Musings of a CHEAP Mommy!

Lately, I've been really trying to get creative on saving my pennies (who isn't, right?), because I'm learning that these little blessings called kids cost some money! I decided that I would list a few of my new-found "mommy money-saving tips". I have to add that if you're new to my blog, or don't know me personally, I am NOT the domestic, homemade mommy type! I HATE, HATE, HATE cooking, and I'm not crafty by nature, so for me to do these things says that I'm really making an effort, and if I can do them, ANYONE can! :) My new motto is: one person's cheap is another's "creativity!" (Disclaimer: Suze Orman, I am NOT! These may not be for everyone, but they sure helped me.)

#1- Homemade Baby Food!

I've mentioned this before in my blogs, but I can't say it enough - this saved me quite a bit of money. I recommend buying some store-bought baby food for trips, and to test out which flavors your baby likes before you load your fridge and freezer with it - but otherwise, I'm a HUGE homemade advocate. My Buhba really enjoyed sweet potatoes. So, I bought several large ones, and cooked them in the oven. Then peeled them and pureed them with "mommy milk" and/or water. (Buhba liked the milk ones better...) I then poured them into ice cube trays and froze them. At dinner time, I would pull out a few cubes and defrost them (not cook them) in the microwave. I did this with MANY different types of fruits and veggies. You can modify the thickness for your baby's age. This worked great as Bubha started getting older, and bored with runny purees.

#2 - Homemade Diaper Wipes

Before you roll your eyes and think that I've gone totally crazy, let me tell you, these work GREAT for babies up to about 6-7 months. I got this recipe from one of my friends, and it worked really well. Get a good brand of paper towel (don't scrimp on this!). Cut the roll in half, leaving in the cardboard center. Put the half in a tuperware container. Then mix a solution of 1 cup hot water, 1 TBSP baby oil, and 1 TBSP baby soap. Mix it together, then pour over the paper towels in the container. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then pull the cardboard center out, and pull the wipes out from the center. Cover when not using. I loved the smell of these (before use of course), and loved how long they lasted!

#3- Return, Return, Return

I'll admit it: I don't get attached to items very easily at all. I hate keeping things things that I don't use, and I'm not a person who will hold on to something "just in case I need it with baby #2" several years down the line. Bubha got soooo many cute things from people, but he just grew too quickly to use them all, so I'm not ashamed to say that I did return some of the items we got that I didn't use, or had too many of.  Some places require receipts (which some givers include), but places like Wal Mart allow you to return items (from their stores of course) without a receipt. (There are limits to the amounts you can get back, and the amount of times that you can return so, ask your local WM before returning.) Anyway, it's not that I didn't appreciate all of the things we got, but you can ALWAYS use cash... 

#4 - Sell What you Don't Need

Some of the items that we used, but grew out of, I have taken to sell back to stores that buy gently used kids clothes. I liked Kid-to-Kid. Understand that by NO MEANS will you get rich off of this, but it will put some extra cash in your pocket, and give you some extra room in your kids' closet! (Before everyone thinks that I'm a heart-less mom that has no sensitivity, I did keep a bunch of outfits that had sentimental value to me!) :)

#5- Buy Kid's Clothes Post-Season

I am sooo turning into one of those good bargain-shopping mommies who have to brag about their great bargain! I've learned that there are AMAZING sales on clothes for kids at the end of the season (yeah, I'm a late bloomer). Last month, I went to the Children's Place online, and found great deals on clothes for Buhba for next spring and summer. For the same shorts that I paid $10 for last summer, I got two pair online for 99 cents each! SERIOUSLY! I got 11 items for less than $40 (with tax and shipping and handling). I also got the clothes part of his Christmas all done! It can be difficult to guess his future size, but I can't feel that bad if something that I paid 99 cents for ends up not fitting. (I'll just revert back to tip # 3 or #4 at that point! LOL!)

Happy Savings! 

The MAGIC Book!

I have found it! More valuable than gold: my baby's book has real, honest-to-goodness magical powers! :) Well, okay, that may be a stretch, but for the time that this book keeps my Buhba busy, you would think that it really did have magical powers. Seriously, how many toys (or books, none-the-less) can you say will keep a (hauling aka) quick-crawling, nine-month-old still for 5-10 minute increments??!??!?! This cute little Sesame Street Halloween book (with flaps) was given to us by my mom on our last trip to visit her in September, and since then, we've read it several times a day! Buhba loves it so much that he will seek it out when he's playing on his own, and sit and turn the pages and flaps by himself - seriously for up to 5-10 minutes! (It's amazing how much you can get done in that time when you're not constantly saying, "NO! Don't touch that!" or "No, don't eat the dog food!") Not to mention the fact that it has survived so much "love" from a nine-month-old - MAGIC, I'm telling you! :)  

You know You're a Mommy When...

You know you're a mommy when you look in the mirror and realize that birds aren't the only things going south for the winter, but some "key" parts of your body are also following the migration patterns...if only it was just for the winter, and things would perk up in the spring!!! :)

That Bites! LITERALLY!

I have been MIA for a while, but with good reason: I now have a baby who All OVER THE PLACE! :) In August, Buhba started the "roll-where-you-want-to-go" stage, test-driving crawling occasionally; and at the beginning of September, he just started doing it; currently, he's no longer crawling, but hauling (which is my new term for very speedy crawling!) and now there's NO stopping him! I love watching him explore his environment, but of course, NOTHING is safe now. Our poor dog is having anxiety because Buhba always seems to get to the dog's dish and mix the food with the water. We may have a chef in the future! :) Anyway, as all of you veterans know, chasing a mobile baby is a full-time job in itself, so please excuse my lack of blogging!

Along with the new mode of transportation, Buhba also got two, new shiny teeth at the end of September. And boy, I've had a few incidents where I have been VERY, and I mean VERY aware of his new pearly whites! On one occasion he was irritated when I was nursing him, so he bit down...HARD! EWWW! My first instinct was to flick him, which I did, and later felt bad about (don't call the authorities, I don't abuse my child!!!). This didn't help anyway, but only made a game of it, because then he looked at me, laughed, and did it again! I pulled him off and after a few minutes latched him back on. Big Mistake! At my poor nipple's expense, he continued this bitting and laughing game, so we were DONE for the afternoon! For some reason, it hasn't happened since (knock on wood!), but we'll see how it goes from here on out. My goal is to make it to his birthday (just his first birthday, none after that!), but if he keeps taking chunks off my feeders, there may not be anything left to feed him with! :)

Ode to "Third-Day Hair"

Oh Third-Day Hair...how I appreciate you. While some may turn up their noses at you, and think that you carry the stigma of laziness and uncleanliness, I however, realize that you are the official hairdo of busy, hard-working mommies.  I turn to you when time does not permit me to wash my hair, blow dry my hair, and style my hair (after three days), because I'm late for a meeting, trying to rush out the door, and it's more important that my little boy looks cute. You may be third string on the hair line up, Third-Day Hair, but teamed up with baby powder to make my look less oily, it is you that I count on to pull my "I'm a mom, so I don't have the time to do my hair" look together. While we met for a period of time back in my college days, it has been in the last eight months that I have really come to know your qualities, and how you help to make my life as a mommy just a little easier. (Please tell your kin, "fourth-day hair" and "fifth-day hair," and even "sixth day hair," that it's not that I don't appreciate them, because I do, but it's just not as socially acceptable, and while I won't say that I haven't met them, I try to draw the line (even if it means going to bed at 2am) so that I can avoid them.) And that's why I appreciate Third-Day Hair...

Mango Smoothies for Buhba

Those of you who know me, know that I am NOT a little domestic mommy. I hate, repeat HATE to cook, and I'm not so good at being crafty, and such. However, since I'm doing my best to be frugal, I decided to take a stab at making my own baby food. So far, over the last few months, I've done really well with pears, yams, bananas, and carrots (if I do say so myself!). Tonight I tried a new recipe, and made several weeks worth of "mango smoothie" for my Buhba (inspite of my last post about orange foods!). I actually copied Gerber, which I like to do a lot. I will buy one or two of their jars, and test them to see if Buhba likes them before I go to all of the trouble of making them. (Fortunately, he's not really disliked any food yet!) Anyway, the ingredients in this mango smoothie had of course mangos, but also apple juice. So, I got a bag of frozen mangos, and unsweetened apple juice and pureed it in my blender to a smoothie consistency. After that, I poured it into ice cube trays and froze it. After it's solid, I put the cubes into zipper bags, and when it's time for Bubha to eat, I take two-three cube out and defrost them (NOT heat them) in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Ta-Da! For the same amount of money as two servings of store-brand baby food, I made several weeks worth! Look at me, I'm growing up! Ha Ha!

My Son: Future Oompa-Lumpa?

I read recently about a condition called, "carotenemia," which is a condition in which a child's skin starts to take on a yellow/orange tone. This is due to feeding your child too many yellow and orange foods. (I'm not making this up!) Since then, I've been in a panic, because I've been VERY aware that the majority of foods which Buhba eats are yellow or orange (mostly the latter). Blame it on my choice of colors, or the lack of baby foods that appear in colors other than yellow or orange; but most of the time, Buhba's diet consists of yams/sweet potatoes, peaches, carrots, squash, mangos, pears, apple sauce, and other items in this pigment family. I've been trying very hard to expand our options, but seriously, other than green beans and peas, what options do I have? I'm open for suggestions - and soon, because I'm concerned that one morning, I'm going to wake up to an Ooompa-Lumpa, singing witty little songs about chocolate factories, instead of my sweet little boy! :)