Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Grocery Shopping with Grom and a GIVEAWAY!

giveaway closed

Grom and I do our weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. It's a great place to shop. Have you seen this video?


It's so true. I'd be one of those beautiful moms if only I had some yoga clothes.

Anyway... just about the time that Grom got to big to pick up and throw in the cart seat, grocery shopping became a bit of a pain. It's like Grom decided that Trader Joe's was the perfect place to misbehave and act like a hooligan.

Our Trader Joe's has Sally the Seal. She's a stuffed animal who is constantly hiding around the store. Grom and I joke that she works at TJ's and is hiding to get out of work. She is one naughty seal. Looking for Sally used to keep Grom occupied enough so that I could shop. Here she is snoozing amongst the toilet paper. Finding her gets you a handsome reward.

Grom still looks for Sally, but there are only so many places a sneaky seal can hide so he usually finds her pretty quick. I decided I had to come up with another idea. Enter the picture shopping list.

E
ach week I spend a couple of minutes adjusting the last list with some of the new things that we need. Some of the items never change as we are creatures of habit and Surferman loves his green apples. I find the pictures through Google Images. Just type in your grocery item and a picture will come up paste them into your document and voila. I have found that if I search for "Trader Joe's" and the item, I often find a picture of the exact product. Those crazy bloggers love to post pictures of everything.

At first, Grom's shopping list was pictures only. Recently I started adding the words to encourage Grom's learning to read. He looks for the items and then crosses them off as he puts them in the cart. It doesn't slow me down any more than when I used to have to take him to the bathroom to threaten talk some sense into him.

So here's where the giveaway starts...

First - Grom's Printable Grocery List. Feel free to download and use it with your kiddos. I made a pretty generic one to share. Everyone wins!

Second - I was contacted by CSN stores with an offer to sponsor a giveaway. CSN is a bunch of online stores offering many different items for the home like kids bedding, kitchen items, toys and games and so much more. CSN has over 200 stores. I could get lost shopping at everyespressomachine.com and cookware.com Next time you need something, go check out CSN.

I had a hard time deciding what to choose as a prize. Finally, I picked Learning Resources Pretend and Play Teaching Cash Register. I know it's something that Grom would really like to have. He has wanted a cash register forever, and money math is a very important skill to master.

Here's a little about this great register...
Cha-ching!! Playing store comes to life with this talking, interactive cash register that rewards transactions with lights, sounds and voice messages. Holds actual-size money and includes a built-in scanner, scale, coin slot and volume control. Engaging play helps kids practice basic math skills including addition, subtraction and recognizing different coins and bills. The automatic shut-off saves batteries and reminds kids to 'Come and play again!'.
So, some of you are thinking... great Robin... I don't have kids why would I want to enter your giveaway. Well... that's what I was thinking too. So I'm sweetening the pot.

Third - To complete the grocery shopping experience... A $25 Trader Joe's gift card! I think that'll buy you about 7 bottles of juice with a crazy name or 25 organic yogurts or 18 bottles of sparkling water or... well the possibilities are endless aren't they. If you are unfortunate enough to not have a Trader Joe's close by, I'll get you a Starbucks card instead. Starbucks are everywhere.

So... How do you enter? There are three ways to win.
1. Leave a comment with your favorite item from Trader Joe's or something you'd like to try from the video above.
2. Subscribe to my blog . If you already subscribe, great! (let me know in a separate comment)
3. Post or tweet about my giveaway on your blog or on Twitter (let me know you did in a separate comment - leave a link to your blog or your twitter username).

Of course, make sure I have an email address to contact you if you win.

Winner will be chosen by random number from eligible comments. Entries accepted until 10pm PST March 25, 2010. Winner announced Friday March 26th. Prizes can only be shipped to the US and Canada.

Whoever you are, I hope you win.

Happy Shopping!

42 comments:

  1. My favorite items from Trader Joes -

    Hummus
    Marinated frozen maui maui
    Did I mention the hummus?

    I'm also heading over to twitter about this right now!

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  2. I'd like to try the salted peanut butter filled pretzels.



    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

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  3. I love Trader Joe's.
    They have little mini tacos in either beef or chicken and they make the best last minute meal (4-5 will do) or they make great little appetizers.

    msgb245 at gmail dot com

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  4. Hi! Chocolate covered Joe Joes! How many of those can I get? Thanks for the giveaway!

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  5. Oh, and I subscribe to your blog :-)

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  6. Hey Robin, I l.o.v.e. TJs salsa. Thanks for the great giveaway. Blessings, SusanD

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  7. Hey what a fun video. I had never heard of Trader Joe's. I looked and they have 3 in MO, but not close to me. :( If I had the chance tho, the bread caught my eye. It looked like they had fresh french bread...mmmm. Count me in the giveaway, Eden would love that! Thanks!
    Thanks for stopping by and telling me about your giveaway!
    until next time... nel

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  8. I am subscribed now. Enter me again... Thanks!

    until next time... nel

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  9. I love Trader Joe's orange chicken stir fry. Really good.

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  10. We don't have a Trader Joe's and have only heard about it through bloggers. But of the things mentioned the different flavors of lemonade. Love lemonade in the Summer with boiled peanuts.

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  11. I am now a subscriber.

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  12. I've never been to Trader Joe's--the closest one is about an hour away. But I'd love to have a good excuse to drive that far! In reading the comments, those mini chicken tacos really caught my eye--that's something I'd definitely pick up.

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  13. We don't have Trader Joe's, but we do have Central Market, Whole Foods and Sprouts, which is the smallest of the 3 and has stores all around town. I usually start my shopping each week at Sprouts and only go to other stores to get the things they don't have.

    My favorite - and I'll use Sprouts in place of Trader Joe's - are the Coconut Milk Creamer and Agave Nectar for coffee. I'm trying to stay away from hydrogenated oils and was devastated to see them listed on CoffeeMate. And also trying to eliminate so much of the white sugar in my diet. These two make a killer cup of coffee. Oh and the Fair Trade Organic coffee beans too! :)

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  14. And I'm now a subscriber. Thanks for visiting my blog so that I found yours!

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  15. I blogged about it. Here's the link: http://thebeverlybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/03/great-day-for-giveaway.html

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  16. We don't have Trader Joes here :( , but we have Fresh Market which is pretty much the same :) Those different flavored Lemonades look good.

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  17. I blogged about it too http://flutterbyechronicles.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway-robins.html

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  18. I loved that video, thanks for sharing it!
    I love their Sweet Potatoe Chips and their Frosted Wheat cereal.

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  19. I did a tweet on Twitter about your giveaway.
    foryourtears

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  20. Thanks for visiting my blog(Reflections...by Kathy) and leaving a comment. I love making new blog friends. I have two blogs and I am now following you through reader at http://www.many-mimi-mini-tales.blogspot.com because it was easier. I loved the idea of the shopping card for Grom. I'll share that idea with my daughter. Have a great day! Kathy

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  21. favorite thing at tjs: the food! heh. =) im non-committal this late at night...=)

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  22. and i Soooooo subscribe to this blog!

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  23. My favorite TJ item is Multigrain crackers. They are cheap and fool proof winner with all toddlers.

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  24. I am not officially on twitter thanks to the giveaway. My user name is mwmccamish

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  25. I love their flowers, and I'd also like to try that cilantro pizza. Me + cilantro = happiness! :)

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  26. That shopping list is a great idea for kids! ( And so is Sally the seal, but I guess that wears off a little with time, does it? I've never heard of Trader Joe's before, but it looks like a great place to shop!

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  27. THat's an AMAZING giveaway! =D

    We JUST got a Trader Joe's here and I am an instant addict. I've been trying something new everytime I go in. I had to stop myself from buying anymore sesame covered cashews because I was too tempted to eat the entire bag myself! Those are my favorites of my new discoveries.

    Thanks for the giveaway. Wow!

    Carrie
    Reading to Know
    readingtoknow (at) gmail (dot) com

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  28. And now I am a subscriber!

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  29. My favorite Trader Joe's item is actually a set of their reusable grocery bags. The nearest Trader Joe's to me is down in Baltimore so it's a hike but I love their store and their selection of organic produce. So before it was so easy to get reusable bags for shopping, I actually bid and won a bunch of cheery red Trader Joe's shopping bags on Ebay. People here would come running up to me in grocery store parking lots and ask where the Trader Joe store was in the area. I always hated to disappoint them. I'm going over to Twitter about your giveaway now. Love your idea of the "picture" shopping list, too. I'm going to pass that on to my daughter-in-law.

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  30. I would like to try the Orange Chicken that the reader above mentioned. I subscribe and I put your contest on my blog.

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  31. Trader Joes. . .for a treat, I'd have to go with the "Lumpy Bumpy Bar." Mmmm. . .
    Please enter me into your giveaway. And thanks for enticing me to check out your wonderful blog!

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  32. I became a subscriber! I don't have a Trader Joe's anywhere near me, but it sure sounds like a fantastic place to shop! My 4yo would love the cash register for sure! Blessings and peace,
    Lisa

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  33. Great giveaway!! My kids would LOVE that register and I love love love trader Joes! I have sooo many faves there. I love the jar sauces (like the curries!) that I can use to whip up dinner quickly. And I love their brown rice mixtures. Unfortunately, we have to travel several hours to get to the nearest TJ's since we moved but we are planning on making a trip out there soon so I hope I win! It will sooo make it worth the drive!! :)

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  34. I just subscribed by adding your feed to my google reader!! Thanks! mrslokovic@yahoo.com

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  35. I just posted about your giveaway on my blog- http://stacey-scraps.blogspot.com/2010/03/trader-joes-giveaway-and-yummy-salad.html

    Thanks again for the chance to win!! Have I mentioned I LOVE TJ's????? mrslokovic@yahoo.com

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  36. I've never shopped at Trader Joe's but I've heard a lot of good things about the store. Maybe a gift card is what I need to get motivated. The nearest one is about an hour away, but I could certainly stop by there whenever I'm in the area.

    Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

    deana _ boren [at] yahoo [dot] com

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