My son is in a Mother's Day Out program at a local church 2-days a week. They are a wonderful organization who litters my home with an innumerable quantity of artwork every week!
Since my son is only 2-1/2, the artwork ranges from the "obviously NOT done by a two-year old" kind to the cute "aww, look at his littel hands and feet" kind to the "obviously done by a 2 year old" kind!
There are SO many that I can usually only display a handful for a few days and they have to go "away" (the keepsake box or the trash). I recently read a post (I can't for the life of me remember where so I will credit everyone generally and no one specifically) about using your child's artwork as greeting cards.
This is the most fabulous idea I have come across! I immediately went and grabbed two that I had no sentimental attachment to and sent them to aunts who had mailed Valentines gifts to the kids this year. Ah-ha! FREE and much more meaningful to the recipient than a store bought card they know I picked out anyway!
I'm looking at this artwork in new ways now. I sort them when they come home into "greeting cards" and "keepers" with some ideas about who needs a little pick-me-up, thank you or has a birthday coming up!
Try it!
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Frugal Friday: My 2 year old's handmade greeting cards!
Diaper Price Updates
If you've been buying diapers over the past month you've noticed that prices are going up! We've talked about it a bit here and here and Angie over at Baby Cheapskate has been blogging about it as well!
Take a minute to read her updated information on the "Price to Beat on Diapers"
You can also read about cloth diapering here...another way to beat the price increase!
Let us know if you find a good deal on diapers or wipes in your area! Send an e-mail or post a comment to the weekly diaper deals section.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Open Invitation
We'd like to invite you to participate in our baby deal search and find!
If you see a great deal on diapers, formula, baby care items or toys...e-mail us so we can share it!
If you have the scoop on some good coupons or rebate offers, send us a link!
Share the Savings!!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Toy Rotation and Donation!
My 2-1/2 year old gets bored easily and is easily overwhelmed when he has too many choices. Part of this is being a toddler, but part of it is his personality. He's works better one on one whether it be with people, or toys!
We noticed that he was bringing all of his toys out just for the sake of throwing them on the floor. The more toys there were out, the less likely he was to play with ANY of them (imagine trying to think in such a cluttered space!) and even LESS likely to help pick them up at the end of play time.
It took me a while to get to this but we finally started a toy rotation last week and WOW! what a difference it has made! All of the toys for the day fit into one 60 gal tote that we rotate 3x a week.
We decided on three times a week because he's gone two days to Mother's Day Out and on the weekends were are usually pretty busy and out of the house--or since Dad's home free time is spent working with him or wrestling around. I'm still worried that he will get bored after a few weeks of doing this...ehhh!
It's amazing how many toys a child can accumulate (and we don't buy them for him - they're gifts) even when you are making an attempt to limit the number. We need a solution to stop the toy madness! I have trouble balancing boredom with simplicity and in a small house, simplicity is key!
I'm considering getting rid of several of the less "popular" toys and trying to utilize some things from around the house to entertain him. Things that we'd do for a week or so, then put back and create something new. I've also thought about a toy rental arrangement with a local organization or with friends...not sure how to go about this though!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tipster Tuesday: Baby Registries for Coupons and Freebies
When you have or are expecting a new baby the sheer volume of choices out there will surely overwhelm you.
As Mom, you want to get what is necessary and get the best product for your baby. As Dad, you want to get the best product for your baby without spending small fortune.
Take note of this...you CAN do both!! A nice little secret about baby registries is that you often get coupons and other incentives just for completing them! AND, you can do as many as you have the energy for (it seems to sap the energy right out of you though so be careful!). These are usually really good coupons, samples, freebies and general information.
Even if you don't intend to pass along the registry information at every store, it doesn't hurt to ask about their program and create a small one to take advantage of the coupons or other incentives they offer.
After completing our registry at Babies R Us we received several mailings with formula checks, coupons for baby care and diapers, samples of formula and diapers and even free magazines like American Baby, Parenting and Parents.
Another great way to get coupons is to simply ask your childless family members (or the ones whose kids are grown) to save them for you. My mom gives me envelopes full of them every month or two.
Check out these stores...you can even create your registry online!
Babies R Us
Babystyle.com
Burlington Coat Factory
KMart
Sears
Target
USA Baby
Wal-Mart
Check back next week for a new installment!
Click here to read our other blogs' Tipster Tuesday at BeCentsAble and Naturally CentsAble!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Frugal Friday: Re-Sale...the only sale!
As a child and even a young adult, I was never all that concerned with whether or not I had new or used or hand-me-downs for apparel. We frequently shopped at garage sales and also got to go to the departments stores to pick out new school clothing. I often borrowed or was given clothing from my mom, sister and aunt.
Maybe it stands to reason then (or fies in the face of reason - who knows!) that once I found out I was pregnant, my desire for all the cute NEW gadgets and clothing for my little baby was unmatched!!! My husband is much thriftier than I (thank goodness!) and strongly encouraged me to either find a less expensive route to cute clothes or stop buying them.
After a few $100+ purchases at Babies R Us, my Mom redirected me to resale shops and I never looked back. Next to garage sales, consignment and resale shops are the least expensive way to purchase your child's apparel.
Here in the KC Metro area we have chain type consignment stores such as Children's Orchard and Once Upon a Child (see links on this site to the left) in addition to private consignment shops and large scale twice-yearly consignment sales like Just Between Friends (look for JBF in your area here). JBF charges consignors $10 and they have a few strict requirements about the clothing, the way it is tagged and how it is handled after the sale but it's a wonderful opportunity to sell to a large customer base without spending money or time advertising (like a garage sale).
My children (a boy and a girl) wear many name brand items (things I could never afford to buy new) and I've never paid more than $5 for an item (other than a coat). The clothing is always in top condition as the respective shop owners/coordinators are pretty picky about what they will purchase from you or sell for you. The JBF sale requires me to be more organized because I want to buy as much as I possibly can when I have the opportunity! I always go through all the clothes in the house the week prior to see what they need. You can also find some great deals on used toys, baby swings, gates, exersaucers, strollers...you name it!
eBay is great place to buy large lots of clothing in one or two sizes or...what I use it for...TOYS and SHOES (Stride Rite, Robeez, Pediped or other name brand shoes). My son has worn nothing but Stride Rite for 2 years now and we've only paid for one pair new. Usually I can get a couple pairs in his size for about $10-$15 each with shipping (or less if I find someone selling two pairs in the same size and can combine shipping). It's a luxury we can afford thanks to eBay!
There is also a growing network of online swap and recycle communities. These forums bring together parents with 'extra stuff' with parents who need 'stuff', best of all it's FREE!! CafeMom, Freepeats and Freecycle all have forums in various regions set up to facilitate the swapping of baby and children's items. My local Mom's Club (and others in my area) have set up clothing and toy swaps either in person (you bring your items to a central location to swap for items you need) or online (i.e. hosted by Yahoo! Groups, we list things we have or need and wait for a reply!).
In the consignment sales and face-to-face swaps I've participates in we typically suggest that the clothing be donated after the sale - this saves everyone time cleaning up. A few people volunteer to drop everything off right after the event.
I am thankful that there are people who want to spend the money on new clothing...I don't have the funds to support all of my shopping urges so I go for resale!
The JBF Spring sales are gearing up (ours in next weekend!) so check the website above for dates in your area and try it out! You'll be glad you did!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Great Tips for Teaching Kids Chores and Responsibility!
Amy over at MomAdvice.com has some wonderful tips and examples for teaching your child(ren) responsibility and respect for their space and family members via chores!
Works For Me Wednesday: Storing Diapers and Less Walking!
With our first child we always changed diapers in his room on the changing table...until he was like 20 mos old! Then after the birth of our daughter I realized that it was ridiculous to think I would be able to haul her back to her room to change her diaper 12 times a day with my 2 year old wandering around the house. Plus, when you have a toddler you get ZERO time to sit and I was frankly tired of all the up and down!
So I started changing diapers in the living room on the floor or sofa or wherever I happened to be in reach of a diaper. But as you can imagine, I was always hunting around for wipes/diapers or trying to get them back from my son so I could use one (same problem downstairs in our family room!). One day while I was out at a local consignment store I found a nice set of matching baskets with cloth liners for $20 and thought ah-ha! my diaper solution!
I have one of these baskets in each of the kids rooms and one in the living room and family room. Each one has wipes, ointment and several diapers for each child in it and I can be certain that there are always diapering supplies at hand. They look nice and unless someone makes a point to look inside, there would be no hint of the diaper changing that occurs in every corner of the house! I refill them every morning (if needed).
Now I don't have to listen to my husband complain that there are no supplies ready for him (which there must be if I expect him to change a diaper!). And I get 5 extra minutes a day to sit down - even if I am wrestling a small child to the ground at the time!
Check out WFMW posts at our other blogs BeCentsAble and Naturally CentsAble
Monday, February 25, 2008
Making Your Own Baby Food!
I recently posted on this topic and thought it might be worth exploring again in more detail!
I have found myself at all different types of stores perusing the baby food sections looking for just the right tasty treat for my children. Something healthy (yes, even baby food can be unhealthy), hopefully organic, something they'll actually eat...you know the story.
My son would, almost literally, eat anything! I was lucky...my daughter is another story. Now that I am home with them both it seems easier for me to try to make purees for her and I only wish I had tried it when I was working because I discovered it's not really that difficult or time consuming!
There are two great resources I use...the first is Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook "Deceptively Delicious". This is NOT a baby food cookbook but does have great tips for making and storing purees and includes the recipes that your WHOLE family will eat; so you don't feel like you are pureeing just for the baby! The second is a website with some great baby food recipes and tips, http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ .
There are some things I just can't get pureed well enough to get my daughter to eat (yet)! Peas and carrots for some reason give me trouble. I'm not sure what I'm doing incorrectly. I have discovered though that I can puree almost any family meal once it's cooked and give it to her. I think this is a great way to start introducing her to new tastes and textures. As long as you aren't cooking with a lot of artificial sweeteners, added fats or oils you should be fine. I'm not a doctor (obviously!) but I started broadening my baby's palate with these new foods at about 7 mos.
Of course, the basic stuff will still be your primary diet. We do a lot of homemade pears, applesauce, all varieties of squash (her favorite) and some sweet and plain potatoes. I still buy carrots, peas and green beans (although it's a struggle to get her to eat these!) from the store.
I store all of my pureed food in those great plastic containers that Gerber uses (you can get them from friends if you don't buy Gerber) or in sandwich baggies. I then bag them in freezer storage bags and put them in the freezer. You can just keep reusing the same stuff over and over. I do this once a month or every 3 weeks after the kids go to bed! It takes me a couple of hours to cook and puree several pounds of food and portion it out.Try just one fruit or vegetable if you are new to this or unsure it's for you. Add one each time until you are providing most of your baby's food rather than buying it! I think you'll see it's not as complicated as it may seem at first!
Good luck and let us know how it goes or if you are doing this already...share your tips!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Tipster Tuesday - Diaper Reviews and Per Diaper Pricing!
Baby Cheapskate readers have shared several store brand diaper reviews - there are some great deals to be had...just read the reviews to see which ones may work for you (be sure to read the comments left by other readers, too!).
Remember that many stores gaurantee their private label products so if you are unsatisfied after using a few from the pack TAKE THEM BACK for a refund or a brand you do like!
If your store is not agreeable to taking these items back you might ask your friends or neoghbors if they use store brand and offer to pay them a few cents to try one or two. I doubt they will actually take the money and you'll get some "hands-on" experience!
The pricing on some may be outdated but you can bet they are still considerably cheaper than the premium brands!
Wal-Mart Parent's Choice
Target, CVS, Kroger, Walgreen's
Albertson's
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Make It Yourself Monday: Baby Wipes
Bethany at Centsible Shopper has a weekly installment post "Make It Yourself Monday". This week's topic is baby wipes. She talks about making disposable wipes with Bounty papertowels, some baby oil, baby wash and water. Check it out, and for another way to save on wipes...keep reading!
Wipes are the thing we run out of most often! But, at $.02 a peice you wouldn't think it would be a big deal to justify the purchase. I'll tell you though, when you are going through several tubs a month at $3 each (especially when you are on a frugality mission) a penny saved really is a penny earned! Even the best deal we've come across, $.01 a peice, is money out of pocket!
When I was cloth diapering I found a great solution for homemade wipes that was very inexpensive! Just some Kissaluvs lavender diaper lotion potion (4 oz concentrated for $14.95) from Cotton Babies and I could make a few months worth of wipes that even smelled good for about $.50 a tub! I purchased some cheap cotton cloths from Walmart or you could even use terry cloth fabric from a fabric store (cut in to squares) and washed them once a week. You have to be sure to used distilled water or change it regularly otherwise it will smell.
I would encourage you to try either recipe with the cloth...it's easy and cheap!
I have to thank my grandmother for this encouragement. Anytime she came to babysit she would ask for a washcloth to change the messy diapers. I would reluctantly hand one over (eeewww!) and wonder why she couldn't just use the wipes I had bought! She told me that the cloth did a MUCH better job cleaning. Once I tried it I agreed!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Babyplays and Success By Six
Sometimes there are things I see or hear about that are so great I literally cannot contain my excitement!
This morning a company was featured on the news and my first two thoughts were "Finally!!" and "How do I sign up?"! However, when I saw the prices, my hopes were vanquished!
Babyplays.com is a baby/toddler toy rental company. Babyplays stocks and rents an enourmous supply of safe, lead-free baby and toddler toys (birth to age 5). Plans are paid monthly and range from $28.99 to $35.99 a month. Each month you recieve a box of 4-6 toys of your choice and send the old ones back (all without leaving home). It's NOT cost efficient but if you like the idea of having a good toy rotation without actually buying all the toys or having to find storage space for all of them...this will probably be your new best friend.
This did get me thinking about some other toy borrowing/rental options and I rememered that we have a great resource in our area that's free (thanks to the United Way and local businesses)..."Success By Six" is free to the public and ANYONE can take advantage of the resource. There are tons of educational, role-play, climb-around toys and books to entertain your children while you watch. You can even check out different games and toys at no charge to play w/ at home for up to 2 weeks! We have organized and held play group dates there and (although I was not able to attend) had a ball!
There are Success By Six coalitions located all across the country. Contact your local United Way for locations in your area.
If you know of a Success By Six (or similar program) location, please share it for other moms and dads.
Frugal Friday: Cloth Diapers...You've GOT to be kidding!
The thing to remember is cloth diapers HAVE improved with time! New, savvy, practical moms are making them at home so they are more suited for today's lifestyle and REALLY CUTE!
There are so many different styles to choose from and unfortunately not near enough discussion on the topic in mainstream media. Cloth diapering is not some far out hippie, green, tree-hugging thing (as my family would like to believe). You can do this without changing your whole lifestyle or being shunned from your suburban neighborhood carpool! It's actually quite hip and you may even have your playgroup Mom's touting your industrious nature to family and friends of their own!
To find the most popular brands just do a quick google or yahoo search. I have linked the ones I know about below. As is the case with everything else baby related, you will likely try a couple of brands before you figure out which ones you like best. Many of the companies (Cotton Babies for example) will allow you a "trial period". You will be allowed to wash and use ONE diaper to see if you like the fit, absorbancy, etc. This is SO important and I would recommend doing it!
Going cloth does require some start-up cost ($200-$300) and you will have to spend a little bit of time researching the proper (or most successful) washing techniques so your investment doesn't go down the toilet, so to speak! For example, you can't just throw these diapers in with the regular wash. Often you will have to use all natural or dye and perfume free detergents.
I did a cost analysis (yes, the former Economist in me!) on this prior to venturing in and found that we would save $1500 over the course of 2 years with 2 kids (at the time our son was 18 mos and I was 7 mos pregnant with our daughter). I guessed (Ha!...hoped) that our son would be ready to toilet-train at 2 years...he's 30 months and still in diapers! That's give or take but considering the potential impact on your budget and the environment (plus your coolness factor with your Mommy friends!) it's worth investigating!
If you are still interested at this juncture I would start by reading some forums on the topic. The Diaper Jungle, The Diaper Pin and Cotton Babies have great blogs and information for getting started! It can be daunting to read at first but (as with parenting in general) trial puts it in perspective.
For us, the most difficult hurdle was traveling. Maybe because we just don't do that often or maybe we were being lazy...but we never did get that down, we just always took disposables.
Here's the part that usually gets the remaining interested folks (or at least the Dad's) off the band-wagon: YES, you will have to clean out and wash poopy diapers but there are several great and easy-to-install toilet sprayers to make even that job simple and less icky! If you've ever used a diaper disposal system (like Diaper Genie) you know that it can only hold in so much odor. Likewise for a plastic bag in the kitchen trash. If you have dogs you've possibly had to clean up a neighbor's child's diaper after it was "found" and "given" to you as a treasure. After experiencing all of these things I have to say (for myself and my husband) cleaning out the cloth diapers was a breeze and only smelly for a few minutes.
With all this in mind, I encourage you to check out the forums listed above and think about the favor you will be doing your child and the environment by using cloth! If you need another reason, read Carrie Lauth's article posted at MomAdvice.com on toilet-training and the benefits of cloth diapers.
Popular Cloth Diaper Brands I am aware of (there are many others):
Fuzzi Buns: http://www.fuzzibunz.com/
Bum Genius: http://www.cottonbabies.com/
DryBees: http://www.drybees.com/
Swaddle Bees: http://www.swaddlebees.com/
If you find that the start up costs are just out of your price range you should try looking online at eBay, Craigslist or DiaperSwappers for used and unused ones being sold second-hand. Wal-Mart.com also carries a brand that is considerably less expensive than some of the ones I have listed above (Kushies). This also alludes to the obvious...you should be able to resell them when your child has outgrown or stopped using diapers! Amazing, your savings on cloth can be even greater when you pass them along!
Share your info/knowledge on cloth diapering...comment here or link back to our e-mail.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Organic Baby Foods
In case you aren't ready to try on your baby food chef hat. There are several companies offering prepared organic baby foods and you can even get coupons for them.
Here are a few of the most available ones and links to coupons if they are available.
Homemade Baby (Available at Target and Whole Foods Markets)
http://www.homemadebaby.com/
Earth's Best (Available at Natural Foods and Babies R Us)
http://www.earthsbest.com/
Gerber Organics (no coupons that I can find)
http://www.gerber.com/
You can do it! Really!
Okay - so the idea of making your own baby food is daunting, to say the least. But TRUST me, it's easy AND it will help your child in so many ways it's almost impossible to list them.
The big reasons I do it (most of it anyway):
I can control the things that go in their bodies!
I can control the amount of SUGAR
I can make sure my children are eating the same things we are (mostly) which makes toddler and young children so much easier to feed! They will be less likely to squawk about the foods you put on their plate later in life and you won't feel forced to cook a meal for each person sitting at the table.
Read Dr Sears "The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood" for more information on how important healthy eating habits are. Then, check out this website for tips and recipes!
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Baby Food
I found these great baby recipes at raising peanuts. Click here to check out some wonderful baby food recipes. These recipes will save you money and are healthy too!!
Monday, January 14, 2008
So, What IS a good deal on diapers?
After reading Baby Cheapskate's post on the rising price of diapers I started thinking more about what I've been paying for them. If diapers do continue to rise I may consider going back to cloth diapers again. In the mean time, I thought I would share the best deals I've found on disposable diapers and invite you to do the same in order to set a sort of "ceiling" on what you should expect to pay and how to know when you are getting a deal.
Now, just a year ago I could expect to make a weekly run to the store to buy diapers never thinking or planning where I might go or what coupons I have or even what was on sale! I could usually count on our favorite coupon lady at the local corner drug store to help me out but I didn't always stop there. Oh the insanityof buying diapers at regular price! I will fondly tip my hat to the old me and hope to never, ever shop like her again!
So, this regular price breaks down to roughly $.29 per diaper for Jumbo Packs and about $.22 each for the mega or jumbo packs! And now I have seen the light...I can't bring myself to pay more than $.20 ea for diapers and I usually get them for $.16-$.18. I'm getting this lower per diaper price buying the Jumbo packs on sale at $8.99 (size 3/4 = 35-40 diapers) and using $2/1 coupons. You can also get this price by buying the big boxes of diapers on sale for $18-$19 and using a $2/1 coupon. You can do even better when stores like CVS or Target have extra store incentives to go along with this, such as Extra Bucks or free Target Gift Cards with purchase. Now, this is for Huggies or Pampers. I personally prefer Huggies because I can always get a good deal and every Huggies diaper purchase is eligible for the Caregivers Marketplace Rebate Offer making the unit cost even lower! Luvs tend to be cheaper at the outset but I haven't seen a lot of manufacturer coupons for them. You can expect to pay about $.18-$.20 per diaper for Luvs regular price. I did a quick search today for coupons and did see that if you sign up at the Luvs website, you may be able to pick up some valuable coupons via e-promotions. The same goes for Huggies and Pampers.
Another trick to saving money on diapers (and any other long-term stockable item) is to stock up when they are on sale! If you've had children before you can probably make a good estimate as to how much of a particular size you will need. If this is your first foray into diaper buying, a good expectation to have is that your child will spend much of his or her diapering months in size 3 diapers. Remember that you can always exchange unopened packages for a different size down the road if needed. To make your savings even greater, create an account with Coupon Masters or Coupon Clippers and buy additional diaper coupons to use when your favorite diapers go on sale! You'll pay about 10% of the coupon value (i.e 10 cents for a $1 off coupon, plus the cost of mailing and there is typically a minimum $3-$4 purchase)
As for store brand diapers...I know many people who use them and love them. We used to buy only Sam's Club Smiles Diapers (until they quit selling them) and I've heard good things about their Members Mark brand which also tend to run much cheaper (around $.16/ea). I personally haven't used any of the other store brand diapers so I can't say what a good price is on those.
If you are interested in taking the less conventional route of cloth diapering I would highly reccommend doing some reading on the topic before you jump in. They will save you money but they do require an initial, large cash outlay to get started. If you don't fully understand what you are buying or what you are getting yourself into, you will ikely give up due to frustration and your investment will be down the toilet!
Look for more information on my adventures in cloth diapering soon!
Tell us your best price on diapers...and if you use store brands we'd love to know what you think of them!
