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.

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 I got a response saying that the coupon code was no longer valid, but the mom offered me free shipping instead!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.

$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.

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.