Costco $25.56
Something weird has happened in our household this summer. Or rather something has happened to me. I am beginning to think of my children as adults.
Which is weird. Because they are my babies. I kid you not when I tell you I stood in Costco this week contemplating whether or not to buy pudding cups for Monkey Boy’s lunch {he is the only one who likes them and they were on sale}. I mean, he is working full time now {40 hours, 5 days a week} and here I am still thinking I need to buy him cute little lunch snacks and pack his lunch everyday. I need to stop.
I need to let go. He’s a big boy, he can get up on time or suffer the consequences {I still have to wake him up at least once a week it seems} make his own lunch {or choose to waste his money on processed or fast food}, manage his own hard earned money, WASH HIS LAUNDRY and all those other things grown ups are suppose to do on their own.
Am I right?
Pudding cups people. This all came from putting pudding cups in my cart.
Haggen $2.00
Have you tried Zoi yogurt? The HH thinks it’s the bomb diggety and won’t stop asking me to buy it after he tried it a few weeks ago at one of his work conference breakfasts. I think all Greek yogurt tastes like old shoes so my opinion doesn’t count.
From the Garden
Swiss chard, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes, kale, and a few blueberries were plucked from the garden this week. Not too shabby for a first year garden if you ask me.
I actually thought about sneaking a couple of chickens and an Eglu in here. But then realized too many people who live in my neighborhood read this blog. If only I could keep my mouth shut I could turn this place into a mini homestead while serving out my sentence. I am my worst enemy.
Through the end of summer, cucumber and tomato salad will be served every night.
Waffles, eggs, bacon, and potatoes? Yes please! 
Last week The Girl, and The Boy made us a nice turkey dinner. And there were leftovers thank goodness. Round one of the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes and corn went into a turkey pie. 
And if that wasn’t awesome enough for you, the remaining turkey and corn went into a simple split pea soup {a little weird, I know, but it tasted delish!}
On Friday, The Boy was here again hanging out with The Girl. I walked into the kitchen and said OH GOOD, it’s Friday night, that means you two are cooking dinner for us again and proceed to hand them a few steaks and chicken breasts. I skedaddled out of the kitchen as fast as I could and didn’t look back.
Would you believe dinner was served and hour later?
Holy cats people, what am I going to do when The Girl goes back to college at the end of the summer? I need to find Monkey Boy a girlfriend and then encourage them to hang out here all the time and cook.
Any suggestions?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $27.56
Weeks 1-28 Shopping Exclusively at Costco $1,229.25 {$43.90 a week/$175 a month average}
Weeks 29,30 & 31 Shopping wherever the heck I want $127.91 {$31.97 a week/$127.91 a month average}
Total Spent Year to Date $1357.16
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Karen says
I completely relate, Mavis! My son is still living at home but works full time and will start school in a few weeks. Most nights its just my husband and I for dinner but I still shop like I have both kids living and eating at home! I get frustrated at the waste, but it is really my own fault. I am still tempted to purchase all of those cute snacks to throw in lunch boxes but have to stop myself (my son actually works at a Fred Meyer grocery store so if he wants something, he just buys it himself). We didn’t get a manual on how to raise our kids, you would think we would at least get one on how to adjust to them becoming independent from us!
Mavis Butterfield says
I know… right? Glad I am not the only one in this boat. Thanks Karen.
Karen says
My husband is 47. I pack his lunch for work everyday. I pack him kid like snacks in his lunch from time to time. No one had ever packed him a lunch in his life until I met him a few years ago. As a kid, he ate school lunch everyday. He gets the cutest little kid smile when he takes his lunch everyday. So maybe it isn’t such a bad thing that you still buy kid snacks for your son!
Mavis Butterfield says
I still pack my husband lunch too. He loves it. 🙂
Susan says
I have been packing my DH lunch for 44 years! I also get up with him every morning to have coffee and talk before he leaves. It’s just something we have always done .
Your kids are ALWAYS your kids- no matter how old they get!! Then add Grandchildren to the mix……. 🙂
Mary G says
Ah, take it in stages. Your son is what, 17 or 18? It’s a gradual process. You might cut back on the things you’re doing for him now bit by bit. It doesn’t happen instantly, and every person is different. My son, who is 17, is a bit more independent than his older sister in some ways. Your son is still at home, so that makes it a little harder to not do what you are used to doing for him, too. I’m thinking it might be a little tougher with the youngest also. My son has one more year of high school, so I’m trying to prepare myself for my “little guy” going off on his own. It’s already happening in stages, but still. It will be a big change for us.
Jonnie says
Let go. Let him take responsibility, like you said, he has grown up. Let him learn how to do it for himself, while you are there to oversee it all, and instruct him when he needs help. Don’t do it for him. If after you explain it, and he still does it wrong, he has no one to blame but himself. As cold as that sounds, it’s the times he fails, that will teach him the most, and those lessons will only benefit him. My oldest cooked a full dinner from scratch, at the age of twelve, I sat at the table and read, answering questions, was the only help I gave. It was amazingly good. This is the same son, that watch me. Do laundry folorsr years, separating it all into like colors, etc… and when I turned his laundry over to him, he insisted that he knew what to, and didn’t need my help. I let it go. He turned his socks and boxers, a really pretty pink, by tossing a red sweatshirt, in with them at the last minute. He had to wear them, or replace them with his own money from his paper route. From that day forward he separated his clothes properly. He is now 38, a father of the adult children, and a grandfather of three, the oldest of which Wii be a year old in Sept. You know you did it right, when they raise theirs, using the same methods.
connie munoz says
monkey boy has to learn to make his lunches and learn how to budget and mavis, you sooooo need to stop doing his laundry, as a mom of a 30 year old man, he relies on his girlfriends to do all this for him now….I did all that and he tells me all the time, he wished I would have taught him how to cook, shop and budget his money when he was still living at home, he has had to learn the hard way and he still at 30 doesn’t cook or clean, probably why he isn’t married, women at this age group, want a man to help not add more responsibility to their lives….just getting my experience out there:)
Deborah says
I’m coming to live with you! LOL Just kidding. Your meals sound delishous. My hubby usual cooks.
Tammy says
Old shoes…LOL. I don’t like 0% Greek yogurt, at all. If you can find full fat Greek yogurt, *then* it is delicious and worth the extra cost.
Mavis says
Is that the secret? Full fat greek yogurt. Maybe I’ll have to give it a try.
Kari says
Our favorite is the full-fat Fage plain yogurt. I usually use it (1/2 a small container) as starter for my homemade yogurt. We make a gallon at a time in the crockpot. We do love the Fage straight-up, though. Just add some fruit or home-made jam to it, and you have the perfect thick, yummy yogurt.
Sandra says
Fage is good. I use the plain full-fat Fage in recipes. For eating, I like Tillamook’s 2% fat Greek yogurt the best, though.
I think the other brands use powdered milk to thicken it instead of draining it the way it is supposed to be made. That makes it taste like chalk IMO.
MerryMouse says
HA! Too funny! Yes, it took me a YEAR to stop making meals for 6 as my kids went off to college. Enjoy the break, Mavis, believe me! When they come back with boyfriends and girlfriends you will have to get on board with MORE cooking, and then if, in the future, you are hosting a dinner when the grandkids are around, then you’ll be rested up for it! I also second the recommendation to ease off so the kids can learn their own life skills. When I went off to college I didn’t know how to operate a washing machine! So I made sure all my kids knew how to cook really well and do household tasks and repairs. That being said, I would bet that Monkey Boy still loves getting pudding cups! It’s those little caring things you do that will make the kids happy forever!
Mavis says
We certainly have a lot more leftovers than ever because when it’s just the two of us, I always forget to make less! And yes on the pudding, that’s exactly why I bought it!
Lana says
Girl friend equals more trouble than having to cook dinner. Trust me on this. It means that you will never get any more help from Monkey Boy either. As a Mom of 3 sons and MIL to 3 DIL who rarely help me you are better off doing it yourself.
Butterflyweed says
Yikes was I a mean mom. In addition to making them scrub toilets if they whined about being bored, starting the first day of Jr. High they had a lot of responsibility. They had to do all of their own laundry and get themselves up in the morning. They each had to clean their bathroom one week and the kitchen the next, switching off. They learned fast to keep the bathroom clean because if they didn’t, the sib might leave it dirty for them next time and then it was a nasty chore. They got $25 a week they could either spend on lunches at school or save the money and brown bag it-they had to make the lunch themselves with food I provided. They got a clothing allowance and if they wanted to spend it all on one outfit at Abercrombie and Fitch they could or we could shop sales and get lots. That said, I do make sure to have favorite foods for them when they come home to visit.
Moral of the story, we moms are raising adults. If we do everything for them, we are raising children-not good.
Jonnie says
You are so right. The males who saw how I raised my kids, said it was wrong to teach my son to do laundry, iron, and sew his clothes when they needed repair, wash dishes and cook. Why would I do that to my only son? I told them, getting married, and staying married, was no longer a guarantee that who ever they married knew how to do these things, so he would need to know how to do them himself, the correct way, or suffer indignities, and be miserable, with failed attempts as an adult. His sister’s learn home repairs and basic auto upkeep, as well as the cooking, cleaning, and sewing. My son cooks better than his sister’s
Linda says
I must have been a mean mom too because I pretty much raised my kids like Butterflyweed – even down to the weekly lunch allowance and clothes budget…and both my kids handle money very well. They are in college and can’t get over the kids that can’t manage simple task such as laundry and cooking. They thank me quite often for seeing that they knew how to take care of themselves before leaving home.
karen 2 says
Mavis, you are a hoot! My stepson lived with us and when he was around 13 i told his dad that i thought he should be doing his own laundry. According to my husband i was the meanest person ever; however, the boy jumped right in and we never looked back. He is now and engaged to a lovely young farm raised lady who loves her ducks, chickens and fresh produce and who appreciates a man who can fend for himself! Let your monkey boy fly!
auntie says
The only greek yogurts I like are the Fage and Greek Gods, both full fat. The other brands with their non-fat versions are awful. They’re so thick and has this weird powdery mouthfeel. Yuck!
Stacey says
They will always be your babies, Mavis! If you want to pack snacks for him, that’s fine. If you’d rather he take care of it himself, that’s fine, too. Don’t feel guilty about whichever choice you make.
Serina C says
I LOVE Zoi! Although i do like most Greek yogurt, Zoi is my fav. Probably cause it tends to be cheaper than Fage plus on their website is always a $.50 off coupon. Winco usually has the best deal. It’s also local, out of Auburn, Wa. I don’t eat yogurt plain tho. Will add fruit, honey, granola, nuts, coconut or even chocolate chips ; )
Rebecca Futrell says
When my son was born 33 yrs ago, my grandmother reminded me that I was raising someone else’s husband. He can cook, clean, do laundry, make beds, etc as well as my girls. Since we are equal opportunity parents on a farm, they all fish, hunt, garden & can. My girls can change a tire, plow a field, drive a manual stick, etc. My son can knit, does a mean shag, & can properly set a formal table for a large dinner party. They are all keepers! Now they are all raising their children here on the farm & passing on the skills.