What a weekend!

It has been a really long time since i've been able to blog or read blogs. i'm super sorry! i've missed all of you, and i do plan on reading your blogs and commenting, i promise. It's strange, actually, how i did all this stuff this weekend, but i really don't feel complete because i haven't told you all about it:)

Thursday: Bloomington City-wide garage sales! Remember when i told you about them? It's a highly anticipated part of the year for me. It was awesome. My mom and i took David all morning, then she watched him while i went all afternoon. There were 113 garage sales on the Bloomington list, and then i'm sure there were way more that didn't pay the entrance fee and just had sales at their houses anyway. i drove all around Bloomington, and it was great.

My mom got me a black version of this double stroller. It also is cool enough to work with the infant car seat we have. Plus, it was only used twice, i guess, so it looks new and was half the price of the retail one. Thanks mom!

i got all these girl clothes at a few separate sales for under $60. There are so many cute ones! Those boxes are completely full, by the way. Plus i got David some summer clothes, one of which says "I heart mommy." It's his first mommy outfit, and it's about time!

Friday: Kris spent all day helping his parents prepare their house for my brother-in-law's wedding on Saturday. They completely redid their back yard. i mean, they used a Cat digger thing and everything. They also redid their basement, like knocked out all the walls and made new rooms and pulled up and redid all the flooring. It turned out very well, but it totally went down to the wire.

David and i went shopping for black dress shoes for him. We stopped at Once Upon a Child and couldn't find any in his size 4, so we went next door to Payless. She had him stand on the little measury thing, and to my horror, he's a size 5 1/2! So i've been sticking his poor feet into shoes 1 1/2 sizes too small for him for who knows how long. We bought some $15 shoes at Payless, then went back next door to buy him sandals, because we didn't have any shoes his size at our house any more. We found two pairs of sandals and a nice dress black pair totaling $7! i was able to return the shoes to Payless and get him shoes that would no longer kill his poor toes.

Also, that day my friend Mark and i practiced for the first time for the wedding. (He's marrying my beautiful friend Devin in October. They will be Cadence's godparents.) He played classical guitar to my violin. He did really well considering i'd just bought the music that day, so he was literally sightreading.

Saturday: the wedding. Went to pick up the dress i'd borrowed from a friend from the cleaners. It was not ready. So i bought this dress, which looks a little bit less like a muumuu on me (for now) than it does on that lady. Plus, it's so comfortable. It will definitely be a warm weather staple this summer!

Then i rushed to my parent's house, ate a little lunch with Mark, and we were going to practice, but i'd forgotten my music. i was all sorts of wonky that day. Anyway, i ran to the store and bought another set, which was cheaper than the gas and time to go to my house. Then we practiced.

Then we went to the wedding. My inlaws live on a lake. Lake=wind. So even though we'd brought clippies to keep the music on our music stands, they were not sufficient to stand up to lake breezes, and we made quite a spectacle of ourselves, trying to keep playing while the edges of our music were blowing onto itself. At one point, Mark was holding his music open with one hand, while playing his guitar with the other. It went very well, considering.

Brides: if you must get married outside, please don't do it near a body of water. Or at least, please provide a person whose sole job it is to keep music open and on stands. Thank you.

Anyway, John and Irene got married and i now have a beautiful new sister-in-law! They are very sweet together, and they had this cool unity sand ceremony i've never seen before, but like a lot.

The reception was very nice. i didn't get to see Kris much, because he was best man as well as the DJ, but it was very homey and had Greek food. Yum!

The groom was walking and didn't see David, and David made a faceplant into some cement, leaving a nasty swelly bruise on his poor cheek, my cherub. Luckily, i'd never given him soda before, much less undiluted soda, so the pure Sprite i put in his sippy cup to appease his tears quickly put an end to his scare.

Here is the only picture that we got taken with our camera at the wedding. i wish we could have done more, but anyway, here's our newest family picture. Notice David's cheek.

Sunday: Kris and i played at church, then went to my parents house and played Wii until Kris had to go to work at 4. David fell on a ramp in my parents backyard, and he got another nasty swelly bruise, this time on his forehead. Today, when we went to Target, i was just praying no one would call CPS because of his poor battered face:)

It was very busy for me this weekend, but nice. i look forward to reading about all my friends' weekends now!

Baby things to buy second hand

So, my beautiful friend Kacie is preggo with #1. i'm freaking out with excitement for her! This just adds to my ever-growing list of ever-growing pals:)

In her honour, i've decided to write a post about baby stuff. There are millions of lists of what to buy and what to skip of baby stuff, and they all contradict each other, because some babies couldn't live without their swing and others hated it, right? It all depends on the child, i think. David hated his Jonny jump-up, but i'm keeping it, because maybe Baby Turnip will love it.

Anyway, we don't need more posts about what babies need or don't need, but i'm going to make a list of stuff you can buy second hand or what is good to maybe buy new. i wish i had had a similar list when i was pregnant with David. It would have saved me a lot of money!

i'll start with what you should buy new:

• A car seat. You don't want to get a car seat from a garage sale simply because you don't know if it's been in an accident. Most likely, it might be a bit older, too, and unless you can read PDF on your cell phone and look at this extensive car seat recall list, it's not worth buying and getting home and finding out it's been recalled. *Spare tip: buy the stroller that goes with the infant carrier. Usually if you buy the set, it's cheaper than buying them individually, and being able to plop the infant carrier right into the stroller without disturbing baby is very handy and a sanity-saver on horrible days.
  
• Crib mattress. The springs may be worn on a used one, and not as good for your baby's growing back. Or it may be old and not flame-retardant.
  
• Nipples for bottles. The rubber in them breaks down kind of quickly, i guess. i actually threw out David's bottle nipples and will replace them for new baby.
  
• Breast pump. Even for those very frugal ladies that say "all parts of breast pumps are sterilizable and new ones are really expensive", just buy a new one. Find the one you like the best, and make the investment. You need one you'll be really comfortable with (i.e. the one you pick out after reading thousands of reviews) and the warranty on those puppies aren't good for the second owner.
  

Stuff to buy used or borrow:

• Clothes. Trust me, the baby needs a LOT of clothes over its first year. Within the first year, they change sizes 4 times! The clothes are still practically brand new by the time they're outgrown, and very expensive to buy new.
  
• Crib. People only use cribs for a short time, and then they become this huge piece of furniture taking up space and not helping anyone. If you find a crib second hand, make sure there aren't any missing or broken hardware or slats. The slats should be no more than 2 3/8" apart (about the width of a soda can). Corner posts should not be higher than 1/16". There should be no design cutouts in the headboard or footboard. (i found the previous information from here.) Make sure the mechanism that moves the side up and down works easily, and you're golden. Cribs are crazy expensive new, and you may be able to find one that is just what you want for 1/10 the price of new from someone extremely glad to get it off their hands. If you don't like the color, you can also paint it. But i also know that at almost all of the garage sales with kids stuff, there is almost always a crib, so there are lots of options out there for frugal mamas.
• Toys. There are too many toys out there in the universe. Trust me, most of them reside in my son's room. Please don't buy them new. Take them off some harried mommy's hands, clean them well, and let your kid have them. Honestly, more than half the toys David got he had absolutely NO interest in whatsoever. The thing is, when it was the teething ring i got for .10, it hurt me much less to see it ignored than the Baby Einstein rattle i bought new for $9. And those giant toys for babies they lie under and kick with their feet? You can find hundreds of them at Once Upon a Child, all on clearance, some with tags still on them. Same goes for exersaucers, Johnny jump ups, bumbo chairs, and other assorted large baby fun stations. For swings, i'd recommend buying them at a garage sale, since Once upon a Child tends to charge quite a bit more for those than would a regular yard sale.
  
• Changing tables. These are not necessary pieces of furniture. i'm putting this out there, because some moms never use them at all. i borrowed mine from my SIL, and happen to use it all the time, and am glad not to have to bend over onto my bed or on the floor to change my wriggling monkey man. Anyway, if you want a changing table, please consider borrowing from a momma between diapered children or buying used. Once again, it is a piece of furniture you will use for about 2 years of each child's life. It is not a permanent fixture in your house (though it will seem like one to those tired of changing diapers)!
• High chair or feeding station. No matter what you use, whether it be a high chair or a chair booster seat, they are made of plastic and easy to clean for your baby's use. Figure out what sort of system would work the best for your family, go to the store and look at them new, and go to a garage sale and find the exact same thing for 1/3 the price. Really. People were really nice to me and went in on this really expensive high chair for David. And i love it and use it all the time. But i've seen it at like 8 garage sales for $20 since then, and i realize those that gave it to me paid $80 for it, and i feel a little sorry, because the extra $60 is 3 months of diapers, roughly. (When you become a mom, you start thinking of money in terms of how many diapers it buys. Just letting you know.)
• Diaper genie or diaper pail. i've not seen many of these used, but they are cheap when they are. You can find the liners at every store, and as long as the pail is in tact, a little disinfectant, and voila! You're golden. *Spare tip: For those that have hard times figuring out their diaper pail system, i'd recommend letting hubs figure it out. The end of pregnancy or the beginning of motherhood are not a good time to read a bunch of directions on something that seems complicated at first. Let hubs figure it out: he'll feel like he helped, and it'll save you the hassle and tears that can come with reading the weird directions. He'll teach you how to use it, (which is incredibly simple when you're taught) and you'll kiss him and say "Thank you honey!" And it will be a good situation.
• Crib sheets and blankets. Make sure there are no stains, wash them up, and you'll be glad you did. Also, buy quite a few crib sheets. Trust me.
  
• Maternity clothes are also a nice thing to borrow if you can. It sucks to buy a whole wardrobe for about 5 months of your life, so if you've got a previously preggo friend, i'm sure she'd be glad to get that box out of her closet for a while, until/if she needs them again. Plus, used maternity clothes at stores are ugly. Don't ask me why. But most friends have similar tastes in clothes, or similar enough to merit borrowing. Buy yourself a few things you like, but mostly, save your money. You'll need it later, i promise.
  

The great thing about buying baby stuff used is that if there is something you MUST have for baby that is really expensive, you've saved from other places, so it's not so bad to pay a bit more for something special, like this or this or this that i'd have loved for David:) Or this if new baby is a girl.

There are probably things that worked for me that wouldn't for you guys. i'm not saying this is an extensive list, or would work for everyone, but it's what my personal experience has taught me. i also know i am much less squicked out about used stuff than a lot of people, so if the idea of getting a used whatever freaks you out, don't do it. But i hope some of this helps you out a bit.

Last weekend's garage sale finds

Oh. My. Goodness. Last weekend was INCREDIBLE for garage saling. It was a masterpiece. It was a great work. The Lord saw it, and it was good.

First of all. i found unexpected garage saling opportunities. David and i were making a simple trip to the grocery store, and we saw a sign. There is a huge neighborhood next to the store called Southbridge. The sign said "Southbridge Annual Garage Sale this weekend". It was a beautiful sign. Its yellow cardboard gleamed golden in the sun. i had about $30 cash in my pocket, so David and i went after grocery shopping. There were about 5 houses per block that were having garage sales, and many of the sales were multi-family, so i was very nice that we didn't have to get in and out of the van very much.

i found: a dressy winter jacket for David! A very cute gray Gap toggle jacket, and is very soft and kind of like wool. i wasn't 100% sure it was warm enough for going outside in the winter, but it was definitely warm enough for getting in and out of the car for church on Sunday mornings. $2

i found: a couch, chair and ottoman for David, complete with animal print, so he has his own little places to sit. The chair and ottoman are at my parent's house, but here is the couch. The whole set went for $5.

i found: a toy vacuum. David is terrified when i vacuum. i start vacuuming, and his little body starts to tremble. Then he screams. Like terror screaming. Even when i hold him while vacuuming, he screams. When i chase him around with the vacuum, he giggles. Go figure. Anyway, he saw this vacuum at a sale and he started pushing it around right away, and wouldn't let go of it even after i paid and was carrying him to the van. This toy makes noise, so i'm hoping his having his own will alleviate his fear of the real thing. It was $2.

i found: a large cooler. It is big, like the size a 4-person family would need for an all-day car trip. i'm excited about it, because i keep it in the van, and if i buy cold stuff and need to stop somewhere else, i'm not in as big a hurry to get home. $2.

That was the Southbridge sale finds on Friday. And there was evening, and there was morning, when i went to the Jefferson High School annual garage sale. It's a high school in Bloomington, the rival of my high school, Kennedy. Once a year, i forgo my bitterness and partake of the beauty, the joy of the JHS Band Boosters Garage Sale. People from all over Bloomington donate their stuff to the school, and the school sells it and the proceeds go to the band booster club. It's an awesome idea. The whole school is full of used stuff, and it's very cheap and very wonderful. The sale started at 9, and my dad and i got there at 8:45 and were about 50th in line. Everyone from Bloomington comes out for it.

One of my biggest needs this GS season was a couch. Our couch was a "chair and a half" which basically means the size of a love seat, but much deeper, and only one cushion, and low in the back. It was also very cushy, which made it impossible to get out of. It only held two people, was too short for napping, and took up too much space in the living room. Luckily, i found a couch! It is very ugly. Its structure is made of wood, it is purply magenta, and has random stains on it. And it works very well for us. It's very long, great for napping, seating three people, and doesn't come out into the room as much. Plus, it was so cheap that we'll leave it here when we move someday. i hope to recover it, but have you seen how much couch covers cost? They are expensive. So for now, i have a magenta couch to clash nicely with our bright orange recliner (a garage sale find 7 years ago) and it is wonderful. $20.

i found a ball and glove cake pan, for an eventual baseball birthday cake. $ .50

i found a beautiful ceramic thanksgiving serving dish. A great find, because i host Thanksgiving for my side of the family every year, and have very few fancy serving dishes, much less seasonal ones. $2.

i found a snow cone maker. i've wanted one forever, and i found one for $2. Hopefully it works. i'll be trying it out on Mother's day.

Then, after the Jefferson sale, my dad and i went straight to another garage sale across the street. It was a brilliant idea: to have the sale the same day and time across the street from the sale the whole city attends.

Anyway, i found a pop up toy for David that he hasn't stopped playing with. So far, he can only pop up Minnie Mouse, but every time she pops up, he giggles his guttural baby giggle. It's very cute, and he loves it! $2.

i found a Tommy Hilfiger winter jacket for him. This was definitely warm enough for playing outside this winter, and is super cute. It might be the most designer thing he owns. $4.

Then, lastly, i found a pink dress. And i had to get it. If this baby ends up being a girl, she will be able to wear it next spring and be adorable. P.S. May 23 is my ultrasound date, and be sure i'll be posting the gender soon afterwards! It was $1. Isn't it so cute?

So that was my incredible garage sale weekend. Aren't you jealous?

i have a question for you guys. i like it when people buy used gifts for David, because he doesn't know the difference. It saves money and is one less thing that needs to get made in a factory. Generally, for those friends that don't mind getting used stuff, i'm able to get a ton more gifts for them. Do you guys feel that way? Or does the idea of having your kid wear a pair of jeans from a garage sale squick you out because they are used? Would you feel weird if someone bought your kid something used?

Short post

This will be short: David is slightly squatting over in the corner and is grunting, so in a few minutes i will have a mess to clean up:)

We went to our second and third garage sales for the year yesterday! And the third one was the best. We found a toddler bed! It has plastic, primary-colored head and bottom boards. At the headboard there is kind of a shelf with a cover for him to keep all sorts of important things, and at the end of the bed there is a bench for sitting. Once it's done being a toddler bed, it converts into a book case and the same bench pulls out. Plus it was only $25!

i'm really excited. i have this mental list of stuff i need from garage sales this year, and the toddler bed was one of the most important. i'm doing reading on the best time to have him start sleeping in it, so he's used to it when the baby is born and needs the crib.

This garage sale season has already started off very well. i can't wait for the Bloomington city-wide garage sales. i grew up there, and city-wide is a very busy week for Bloomington.

The city has people sign up, and everyone who signs up gets put on a huge list the city puts out, and gets a sign to put on their street. The list also includes what sorts of things the people are selling. So for instance, i am looking for baby stuff and kitchen stuff this year, and the list will help me know which would be the best sales to attend. It's a very busy weekend for Bloomington, as people from all over the Metro flock to it.

Right now, Bloomington is very popular because they're having their curbside pickup this week. i was visiting my parent's house last night and saw many "scavengers" as we call them, with trailers attached to their pickup trucks, driving up and down residential streets looking for free stuff.

i don't go in for picking stuff off the side of the road, usually, but i am very excited for Bloomington city-wide.

Ok, i'm pretty sure David is done. Wish me luck that he sits still on the changing table!

First garage sale in 08!

David and i went to our first garage sale last Saturday. It was gorgeous outside: like 58 degrees and all the snow was melted and there was no wind and we were very happy. The garage sale itself was quite a disappointment, however. Very small and hardly worth getting a toddler out of the car. i got him a sippy cup and the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" book for $1. This was actually a very good deal, but i like bigger garage sales. Ones that actually go inside the garage and can't be held completley within the top half of the driveway. Anyway, it was fun to start off the GS season!

i haven't totalled up my garage sale money yet.

Wait, i don't know if i've told you the length of my obsession with garage sales. Um, i'm obsessed with garage sales. i save up all my change and some small cash all year, take it to the bank and put into $1s and $5s, and that is my garage sale money. i love going to them. They are fun, you meet new people, you get CHEAP stuff, and it's a really great way to spend time if you happen to have quite a bit of free time, but not much money.

When i was in college, my instant messenger screen name was garagesaleband, due to my love of garage sales and local music. This is how much i heart garage sales.

i'm considering holding a garage sale towards the end of this month. i've got a bit of stuff to sell, and quite a bit of Tupperware inventory to get rid of. However, i don't have enough stuff of my own to really merit a sale. Does anyone else live around the Metro that wants to sell anything?

Saturday was totally just a tease, though. It got cold and rainy again after that beautiful day. Good weather will come again, though! According to my Weather Channel Desktop, Sunday and Monday will be a bit warmer (40s) with only some clouds. This is actually disappointing. i checked this morning and it said Sunday was going to be 58 with no clouds. We'll see, i guess, what the weather actually is come Sunday.

In other Very Good News, my friend Devin is finally engaged! She sometimes reads my blog, and should really start her own, but anyway her boyfriend finally proposed to her, which is very exciting. They've been dating, um, forever and it's about time:) They're very sweet together, and i couldn't be happier for them. i guess he proposed to her at a cafeteria? Or some high-end cafeteria restaurant i haven't been to. The words high-end and cafeteria being in the same genre make no sense to me, but i guess it was very special and a big surprise. i'm very glad they're getting married, but for my own selfish reasons, which i will reveal later.

Anyway, here's a picture of Devin with David at his birthday, her now-fiancee Mark in the background there. How cute! Sorry the picture's so small. Not really sure why it uploaded like that. Anyway, have a good night!