Tag: chickfilamoms

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.

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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.
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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