Not bad at all

So, I've officially been cloth diapering Isaac for almost two weeks. We still use disposables on the go and at night, but other than that he's in cloth. Hopefully this move has not come as a total shock {but it's ok if you think I'm crazy. You would definitely not be the first.}. With my super sleuthing to find the most thrifty deals around, this was bound to happen. I was tired of paying between $16-20 for a box of diapers - and each time Isaac goes up a size, there are less diapers in the box!

By going to cloth {I bought one-size diapers - they fit kids 7-35 lbs}, I calculate that it has already saved us around $4 worth of disposables {I realize I also have to work to pay off the intial cost of the cloth dipes, but this should be no problem!}. I thought I was going to be grossed out by having to clean up after them, but the new age cloth diapers are SUPER easy - no pins, no folding {if you want to get started, I highly recommend Smartipants. I've tried out some others, and these are still by far the favorite!}. Sure, I have to dump poo in the toilet, but that's basically it. The liners that I stuff them with come out in the wash, so I don't have to touch them when they are dirty {some of them DO require you to touch dirty liners, but my fave dipes, Smartipants, don't!}. I simply stuff the liners back in when they are washed and dried, and then put the diapers back on Isaac. Like washable disposables. And, you can get them in colors and prints!

When I first thought about cloth diapering, I admit it was intimidating, scary even {and the up-front cost is probably the scariest thing. Do not fear - you can find cheap, and reliable, cloth diapers by keeping your eye out for sales, buying homemade, or joining sites like this one. I have purchased all ten of Isaac's diapers for less than $100. That includes tax and shipping charges.}. I didn't know if I could do it. But then I started researching it and realized there are a lot of people who ARE doing it. Young mothers like me. That encouraged me enough to buy a three pack to try out. After three days in cloth, it was very clear how simple and easy it was going to be, so I'm now up to six cloth diapers with four more on the way. At first, I tried to avoid the poop, putting disposables on him around his pooping time. Well, wouldn't you know, babies don't do what you want them to. Isaac {and his intestines} worked with me for days one and two. I was confident I could always avoid poops after getting through day two. Day three, I had poop in four of my six diapers. Bah.

Check out Isaac in his fluff. I can't wait for my new diapers to arrive {hooray for fluffy mail!}.

Deals of the week

Ooh yay, I love saving money. Here are some of the sweet deals I found today {thanks to some frugal mom blogs}, so you can save too!:

1. $1.50 off two packs of Velveeta Shells and Cheese dinners (or buy 3 get one free of the Kraft mac and cheese variety). If I wait until they are on sale (2/$3) I'll essentially get one free, AND if I pair that offer with the $1 off coupon from here, I'll get two boxes of Shells and Cheese dinners for $0.50.

2. Free customized Father's Day card at Shutterfly. You pay shipping and tax, but with the free card, your total will be a little over $1.

3. If you're in the market for a movie, get a Disney Pixar movie, batteries, AND a movie voucher to the new movie, "UP" for $10.99 total.

4. Coffee lovers, you can get a FREE small coffee at Borders, but you have to get it by SUNDAY 5/31.

5. YUM! I hope you have free time on June 3rd. Sonic is handing out free 10oz root beer floats from 8p.m. to midnight!

6. And, this is my standby website for all things grocery.

"I wonder if they can check the other stores?"

Shopping with my mom is quite the chore, and almost always an all-day adventure. Today was no exception. Usually I get cranky with her on her shopping sprees, but today, I simply observed her quirky (and cute) shopping habits:

1. When entering a store, always look for signs on top of the clothing racks that indicate everything on it is at least 60% off. Once located, walk (or sprint) as fast as you can to said rack.

2. To get a question answered, nonchalantly walk past a sales associate and say aloud, "I wonder if these are on sale; I wonder how much this is?" or something to that extent. It is much more effective than actually getting the associate's attention first.

3. Try on every piece of clothing that is on sale, regardless of whether or not you actually like it. Today, she ripped apart a coat on the hanger (it's not heavy enough, what an ugly color), but tried it on anyway, and then gave a disgusted look when it didn't magically change into something that she loved after she put it on.

4. Don't be afraid to try on clothes ranging from the junior section to the petite section, to the misses section, no matter what age you are. She found a couple of "racy" shirts and dresses today (think really low cut). Don't worry, I gave her enough grief about it, that she will be searching for a camisole: "Mom, I think you have officially reached your mid-life crisis." haha. My question of the day: "Can you wear that to church?"

5. Always check out stores with weird names because "you never know what you will find." Today's store: Tuesday Morning. It was actually a pretty neat place. It reminded me of the home and decor branch of TJ Maxx. There were some pretty awesome silverware sets, and sheets there at a super discounted price! Mom knows best!

6. Pronounce brand names such as Gucci (pronounced Goo-see) or Dolce and Gabbana (Dull-chee and Cabana) incorrectly. It's just funny.

7. When trying to locate a brand name in the store, ramble off letters like "C I E or E C I or C E I or something" and hope the store clerk can help you find it. Today, she was looking for E C I, but the sales clerk found, C I A instead. We eventually found E C I on our own. I don't even know why she was looking for it.

8. Peruse the shoe section of the same store twice while you are there. You never know when they will add more shoes.

9. In order to save time, try on clothes without going to the dressing room. Nothing perverted or weird, just try them on over the clothes you are already wearing. We found a super cute dress today after mom had been in the dressing room for awhile, so she just tried on the brown and white sleeveless dress over her bright pink t-shirt, and let her white capris stick out from under the hem of the dress. She then said, "What do you think? Just ignore the pink!" As you can imagine, that was pretty hard to do, so Blake and I handed her a brown shrug sweater to go over top of it (the same as what the mannequin was wearing). To complete the outfit, she rolled up her pant legs, and then tried on the display shoes. She bought the dress.

10. Spend at least three hours in one store. How else do you think she gets all of the above accomplished?

My biggest lesson of the day: Don't listen to her when she claims she will "stay right here." Not only does she NOT stay right there, but since she is so short, you can't find her when she roams. She is shorter than the clothing racks. Our most brilliant idea as kids when shopping with mom was to put those silly bells on her purse. We couldn't see her, but at least we could hear her!

The adorable shopper helping Jennifer's house feel like a home last June.