When someone compliments your new shirt, do you...
a) say "thanks" and let them think you paid $29.99 for it at Ann Taylor Loft?
b) proudly announce that you got it for $1 on Target's clearance rack (possibly even before they complimented you on it... ahem)
If you chose option b, you might be like me, and that means you might be kinda cheap (or as some advertiser recently coined, you might be a "frugalista." I like that term better).
I admit that the $1 top for myself was actually a fluke, and that most of my bargain-shopping is for Kate. She needs new clothes a lot more often than I do, so it only makes sense!
The other night, I went to a great semi-annual children's consignment sale that I look forward to every (half) year, and got four dresses, three pairs of shorts, two tops, and two sets of jammies for Kate for under $30. Wa-hoo!! If you live near Clarksville, it's still going on at the union hall on Union Hall Rd. ... today is 25% off, and tomorrow and Saturday are 50% off. If you don't live near Clarksville, kidsconsignmentsales.com is a good place to find sales going on in your area.
Ebay is my other main bargain-hunting zone. Even there, though, I'm pretty hard core about how much I'll pay. Yes, it's still a good deal at half-off retail price, but if I'm going to consider it a deal, I won't go above about a third of retail price (including shipping). Another mommy from Kate's class told Matt the other day how she got a $120 Strasburg Easter dress on ebay for $30 or something. He didn't remember how the subject came up, so I can only assume this mommy is another loud-and-proud cheapskate :0)
For diapers and other baby gear, I always go with Diapers.com because they do free shipping on every order over $49 (which is easy to get to when you're buying diapers, wipes, etc.) Use the referral code JKELLEY and you'll get $10 off your first order! (If you use the code, I'll get a few diaper-dollars myself, and then you can set up a referral code to give your friends too!)
The Mom Creative (my favorite blog--I've said it before and I'll say it again!) often features money-saving tips and websites. I think she is the one who turned me on to Diapers.com, and also Swagbucks, which gives you points for using their Google-powered search engine, and you can spend your points on gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, etc. The other day, she mentioned Groupon.com, which sends you one e-mail each day with a special deal specific to your hometown, like a $50 gift card to a local spa for only $25. I haven't taken them up on any of the deals yet but I'm sure there will be something soon I can really use (not that I couldn't use a spa massage, but you know :0) As I always say... it's not a deal if you don't really need it!
But if you do need some stuff, like clothes or diapers or books from Amazon, these are the best tricks I have up my sleeve. What are yours?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Yes, Mommy!
Kate hasn't actually said those words (or much of any words--still waiting!) but as her "receptive vocabulary" grows, we're finding that she can respond to requests more and more often. For example:
"Kate, go get your cup."
"Let's find your shoes."
"Can you put the spoon in the dishwasher?"
"Come get the book and take it to Ms. Julie."
We see evidence of her understanding more and more as she follows directions and responds to the things we say. It's pretty cool.
I can point to a toy that has rolled into the kitchen from the family room and say "Go get the yellow ball," and she'll turn around to look, and then go get it. I have to admit, the most impressive part of that action to me is that she understands to look where the finger is pointing, not at the finger itself. No dog or cat I've ever known has grasped that concept, but obviously, humans are a bit more advanced than that :0)
She babbles quite a bit, but we're still waiting for the big "language explosion" we're sure is right around the corner. We talk, read, and sing a lot, so I know she's well-exposed to vocabulary, yet "Mama" and "Da" are still her only words, and even those aren't that reliable. ("Baba" has faded away now that we're using a sippy cup.) I'm so curious what her first "real" words will be. Maybe "mow-mow" or "cup"?
She does make the noise "a-la" a lot, and I'd like to think that's the start of "I love you." Goodness knows those are the words she hears most in a day! That and "you're so cute," but that Y-sound might be a difficult one to master.
"Kate, go get your cup."
"Let's find your shoes."
"Can you put the spoon in the dishwasher?"
"Come get the book and take it to Ms. Julie."
We see evidence of her understanding more and more as she follows directions and responds to the things we say. It's pretty cool.
I can point to a toy that has rolled into the kitchen from the family room and say "Go get the yellow ball," and she'll turn around to look, and then go get it. I have to admit, the most impressive part of that action to me is that she understands to look where the finger is pointing, not at the finger itself. No dog or cat I've ever known has grasped that concept, but obviously, humans are a bit more advanced than that :0)
She babbles quite a bit, but we're still waiting for the big "language explosion" we're sure is right around the corner. We talk, read, and sing a lot, so I know she's well-exposed to vocabulary, yet "Mama" and "Da" are still her only words, and even those aren't that reliable. ("Baba" has faded away now that we're using a sippy cup.) I'm so curious what her first "real" words will be. Maybe "mow-mow" or "cup"?
She does make the noise "a-la" a lot, and I'd like to think that's the start of "I love you." Goodness knows those are the words she hears most in a day! That and "you're so cute," but that Y-sound might be a difficult one to master.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Project Life (Mar. 1-7)
Matt was in D.C. for the first part of this week, and I was alone in a quiet house, so after Kate went to bed, I spent most of these evenings reading in bed. There's nothing quite like the joy of getting in bed at 8:00!
Monday 3/1: I got a new package from Bookswim (Netflix for books), and stayed up half the night reading For Laci, Laci Peterson's mother's memoir of her daughter and unborn grandson's murder. Heart-wrenching and very raw in places.
Friday 3/5: Kate loves her daddy, and they both love books (we all do!) Parents were invited to come in and read to the kids today, so Matt went and read to the toddlers, only a few of whom actually sat still and paid attention. (I'm shocked Kate was one of them!) At bedtime, Matt read again, while Kate did her own thing--in a precious little mirror image to Daddy.
Saturday 3/6: Kate is in a very "mommy" mood lately, crying when I start to leave the room (only at home--she's still fine when I drop her at school!) or if I won't pick her up when she wants it. This makes it hard to do anything requiring two hands, as you can imagine, so here's me chopping up squash for dinner the other night. (We also made use of the back carrier on Sunday, hiking at a nearby park--the whole weekend was gorgeous!)
Sunday 3/7: Oscar night! Kate got to stay up for the first part, and enjoyed playing with the remote while these random music-guys accepted their award. We haven't seen any of the movies nominated for anything (we don't get out much anymore!) but I thought Sanda Bullock looked fabulous. Love the lacy dress and smooth, simple hair. Lovely.
As always, find more people's beautifully ordinary lives here:
Monday 3/1: I got a new package from Bookswim (Netflix for books), and stayed up half the night reading For Laci, Laci Peterson's mother's memoir of her daughter and unborn grandson's murder. Heart-wrenching and very raw in places.
Tuesday 3/2: Kate usually starts stirring around the time my alarm goes off, so I try to get out of bed and shower before she's wide awake. (Life these days is pretty much divided into tasks I can do while Kate's awake and tasks I'd rather not.) If I don't, Matt's there to get up with her, so when he's gone, I have to go with Plan C: shut her in her room to play alone. The room is safe and she is independent, so it works out okay, but a mess will likely result.... books and diapers EVERYWHERE... and a giddy little girl :0)
Wednesday 3/3: One of my New Year's Resolutions was for our family to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. The big challenge for me is remembering to prepare them before they go bad. So, this week I put a spare ice bucket from the freezer into the fridge to hold the fresh stuff and keep it in plain sight, rather than in their separate plastic bags in drawers. Kate loves tomatoes and avocados, and fruit of all kinds.
Thursday 3/4: I broke out the bath letters for the first time, and Kate had a blast with them--especially chewing on them. We'll have so much fun spelling words once she gets to that stage.
Friday 3/5: Kate loves her daddy, and they both love books (we all do!) Parents were invited to come in and read to the kids today, so Matt went and read to the toddlers, only a few of whom actually sat still and paid attention. (I'm shocked Kate was one of them!) At bedtime, Matt read again, while Kate did her own thing--in a precious little mirror image to Daddy.
Saturday 3/6: Kate is in a very "mommy" mood lately, crying when I start to leave the room (only at home--she's still fine when I drop her at school!) or if I won't pick her up when she wants it. This makes it hard to do anything requiring two hands, as you can imagine, so here's me chopping up squash for dinner the other night. (We also made use of the back carrier on Sunday, hiking at a nearby park--the whole weekend was gorgeous!)
Sunday 3/7: Oscar night! Kate got to stay up for the first part, and enjoyed playing with the remote while these random music-guys accepted their award. We haven't seen any of the movies nominated for anything (we don't get out much anymore!) but I thought Sanda Bullock looked fabulous. Love the lacy dress and smooth, simple hair. Lovely.
As always, find more people's beautifully ordinary lives here:
Monday, March 08, 2010
Office Happies
Happy Monday!
I'm not generally one of those people who hates Mondays. Sometimes, if the weekend has just seemed to fly by, or for whatever reason I felt I haven't had enough Kate-time, then I'm sad for a new work-week to start. But usually, I'm fine getting back into my routine of taking Kate to day care (she loves it, and often lets out a big giggle as we walk through the door), driving almost an hour (usually okay, especially if I have coffee), and settling into my office. Tasks 1 and 2 are always refilling my coffee cup and going through new e-mails.
I try to surround myself with "happies" so that work is an enjoyable place to be...
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Coffee is central (is it wierd that this is the third time I've mentioned this?) and a nice coffee cake someone has set out to share is always nice, especially if I've forgotten to toss a yogurt in my bag.
.JPG)
I enjoy my plants--a peace lily on the windowsill, and (behind the picture frames below) the amazing self-resurrecting plant. Our neighbor gave it to us 2 1/2 years ago when we moved in, and despite frequent reprimands and squirts with a spray bottle, Charlotte has chewed on it daily since then. I finally decided to rescue the poor, half-dead, gnawed-up thing by bringing it to my office, but then I abandoned it for nearly two weeks around Christmas, and it appeared to die completely--no leaves, just straw-like brown shoots sticking up. I inserted the "Plant Nanny" bulb that I got for Christmas, but the plant just seemed too far gone.
I planned to pitch it, but while I procrastinated about buying a replacement, it slowly started to resurrect. First a solitary leaf, then three, then five, and now seven!.JPG)
I also love having fresh flowers on my desk. Matt buys me flowers at a frequency most women would envy, and since Charlotte would chew them to bits if I left them at home, they get to come decorate my office. I also get to appreciate them more here. Pics of Kate are also essential, of course, and I have about fifteen on display.
And speaking of cute little creatures... Stitch! He makes me smile.
.JPG)
This sign isn't actually in my office, but it often makes me laugh. It's a PSA-type thing about how to avoid getting or spreading the flu. I can't help but notice how being home sick by yourself (left) is actually pretty lovely--fresh, clean sheets, a nice glass of OJ and a book, oh and maybe a sniffle here and there--but being home with a sick child (right) is utter misery.
.JPG)
When you get down to it, though, no amount of office happies can make Monday bearable if you don't like your job. Which is why I am always grateful to look at the shelf of books I've edited, or my to-do list full of (mostly) worthwhile tasks and be reminded how fortunate I am to have a job I love. .JPG)
I'm not generally one of those people who hates Mondays. Sometimes, if the weekend has just seemed to fly by, or for whatever reason I felt I haven't had enough Kate-time, then I'm sad for a new work-week to start. But usually, I'm fine getting back into my routine of taking Kate to day care (she loves it, and often lets out a big giggle as we walk through the door), driving almost an hour (usually okay, especially if I have coffee), and settling into my office. Tasks 1 and 2 are always refilling my coffee cup and going through new e-mails.
I try to surround myself with "happies" so that work is an enjoyable place to be...
Coffee is central (is it wierd that this is the third time I've mentioned this?) and a nice coffee cake someone has set out to share is always nice, especially if I've forgotten to toss a yogurt in my bag.
I enjoy my plants--a peace lily on the windowsill, and (behind the picture frames below) the amazing self-resurrecting plant. Our neighbor gave it to us 2 1/2 years ago when we moved in, and despite frequent reprimands and squirts with a spray bottle, Charlotte has chewed on it daily since then. I finally decided to rescue the poor, half-dead, gnawed-up thing by bringing it to my office, but then I abandoned it for nearly two weeks around Christmas, and it appeared to die completely--no leaves, just straw-like brown shoots sticking up. I inserted the "Plant Nanny" bulb that I got for Christmas, but the plant just seemed too far gone.
I planned to pitch it, but while I procrastinated about buying a replacement, it slowly started to resurrect. First a solitary leaf, then three, then five, and now seven!
I also love having fresh flowers on my desk. Matt buys me flowers at a frequency most women would envy, and since Charlotte would chew them to bits if I left them at home, they get to come decorate my office. I also get to appreciate them more here. Pics of Kate are also essential, of course, and I have about fifteen on display.And speaking of cute little creatures... Stitch! He makes me smile.
.JPG)
This sign isn't actually in my office, but it often makes me laugh. It's a PSA-type thing about how to avoid getting or spreading the flu. I can't help but notice how being home sick by yourself (left) is actually pretty lovely--fresh, clean sheets, a nice glass of OJ and a book, oh and maybe a sniffle here and there--but being home with a sick child (right) is utter misery.When you get down to it, though, no amount of office happies can make Monday bearable if you don't like your job. Which is why I am always grateful to look at the shelf of books I've edited, or my to-do list full of (mostly) worthwhile tasks and be reminded how fortunate I am to have a job I love. .JPG)
What are your Mondays like?
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Project Life (Feb.22-28)
It's not Project Life Tuesday this week, due to our camera cord situation, but now that Matt is back safe and sound, I was able to upload my pics for last week, which was a big week of travel for all of us!
Monday 2/22: With the impending change of seasons, I am able to indulge my love of eBay again, finding cheap, cute, Gymboree clothes for Kate! I got a couple of my wins in the mail today!
Tuesday 2/23: More fun packages arriving on the doorstep! I finally gave in and ordered the Project Life scrapbooking kit. I don't intend to actually scrapbook all 365 of these pics, but the supplies the kit comes with are so cool, I think they'll add a cool new dimension to my albums, and I can occasionally do a "week in the life" spread to use the kit as intended!
Wednesday 2/24: My whirlwind trip to Chicago. I was tempted to buy Kate a souvenir, since my dad so often did that when he went on business trips when I was a kid, and I loved it. But, airport gift shops are way overpriced and such a gift would likely be a losing battle in the "war on crap," so I decided against it. As I was about to board my flight home, however, I saw it there on a rack... the gift Kate would enjoy more than anything else I could bring home (except myself, hopefully)... PAMPHLETS!
Thursday 2/25: Matt caught the stomach bug Kate had, only he got it ten times worse and was in really rough shape. He asked me to come home early from work to care for Kate since he was so sick :0( This is the least-inappropriate photo I could think of to represent that day!
Friday 2/26: Kate and I drove to Louisville after work, arriving way past bedtime. We had to stay up and play a little while, though! Kate enjoyed my Little People farm from when I was little!
Saturday 2/27: After campaigning for Dad a little bit, we went over to Nana and Grandpa's house. As you know if you've read my other posts this week, they ended up getting Kate's bug (as did my parents). The men have all gotten it worse than the women (and me, not at all!) and Grandpa is actually still in the hospital, awaiting tests on some things that I'm not sure were caused by this illness, but might have been exacerbated or revealed.
Monday 2/22: With the impending change of seasons, I am able to indulge my love of eBay again, finding cheap, cute, Gymboree clothes for Kate! I got a couple of my wins in the mail today!
Tuesday 2/23: More fun packages arriving on the doorstep! I finally gave in and ordered the Project Life scrapbooking kit. I don't intend to actually scrapbook all 365 of these pics, but the supplies the kit comes with are so cool, I think they'll add a cool new dimension to my albums, and I can occasionally do a "week in the life" spread to use the kit as intended!
Wednesday 2/24: My whirlwind trip to Chicago. I was tempted to buy Kate a souvenir, since my dad so often did that when he went on business trips when I was a kid, and I loved it. But, airport gift shops are way overpriced and such a gift would likely be a losing battle in the "war on crap," so I decided against it. As I was about to board my flight home, however, I saw it there on a rack... the gift Kate would enjoy more than anything else I could bring home (except myself, hopefully)... PAMPHLETS!
Thursday 2/25: Matt caught the stomach bug Kate had, only he got it ten times worse and was in really rough shape. He asked me to come home early from work to care for Kate since he was so sick :0( This is the least-inappropriate photo I could think of to represent that day!
Friday 2/26: Kate and I drove to Louisville after work, arriving way past bedtime. We had to stay up and play a little while, though! Kate enjoyed my Little People farm from when I was little!
Saturday 2/27: After campaigning for Dad a little bit, we went over to Nana and Grandpa's house. As you know if you've read my other posts this week, they ended up getting Kate's bug (as did my parents). The men have all gotten it worse than the women (and me, not at all!) and Grandpa is actually still in the hospital, awaiting tests on some things that I'm not sure were caused by this illness, but might have been exacerbated or revealed. As one friend noted, Grandpa might feel it is worth the illness to have enjoyed his great-granddaughter for the afternoon. I'm not sure, but he sure did enjoy the visit. He held her on his lap and did "here is the church, here is the steeple." I love the eye contact in this picture. 
Sunday 2/28: Matt left for his conference in D.C., but as I said, unfortunately, he forgot to take the camera, so I have no cool monument or presentation shots, just this cell phone pic of Kate dining out with Nala, Popi, and I before we returned home. She's using her cool new placemat--silicon with suction cups and a crumb tray!--and playing with the Little People farmer family, while Nala and Popi groaned in the booth, starting to feel the stomach bug set in :0(
If you want to see all the cool people who posted their Project Lifes on time, click here!
Sunday 2/28: Matt left for his conference in D.C., but as I said, unfortunately, he forgot to take the camera, so I have no cool monument or presentation shots, just this cell phone pic of Kate dining out with Nala, Popi, and I before we returned home. She's using her cool new placemat--silicon with suction cups and a crumb tray!--and playing with the Little People farmer family, while Nala and Popi groaned in the booth, starting to feel the stomach bug set in :0(
If you want to see all the cool people who posted their Project Lifes on time, click here! Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Project Louisville
Oops! When Matt asked if he could take the camera with him to his conference in D.C., I said "sure," without thinking about how I would retrieve this week's Project Life photos off the camera.
So, I went off to Louisville, leaving the camera at home for Matt to take with him. (I knew I could rely on my parents to take plenty of pics during our visit.) Then today, when Matt and I were touching base, I asked him if he was taking a lot of pics of the monuments or whatever he might see during his event. "... [silence]... um, I think I left it at home..." Oops! again, but at least I had the camera at home with me.
I went to upload my week's pics, and couldn't find the cord that connects the camera to the computer. Oops! a third time... Matt apparently managed to pack that. So, Project Life will have to be delayed this week, and in the meantime, here's a recap of my weekend in Louisville! (courtesy of my parents' camera)
I didn't want to take any vacation days for this little visit, so I worked Friday, then came home, ate a quick dinner and fed Kate, put her in her jammies, kissed Matt goodbye, and drove up in the dark. Kate slept most of the way, and we arrived around 10:30 eastern time. We played a little while and then hit the hay.
Saturday morning, we just hung out, chatted, and played with Kate. Mom loves her iPod dock in the kitchen, and when Chris Brown's "Forever" came on (better known as the song in the JK Wedding Dance viral video--I actually just had to google it to find the real name!) Mom, Kate, and I all started dancing around the kitchen. Three generations, dancing like crazy in our jammies. I hope I'll remember that forever.
Kate also really enjoyed the non-babyproofed cabinets in Nala and Popi's house. She likes to hand things to people for them to hold, so when Kate emptied this cabinet, Nala had a lapful of Ziploc bags and used Starbucks cups!
After watching UK get beat by UT (sad... sad...) we went out for a brief campaign-walk with Popi. My dad is running for Louisville's Metro Council (District 19, if you happen to live in the East End!) so he's going door to door before the primary in May. It was really cold and Mom and I had other things we wanted to do, so we just did half a street, but it was fun. It's pretty cool watching Dad continue his public service endeavors.
"Please vote for my Popi!" 
I wrote yesterday about how Kate infected the whole family (except me) with her stomach bug. My grandfather was admitted to the hospital last night to get fluids and meds, since he was becoming dehydrated. He will probably be sent home today, though, so that is very good. I was very worried and felt really guilty. I'm so glad he's going to be okay, and the rest of the family seems to be on the mend as well.
So, I went off to Louisville, leaving the camera at home for Matt to take with him. (I knew I could rely on my parents to take plenty of pics during our visit.) Then today, when Matt and I were touching base, I asked him if he was taking a lot of pics of the monuments or whatever he might see during his event. "... [silence]... um, I think I left it at home..." Oops! again, but at least I had the camera at home with me.
I went to upload my week's pics, and couldn't find the cord that connects the camera to the computer. Oops! a third time... Matt apparently managed to pack that. So, Project Life will have to be delayed this week, and in the meantime, here's a recap of my weekend in Louisville! (courtesy of my parents' camera)
I didn't want to take any vacation days for this little visit, so I worked Friday, then came home, ate a quick dinner and fed Kate, put her in her jammies, kissed Matt goodbye, and drove up in the dark. Kate slept most of the way, and we arrived around 10:30 eastern time. We played a little while and then hit the hay.
Saturday morning, we just hung out, chatted, and played with Kate. Mom loves her iPod dock in the kitchen, and when Chris Brown's "Forever" came on (better known as the song in the JK Wedding Dance viral video--I actually just had to google it to find the real name!) Mom, Kate, and I all started dancing around the kitchen. Three generations, dancing like crazy in our jammies. I hope I'll remember that forever.
Kate also really enjoyed the non-babyproofed cabinets in Nala and Popi's house. She likes to hand things to people for them to hold, so when Kate emptied this cabinet, Nala had a lapful of Ziploc bags and used Starbucks cups! After watching UK get beat by UT (sad... sad...) we went out for a brief campaign-walk with Popi. My dad is running for Louisville's Metro Council (District 19, if you happen to live in the East End!) so he's going door to door before the primary in May. It was really cold and Mom and I had other things we wanted to do, so we just did half a street, but it was fun. It's pretty cool watching Dad continue his public service endeavors.
"Please vote for my Popi!"Mom, Kate, and I went to visit my grandparents, where we learned that while we'd been dancing and emptying cupboards, there had been an earthquake in Chile and a tsunami was due to hit Hawaii any minute. So, we sat and watched the news for an hour, waiting to see... absolutely nothing happen. The news stations were transfixed on Hawaii's beaches and didn't even flip over to cover the real crisis in Chile until the Hawaiian tsunami warning had ended. Sad.
But, my grandparents loved seeing Kate. They don't get out much, and never travel, so they hadn't seen Kate since our last visit to Louisville at Thanksgiving. She was only walking a little then, so they really got to see her move! I love seeing them together. I never knew any of my great-grandparents, so it is very cool that Kate knows some of hers.
I wrote yesterday about how Kate infected the whole family (except me) with her stomach bug. My grandfather was admitted to the hospital last night to get fluids and meds, since he was becoming dehydrated. He will probably be sent home today, though, so that is very good. I was very worried and felt really guilty. I'm so glad he's going to be okay, and the rest of the family seems to be on the mend as well.
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