Prenatal Vitamins

Filed Under Freebies, Frugal, Pregnancy, Second Pregnancy | 1 Comment

I am really excited because I just found out that a local grocery store is now offering free prescription pregnancy vitamins. Which is awesome because I will still be taking them for the next year while I’m nursing. I’m not positive about all the details- but wanted to pass it along– if you live in the Missouri/Illinois area you can check with your Schnucks store to get more information. Next time I need a refill I will be definitely going there instead of W@lgreens!

Cyber Monday Deals

Filed Under Frugal, Money, Shopping | Leave a Comment

Of course I am putting in a plug for my business here too… shop at my Avon store today and receive free shipping on any order! Just use the code: FSANY

Gymboree has free shipping on all orders today plus lots of markdowns! Normally you have to spend $100 to get the free shipping. I keep telling myself that my children do.not.need.clothing…

Get 50 free 4×8 photo cards from seehere.com and just pay shipping. Today only, promo code: freebies4mom-1109

20% off free shipping at Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic! (Repeating: my kids do not need any clothes… oh but I might get some maternity stuff!)

If you cloth diaper or use natural products, Cotton Babies (local here) has 20% off and free shipping on select Flip, BumGenius, and Econombum products. I am buying a pack of XS and Small all in ones for this new baby!

There are specials on breeches and other riding items at The Equestrian Corner. I used to dream about marrying a cowboy, for real. And living on a farm. Yikes…. that’s a long way from where I am now!!

Amazon has lots of Cyber Monday Deals. And I know people are shopping there because my Amazon stuff has sold like crazy yesterday and today!

Any great deals you want to share with me?

Consignment Sales

Filed Under Frugal, Toys, Twenty-three Months | 2 Comments

I should remind myself that I like BABY SALES and GARAGE SALES, not consignment sales. People selling in consignment sales tend to think they can get much, much more than their items is worth. Like a Carter’s infant romper for $6? Really? You probably didn’t pay that much when it was new.

I got up early to go to a baby consignment sale today. I scored one pair of Gymboree capris for Bailey (which now I am searching to find a top for on eBay) and a dress. But the exciting things I got-

Little People house with all the pieces, looks new, $8
lp-house

Little People Minivan, $3
lp-minivan

My daughter has been sitting on the kitchen floor playing with her new toys for over an hour now. She has always liked her Little People zoo animals. But in the past few weeks she has gotten into a lot of the LP stuff (my mom has a huge collection at her house). So even though I didn’t get much in the way of clothes, I guess it was worth it for the toys

If you live in the St. Louis area, there will be a baby sale next Saturday (April 4th) at Lafayette Church of Christ on New Ballwin Rd. It starts at 7:30 or 8. Then on April 25th there is a big sale at John Burroughs School, and the first Saturday in May is the Baby Mania sale. If anyone wants to go shopping with me I would love some company!

Kohl’s Saturday Sale

Filed Under Frugal | 2 Comments

I used to make a point of posting coupon codes and stuff on this site but I have kind of forgotten to do that lately. I want to get back in the habit. One place I shop fairly regularly is Kohl’s. They are having a sale this Saturday and I have two different codes for online shopping.

The first is for 15% off your entire order:
SAVEBIG15

The second is for orders over $100: 20% off your entire order plus free shipping. I’m sure that still doesn’t apply to Alaska, Sarah, but you could try…
SAVE20BMSM

Happy shopping! I spent my budget for last month and next month at Gymboree during the sale so I have to stop myself now.

Loungin’

Filed Under Friends, Frugal, Playdates, Shopping, Twenty-One Months | 5 Comments

My child is absolutely gorgeous, no matter what she is doing. Yes, I am her mother, and I am allowed to say that. But it leads me to think I need pictures of everything she does. Including when she is just lounging on the couch. But she has such kissy cheeks. And those Abby Cadabby ponytail sprouts? They rock my world.

And as far as what I have been doing… I have had a productive weekend/beginning of the week. I got to spend some good quality time with my friend Faith on Friday night. On Saturday I worked on my eBay listings (I am selling a bunch of stuff for my friend Jen and also trying to clear out some space in my office). We worked on straightening up the house. And the really cool, rock your socks off thing that I did: I FILED OUR TAXES. Yup, they are done. And have also been approved already. Thank you for giving us all our money back, IR$. I wish you hadn’t borrowed it to begin with.

Saturday night, Jonathon and I went out to dinner and to see a play. So unlike us, right? But it was fun for something different. It was really just good to do anything alone with him. Since my mom has had pneumonia the free babysitting thing has become nonexistent. She was finally feeling well enough to watch her for an evening. We picked Bailey up at about 11 and brought her back home to our house, where she fell right back asleep. She’s good like that.

On Sunday night, I did grocery shopping. I printed a list from allrecipes.com (if you know me IRL you have heard me obsessing over that site). I chose five recipes I am going to make and you can just check them, and it forms a grocery list. Then I added other things we need. I got two weeks worth of grocery shopping done and I was three dollars UNDER budget! Now the only thing I can buy for two weeks is produce, so let’s hope nothing comes up. I am working hard at budgeting, though. I am ridiculous with groceries because I am a horrible, wandering shopper. I create meals as I shop, I forget things, etc etc. That is something I really want to improve now that I am cooking more.

We had a playdate at our house today. Kaitlynn and Ella came over. Bailey was so excited, she was talking about it all morning before they got here! I made brownies for the occasion and we all ate lunch together. It was nice getting to talk to the moms and just hang out. Bailey and Kaitlynn had about 8,000 scuffles over toys. I can tell they are getting closer to 2. But it was a good morning. I got a few cute pictures of Bailey but unfortunately none with her friends. I was playing with the settings on my new camera too much.

Restaurant.com

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It’s one of my favorite sites- right now they have a great deal where you can get a $25 gift certificate for $2. I have used this site a bunch of times and I promise it’s totally legit. I just printed three $25 certificates (valid on purchase of $35 or more) for our favorite Mexican restaurant, for a total of $6, and also some other random restaurants that we are going to try. Normally the $25 certificates are $10, so this is even more super than usual! Use the code “SANTA” to get this special deal. It ends tomorrow, and some restaurants in my area are already sold out.

FYI- these would make good gifts but they don’t send you a real gift certificate or anything, it’s more like a coupon you print off the internet. But it doesn’t show what you actually paid for it! It just says “25 gift certificate” and the name of the restaurant and terms of use. They expire a year from the day you purchase them.

I am going to need to take diet pills after all this eating!

Coupon for 30% off at Gap and Old Navy

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Click HERE to get this great coupon! You can print as many as you want. It’s good for 30% off at any Gap Inc. stores, so it includes Gap, Gap Outlet, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. Valid November 13-16.

Yes, we really ARE going

Filed Under Frugal, Future, Travel | 8 Comments

To Disney World. This fall. Without Bailey. I know, I know… who goes to Disney World without their kids? A mom and dad who need a break, that’s who! I love Disney World and haven’t been in years. Jonathon has only been for a day or two while passing through Florida from Haiti. We always do beach vacations but we were having a dilemma of where to go, since the Caribbean area has hurricane issues in the fall and Mexico is so hot that time of year. I know Florida might be rainy but typically in September it rains for about an hour a day, from what I remember from our vacations. Plus that is a less expensive time for Disney, and it’s less crowded because the kids are back in school!

Bailey will stay with my parents, at our house and she will love the time with them. Plus, toting a 17 month old around a theme park is not my idea of fun. We’d have to go back to the room every day for her nap, and she couldn’t do any rides yet. And lines? She’d lose it in line for a ride!

I am not going to disclose the details like our hotel name until we get back- but I will say that we did an “all-inclusive” vacation package. Airfare, transportation to/from airport and also from our resort to all the Disney parks, a six day Magic Kingdom (and Epcot and Universal) pass, and a Disney dining plan where we get two meals (one table service and one quick serve) and a snack each day, for each of us! The meal plan was free with the current special package. And we are in a Disney resort, so even though I have never been to this particular one, I know it will be well done and an enjoyable stay. Also, we got this all for an amazing price. I love finding vacation deals!

Coupon Codes

Filed Under Frugal | 2 Comments

I know it’s been a while since I posted any coupon codes or links for free stuff. I am usually the queen of finding discounts or free shipping when shopping online- in fact it really drives me crazy if I have to buy something online without a discount. My friend Sarah was going to buy a glider a while back and I couldn’t find a shipping code for her- it drove me nuts- but anyway… My new favorite discount code site is Coupon Money. It has the codes posted directly on the site and you don’t have to become a member or follow links to millions of other sites to find things.

http://www.couponmoney.com

I want free music

Filed Under Frugal, Technology | Leave a Comment

I found a program where I thought I could get free music downloads (legally) and I was so excited to try it out. The program is called MP3 Rocket and there is a free download version.

I signed up for the free download version and made sure that I wasn’t getting any viruses or spyware. Once I was using the software I discovered that it’s pretty much the same software as Limewire so you can find almost anything you want- software, music, movies, etc. Here’s the catch- the software is legal to use, but the downloads themselves are illegal because you don’t have the rights to the files unless you own the physical copy of the material. Jonathon had to come in and help me and explain it all to me. The other problem is that you are downloading files from other people’s computers, so there is a huge potential to get viruses. Basically, if the person who hosts the file has a virus, you are downloading their virus too. Not a chance I want to take.

I was so clueless as to what I was doing because the program promotes “free legal software” blah blah blah, but what you are doing with the software is not legal. Big disappointment to me. I am so cheap and just wanted free music. So if anyone knows a program like Napster where you can pay a small fee a month I would be willing to try it. I just want something where they don’t steal the music back after you quit the program

Directbuy

Filed Under Frugal | 4 Comments

I just read somewhere that in home furnishings sales, stores get like a gross margin of 43.3% profit, on average. That is freaking ridiculous.

DirectBuy is the leading members-only showroom and design center that offers merchandise at manufacturer-direct prices. They charge a membership fee, but then you can buy the products at manufacturer prices. I should look into doing something like this before I sink any more money into decorating.

The Cloth Diaper Experiment- Our First Time

Filed Under Cloth Diapering, Frugal, Seven Months | 7 Comments

Today I got my first order of cloth diapers in the mail. They are some random pocket diapers that I bought (new) on eBay. They said that they went up to 30 pounds, but as you can see in the picture, they are kind of low-rise on Bailey. I think the sizing was a little off and she actually probably needed a large instead. But they will be fine for back-up diapers for at home

So of course as soon as I got them, I had to try washing them. For those of you who are curious about cloth diapering, here is what I did: I did a cold wash with 1/4 cup detergent, then I did a warm wash with a load of undies and t-shirts on warm, with extra rinse. That was with about 1/2 detergent. Dried on medium and took them out as soon as they were dry. The inserts for the pockets took a little longer to dry than the diapers themselves.

Then I ran upstairs and took off the disposable diaper that B had on and put on her first cloth diaper. That’s what she has on in these pictures. I finally got some pictures of her doing her crazy gymnastics moves. That’s why she exhausts me. But back to cloth diapering- I was sooo freaked out with the first diaper that it was going to leak. I checked it repeatedly and then realized that I couldn’t tell whether it was wet by sticking my hand inside, because the diaper pulls the pee into the insert and away from her skin. So I reached down into the pocket and touched the insert, and it was really wet. It lasted about an hour and a half. I probably could have left her in it longer, but I was mega paranoid.

Then I put her in the second diaper, which she wore until bedtime. Again, it was wet, but no leaking. At this point, we are discussing what to do for a diaper pail. Our current strategy is “carry the diaper downstairs and toss it in the washer until laundry needs to be done” but I don’t know how long that can go on! She went to bed in her regular disposable diaper, the size bigger one that we refer to as her Night-Night Diaper. She pees A LOT at night.

And my big event of the day was ordering 12 Bum Genius diapers, a bag for my diaper bag, and some extra inserts. This stuff is not cheap, guys. I just have to remind myself that it will save money in the long run.

And now, here are some more of my little monkey in her new dipes.

Contest for free Raleigh, NC getaway

Filed Under Frugal, Sponsored, Travel | Leave a Comment

I realized I have been slacking at posting coupon links and contests and stuff on my blogs like I have in the past… so hopefully this makes up for it. This looks like a pretty good one! Jonathon and I are trying to figure out how we are going to afford to take a little trip this fall. I have been checking out all the discount travel sites and stuff like that- but so far nothing has really piqued our interest a whole lot except for this one.

There are a lot of romantic weekend type packages and activities in Raleigh, NC. I was surprised when I started checking to see what was available. Lots of cool dining stuff, Broadway shows, spas, a ballet… as well as some fun shopping places, Diwali festival, and amusement parks and that kind of stuff too.

You can enter to win a free Raleigh getaway which includes:
-One night accommodations for two at the Courtyard by Marriott Raleigh Crabtree Valley
-$25 gift certificate to Bloomsbury Bistro
-Free VIP admission for two to Rum Runners
-2 tickets to the North Carolina Theatre
-2 tickets to the N.C. Museum of Art’s Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism
-2 tickets to Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences

Anyway I have entered the contest, and it would be nice if Jonathon and actually won one of the trips and could use this as our fall getaway! There are nine trips available to win- so you should enter, too

Awesome Target Coupons

Filed Under Frugal | 1 Comment

Here it is: http://coupons.50webs.org/coupons37/coupon2.html

This coupon makes the 2nd foods that are 49 cents at Target FREE! It also gives a pretty good discount on the 1st foods (regularly 87 cents) and the other 2nd foods and 3rd foods, which are somewhere around 99 cents. I used about 75 coupons today- no, I’m not kidding! My mom and I made quite the haul of free and hugely discounted baby food from Target.

Also, if you google “target coupons” you can find a Luvs $2 coupon, and then some packs of Luvs in the store have a $2 coupon on the side of the package. Both can be used at the same time because they don’t say “Cannot be used in combination blah blah blah.” So it makes the diapers about $4 a package. Size 3 and up now have the stretchy tabs.

Don’t let the Target nazis tell you no!