Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Zulily


Have you heard of Zulily? It's a website that offers great daily deals for moms, babies, and kids. Zulily launched in January and offers 25 private sales per week. Each sale lasts 72 hours and offers limited quantities of products with discounts that range between 50% to 70%. I have seen ads for them for a while now but didn't check it out until recently. They have some super cute stuff at some great prices. Right now they have Halloween costumes, so it's a great time to check out this site! If you need an invite, click here. Then pass along the great deals to someone else!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Big Girl Clothes

I am 27, have 2 kids, and still have clothes from high school. I see that as a problem. Yes, it's great that most of them can still fit, but it's time to let them go and for me to get some 'big girl clothes'. My project for last week was to go through my clothing- pack up my maternity clothes and put the clothes I either don't wear anymore or just feel like I won't wear anymore in a pile to take to Plato's Closet. I've been using this store for years now to take my unwanted clothes, accessories, and shoes to and get cash for them on the spot.

Here are the clothes I gathered- a whole laundry basket full of nice clothes:

And they only bought 1 pair of jeans! Based on previous trips, I was hoping to get around $50...I only got $4 and some change! Boo! They were only buying 'casual clothes' and apparently didn't want Express khaki pants, Gap jeans, American Eagle and J.Crew sweaters just to name a few. Oh well...guess I'll have to find somewhere to put all these clothes I don't want until I decide if I want to try again, try a yard sale, or just give them away.


Today's Plum District deal is $15 for $30 worth of Pouch Pals reusable snack and sandwich bags. I would love to get some of these and this would be a great way to do so. I really enjoy using reusable shopping bags and would like to start using bags like this instead of little sandwich baggies. They come in cute designs and can be put in the washing machine or be just wiped out. Head on over HERE to check it out. You should get a $5 credit by using that link- it's me referring you.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Friday Blog Hops!

Smart and Trendy Moms



BoostMyBlogFriday

Plum District & Groupon

Here's a great way to get a deal on diapers. Today's Plum District deal of the day is a $40 gift certificate to Diapers.com for $20! That's half price...and if you spend another $9 at Diapers.com, you'll get free shipping. Sign up today for access to other great deals, too! (This 'steal' is sold out for today...but you can still click on the link and sign up for more great deals coming up!)
https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=ue034fb20ec1

Another site with similar great deals is Groupon. This site also features a deal of the day (if enough people buy in) in your area. If the deal is an online deal, then you can also buy deals based in other cities. The deals are only good to buy for one day on Groupon then each deal may/may not have a time frame to use.
http://www.groupon.com/r/uu8244290

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Giveaways



Another round of giveaways on some blogs that I'd like to win...and maybe you would too.

Vera Bradley giveaway on One Savvy Mom blog (ends 10/23)

Britax car seat giveaway! on Mommy of 1 and Counting blog (ends 10/2)

Sandwich cutter on Lil' Tulips blog (ends 9/23)

Nicki's Diapers Best Bottom Diaper on Chubby Cheeks blog (ends 9/28)

Happy Heiny's cloth diaper on Chubby Cheeks blog (ends 10/4)

Halo Sleep Sack Giveaway on Thanks Mail Carrier blog (ends 10/1)

$25 Amazon gift certificate on Thanks Mail Carrier blog (ends 9/24)

Sportbrella giveaway from Sportbrella on Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House blog (ends 9/20)

Leapfrog My First Book giveaway on Two of a Kind, Working of a Full House blog (ends 10/4)

Chic Monkey Boutique $25 gift certificate on Thanks Mail Carrier blog (ends 10/1)

Casio digital camera on Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House blog (ends 10/2)

Joovy Caboose stroller on One Savvy Mom blog (ends 10/8)

All New Kindle 3G giveaway on One Savvy Mom blog (ends 10/3)

New Mac Mini giveaway on One Savvy Mom blog (ends 9/21)

Softbums cloth diaper giveaway on Chubby Cheeks blog (ends 10/7)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Best Bottoms




When I found out Nicki's Diapers had come out with a new diaper and had read about it, I was in love. The Best Bottoms diaper had everything I liked about different diapers all rolled into one. I bought one Best Bottoms diaper to try, hoping that I would love it and could invest in some of these to complete our stash. They come in cute ice cream inspired color combinations and I just couldn't resist trying them after all the great reviews I had read. I got the Blue Moon color.

Here's what I liked about it:
All-in-two diaper- reusing the cover
Snap-in inserts
Double leg gussets
Option of overnight inserts

After receiving the diaper, here are my likes and dislikes:
I love the AI2 system, but don't love that the insert snaps in in the front and back of the diaper.
If you have to unsnap a soiled insert in both places, you are bound to get messy or wet (the reason I'm not a fan of pocket diapers). Plus, my babies are tummy sleepers and it felt like it would be uncomfortable to lay on the front snap of the insert.
I like the leg gussets and the snaps, but couldn't get quite as good of a fit as I would have liked and the snaps are not symmetrical (for overlap and a smaller fit I know) and this bothered me that I couldn't get them to line up how I would have liked. The overlap was too tight and not overlapping was too loose. The aplix version could solve this problem for me. I did not like that it was a round shape around the snaps because this made it stick out and I like the flaps to lay flat against the front of the diaper. I had the hemp/organic cotton insert to try and loved the trimness of the diaper!

Here's a picture of the Best Bottoms on my 2 1/2 month old:



And on my 17 month old:




Overall, I liked the Best Bottoms diaper, but not quite as much as I had hoped (granted, I had super high expectations for this diaper). I bought a medium sized insert and it would work for both of my kiddos. I would definitely use a medium size even though my 2 1/2 month old is just over 10 pounds now and would prefer a large size for my 17 month old. I would like to try a stay-dry insert and an overnight insert to see how it holds up all night long. I also wish they had more girly colors, but I found several boyish color combos that I liked. I'm excited to see the prints that they have coming out and think the Best Bottoms diapers are great!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Last Chance



This week has been pretty slow with deals. Tomorrow is the last day for some really good Target coupons. Print these out and make a trip tomorrow for some free or almost free stuff. Keep in mind that you can only use one of each coupon per transaction even though they are presented here 4 to a page.

$5 C9 apparel coupon
$1 Mountain Dew
$1 Speed Stick (I'm pretty sure I saw some of these in the dollar bins = free)

Other coupons not expiring tomorrow:
$0.50 Market Pantry bread
$10 Target Home bath furniture (look for clearance and get for free)
$1 Produce coupon (if your grocery store considers Target a competitor and accepts competitor coupons, use there too)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Onesies no more!

When you use cloth diapers, a onesie just doesn't fit right on your baby. Their body looks all distorted and sometimes you can't even button the outfit because they are made to fit over disposable diapers. We had lots of onesies and I was tired of not using these pieces of clothing, so I decided that I wanted to convert the onesies to shirts. Problem was that I didn't have a sewing machine or know how to sew. Well, a wonderful friend let me borrow her sewing machine and got me all set up. We worked on a couple while she was here then she left the machine for me to use when I got a chance. It took me a couple of days to get going by myself on the machine because I had to re-thread the needle and get the bobbin ready to go. I finally did it and started whipping out some shirts! My next project will be burp cloths! I'm so excited and may just have to get my own sewing machine.

cloth diapers

Almost a year ago now I started researching cloth diapers. I'm not sure what triggered this, but I'm glad I did. I was not a fan of all the trash disposable diapers was producing in our house and didn't like the fact that the disposable diapers have so many chemicals in them and my baby was sitting in those chemicals 24/7. I also liked the idea that it would save us money in the long run, we wouldn't have to continually be buying diapers, and I liked that they are cute. I had no idea what I was doing but spent hours researching different kinds and brands and what I would like to try to get us started. Keep in mind that cloth diapers today are not what they used to be.

I started out with Softbums, which are all-in-two (AI2) diapers where the cover is reusable and has snap-in inserts. The diapers are super adjustable with elastic inside the front of the diaper that would adjust to fit a newborn to toddler.


Then I decided to get some prefolds and Thirsties covers. Prefolds are one of the most economical ways to cloth diaper. They can be folded in different ways and then pinned, snappied, or just laid in the diaper covers. I was apprehensive about pins and didn't really understand how Snappis worked, so I opted to just trifold the prefolds in the covers. I chose Thirsties covers mainly because of the leg gussets, but also because it's a highly recommended brand and I liked the look of the white piping on the diapers. I chose the Duo diapers that adjust to several sizes and will last longer.


I also got one all-in-one (AIO) diaper, a Bumgenius organic, and I really liked the fit of this diaper. This diaper is most like a disposable.


My favorite diaper out of all of these was the Softbums. I really like the AI2 designs and also the trimness of the diapers. They were however, not the most absorbent. I liked the prefolds and covers, but didn't love them because the cotton material kept the wetness on the baby and it was more difficult for going out, but loved the leg gussets. I liked the AIO diaper, but didn't like how long they took to dry.

Since I liked the Thirsties covers, I got a couple of Thirsties AIO pocket diapers and a Thirsties Fab Fitted to try. I love the Thirsties AIO pockets and I still use these when going out of the house on Jackson. They are very trim and so cute! I did not like the fitted diaper as the whole diaper would be saturated when changing.


I now felt like I had a good handle on what I liked and didn't like in a diaper, which really helped me pick out diapers when Mackenzie was born. This time around I was going to try snap diapers (because Jackson thinks it's fun to undo velcro). I ordered some Flip diapers (pink), a Smartipants (purple), and an Econobum(white). I knew I wanted one-size diapers that would take her from newborn to potty training. I also knew that the AI2 style was my favorite and I was ready to try snaps as the velcro closures were starting to show wear and you have to fasten velcro to laundry tabs before putting them in the pail to be laundered.


I like the Flip diapers, but don't love them. I like that they are AI2's, but would prefer the inserts to snap into the covers. They are super absorbant and also trim. I like the Smartipants, but they are not the best fit for a newborn. I think as she grows, I will like this diaper more. It's a pocket diaper and I have to stuff the insert into the opening before putting it on her, but don't have to un-stuff it after it's soiled because it agitates out in the wash. I did not like the Econobum and have already sold it (yes, you can sell cloth diapers for almost what you paid for them). The Econobum cover was very thin and I didn't think it would hold up long, plus it was a prefold and cover type that I wasn't a huge fan of. We have a good start on a full stash of diapers now, but we still need some more to completely full-time cloth diaper our 2 kids. Right now we wash every other day (usually at night) and use disposables when we run out of cloth and at night. I have my eye on the Best Bottoms diaper system to complete our stash and be our nighttime solution.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

September!?

It's September already!?
The end of summer and beginning of the fall always has a feeling of freshness to me. It probably goes back all those years of 'back to school' season where I went shopping for new clothes, started new classes, had new teachers, and there is a freshness to the air. Even though I don't have all those same experiences anymore, the feeling is still there and plays out in slightly different ways. This time of year is when I really want a clean house and to clear out any clutter laying around. It always makes me feel better if I'm living in a freshly cleaned house- gives me a better attitude and even helps me wake up in the mornings. Since I don't have to get organized to go back to school, I think I'll try to get more organized with household things such as keeping the kids rooms clean (that's funny to try to do with a 16 month old), getting rid of things we don't need, and learning/organizing coupons and how to do that well. I'm also going to try to throw in a few things for myself such as reading more and working out on a regular basis- the weather should help both of these as it will be pleasant to get outdoors again. Even though it's not technically fall yet, I feel it coming and I'm ready. (Just don't remind me that fall means winter is just around the corner.)