Enter our amazing nanny, who was hired because she is precisely good at everything Joe and I are terrible at. She looks at the challenge of feeding a toddler with gusto, can navigate her way around a grocery store with two kids in tow like a champion, and got two kids on the same nap schedule within a week of her arrival. She does all that while building furniture, running a photography business, and growing her own food at home. A true unicorn! When we talked with her about how difficult it was for us to keep up a standard routine/supply of baby goods without turning to delivery services or expensive grocery stores when in a bind, she was kind enough to withhold judgment. In her mind, there were ways to navigate through life with kids that made more room for adventure and fun and less time running around looking for bibs. We were so used to winging it, we couldn’t seem to imagine a life where we weren’t constantly trying to keep up with life in general.

The first big change we made was shopping smarter and on a schedule. We shared a grocery list, signed up for CSA, and began shopping at ALDI each week for essentials. With two kids in diapers and eating solids, our food budget was OUT OF CONTROL until we made the switch to ALDI. In addition to finding an awesome selection of the foods we already loved, we gave a new brand a try: Little Journey! Given diapers and food pouches are the two items we purchase the most, I stashed my car and diaper bags with their new and improved diapers. The Little Journey Organic Pouches are stocked in our pantry for easy grab-and-go access in their favorite flavors which include Butternut Squash, Banana, and Creamy Ancient Grains. Bennett goes nuts for these and even when August is refusing to eat, he is always happy to pop one in his mouth. We also learned that one blanket in your bag goes a long way, whether its for an impromptu nap, playmat, soothing object or (as a last resort) something to mop up a mess with.