Randomness here. It is the Beginning of the month and it is time to go grocery shopping, as such I feel like rambling about it. There have been changes in my life non stop for the last 3 years. My husbands lost his job this lead to a major move and a change in status as he went back to school. Then to top it all off I have a two children at home one is 14 and one is 20. The 20 year old came home when he turned 18 between 14 and 18 he lived with his mom. The14 year old has eating issues and on top of it is fussy about what she likes and how she likes it. she get this mostly from her father. At the moment I am doing temp work. Temp work means I can decline work because I have Dr appointments for my DD or a different appointment with the DS. it means we live mostly on my Husbands GI Bill and student loans. I made about $6000 working last year. now we also have a support network of both our parents that have made this bearable. but all this leads me to Food shopping.
I have about 526ish dollars a month to food shop for all of us. I have finally giving in in some areas because it saves my hair from turning gray any faster. My DD should not eat some foods because they cause her migraines. My son has no concept of portions, or price of food, he also lacks social skills in a lot of departments. I go out of my way to buy foods that the Daughter can eat and come in to find the son has eaten the whole thing in one sitting. I found a solution. I buy him his own food. it is not food I always think is healthy. but it fits how he will eat and keeps him away from his sisters food. any TV dinners on sale for $1 he can get 20 to 30 of a month. Sausage links he can microwave. Chimmie Chongas, and Microwave Burritos. now I also buy Cereal, a super size box of Waffles, Meat patties, Hot dogs and the like (buns and breads) I write the DD name on things that are just for her. and no one really wants the food I eat because i am on a low fat diet. the rule is he can have a sunny D knock off Koolaid add your own sugar or a generic koolaid with the sugar in, and one bottle of generic soda a month. The Daughter gets real juice, real Koolaid with the sugar in it, a Cereal she is not allergic too. I do cater to her needs but she is 14 and can't work. So far the 20 year old hasn't managed to find a job. He is doing temp work through the same company as me but he has less skills and doesn't drive. any how this is working. I still cook dinner at least every other night. and the DS will eat anything any one is cooking. On nights that I am eating extra low fat the rest of the family will eat something like perigees with fried onions. And most important the after school snack foods that are expensive for my DD are now safe.
I also think he feels less like his sister is getting something that he isn't. He also cooks dinner on Tue nights. this Tue it will be Chicken Gnocchi soup my DD favorite. Next time I will tell you about Teaching him to shop we are making him a make believe budget per month and breaking it down to how much he has per meal then going shopping and having him figure out what he can buy that he will eat for a whole month. Wish me luck.
What happened with son's job corps?
ReplyDeleteI've been working with Mr. Clean on things like budgeting, and of course, you know he's been dieting and asking you for advice. It's just so expensive to eat healthily sometimes! I love when I hit the good sales, like when organic lettuce is knocked down from over 3 bucks a bag to 99 cents, because it's close to expiring. It's still good, though. But Mr. Clean has no concept of shopping and budgeting, since his mother did everything for him. He's learning, though.