Labor Day Goodwill Visit

We went to Goodwill this morning to drop off about 5 bags of clothes and toys to get rid of. I was in a purging mood this weekend. While Erik unloads the car I always run into the store to see if there is anything good. Right in front there were tons of school supplies...crayons, markers, notebooks etc. I grabbed a bunch of washable crayons and markers for Klarity and found some giant sidewalk chalk. She has been very into chalk lately. I also found a pack of Color Wonder markers that only leave marks on the special paper. Sure enough I found two books of the paper (one with Nemo!).

Towards the back of the store I found these really cute wall decals I had seen at Target and almost bought. Good thing I didn't! I got two packages and now Grayam has stuff to look at around his co-sleeper. I also found a matching crib skirt for when he takes over the crib.
Leaving with one bag when you drop off 5 is not too bad, but I could definitely get rid of a lot more.

Garage Sale Saturday

This morning when we were out for our walk we passed a garage sale and stopped by to take a look. They had a bunch of great children's books and videos. Klarity immediately found the 9 tapes of Blue's Clues. I was secretly happy because I am sick of the two we already have. Then I picked out some Dr. Seuss books, The Complete Illustrated Louis Carroll and a series of neat discovery books. Two big bags of stuff for $5.

Then I got home and decided it was time to purge so I went through Klarity's closet and reorganized to make space for some of her brother's things. We are also trying to figure out how we will rearrange her room to fit her "big girl bed" which she will be getting for her birthday. So far the kitchen will be the hardest piece to relocate. I do have a running list of furniture to list on Craig's List to help out. We'll see how much we can get done this Labor Day weekend.

Birth Announcements Finally Ordered!

I have had the file of Grayam's birth announcement on my computer since a couple weeks after he was born. A nice mama made it for me and sent it as a picture file so I could have it printed out wherever I wanted. For some reason it has taken me this long to do the legwork to find a good deal on prints. At first I was going to use CVS Pharmacy so they could be picked up, but they wanted $1.49 per print for a 5x7 which I thought was a little steep. Since I always use Shutterfly for photo books I decided to compare to their print prices. They were $0.99 each. Then I had to figure out whether shipping would still make that cost effective. For 20 prints the shipping came out to $1.99, so still a much better deal. Of course, I then had to look for a coupon code. I found one for 10% off so for $20 we got all our announcements printed and shipped. Now I just have to make sure it doesn't take me this long to address the envelopes.

Bastian Has Arrived!

I found a Rumparooz diaper in the Bastian print so Gray could match his gestation-brother, Miles. New these go for $28 including shipping...I paid $22. I can't wait until we can get the two boys together for a joint photo shoot!

Saturday Morning Goodwill Finds

We ran into Goodwill this morning on the way to Target because I was going through withdrawal. Actually, I ran in while Erik stayed in the car with the kids. I was there right when they opened the doors at 10:00 and I quickly raced through the store. Immediately I found a mini hardcover notebook that was one of the reasons we were going to Target in the first place. I picked that up and walked around but wasn't seeing anything else good. Just when I was wondering whether it was worth it to go back to the car to get $1 for the notebook, I spied a bag hanging behind others that looked like a laminated diaper bag. It was a nice baby blue color with chocolate trim. I got it out from the back to get a closer look and not only was it a diaper bag, it was a Fleurville Sling Tote. For $5.99. I almost did a little dance of joy.

Retail $149.99

Then when I was waiting at the cashier I noticed a box with the XBox 360 logo on it and asked if it was for sale and if I could see it. It was a brand new Guitar Hero: Aerosmith package. This is actually a very popular game that Erik does not have. For $40 off retail price I figured he should have it. Aren't I sweet? I made sure I could return in case anything is missing.

Fluffy Mail!

I got my first purchase from Diaper Swappers today in the mail. Four excellent condition small Fuzzi Bunz with inserts. I got them all for $32 including shipping. Notice one is missing...it's on Grayam.

GADs on Sale!

I have been wanting to try a Green Acre Design (GAD) cloth diaper because they come in lots of cute colors and in medium long size (perfect for tall skinny kids). You can also design your own on their website, and even have it embroidered with a design and a name. I have heard great things about the diapers, too. I had a few coupon codes for various CD retailers from a WAHM (work at home mom) website so I checked those stores first. I found one with GADs on sale and they had some in the colors/sizes I wanted. I went to place my order but when I was checking out there was no spot for the coupon code. So I sent an e-mail and asked how I should place my order to take advantage of the coupon. I got a response saying that the coupon code was no longer valid, but the mom offered me free shipping instead! This actually ended up saving me more than the coupon would have! So buy your own GADs from this nice mama: Mom and Baby Naturally.

Diaper Swappers - My New Addiction

Now that I am thoroughly engrossed in cloth diapering, I am so excited to have learned about a website called Diaper Swappers. It is a marketplace for used cloth diapers where people can unload ones they don't like and buy (or trade for) something they want to try or want more of. I have found out about some really unique diaper brands through the site and now am obsessed with finding specific colors and styles. I also keep my eyes open for people selling good used condition diapers I have tried and really like. The key is to respond as soon as you can to the seller, kind of like Craig's List. It seems like the mamas are pretty good about letting the first person to respond have first dibs, but it always pays to add your name to the interest list just in case the previous deal doesn't take. I have already bought 4 new style Fuzzi Bunz for $8 each, a Happy Heiny in brown camo print and a Happy Heiny One Size in sage. Now I am waiting for the perfect Rumparooz...

If the site is taking a long time to load, it's because I am refreshing every 10 seconds.

Blocks!

I got these blocks for $5 from a Salvation Army when I was pregnant with Klarity. I knew they would get some good use eventually!

$5 in 30 Seconds

I needed a couple things from Drugstore.com so I made sure to order at least $25 worth so I could take advantage of free shipping. One of the items was on backorder so they offered to ship it at a later time at no extra charge (on Amazon choosing Super Saver Shipping on an order with something "not in stock" will often delay shipment of your entire order). As I was checking out, I saw there was a space for a coupon code so I did a quick Google search to see if I could find one. Within 30 seconds I had found a coupon for $5 off your order and, more importantly, it worked. It's times like these I wonder how anyone can justify paying full price.

Cloth Diapers are here!

Here is a picture of some of the stash:

Here is Grayam modeling his Wahmies:

Building a Cloth Diaper Stash

We have decided to cloth diaper now that we have two in diapers. We were using a diaper service but I figured instead of spending $75 a month on a service, I could use that money towards buying my own diapers and save some in the long run. Once it was decided, I was on a mission. Where could I find the best deals on the diapers I wanted to try? I had no idea how many online stores there are who carry cloth diapers, but it is hard to find one that has everything you want, in the right sizes, colors, etc. Cloth diapers are a hot commodity apparently, and items are often sold out.

I had my work cut out for me. Searching for clearance products, free shipping deals and coupon codes, and then scouring each store's inventory, here is what I ended up with:

5 Thirsties Pocket AIOs ($12 each!)
2 Drybees (one AIO and one hybrid)
2 Happy Heiny's Prints
4 Happy Heiny's One Size
2 Wahmies One Size Pockets
1 BumGenius 3.0 One Size
1 Mommy's Touch One Size AIO
2 quarts of Allen's detergent
2 Wahmies pail liners in designer prints
3 Thirsties Fab Doublers
6 BumGenius One Size inserts

All for a grand total of $356.24 including shipping. I used a total of 4 different retailers, 2 coupon codes, and 2 free shipping offers.

I now need to find me some Fuzzi Bunz or else my expert CD-ing friend, Bernadette, will never forgive me. Then I sit back and wait for all my packages to arrive.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

I had been looking for a play kitchen for Klarity on Craig's List for quite awhile. She always loves playing with them at her friends' houses. I knew the brand I wanted was a Step 2. They make sturdy plastic toys with a lot of style and features. I wasn't too picky about which model, since they are all fairly similar except for size and layout.

I saw an ad on CL for a plastic play kitchen for $40 but there was no brand or picture. So I e-mailed the ad and the woman responded that it was a Lifestyle Custom Kitchen (by Step 2) in excellent condition. I looked up the model on Step 2's website.


It was the smallest one they made but I thought that would make it more convenient to go into K's room. Plus, it would fit in our car.

We went to pick it up on a Saturday morning and the woman was very nice and excited that Klarity was going to be enjoying the kitchen. She even threw in a Dirt Devil Jr. vacuum cleaner which K started playing with right away. She said she and her son get toys for underprivileged children but they weren't going to be using the kitchen and needed to make room for more toys. She had her son go get the kitchen and bring it out. It was not the Custom Kitchen. It was the Deluxe Kitchen, which is a whole lot bigger, and retails for $229.



With a little creativity we managed to fit it into the car with both kids, and Klarity was so excited to get it home and play with it. What a lucky find and thank goodness the woman didn't give it to someone else after I said I wanted it (which unfortunately happens a lot on CL).

Here is Klarity playing in the kitchen:

Butterscotch the Pony: Part Two

We all made it back from Vegas with a car jam packed with goodies. Butterscotch was hanging over the backseat staring at my daughter. Luckily she was too young to be frightened of this. Of course I had to play with Butterscotch right away. I tested her (we decided he was a she) sounds and movements and realized her neck seemed a little...off. Nothing too bad, but she seemed like she had trouble controlling it. I downloaded the assembly instructions to see if we could tighten things up a bit but it didn't seem to fix the problem. But I wasn't too upset about it being that we only paid $30.

Doing some research online a few weeks later, I came across the Hasbro website and decided to send them an e-mail to see if they had any ideas how to fix her up. I got a fast response from them saying they would be happy to REPLACE my pony's head if I sent it to them. They would even send me a shipping label so I wouldn't have to pay for shipping!

So I got it all packed up (it was a little weird putting a realistic horse head into a box) and sent it off. They had said it might take some time because I guess they were fixing a lot of ponies after the busy holiday season. But I was in no hurry...my kid wouldn't be using it for some two or more years!


The day it came was a surprise. I walked outside and there was a huge box on my porch. It was a brand-spanking new, unopened in box, Butterscotch pony. I was speechless. If I felt like I was taking advantage of the system before, now I was sure someone was going to discover this extortion.

Butterscotch is now packed in our garage, unopened, and ready for an upcoming major gift-giving opportunity. We had to have large item pickup come and take the body portion of the original Butterscotch, because who wants a headless horse? It might have made a good Halloween prop, I guess, but totally not worth storing.

Hasbro has since come out with a new pony, Smores.


Why do they have to tempt me?

Butterscotch the Pony

This goes down as my greatest deal of all time. When Klarity was only 3 months old, Hasbro came out with a Furreal Pony called Butterscotch. We saw it at Target once on display and I was in love with it. Kids can sit on it and it moves and makes horse noises. It's for every little girl who always wanted a pony but never could have one. I had to have it. For Klarity, of course!


A couple weeks after we saw it at Target, Costco had it for $250 - $50 cheaper than Target. But I had no excuse to buy a toy for my 3 month old girl, when she wouldn't be able to use it until she was 3 or 4 years old. A week after that was Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and this pony was sold out everywhere. It was one of the hottest toys of the season. I looked on eBay and they were going for almost twice as much as retail! I started regretting not getting one at Costco while they had them. But I told myself I still had a few years to acquire one.

After Christmas, we took our annual trip to Vegas to visit friends and thrift shop. For those of you who don't know, in Las Vegas the Goodwills buy items from Target that are not in perfect condition and resell them for half the price. Plan your trip right, and you can also get 50% off everything in the store (every other Saturday).

We were at our second or third store of the day when we were waiting in line to pay for our items and I saw a large cardboard box that said "Toys" on the side. There were other items sitting on top of it but being nosy I moved them aside to see if I could figure out what kind of "toys" might be hiding in there. It was my pony. He was crammed into the box with his head a little tweaked (I think they are meant to be assembled). He must have been a return or store display. He was marked $60. For $30 I would get my pony.

After ditching the huge box outside the store and figuring out how to squeeze him into the back of our SUV with all our other large items, I finally breathed out as it sunk in that I had scored the hottest toy of the season for $30. I felt like I should be arrested.

That is only the first half of the story. Believe it or not, it gets better. Stay tuned.

A Simply Shabby Chic Nursery

One of the most common things to find at a Goodwill store is a boxed piece of furniture from Target's Simply Shabby Chic collection. When I was shopping for nursery furniture, I first came across this dresser and bought it for $30.

Retail: $249.99

Next my mom found this bookcase and paid $40.

Retail: $199.99

On another trip to Vegas we found a couple of these vanities (one was missing the mirror) and paid $15 for one and $25 for the other (my mom wanted one, too).

Retail: $89.99

On the same trip, we happened to come across the matching stool for $10.

Retail: $35.29

And the end result: a perfect nursery for a little girl.

Saving Through Spending

Meet my friend, Discover Card. They pay me to shop. I get 1% cash back on all purchases, and I always sign up for the special promotions allowing you to earn up to 5% cash back on certain purchases. Since this is money we would be spending anyway on gas, groceries, pet supplies etc., this way we get an automatic rebate every month. Once we save up enough, we can use it to credit our account, get a check or double the rewards by ordering gift cards from participating companies through Discover (for example, since I order photo books from Shutterfly, I can get a $50 gift card for $40 and save an additional $10). Since we end up putting all of our expenses that we can onto the Discover, we sometimes get over $25 a month. That's better than interest on a savings account nowadays!

The key to taking advantage of Discover's cash back program is paying off your bill EVERY month. Once you carry a balance and start paying finance charges you are paying them, and let me tell you they will always be making more from charges than they are "rewarding" their customers with. Otherwise they wouldn't still be in business. So if you can afford to, take advantage of their "generosity" and charge it. Just don't expect them to up your credit limit. Once they figure out how you're manipulating their system, say goodbye to good customer service.

A Successful Trip to Vegas

Here is a photo of some of the treasures we got on a trip to Vegas. I thought it was hard to resist bargains before, but once you have kids it's a whole new world. Now I hardly even buy for myself anymore!