When the cat's away...

The business world seems to shut down the week between Christmas and New Year's. I think my phone has rang once this whole week. The bosses are out, half the staff is on vacation, and there are no emails or calls coming in. Know what this means to me? Wedding planning time!!!

In the course of 3 days I have pretty much planned the ENTIRE wedding. I have booked a ceremony/reception venue, hired a caterer, designed an invitation, and thoroughly researched most other aspects.

Some may call this bad work ethic. I call it taking advantage of a situation. "Oh, you are reducing your contribution to my health care and taking away my paid holidays? Well, I will just plan my wedding on your dime then. Thanks."

Taking Advantage of Michael

I have a game plan for my wedding centerpieces and it involves possibly taking advantage of Michael's Craft Store.

Everytime I go to Michael's I google "printable Michael's coupons" in order to find my 40-50% coupons. I do not save them from the mailers, I just print one everytime I need it. Technically, I can print as many as I want at one time, but I can only use one per visit.

Everything I will need in order to create my centerpiece masterpieces is available at Michael's and happens to be really reasonably priced with a coupon. So my plan is to print a bunch of coupons and visit Michael's as often as necessary in order to buy my supplies piece by piece. They may know me by name in the Hyde Park Michael's by the time this project is complete, but I will have saved a ton of money!!

http://www.mommysavesbig.com/printable-coupons/michaels50.pdf

Little Screamer

Diddle has definitely discovered his voice. Lately, he has been making the same screeching noise over and over again. I am surprised he hasn't lost his voice yet! During our shopping adventures last weekend, the shoppers in both Target and Kroger got to hear Diddle exercising his lungs up and down the aisles.

I can already tell he is attention starved...just like his father.

Doing it for the Kids

Last night we went to the Zoo to look at the lights. It was so nice to have our first family Holiday outing. However, if it weren’t for little Diddle- I would never have been able to talk Casey into going.

My plea was that we were going for Diddle. He loves to look at lights- so what a perfect place. In reality, we were going for my own selfish reasons. I love the zoo and I love doing Holiday type activities. And let’s be honest- the baby has no clue what is going on. The big elephant pooping in front of his face was probably beyond the realm of anything his little brain can handle (although I should give my baby a little more credit since he is a genius).

I am sure over the next year there are a lot of things we will “do for the baby”, but really it’s all for our own personal memories.

Zipper vs Snaps

The other night I was laying in bed and hear Casey cursing up a storm. He had gotten up for the 4 AM feeding and I could not imagine what might have made him so mad.

I had to get out of bed to check the situation out, When I walked into the baby's room, Diddle was laying on his changing table with his PJ's completely unbuttoned. Apparently, Casey could not figure out how to snap them back up causing him to curse the little froggies that were smiling back at him.

Is it that difficult to follow the snaps so they match-up? It is a very simple concept.

To alleviate Casey's early morning confusion- I now make sure to use the zipper pajamas on the nights that it's his turn to get up.

Putting on the L.B.'s

Yesterday I picked Diddle up at the babysitter and I swore his cheeks were twice as large as when I dropped him off. He might even be up to three chins now.

Of course my first thought is that I am over feeding him...again. The "you're a bad mother" tone of the bitchy pediatrician telling me this rings in my head as I think of my poor baby's fat rolls.

I think Thanksgiving will be his favorite holiday!

Double DOUBLE Coupons

On the bottom of a manufacturers coupon it cleary states something along the lines of "cannot be combined with any other offer". HOWEVER- Kroger doesn't give a crap. Yesterday I got kitty litter for next to nothing because I used 2 coupons for the same item. Their computer system does not compute that you already used a coupon for that item therefore giving you a double discount. They also do not check to see if you bought the exact version of the brand or quantity that the coupon specifed. For example, my coupon was for $0.50 any 2 pack or more of Bounty Paper Towels (which in Kroger terms means $1). I only bought 1 roll of paper towels priced at $1.09...minus the coupon I got my paper towels for $0.09!!!

Is this considered dishonest???

Giggle Monster

For some reason Diddle LOVES his changing table. If he is ever crying, you just lay him down and everything is A-OK in his world. I can't figure out what it is about that Target changing table, but he can't get enough.

Yesterday after I picked him up from the babysitter we came home and I changed his diaper. I couldn't resist giving his little cheeks a squeeze and when I did he giggled! It was the first time I have heard him have a real, genuine, defined giggle. My heart melted and I can't wait to hear it again!

Better Than Goodwill

I did a quick run through at Macy's yesterday and found some awesome bargains. Baby clearance was an extra 50% the lowest price!!! I got Diddle a pair of fleece lined jeans for $5.

You should NEVER pay full price for anything at Macy's. I worked there for over a year and I know first hand that EVERYTHING goes on sale. And if it doesn't go on sale it will eventually hit the clearance rack. They also have additional percentage off of clearance more often than you think. The trick to Macy's is going often and finding one that isn't a prime location (i.e. Easton or Kenwood).

Most people don't know that if you shop around (and take my advice) that you can get things cheaper at department stores than you can at resale shops. For example- I went to Once Upon A Child yesterday at lunch and found a pair of Gap fleece lined pants for $7.50. Later, I went to Macy's and found a brand spankin' new pair for $5.

Jealous?

I Heart Target Part II

I have only been engaged for 6 days, but the wheels have already been turning. On my beloved Target.com I found bridemaid dresses on clearance for $13.00!!! Too bad I am not quite ready for making those kinds of decisions.
And too bad Isaac Mizrahi no longer designs wedding dresses for Target...I could do my whole wedding from my favorite store.

Just a typical Thursday night....

...Except for the fact that I got ENGAGED!!!

Can't wait to plan the bargain wedding of the century!

I Heart Target

I am so cheap I don’t even like to pay full price for anything at Target anymore. I consider this especially bad since Target is technically considered a “Discount Store”.

Here are my tips for maximizing the clearance areas at your local Target…
• Map out your trip. Clearance is always located on the inside end caps of the aisles. You can walk the entire store using the inside aisles therefore hitting every piece of clearance. Use this same path every time you go.
• Avoid the full price clothing and head straight back to the 50% and 75% off racks. Saturday I bought a dress for $6!
• Look down the aisles for the red clearance tags. Sometimes they hide it where you wouldn’t expect it. This is especially true in the frame and home décor areas.
• Make sure to visit often. Especially after holidays. They mark that crap down quick and people buy it by the cart loads. The good stuff is gone in a day. Last year I was there the same day they marked the Christmas stuff down and you should have seen these psychos loading tinsel and wrapping paper into their red buggies. It looked like Supermarket Sweep.

I would say over half of our house is decorated with Target clearance merchandise. I am probably their best/worst customer. They make no profit off of me, but I am there at least once a week….sometimes more.

P.S. Have you ever noticed that every new mom marks her first trip to Target after baby as a major milestone? That's because Target is awesome.

Moving on Up.

My son is big. He is a 3 month old living in the body of a 6 month old. This is no shocker, however, because he was born big. A whopping 10 pounds 7 ounces big. The hospital staff even gasped as they read the number on the scale. He has continued in this manner since he was born by consistently ranking in the 97th percentile for weight.

I had my suspicions that he was going to be on the larger side since I failed my first glucose test, but I had no idea just HOW large. My sister warned me that everyone she knew that failed the first test had a “big baby” so I was prepared to deliver an 8 to 9 pounder. Ha! Wishful thinking.

He will be transitioning into his 6 to 9 month clothing within the next week….sniff, sniff. As with his 0 to 3 month clothes, I will have a closet full of cute little outfits that barely got worn (it’s times like these that I am thankful for my thriftiness).

Hopefully, now that we are on our third size in three months I will have learned NOT to buy so much.

My Boy

My current favorite picture of the little man.

Edit: I had to take OFF the picture and repost it. I had it saved on my computer as "all boy". If you have ever google imaged anything, you would know that the actual photo names are what generally comes up when you enter that as your search criteria. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT EVER, google image the search criteria "all boy". Just don't do it.

I can't believe I started a blog.

First off, I didn’t start this blog to brag about my baby and how he is the most adorable boy on the planet (even though it’s true) or to record his every moment to share with the world (even though I probably will). I started it to talk about my INexperience as a first time mother and the things I am learning along the way.

Secondly, I started this blog because I LOVE to share my many bargains with the rest of the world. And let’s face it…once you have a baby, you need bargains. I get giddy with excitement when I pay next to nothing for something. I even buy crap I don’t need just to feel the rush. (This is perk of being my friend or family since they reap the benefits of my impulse buying) Maybe if I share my bargains I won’t feel the need to buy the random knick-knacks just because they are 75% off.

Thirdly, I get extremely bored at my monotonous job and this gives me something to do while I am milking the clock…..That being said, let’s hope my boss never finds this.

Note** If you know my boyfriend Casey, don’t ever tell him about my blog. He is totally against blogging and I will be made fun of to no end. This also goes for his friend Eric.

Note 2** I have a secret fantasy that my blog will become a huge success like The Misadventures of Mrs. Newlywed (but I won’t lie like she does).