Tag: chick-fil-a

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo.

Published on by Darlene Dee2 Comments

Lately I feel like The Little Engine That Really Wants to But OMFG JUST CAN’T.

Moving is hard, y’all.

I have moved about a million times in my teens and twenties. But now I’ve lived in the same place for over ten years and WHY DO I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF???

One fun little bonus is that I am NOT buying food. We are trying hard to eat all of the food in the freezer.

So. Yay. Cooking.

Or, often, take-out. Or fast food.

By the way, did you see the adorable train set that was part of the McDonald’s kid’s meal in December? Yeah. We almost got the whole thing. You get how my month went now, right? I DID remember to feed the baby in December. She’s addicted to fruit. I kind of don’t blame her but I wish it was in season.

  • bananas $1.25, $0.95
  • cake pop $2
  • Cheerios $3.99, $5.29, $4.99
  • flaxseed milk (she uses enough that one per month is on her) $3.99
  • apples $4.89, $5.99, $2.74, $5.51
  • honeydew $3.37
  • grapes $5.47
  • cantaloupe $3.99, $3.99
  • mango $4.99
  • eggs $4.49
  • watermelon $11.39
  • frozen pizza $2.50, $2.50, $2.50
  • cookie dough $3.00 (more craft than food but whatever)
  • pink frosting $1.72 (more craft than food but whatever)
  • Five Guys hot dog $4.79, $4.79
  • Chick-fil-A* $3.29 + .20, $3.29 + .20, $3.29 + .20, $3.29 + .20
  • McDonald’s Happy Meal $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99
  • extra toy because I’m that mom apparently $1.86

*Oh, something kinda cool: we stopped at Chick-fil-A while traveling before Christmas and Santa Cow was randomly there!! We made cool Chick-fil-A ornaments and colored pictures and waved at Santa Cow from a safe distance.

And let’s not forget our boring recurring monthly charges.

  • diapers $14.99, $8.99
  • wipes $4.49
  • Laundry detergent $8.46
  • baby bath $7.99
  • storage unit $127
  • extra tank of gas $40

RAISING BABYSTAR: $25,380.12

Monday’s Mama is a Hustler, Baby.

Published on by Darlene Dee6 Comments

This Monday I would like to introduce the other half of The Salty Mamas. Jaymi has one husband, two children, and approximately seventy-nine side hustles.

Y’all. This woman is RIDIC. In the best possible way.

jaymi with ian

Have you ever had a Chick-fil-A open near you? If so, you know that there are usually some people who have clearly lost their minds that sleep outside the night before the Grand Opening in order to win free Chick-fil-A for a year. Yep. Jaymi did that. (So did Christine but shhh we are talking about Jaymi today.) This is just ONE of her many many micro-hustles.

Jaymi blogs and tweets and shares her life on Instagram and Facebook. She can tell you a minimum of ten ways to make money on the side before she’s even had her coffee. After her coffee, that number jumps to infinity.

Jaymi answered a few of my questions, but she didn’t answer the one I forgot to ask. WHY is her four-year-old’s name on that Starbucks cup (which is of course a SALTED caramel something)?? Jaymi, does Lila just like hearing her name? Or is that actually HER coffee? Is Lila the saltiest of them all? Lmk, k?

jaymi with lila

Below are a few questions that I remembered to ask.

1. Jaymi, you ladies are SLAYING the micro-hustle game like I’ve never seen before. What is your favorite side hustle? Why?
This is kind of braggy maybe, but my favorite was having my son as model.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to hear “hey, your kid is super cute, like a few thousand dollars worth?” And I get to see things like this in the store, which legit cracks me up.
Abe as a Model
2. I cannot even believe that you camped outside for free Chick-fil-A for a year but I’m seriously so excited that you did. Is that the wildest stunt you have done for free stuff? What would you do for like, a free car?
Oh, that was small potatoes compared to what I would do. I mean, people will camp out for an iPhone and then GIVE SOMEONE ELSE a thousand dollars. This is way smarter 😉 And yes, this is probably the wildest stunt I’ve done yet for free stuff.  I’m not sure what I would do for a car, but it would probably be ridiculous. (Also, heyyyyyy there car companies! Pitch me a crazy idea. I bet I’d do it.)

3. What is your favorite family holiday tradition? What is something that you skip?

My favorite tradition is baking cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. We have a little personalized plate with the kids’ names on it that we put the cookies on. It’s a whole thing, and there are lots of sprinkles involved. (So. Many. Sprinkles.)  I have historically skipped Elf on the Shelf because DON’T WANNA, but I think with my daughter in school the jig is gonna be up and I’ll be hearing “Why doesn’t Santa send ME an Elf?!?” in a hot minute. So I may have to reevaluate this one. 

4. It’s the PTA Bakesale. Handmade, store-bought, or nope?

I sign up to bake four hundred cookies, but my Passion Planner fails me and I don’t remember I signed up until the night before. I remember at 11pm in a cold sweat, set an alarm for 3am, and bake cookies until the sun rises. And then probably drop three dozen of them on the ground on the way in to school. But the ones that actually make it to the bake sale? Deeeeelicious.
Go follow her blog and all of her everything to read about all her Hustling Ways. Now. Go do it now. You can’t afford NOT to follow her.

Monday’s Mama is Salty AF.

Published on by Darlene Dee4 Comments

Today I would like to introduce one half of The Salty Mamas. Christine has three kids and   one husband and yet she still helps run one of the funniest new(ish) mommy blogs on the internet.

christinesaltymama3

Side note: my computer kept autocorrecting that to new(fish) and I really want to know WHY. Is new(fish) a thing?

Christine (and Jaymi but shh we are talking about Christine today) blogs and tweets and shares her life on Instagram and Facebook. She is also a bujo queen. I learned that word from this salty lady. Bujo means bullet journaling and I have no idea how she finds time to do anything. I am fairly certain that this woman doesn’t sleep. Though she does bujo her kid’s sleep. She’s maybe nutso.

That’s probably why I like her so much. Plus she was nice enough to answer some of my questions.

1. Black Friday: An opportunity for serious deals, a travesty of capitalism, or something in between? You two are the HUSTLING-EST mamas I know. Did you score any Black Friday door busters?

HELLS YES to Black Friday. But really, my specialty is the Micro Hustle, so you won’t find me hunkered outside a Best Buy as soon as I’ve eaten my pie. Our tradition is that we go when the kids wake up , which means we’re at Target at 5 am. There are still some AMAZING deals, and the place is empty because the diehards finished up at midnight and a casual Black Friday Shoppers won’t get there until about 8. Then we hit the mall, do some more shopping before it gets nuts and take her pictures with Santa. And then get breakfast. And then spend the rest of the weekend on Amazon to finish up. 

2. You used to plan events in your past life. Did this trickle over to SAHM life? Are you the Playdate Planner of your mama crew?
No. Not even a little. The Mommy Brain has killed my planning skills and now planning a birthday party is like organizing an International Peace Summit. I’m much more likely to forget to show up to your playdate. BUT, when I do get my act together the three times a year I do plan something? It’s pretty bomb. Which reminds me, I should really start working on Evie’s birthday party…
3. What is your favorite family holiday tradition? What is something that you skip?
We do lots of traditional things like pajamas on Christmas Eve, and some with a twist, like the carrots for the reindeer have to have the long green leaves still on. But we also have some wacky traditions and I love them all because they’re very us. One of my favorites is the Chad and I go to Target together to buy each other stocking gifts each year. We split apart and run through the store like Supermarket Sweep trying to hide from each other and get the best stocking stuff. We almost always end up getting a couple of the same things for each other. 
My skip is the same as my partner in crime Jaymi’s (coming soon to a Blog near you, so: TEASER!) and I don’t want to steal her thunder. Oh, but I’m never adding it as a tradition. (And now you have suspense and mystery!)
4. It’s the PTA Bakesale. Handmade, store-bought, or nope?
Gut reaction: NOPE.
I’m a BIG fan of throwing money at the problem when possible. Because I have zero desire to juggle dough, dirty kitchen and three Gremlins unless a fair amount of the baked goods are going directly into MY pudgy belly. Having said that, the good people the bake sale don’t want to buy Oreos through the middle man, so probably offer Jaymi / my Mom/ my sister one thousand dollars to bake for me. They love me, so they protest the cash money and I pay them in Diet Cokes forever.
If you are not following the Salty Mamas, you’re doing it wrong. But don’t worry. There’s always room to add a dash of salt to your life.
christinesaltymama2

Chick-fil-A vs. McDonalds.

Published on by Darlene Dee17 Comments

Ok, so I want to be a Chick-fil-A Mom. You know, the kind of mama that doesn’t feed her kid fast food except sometimes we go to Chick-fil-A as a treat. Where the chicken looks like chicken and the toy is a book so I can feel good about my parenting choices.

(And I actually am a literal #chickfilamom this year as I am on the Chick-fil-A Moms Panel which is super cool but I’m still waiting for my free chicken sandwiches. Do I get free chicken sandwiches? Because I want and love free chicken sandwiches. Maybe later? Ok.)

But here’s the thing. If I am having a Good Mom(TM) kind of day, I probably packed a healthy and delicious lunch already. And maybe I fed Babystar some chia seed waffles and a spinach smoothie for breakfast.

And probably we are singing.

Those are usually not the kinds of days that we stop for Fast Food Lunches.

We stop for Fast Food Lunches when it is already 3:00 and I have seven things left on my to-do list. And I only started with eight.

We stop for Fast Food Lunches when the entire day has been full of tantrums and I am broken and just want to sit down someplace agreeable to the ToddlerMonster so I can calm tf down and think for a minute.

We stop for Fast Food Lunches when I didn’t sleep the night before and I kind of just forgot that kids need to eat until I notice that all the other mamas at the park have snacks (and brushed hair) and I am digging in the bottom of my backpack for a squished granola bar.

Those days usually mean McDonald’s. McDonald’s are EVERYWHERE so a McDonald’s lunch doesn’t require too much actual planning. If you want to go to McDonald’s, you basically just drive in one direction for two to ten minutes until you find a McDonald’s.

I now have very strong opinions on both McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A.

McDonald’s sells a $2.99 Happy Meal that includes a tiny serving of French fries AND a choice of apple slices or yogurt. Fries AND Fruit. Plus four kinda-gross, maybe-chicken nuggets. And a drink (currently Mott’s apple juice but they are switching to Honest). Lately, they have been giving out My Little Pony toys and Babystar LOVES ponies. Also, McDonald’s are literally NEVER EVER crowded because there are so many of them, I guess. And no one wants to go inside. The customer service inside is always lacking. And the dining experience is subpar. But you get fries AND fruit. FRIES AND FRUIT.

Chick-fil-A is always crowded and for good reason. Everyone inside is super nice or faking it extremely well. The tables are clean. I love that they clean the tables. Such a basic luxury. The Under 3 toy is always a board book, and the board books are a big hit with Babystar. She has a stack in every room plus the van. The cheapest kid’s meal at our Chick-fil-A is the one-strip meal at $3.29. Sometimes Babystar eats some of the chicken. Mostly she just wants fries and fruit. Which is not an option at Chick-fil-A. You get chicken plus fries OR fruit and a drink (aka Honest apple juice). I have asked at the counter if I could substitute fries for the chicken. I am pretty sure potatoes are cheaper than chicken, and we were out with our vegan friends (one of whom is two years old). The answer was no. And if they rang in everything separately: fries, fruit cup, apple juice, and a toy, the total was over $6. Annoying.

My Chick-fil-A Hack: I order the fruit cup for Babystar with her meal, and then upsize MY fries from medium to large for an extra twenty cents. Then I  share some of my fries with her; there are always enough for both of us. Of course, this only works if you are getting an adult meal with the kids meal. I always am. If you have a bunch of kids, just get them the fruit and then one large fry to share.

Which is your favorite? Chick-fil-A or McDonald’s? Or is there another, better, kid-friendly fast food place that we should all know?

So, anyway I did at least manage to Babystar in October. We went to McDonald’s quite often. October was kind of a bitch.

  • waffles $2.99, $2.50, $2.50, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99 (I am raising Leslie Knope)
  • bananas $1.47, $1.14. $0.87
  • blueberries $2.99, $2.99
  • turkey pepperoni $4.39
  • strawberries $3.49
  • TJ Mac & Cheese $2.99, $2.99
  • frozen pizza $2.98, $2.98, $2.98
  • salmon $3.00
  • bread $2.99, $2.99
  • TJ potato crunchies $1.99
  • peanut butter $2.29
  • TJ vegan bars $2.29, $2.29, $2.29, $2.29
  • Roast turkey $8.19
  • TJ fruit bars $1.99, $1.99, $1.99, $1.99
  • apples and pears from the orchard $28
  • cookies from the orchard $4
  • TJ letter cookies $2.99
  • Honest juice $3.99, $3.99
  • eggs $3.99
  • bacon $8.99
  • Cava Mezze French fries $7 with tip
  • Costco hot dog $1.50, $1.50
  • Costco pizza $2.99
  • Barnes and Noble apple juice $1.35, $1.35
  • Barnes and Noble m&m blondie $2.65
  • Dogfish Ale salmon kids meal $12.00 with tip
  • BGR sliders kid’s meal $5.99
  • BGR m&m cookie $1.99
  • spring rolls $6.95
  • pizza slice $4.35
  • frozen yogurt cup $5.98
  • Chick-fil-A kid’s meal $3.29 plus .20
  • Chick-fil-A kid’s meal $3.29 plus .20
  • Chick-fil-A kid’s meal $3.29 plus .20
  • McDonald’s kid’s meal $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99

 

Plus other things that don’t need a post of their own.

  • Laundry detergent $8.46
  • Storage $127
  • Diapers $4.99
  • Diapers $23.49 (I see you raising your prices, Target.)
  • Wipes $2.99, $4.99, $1.49, $4.99 (I’m trying some new brands.)
  • pedicure with mommy $10 (I’ve discussed this before. She loves her blue toes.)

 

RAISING BABYSTAR: $22,473.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Airplane + Food.

Published on by Darlene Dee6 Comments

We went out to dinner last month and did not order a single thing for Babystar. She shared with everyone, and basically got the Teenager’s extra side (fries which is all Babystar really wanted anyway).

But. Whoops. We forgot to bring any toys. WHAT ARE WE, ROOKIES?!?

Luckily, we were at Longhorn Steakhouse which is in the parking lot of a strip mall. One of my favorite strip malls. It has a Home Goods (cue that ahhh ahhh shhhhhh music). And luckily (luckily?), there was a 40 minute wait so the girls and I walked over to Home Goods just to browse.

When my darling husband texted us to say that the table was ready, the Teenager had to text back: we’ll be there in a min. mom is buying an airplane. emoji emoji emoji.

Babystar LOVES this Melissa and Doug airplane. She played with it at dinner. She plays with it all the time at home. She has decided that certain two passengers are ‘mommy and daddy’ and she even eats lunch with the mommy and daddy at her little table and feeds them and shows them her toys. She uses the luggage as cell phones. I saw her take a selfie with one. Best. Toy. Ever. Plus it was only $13.77 because Home Goods is the bomb diggity. (Am I allowed to type bomb and airplane in the same blog paragraph? I can’t keep up with the TSA rules.)

 

We did buy some food for Babystar in February. I’m still only counting food that I buy specifically for her. I eat a lot of it, but I buy it for HER. She eats a lot of my food, too. She’s lately loving salmon, but we don’t cook any more than usual. I just eat a little less. She also shares our veggies, but we would always cook the entire bag. Again, I just eat a little less. A toddler serving is like a couple of bites for me.

We buy a LOT more fruit than we used to. A whole lot more. I try to buy in season and whatever is on sale but DUDE FRUIT IS EXPENSIVE. I never noticed before this fun, terrifying project called babycostsmoney.

  • graham crackers 2.99
  • clementines 14.47
  • strawberries 13.97
  • blueberries 4.98
  • tater tots (1 of 3 bags for the month but she eats a lot of the Teenager’s tots) 3.09
  • apples 12.54
  • pears 5.71
  • watermelon 11.36
  • shrimp platter 11.99 (she didn’t eat a single one of course but we bought them for her)
  • granola bars 5.19
  • grapes 3.05
  • organic carrots .99
  • cucumbers 1.69
  • chia seed waffles 5.98

Plus some fast food meals out. Shhh, don’t talk about it.

  • Chick-fil-A 1 strip meal 3.39
  • Chick-fil-A 1 strip meal 3.39
  • Chick-Fil-A 2 strip meal 4.69
  • Elevation Burger fries 2.95 and orange slices 1.95
  • Costco pizza 2.19
  • Costco pizza 2.19
  • Costco pizza 2.19
  • Pizza Hut pizza via Target 4.29
  • Pepperoni at Sbarro (Yes, just extra pepperoni. She shared our stromboli.) 1.49

 

RAISING BABYSTAR: $15,232.37