Day 15

Today I had the pleasure of doing some thrift store shopping.  

I hit 3 stores in a 2 hour span. 

I looked for clothes for me but I always end up with something for the kids.

I got some immediate needs and some birthday gifts as well...

Pink crib sheet (The picture doesn't do it justice. It is actually quite new looking.)

Basket for Jack's vehicles

School Bus book (he loves it!)

A floor puzzle for his birthday

Ravensburger puzzle 

He won't be ready for this one yet but I couldn't pass up a firetruck puzzle plus, I love this company's quality games and puzzles.

Milly-Molly-Mandy Book

I have heard good things about these stories and was happy to find it. 

Has anyone ever read these stories?

Clothes for me? Maybe next time.

Day 10

Super J!

Today I had a little crafting session.  Jack needed some new pajamas. So, I made him 2 pairs from some thrifted 50 cent pillowcases. They were actually name brand ones (Nautica & Ralph Lauren). Now, that is high style!

This is an easy project that can be done during nap time. I also had the pleasure of hearing my toddler chat to himself while he woke up saying things like chicka-boom while making car sounds (or were they sewing machine sounds?)!

I appliqued the letter J on one shirt with the same fabric as the pants (light gray hounds-tooth) and I haven't decided what to put on the other shirt yet. Maybe a truck or something police related. Either way, I love a toddler in some lounge pants!

Frugal Shopping

Jenny over at CJ and Family inspired me to share my latest Rite Aid trip with you.  Last month I earned a $20 Up reward for buying $100 worth of participating products.  We figured I only actually spent a quarter (if that!) of the $100 because I combined coupons with the sales and applied for rebates!  I needed to use it by the end of this month in one transaction so this week looked like the best deals for what we needed.  Here is what we got...

*2 boxes of Glad trash bags
*2 boxes of Band-aids
*2 Neosporin To Go
*2 boxes of Ziploc
*2 packages of pantyhose
*1 box of Puffs tissues
*Revlon eyelash curler
*Revlon nail clippers
*Little Noses saline spray
*Lypsyl chapstick
*M&M's Pretzel
*2 Reeses (not pictured) for filler so I could use one of my UP's

Total: $42.28  (I don't even want to think about what it would have been before sale prices!)

I only paid $4.45 after coupons and UP rewards and got back $6 to use on my next trip plus I submitted for $2 in rebates!
Thank you Rite Aid!

Also, while my Mom was here we received our huge order of tuna!  Amazon had a great deal and my stocking-up, preparedness-loving husband said we needed 3 cases!  I am still trying to figure out the best place to store them but until then Jack is having lots of fun.  His favorite toys stack (blocks, legos, ring stacker, etc.)  so that is what he has been doing!

Such concentration!

I think he is pleased, don't you?!

"Thanks for buying me these fun toys, Mom!"

Another day of fun!

That little kid's chair was purchased by my Mom for Jack...$5 at the thrift store!

It is turned around because he quickly figured out how to climb on and stand up on it, ugh!

Isn't frugal shopping fun?!  

Oh by the way, does anyone have any yummy tuna recipes? :-)

Telephone Redo

For Christmas Jack is getting a phone!  I once saw someone using a real phone for their child's play phone and I thought that was a good idea.  So I searched high and low for a good rotary phone.  None of my second hand stores had one but remember last spring when we went to a flea market (no? That's okay!)?  We found one for $2!  It needed a really good scrub and some sprucing up but we are happy with the results.  Check out the transformation...

Boring tan color so we gave it a punch of color!

Seth is the master spray painter so I let him do that part.

I personalized it with stickers and then gave it a clear coat.

I really wanted a cheap black cord but the average cost is $10 for one cord!  Crazy!

Thankfully, my mother-in-law had a white one we could have :-)

Based on his recent love of all things phone, I think he is really going to like it!  He turns just about everything into a phone and says either "hi" or "on" into it!  He uses his hand, my hair, blocks, toys, container lids...not much escapes being an imaginary phone!  Really, I don't even talk on the phone much but when I do he is definitely paying attention.

See what I mean!

His Little Pumpkin

Jack's Grammy gave him a pumpkin.  An adorable Jack-sized pumpkin that he loves!  He holds it, pats it, examines it, rolls it, watches it turn right side up, and he can't resist a little nibble now and then!  It is awfully cute to watch!  Thanks Grammy!

We were going to go to the pumpkin patch yesterday but it wasn't open.  I ended up at the Salvation Army and they just happened to have a big bin full of white pumpkins (which I love!). Free pumpkins! The lady gave me a bag and told me to take as many as I wanted. Yes ma'am!  We still might make it to the pumpkin patch but free is always nice!

We have been enjoying the warm temp's but it is hard to get in the autumn mode when you are forced to break out the capri's and flip flops again!  Maybe I will get my fall decorations out today...maybe.

Examining his pumpkin

Something was funny :-)

Sweet pumpkin-loving boy!

Crazy hair blowing in the wind!

The day has come.

  It is getting harder to get him to look at the camera!

See! 

Not quite sure what he is doing here...probably trying to eat grass!

I'm thankful for these thrifted Robeez shoes.

Maybe now he will keep his socks on!

Sewing Adventure

The creative juices have been flowing here!  We have been working on some presents for Jack's birthday and Christmas.  All of the inspiring blogs out there have left me saying "Oh, I could do that!" and "That looks easy!" Sometimes that's true and other times well, not so much!

Let's just say that my sewing capability stinks is lacking and needs lots of practice.  I only have myself to blame.  My Mom is a wonderful sewer (seamstress?) but I never showed that much interest.  I do try but I usually end up frustrated at the machine.  Well, today I put Jack down for his afternoon nap and got right to work on a pair of pajama pants for him.  I found a cool tutorial on making baby pants from an old t-shirt.  It really was pretty easy but working with stretchy knit can try one's patience (or at least mine!).  So, my seams are horrible.  No, I'm serious...they are bad... but it was good practice, practically free and they are pajamas.

This is what my shirt looked like after I cut out the pants.

Here is the finished product! 
I found that pj shirt at a garage sale for 50 cents.

At least they look cute on him so, no one
 will be looking at the elastic casing, right?!

Days of Play

Jack has started to "play" more as opposed to eating everything he picks up!  Of course, he still puts most things in his mouth just not all of the time!  He is fascinated by books.  However, I am having a very hard time keeping him away from the non-baby books.  I decided to turn his basket of board books on it's side so he can reach in and grab his books.  He does stay busy for a while investigating all of his books.

While Kari was here we went to a few thrift stores.  I found two fun toys for Jack.  One was a Playhut tunnel for 50 cents!  Kari got the Playhut tent which was also 50 cents!  Playhut makes great toys that can be folded up and put away when you are not using them.  We have been having fun with ours.

The other toy I found was a wooden bead maze.  I used to like these when I was a kid (I still do!) so I was thrilled to find a small one.  He seems to enjoy this also and I think he will like it even more once he gets a little older.

Here he is intently trying to find a mover in our old phone book!  I thought it would make a great book for him to flip through...it didn't last long!  He is all boy and can be very rough.  He began ripping out pages and started to eat them.  So...it is not a toy anymore!

Such busy days of play!

Updates

We have been keeping busy!  My days have been full of taking care of Jack, the house, the meals...but we have managed to throw in some other things as well!  Last week, we took a family trip to the flea market.  We purchased Jack a Christmas present that we have been working on ever since (more on that later!).

Jack learned a new trick.  I went to get him up from his nap and found this...

Sitting up!

He has been on the go ever since!  He is even more of a "Curious George" now. :-)  I have done some light baby proofing but he still manages to get into things I didn't think were possible!  He even chases after me as I vacuum.  I shot this picture while I was vacuuming as proof that he just lights up once that noisy thing comes out!

Do you think he will be this happy when it is his chore?!

Fun with Dad!

I also have started clipping coupons again!  When I was growing up my Mom always clipped coupons.  So, naturally after I got married I also clipped coupons.  Well, once we started making changes in our diet, making our cleaning products and some toiletries, the coupons didn't have much to offer me. Recently,  I have discovered LOTS of money saving blogs that are full of tips and coupons.  Of course, I still need to weed out what isn't necessary but I have found some great deals.  For example,  the back- to-school sales have been great (they always are!).  The past 2 weeks I have picked up some really useful items for super cheap.

Would you believe me if I told you I got all of this for $3+tax after rebates and coupons?!  I saved over $100!!!  The Swiss Gear backpack (which will hold our new laptop) is free after a rebate in the form of a staples gift card.  The reams of paper and pens were a penny each.  The mechanical pencils, gel pens and 60 count photo paper were a quarter each.  The scotch tape was $2 for 6 rolls!

Finding the deals does take some time but, I believe it is worth it as long as you are still being a good steward of your time and money.  I'm sure I will need 1,000 sheets of paper to print out all my money saving coupons and that Staples gift card will come in handy when I need to buy more ink!  Which by the way, return your old ink cartridges and they will give you a $2 gift card for each one!

I added some money saving blog links on my side bar for all who are interested!  Happy Saving!

Home Again!

We made it back safely Monday night.  Jack and I had a wonderful time with my family.  So much for posting on the blog while I was gone...we were just too busy having fun!  The days were full of crafts and sewing, Audree's birthday party prep,  shopping (second-hand, garage sales, mall, grocery) and lots of loving on Jack from his family!

Jack got his second tooth and mastered the art of eating while we were there.  He loves all fruit, plain yogurt and some vegetables (so far ones of the green variety trigger quite the gag reflex!)  He also really enjoyed always having someone to play with him.  I'm afraid our house isn't quite as lively!

One of the highlights was sewing with my Mom.  She was ready for any project I threw at her!  We (mostly her!) made a farmer's market/library bag, a taggy beach ball for Jack, and a new cover for the high chair cushion.  We also did a lot of paper crafting for the party.  We made a banner, pinwheels, tags, cupcake picks and invitations all with a pink and green ladybug theme!

I got the high chair at a garage sale for $5 instead of the usual price of $100-$250!  I have had my eye on this type of chair since it will grow with Jack but I wasn't willing to pay the price.  This was such a blessing!

Beach bucket party favors!

I love that all the siblings could come for Audree's party.  It truly made my trip special to see my sisters and brother.  Seeing my old church family and my friend Rachel and her family was great also!

Audree blowing out her candle!

Here are some other photos from our time in NY.

Jack relaxing in the hammock!

Jack snuggling with his Gammy after a bath.

Grampy and Jack on Memorial Day.

Those red sandals used to be my brother's!

We already miss everyone and we look forward to our beach vacation in a couple of months!

Deals!

Seth had today off so we had a little family outing. We got to eat some pizza at the mall and use some coupons at Target. Then we went to a lady's house that I found on Craigslist. She was selling baby/toddler boy clothes for $.50 cents a piece! I spent $11.00. Are you ready for this...I got 5 jeans, 2 pants, 2 pj's, 2 shorts, 4 shirts, 2 one piece outfits, 1 sweater, 1 pair of snowpants, snow boots and mittens, and a head support pillow! They are all in great condition and great brands. She had so much stuff and I'm tempted to go back and get more ;-) I love when God blesses us with great deals! Jack decided to sleep the whole time we were out and now he is swinging and rubbing his eyes as I type this. I guess shopping is not his thing!

 

My deals!