellow, and though it was small and a little on the crampy side, the cabinets were painted white and there were plenty of large windows so it was wonderful. I loved that kitchen. 

But, alas, we are in another new house this year; and hopefully this one is permanent. 

Back in April we began the process of moving into the house my father in law and hubby built roughly 10 years ago. 

What a God-send, amirite? Who knew this year we would lose our job and have a rough go of it covering payments for a rental house? (God knew, which is all that matters.)

My father in law built the house for his family -- eight years in the making. But then he and hubby's mom ended up getting a divorce shortly after the project was finished, and he ended up with this 2,000 square foot house sitting on roughly 65 acres. 

Being the working man that he is, time for the house has basically been standing still for the last ten years. Nothing was changed or touched or moved from the day hubby left home as an adult. 

Then one day he calls up the son and daughter in law with the grandchildren that he loves so dearly but never sees because of work and we live an hour away and he offers us this big house that is too big for him, but perfect for us to grow into. He moves only out of the master bedroom and we set to work going through, organizing, dusting, and cleaning the mess out of this wonderful home that we have been so blessed with.

Today I want to begin sharing this home with you, starting with my back porch. I know that sounds really backwards to start with the back porch, but this week I can't think of a more perfect "room" to start with. I friggin love my back porch.

These are the "before" pictures, taken back in April.

Below are the pictures I took today. It now has lots of seating for family get-togethers -- which we try to have often. I love the outdoor rug my dad's sister gave to us for our previous house. It makes my porch feel more like a comfortable sitting room, which is how all porches should feel imo. I love that the oversized porch swing is right outside the door to my bedroom. It has oftentimes become my prayer swing, a tradition my dad's mom started in one of her many gardens up North. Although the black rocker has become my main spot this week as I've been battling some serious vertigo and can't handle the swing. Note about the black rockers (there is a double sitting on the other side of that wooden chair): they are the same black rockers I grew up sitting in on my parents' front porch. Mom got a new wicker furniture set that looks super chic -- more chic than some old black rocking chairs that need refinishing. Luckily, I'm more about nostalgic value than chicness.

As you can see below, we've planted a garden this year. We only have about five different kinds of plants, though, since I'm no green thumb. Or, I wasn't until this year. Wow. 

Ok, this WAS six tomato plants and one cowhorn pepper plant... 

...Now it is two bushy tomato plants and a cowhorn.
I totally recommend putting the cages on them BEFORE they
grow too large....

Hubby brought me home some pallets from Pilot one day when I called and panicked that
the pumpkin plant was taking over the yard. I seriously thought all of it would die within days
of planting.

Watermelon on this side of the A-frame trellis as well as six jalapeno plants that had to get staked up
because apparently jalapeno plants are the perfect launching pad for animals off the porch.

I gathered our first jalapeno harvest the other day and we made poppers out of them. And lemmejustellyou what a huge difference in fresh taste and crunch using super fresh jalapenos makes. Yum!!

We also began our long-term, extensive landscaping project with some simple lemon grass plants along the back porch. And guess what? We got all four plants on clearance. 

Can you even see them?? We planted back in May.
Oh, also the tools lining the porch are acting as "railings" for a busy boy in his walker. *facepalm*

I'M SO EXCITED WITH HOW WELL THEY ARE DOING. AHHH.

Anyway, that is my back porch. Come and sit a spell -- especially during a good rain or when the deer and turkeys are out over our expansive backyard.

But not right now. As there are no deer, no rain, and turkeys -- unless you count the one we refer to as Banshee Boy who is currently sitting in his highchair next to me, slapping his hand on the tray and insisting that he needs to get down and wreak havoc on my house.

My Top 10 Tips For Beaching With Babies Under 2

Hey y'all,

Yay! We survived our first beach trip with two under 2! Can I get a what? what?!

Ok, before I jump into all the tips I took into serious consideration and how they ultimately saved the only vacay I'm likely to get for the next year or longer, let me just give you a little background story of how our first beach trip after having a baby went:

Last summer, my family (and there were 14 of us total) invited us to come on their annual Memorial Day camping trip to the Navy Base in Pensacola, FL. This was discussed from about January until we were leaving in May. And I was all, "I'll have a six month old baby? Count me in!"

I feel it imperative to note that at that point in time, we were counting on getting one of the beach cabins at the site. My parents had been waiting with baited breath to reserve one, but you could only reserve it so far in advance.

Then two things happened. In April, the campsite went under new management and suddenly all the cabins were booked. So now I was tent-camping with a six month old baby. Still the optimist (at times): Count me in!

Then in early May, like, a week before we were due to depart, I got a positive pregnancy test result. This was after four negatives that I had begun taking in January. Please note the time frame. It is very relative to this story.
Went to the doc the next day to inquire how far along we were...
Now we were tent-camping, with a six month old baby and I was three months pregnant.

At that point, everyone, including hubby, were waving red flags at me all over the place. "I got this, no sweat!" was my regrettable response. Count us in!

What a changed person I have become in only a year.

It was humid (in italics because I can not stress enough the humidity of the South in the summer), we got a flat tire, I was cranky and moody because hooray for surprise pregnancy, bugs, it poured rain and flooded our tent -- the tent we were sharing with a bassinet because we were camping with a six month old baby while I was three months pregnant. Talk about permanently hot, sweaty, and bothered. By everyone and everything. Clearly nobody carried out any of my many orders of "OFF WITH THEIR HEAD!!!"

Three days later, we were stuck in Mobile traffic on Memorial Day weekend, trying to entertain our firstborn with Kipper played on hubby's phone, crying, and wondering why we had done this to ourselves. (Ok, I was the only one crying. And profusely apologizing to hubby, because at least I can own up when I know that ish was all. me.)


Fast forward to this summer: I read all the mommy blogs starting the day the trip to Orange Beach was first discussed. I was going to make sure we were going prepared this time. And I was going to make sure we were not camping. (And I was going to make dang sure I was not pregnant.)

We did a beach house with hubby's mom and stepdad, and aunt, uncle and two cousins that are basically Jacob's brothers. His grandmother has a permanent camper down at Orange Beach, so some of us were jumping back and forth with sleeping quarters and we went over there a couple of times to hang out with people we know.

With two babies under 2 and with the fact that Jacob just lost his job, I wasn't honestly expecting it to be as much of a vacation as it was time away from the house, if that makes sense.

But, y'all -- what a vacation!

Sure all four of us were sleeping in one room -- the first time we have ever done that. But God was definitely placing His hand of blessing and rest upon us last week, for which I am very grateful. The kids slept just fine, with their bassinets side by side crammed into a closet. They loved the beach, and generally loved anything we did.




Some tips and tricks and gadgets made this trip as awesome as it was. I'm a Pinterest gal; so here's a link to my Beach Trip board where you can find all the articles and blogs I read prior to this trip. There's only a handful of them, because I found they mostly said the same things; which, honestly, was a relief. I was sitting here overwhelmed by just the thought that I was going to need an arsenal of new things and ideas. (Side note: I've added a new gadget on the side of my blog with links to my "social media", including my Pinterest in case you wanna be buddies or just see what I'm up to like the stalker that I know I am.)
















Here's a list of 10 said tips, tricks and gadgets that made our beach trip with two small children much more enjoyable (and these are in no particular order, especially as I am currently feeding breakfast to both munsters):

1. A spray bottle with water. And no, I did not use it as you would on a cat (though it has been tempting at times). I thought I would only use this at the beach; but I carried it with us everywhere. It majorly helped to keep the kids cool! 96 cents from Walmart for a travel size. Booyah!
2. Snack and gallon sized ziploc baggies. I used these to hold snacks, organize the diaper bag, pack shampoo, etc, and even as garbage bags. It keeps the sand out, the liquid in, and I love just being able to grab a baggie that has a helpful purpose.
3. Beach cart/wagon. Ohmygosh y'all, we bought all our big ticket beach items a month or two back and this was one we definitely splurged on -- but it has been so worth it! And not just for the beach! I get SO many comments and compliments dragging the kids around town just running errands in this thing. It folds and unfolds like a dream; and I love just being able to plop kids in it with some toys and/or snacks and have them happy to ride along anywhere. It makes super tight turns and is all around convenient. Truth be told: we only remembered it, like, once while actually at the beach. The tires on the one we got are plastic and smaller than super big rubber ones that might be made more for beaching. It worked; but as loaded down as we had it, Jacob pulled and I pushed from behind, and let's just say I won't be needing to work out my legs for a while. Piece of cake.
4. We did do the teeny blow-up pool, specifically for Mason. I loved the idea of it, and it did help to keep him cool up on the beach; but since my little boy has just hit the super busy and army-crawling age, it was more of a good idea in theory. Again: one of those things we only did once. But I definitely recommend for mommies who have slightly younger babies, ideally at the age they are sitting up ok, but can't crawl quite yet. 
5. Another one of those things that was so-so was the baby tent. We, ourselves, bought one of those sport umbrellas to use as either an umbrella or a tent, depending on what we thought we would need when we got to the beach. Upon arrival, hubby's aunt gave us their old tried and true baby tent. Pros: It had a floor so kids (and towels, etc) could sit in it without sitting in the sand, so no need to bring the Graco; it also had walls, which were ideal for the couple of times we ended up hitting the beach at nap time. (I can't see you, you can't see me.) I also put the blow-up pool inside the tent the one time we used it, to keep it out of the sand. Cons: The tent was a little more tedious to set up and take down, though not extremely; and even though it had a floor, as everyone knows, sand will eventually find a way in. I also worried the kids got too hot in it. Though it had a window in the back and the entire front was a big open door, it was hard to harness a shifting breeze (when there was one). 
6. Camping high-chair. As I read on the mom blogs prior to the trip, I also honestly use this item so much just in my day-to-day life. Especially as Mason gets big enough for a high chair, but Katie is still using one, but we only have the one. See my dilemma? It was so nice not to have to break down and bring the big high chair; and the bumbo seat is so much less portable. I originally bought it thinking I would take it on the beach to use for feedings and containing (here's looking at you, Mason). We didn't take it even once to the beach -- though it wouldn't have been a bad idea. It was just, after we were given the tent, we had to start picking and choosing what was actually getting drug down to (and then back up from) the beach. But I definitely used it for all other feedings everywhere else.
7. That baby powder trick you keep hearing about to get sand off? Works like a charm.
8. At the last second I added a mesh baby carrier to our Amazon cart while ordering things for the trip. It has been super great to have for all swimming events including the ocean, as well as just walking around my house and yard in the summer: it breathes, it dries super quickly, it's portable, it's strong and well-made. Again: my baby boy is super busy now, so of course he is constantly trying to crawl up my face. But it's nice to have this mesh carrier when Jacob's not around and the kids want to go swimming: have one on my hip and the other in a floatie. Boom: mommy genius. (That is, until Banshee Boy starts climbing up my chest and Sissy wants "downdowndowndown".)
9. My plan for food was to just buy a bunch of those Gerber Baby Little Entrees and then Katie Jo would be set. But then we suddenly found ourselves poor, so I had to get innovative and use whatever food I had in the pantry and refrigerator. ("What is even in those things??") (Because I totally pay attention to what I'm feeding my kids.) Last year, we were going through a rough patch financially, and so hubby was taking his lunches and dinners (and breakfasts and snacks) to work. Thus I already had washable, divided, food containers. So I made some homemade mac n cheese and a pot roast, threw some carrots, peas, and green beans in the smaller pockets and voila! -- Katie had homemade Little Entrees! #mommygeniusstrikesagain Saved us some $$ and gave me some mommy confidence; and it really wasn't a pain, especially considering how much food I was already having to pack just for Mason. So I definitely recommend packing as much of your own food as possible. It uses what you have and it's more expensive to "buy when we get there" and you may end up buying more than you need. 
10. My final tip is to know indefinitely how long you are going to be there. Ha ha, Sam. No really. For some reason I was under the impression we were only staying until Friday, not Saturday. So guess who had just enough food until Friday. *raises hand* We ended up leaving Friday night instead of Saturday morning anyway because the kids woke suddenly in the night and we thought, "It's been such a great week; why not insure one miserable experience like driving 3 hours in the night with two screaming children?" I kid. That was only the thought process as we hit Mile 160 at midnight and the kids still had yet to sleep.

In reality, this whole trip wouldn't have been at all possible without my gracious in-laws. They saw us going through a hard time and needing to back out of our preplanned (and hard-earned) family vacation and told us to come along anyway. I totally recommend bringing four adults for every two children. I got to go kayaking and jump off the pillars under the overpass. I got to go out to eat, see the new Incredibles movie, and stand in line for an hour and a half at Build-A-Bear (for Mason, y'all) because of those wonderful people who claimed, "No! Really! We love spending time attempting in vain to entertain your busy and whiny children while everyone else is having fun! Go!" 

A huge thank you to my husband's family who made this entire trip possible. It was a paradise in the desert. A pick-me-up in a place when we thought we would stay kicked down, at least for a while. We love y'all. 

Quick update: Jacob did, indeed, get hired with a garbage company yesterday. He'll be a diesel mechanic again, and he couldn't be happier (or more relieved). Thank you for all of your prayers, support, and words of encouragement to my family in such a confusing and frustrating time. Praising the Lord that it was only two weeks of unemployment. He's got this, y'all.

Finally! Baby beach montage!!!!

Trying to keep Banshee Boy from being... Banshee Boy
while eating out with the family.

I also recommend buying sunhats for babies long
before the last day of the beach trip, but, yaknow.

A Week Ago Yesterday

Hey y'all,

So the reason I haven't been on the blogosphere in over a week: hubby got fired very suddenly from his job last Friday night.

Talk about forcing those laugh lines, amirite? (See previous post.)

We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers in the time since then. We're not worried, honestly. He's had offers and interviews already.

No, the big decision was (and this is the real sucker-punch): Do we still go on our months-in-advance-planned-beach-trip next week? This all just happened at a really inopportune time.He tells me we are still going. It's probably not the most responsible decision; but dang it, my hubby deserves a real break. I don't know how much of an actual vacation it will be, bringing two babies under two... I'll have to get back to you on that. So check Sam out for another week starting Monday. I'm sure I'll be making up for it with a baby beach montage. So stay tuned.

The day after hubby's "bad day at work", his dad took us out to lunch. He laughed and told us that having Jacob at home for the next little while, jobless, was going to be one of the best tests of our relationship to date.

It's definitely thrown me for a tailspin. I usually try and get all of the housework done during the week so that when he's off we can spend that time together as a family and I'm not "distracted by many things". But now he's home all the time, so when does the housework get done? Shoot.
Nevermind I'm one of those people of routine: I get in a groove and everything just falls into place (in theory anyway; otherwise there wouldn't be a blog). But Jacob has been exceedingly helpful with kids and housework. Help! What do I do with all this free time??

I join in on CampNaNo this summer, that's what I do with it.
My project is about a K9 unit (because, dogs). And if you have ANY suggestions, I'm all ears. Creative writing after so long of...not....is harder than I thought.

So I better get back to that word count. And both my babies are ready for breakfast.