These photos are classic to me, because this is "springbreak" week in the Chicagoland, and unlike 3/4 of my sons and my nieces school we are staying home and not jetting to some exotic local like Cabo, the Carebean, Florida Keys, St. John....and these are just some of the vacations my kids told me about. Instead this morning, I told my kids I had to do a little work(yes, I do have a job!) and then I had to go to Aldi b/c I needed to stock up for the week meals(one day behind schedule)You would have thought I had said I was going to Disneyland. "Please, Please let us come" "we've never been" How could I say "no", and here I was thinking i was going to have to take them to an indoor waterpark this break and all they really wanted was a trip to Aldi. They have been with me every step of the way with this blog- trying everything I cook with an open mind, making suggestions, complimenting meals,taking picures, helping with techy stuff on computer when Kim is unavailable, so I guess it is just natural they would want to see how this all started.
Once we made it passed the excitement of the shopping cart/quarter exchange, we made it inside and began our adventure. The kids had a field day helping me find what was on my list, and then lots and lots of other stuff. To make a long story short, I did spend $40.00 over budget. Let me give you some of the highlights, I let the kids each pick out 2 snacks(hey its springbreak and this is our cheap trip to somewhere exotic!) then we got cupcake mix with frosing and sprinkles(an activity that will take up atleast an hour this break)frenchtoast stix, waffles, shrimp coctail(my family loves this more than anything)yogurt- wait, not done yet, frozen fruit for smooties, icecream, and finally gum. What is so funny is my nieces Amanda(age 13)Samantha(age 10) and my son Michael(age 11) all noticed the difference in prices between Aldi and the grocery store near our houses. Infact we talked about it all the way home. Sam says, "seems like everyone should shop at Aldi."
We left Aldi with the back of my minivan loaded down, and some very excited kids. Sometimes we all forget the simplest things in life, can be the most rewarding.
There are many reasons we did not go away this springbreak, including the fact and expense that I need a new roof on my house, and more importantly it was right around this time last year we put "grandpa", my dad into hospice, and the memories are still really deep. However, it is not the "vacation" that matters, but the time spent with family and friends that really makes the difference. Sometimes I think myself and my brother and sisterinlaw are doing something right, because while most of our kids friends are away in tropical beautiful areas right now, and we are stuck in STILL COLD Chicago, and they haven't complained once, infact they made a great adventure out of Aldi.
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