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?