Being a stay at home has its challenges. One of them is finding new, creative ways to save money. So when I started shopping Aldi, it was a game changer! I can honestly say we have cut our grocery bill by 30-40%. Of course, there are still several name brand items we continue to buy at Kroger, but I wanted to share with you the magic of Aldi! I wish I would have learned about it sooner!

Growing up, I remember my grandpa coming over with cases of pop from Aldi and some cereal. Haha, what a smart man he was! Carrying on the tradition for you Grandpa Nickley!

Sorry Girl Scouts, but they have knock off cookies for $1.39! Thin mints are my favorite! And these taste just as good and you get more in the box.
Fresh produce oh my! You can find the same produce and just as fresh. Avocados for $.69! Unheard of people! One of our go to dinners is crispy chicken salad. Aldi has a wide selection for you to customize your ingredients.
Most of the Aldi stores around us (Lexington, KY) have been remodeled and have a fresher guarantee and quality.
Cereal is less than $2!! Whhhaaaatttt!! Stock up on those generic Cheerios for the baby and those Fruity O’s for the hubby!

They also have a row of random, non-food items. I found this pizza cooking tray the other day, but had to pass since we just bought one. Otherwise, it would have come home with me!

And where are my coffee lovers? A box of K-cups for less than $5. Sign me up! The quality is really good, trust me. I am one coffee connoisseur.
One of the meals I made recently from Aldi ingredients was this bacon-wrapped, jalapeno stuffed chicken breast. I bought a pack of jalapeños in the produce section for .$89. Here is the link to the recipe.

I would recommend just a few changes to the recipe depending on your oven and preferences on spiciness:

I halved the recipe since it was only the two of us eating. So I used half of one jalapeno (recipe called for 4) just for the flavor and to avoid the spiciness. I would recommend using a full one. And when cooking the chicken, I left it in for an additional 20 minutes. (But keep an eye depending on your oven) I also threw in some of Aldi’s mashed potatoes to go with the chicken. I prepped the chicken ahead of time during nap time and threw it in the oven just in time for hubby to get home and enjoy!

The other great thing about Aldi here in Lexington is that it’s never really crowded and its big enough, yet small enough that if you forget something, it’s pretty easy to go back and find it.

So next time you go shopping, give Aldi a try! Don’t forget your quarter for the cart return and bring your own bags!

Thanks for reading! Please share your favorite items at Aldi!

This year I couldn’t wait to put together a few things for Savannah’s first Valentine’s Day. And of course her daddy. They are both super special, but I wanted to keep things simple. I barely have time to shower most days, let alone plan anything extravagant. (Any moms with me??) Here’s what we did:

Made some Fruity Pebbles rice krispie treats! Took literally about 5 min to throw together. We just used the original recipe but substituted the Fruity Pebbles for Rice Krispies. I knew Dan would love these! Now he can’t say I never made him breakfast in bed!Dan brought home flowers for both his girls last night. So sweet! And Savannah opened her Valentine’s card and got a new book- I love you stinky face! Threw some candy on the table. DONE! Simple and perfect for our Valentine’s Day. Now to figure out dinner… takeout! Any suggestions??

Love is in the air! Life is precious, any excuse to celebrate!

Thanks for stopping by, Love Kim and Savannah

Sweet Savannah is 9 months old (+2 days)! With this crazy Kentucky weather I keep getting a feeling of spring. This last year has flown by! Soon it will be her birthday and I will probably cry. So we just HAD to do a photo shoot all day.

Since it’s February, I will focus on the things I LOVE about her 🙂

Those cheeks. Those sweet baby rolls.How smart she already is! She now feeds herself, gives mommy kisses, and reads lots of books.Shh.. don’t tell her daddy, but how much she looks like him. It reminds me of our little family and the reason for all of this.And her priceless expressions. She sure has a lot to say and is working on saying it all. Her favorite word right now is da-da. Although when mama leaves the room, the tears are flowing!
Happy 9 months sweet girl. 9 months in, 9 months out! Love you more each day and we are trying our best to make sure you are the happiest, most loved baby!

Last week I spent 2 hours on the phone with a number of professionals- my OB-GYN office, the pediatrician, a lactation consultant, and a health insurance agent. You would think after that length of time I would have an answer to my question and confidence in my ability to feed my child and care for my body. Let me give you a little back story.

A week or two ago, I started having burning pain in my breasts after breastfeeding my 8 month old. I convinced myself it was teething and thought, hey it will pass. I figured my doctor would give the usual answer (its nothing) and I would be out of my copay. After another week, the pain was not getting better and my breasts were throbbing even randomly when I wasn’t feeding. As any modern mom would do, I consulted with my Facebook mom group. I actually highly regard other moms’ opinions because they have been there, done that. They don’t have a scripted answer like the doctor office and I don’t owe a copay or get billed for an absurd amount later on. So in our discussion, other moms suggested it could be thrush, a yeast infection that will spread back and forth between mother and breastfed baby. When I called my OB-GYN office back, I mentioned my symptoms and that it was possibly thrush and they agreed and prescribed me cream. Even though there were no noticeable signs of thrush with my baby. After using the cream a few days, it wasn’t making any difference. It was more of an annoyance and I had to wipe it off each time before feeding my baby. So I was back to square one thinking maybe it will just go away on its own, whatever it may be. Being a stay at home mom, I don’t want to throw away a bunch of money on all these office visits that will MAYBE give me an answer. I just felt at a loss.

So here I am. A highly educated woman (Master’s degree in health education of all things) with my first child. Not knowing who to turn to next. Breastfeeding has been an enjoyable, bonding experience with my baby, but I was wondering if this could be one of the reasons moms give up too soon on breastfeeding. I ended up seeing my OB-GYN and he said it was just a functional problem. And it has improved, so must have been a phase with my teething baby. But as a mom, we will pay the price to get proper care for ourselves and our child.

There have been other times during the past months as a new mom where I felt too embarrassed to seek help or just didn’t know where to begin. If I were to pinpoint some of the problems I see and/or have faced here they are:

>>Insurance/healthcare system. With so many different providers with a problem such as this one, who should I first consult? Hence, why I called 4 different offices this morning. And each provider in person visit comes with a cost. Maybe all for nothing. And all with a different answer.

>>Postpartum depression/emotional issues. I haven’t touched on one of the biggest issues new moms face, postpartum depression. This can be an entire post in itself. I can speak from experience that as a mom, I don’t want to show weakness although I know it is okay. I can tell myself that I am a better mom. Although if it was a friend of mine or another mom, I would tell them to let their feelings out and seek help. Why won’t I do that same thing?? Even after 8 months, I still have days of sadness. I suck it up and move on (some days). Not everyone can do that. I also have the luxury (yes, it’s a luxury because it is not free) of joining a group of amazing moms to exercise with each week. Not everyone has that. I couldn’t tell you how sad I have been when I didn’t venture out of the house (like during sicknesses). So without my class, I would feel very isolated.  The hormonal changes we go through create so many new feelings and the men in our lives should also be equipped with the tools to support and love their spouses. From my experience, information on postpartum depression and the baby blues was only provided at a voluntary breastfeeding class and again upon discharge. I remember in the hospital looking down at those tiny eyes staring back at me and just sobbing. Not because I was sad. Sometimes for no reason, other times because the overwhelming love I felt was scary. So scary that if anything bad ever happened to my sweet baby I would lose it. So I guess that meant it was okay to cry. To cry some more. And have my husband wonder if he did anything wrong. Nope, you are pretty much a perfect dad in my eyes. Me on the other hand, an emotional wreck.

>>Lack of ongoing support. I received a bunch of pamphlets and printouts from the hospital before I was discharged. Resources such as lactation consultant contact info, how to breastfeed, brochures about postpartum depression, etc. Despite all this information, the whole parenting thing is so new, I didn’t feel like I had the support I needed. The hospital discharges you and says, “Good luck figuring this whole thing out.” And keep in mind you are discharged after the second night when you get ZERO sleep. Your new baby figures out there are these things that deliver milk, all the milk that sweet little baby can eat! Nobody told me about the multitude of problems you may encounter while breastfeeding and after giving birth. Things such as clogged ducts, mastitis, thrush, hemorrhoids, moles and your body will have new things happen months after. The moment you realize your mom was right 🙂

My goal is to compile a list of resources for moms (new and seasoned). If you have some great resources, please share! Soon, I will put together another post with the best resources. As I hear very often, it takes a village! And I truly believe it and hope to give you hope and inspiration on your motherhood journey.

Check out this article about the village I was referring to! Another thing to add to the list of things to do/find when you are pregnant or a new mom! Seriously guys, if you take one thing away from this post.

Thanks for reading and please share your resources in the comments!