I wanted to update, but BACON distracted me.

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So I started to come on here to update everything that has been going on lately but then I got distracted by this article. Yes, an article entirely devoted to bacon. For anyone that knows me IRL - I absolutely love Bacon. Preferably crispy. I blame my mother. She use to make us the most amazing bacon sandwiches growing up. She would sneak off to the corner store and get these long skinny italian loafs of bread that were still warm and then fry up some bacon to go with them. Cut the loaf in half, dip the bread in the grease and just pile bacon on top. A nightmare for our cholesterol but the ultimate in comfort food. My sister and I still love to have these for breakfast!

So now I'm the person who loves bacon as if it was a boy toy. I order it as an appetizer when I go to eat at Cracker Barrel. My surefire way of testing a diner is to order their BLT - if you screw that up I won't eat there again. I just found out a restaurant downtown makes a Fried Green Tomato BLT. I can't wait to try this out. It sounds AMAZING!

Having said that, in preparing for Jellybean's arrival I was forced to suck it up and realize that one of the main places I was overspending was at the grocery store. Joey and I have pretty much been living the "DINK" life until now. We pay child support for his son but that is different then having the day to day expenses of a child in the home. So when we would go to the store we would start with a list but rarely stuck to it strictly. There have been times where it took some creative arranging to fit everything in the fridge, freezer and pantry after a trip to the store. I'm going to venture a guess that we could easily spend $300-$400 a month at the grocery store - with only two people in the house. Knowing that I am soon going to be out an extra $580 a month for just daycare and health insurance alone - that just isn't an option anymore.

So - I am back to meal planning. Taking leftovers for lunch at work. Sticking to my grocery list. Actually waiting to run out of stuff before buying it. Buying less junk food/snacks. I know that at times this is going to be a struggle but its not about the two of us anymore. Its the three of us now. There's going to be soccer, T-ball, clothes, doctors, dentists, birthday parties and a million other expenses along the way. We just can't afford to be wasteful anymore. I am amazed by all of you who are able to survive on one income and still afford everything so feel free to share your advice with me. I'm not to proud to take it. I would love to be able to be a SAHM or WAHM at some point and I need to lay the groundwork now for it.

Now with my meal plan for the week -



You can find out more about Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Shrimp Stirfry (I've had a bag of shrimp and half a family size stirfry kit in my freezer for two months now so its time to use it up!)
Tuesday - Kielbasa on the grill, Fried onions, French fries, Salad
Wednesday - Chicken Parmesan, Angel hair Pasta with Italian dressing and Parmesan Cheese (This is awesome cold the next day!), Spinach salad
Thursday - Potato soup (from the freezer stash), Garlic bread (We have our childbirth classes so need a quick meal)
Friday -I'll be at my sister's so Joey is on his own
Saturday - My niece's cheerleading competition
Sunday - We are attending a wedding.

So this week I really only need to buy bread, milk, fruit and veggies. I have everything else. Thank goodness too since I don't get paid until Friday! :)

Finally - I've started thinking about getting meals in the freezer for after Jellybean is born and I am a zombie. Would you like to share your favorite freezer/crockpot recipes with me? (or come cook for me mid January/early February?)