Amazon Mom

There is a wonderful website out there just for moms and other primary care givers. It is part of Amazon. When you sign up for Amazon Mom, you get automatic and free 2 day shipping for the first 3 months or so. My sister-in-law told me about it and said she is addicted and now I am too! The first thing I ordered was some diapers. Everyone knows how expensive diapers can be. I found a box of Luv diapers. It was a box of 203 and it cost me $ 24.50. Two days later it got delivered to my door along with a tube of Desitin I had ordered too. Since then I have bought books, a booster seat, and an Elmo for my daughters birthday next month. It has all sorts of discounts and the free two day shipping on certain products. The free shipping can be extended so long as you continue to buy certain products, such a diapers, every so often. I have only been using this website for 2 months, but I am very impressed with the prices you can find. Not every price is a steal, but so long as you are smart, you can usually get a very fair price. This one gets a 5 out of 5 for right now. I really can't find anything to complain about. Does anyone else have any experiences?
Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers, Size 4, 140-Count

Take and Toss sippy cups

As my daughter has been getting older and as my purse has been getting heavier, I've been wanting to try a few different ways of carrying around something for her to drink. One thing I've really liked is called Take and Toss. They are made by The First Years and are pretty cheap. You can get a six pack for $3.50 on Amazon. They were about the same at Target, where I bought them. They say you can toss them whenever you want, but so far, I've yet to do that. I've washed them all a few times and they come out of the dishwasher fine so long as you follow the stated "Top rack only" rule. The colors are cute and fun. My daughter hasn't had any trouble sucking anything out of them and all in all, I've really enjoyed them. They are really light weight and they all stack together, a plus with my limited cupboard space. I do expect them to warp over time, but at the price they are, I will feel no remorse about throwing them away when the time comes. I'd give these a 4 out of 5, but since they are so cheap, I'll take it up to 4.5.

The First Years/Learning Curve Take & Toss Spill Proof Cups, 6 Pack, Colors May Vary , 7 Ounce

An unlikely use of yogurt

If you have a child that is 12 months or older, you have probably already had an experience with what happens when a child gets diarrhea.  If you are anything like me, you probably called your mother or mother-in-law to ask her what to do and how to handle the now hourly diaper or underwear blowouts. After it went on for about 36 hours, I got nervous and called Kel's doctor. After the nurse listened to my explanation of the situation, she told me to go ( or better yet, get someone else to go) get some Pedialyte, Gatorade, and Activia Yogurt. The third one took me off guard. I double checked to make sure we were talking about the same stuff. Yep, that new-ish yogurt that Jamie Lee Curtis has the really cheesy commercials for can help plug your little one up like, well, a block of cheese. And it worked! Between the yogurt, (which Keldrie has always loved), Pedialyte, and lots of snuggles and kisses, she was doing better in no time! So not only does that stuff keep you, uh, regular, if you are 'slow' it can help if your system is working too 'fast'.

Do I ever actually get anything done?

When I quit my job when my daughter was 6 months old, I was so happy to be saying good-bye to the schedule, office gossip, and dropping and picking up my baby. We were now home together, the place I had always wanted to be. My husband works very hard at a less than glamorous job for 50 hours a week so I can be home with my baby. So sometimes when he would come home and the house would be in shambles, I would feel embarrassed about what I was spending my day doing. I must have been doing something, because my legs were tired and my back ached, but I wasn't sure what it was.
I started to make a list of all the things I had gotten done, which actually turned into a list of everything I wanted to get done. It helped me feel like I was accomplishing things and that I was being useful to my family. Being a stay-at-home mom can be just as rough as any corporate job, but you get the wonderful feeling of knowing that you are making a home for your family. And a home does not have to be flawless, but it helps me to know that it is okay to take a walk with my baby because I have done 1 1/2 loads of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher and put dinner in the crock pot. I cross items off as I accomplish them, and I can remind myself of those things that need done, rather than keeping track in my head. I even star or circle those things that need done first or are most important.
Do any of you have suggestions for the others about getting stuff done or helping stay organized? I think one thing I have noticed about children since becoming a mom is that children do not "get" organization all by themselves. However, from experience as a child, teenager, young adult and now mom, I know that those homes that do have some form of order are ones that are calmer and happier.

Mint.com

So remember when your mom pulled out her checkbook and wrote a check and then flipped open her register and listed the check? Sounds near obsolete right? But how many times have you checked your account online or gotten your statement in the mail and you had totally forgotten about a purchase, check or bill you had paid for and the account balance is now much lower than expected? I know I did that on an almost monthly balance. Yet I never was very good at keeping a checkbook ledger. There is now a website I have found very helpful. It is called mint.com and it sure has helped me do better when it comes to managing my finances and keeping track of where I am overspending. (Which is always my groceries, but I'm working on it)
This website is so great because if you have multiple accounts, it can keep track of them all. It will keep track of how investments are doing in the stock market, send you an email when you checking falls below a certain amount or what is happening in your online savings accounts. The website says that not all banks allow them to access the accounts but the 4 accounts I have were available.  It also helps you set up goals and shows you your progress, pay down debt or increase savings.  Almost anything you are spending can be categorized by the website, but you can also add your own account, say you have a quarterly payment for your access to a reptile enthusiast website, you can set that up as well.
So you log in and you get to see what you have spent in all your accounts, including those sneaky credit cards! I have found this website incredibly helpful when it comes to our family finances. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Costco and a new baby!

When my daughter was born, we had been gifted lots of wipes and diapers but around the 4 week mark, we began to run out. Where is the best price for diapers? At the time, we lived about 2 minutes away from a Costco. Sure you have to buy the membership ($50 if I remember right) but we discovered that it was the best place to buy diapers. At Wal-Mart $35 gets you 174 Pampers ($0.20 a diaper) or 120 Huggies ($0.29)  both size 3, but at Costco you can get 228 Huggies for $49.99. That is $0.22 a piece. But then Costco has their own brand of diapers, called Kirkland Signature, which look (and, as far as I can tell, work) just like the Huggies except for the characters on them. The Costco brand is 212 for about $38. These come out at $0.18 a diaper. I don't have a Sam's Club Membership, but I did check them on-line to see how they compare and their box of Huggies comes out at $0.18 a piece. So if you want Huggies, they are probably going to have your best price. If you don't have time to get to the nearest Costco or Sam's Club then it looks like the Pampers aren't too bad for that 11 PM emergency run.  Costco is built for buying everything in bulk. But trust me when I say that I have not had a problem with out daughter outgrowing a size before we get through the box of diapers. At almost 18 months old, we have not had a problem with the Kirkland Signature brand so far.  We also found their formula to be the best price as well. It only comes in one standard version, so if your baby has a sensitive tummy or can't have cow's milk formula, this won't be good for you and your child. Also, you have to buy a lot at a time and formula doesn't stay good for too long once it is opened, so if you are only supplementing with formula this might not be best for your situation either.Costco has some stealer deals but sometimes you aren't getting such an awesome deal. So make sure you know what the stuff you buy costs at a normal grocery store so you can do the quick math before you buy 50 pairs of socks.  I have found that the bread, milk, and even the light bulbs are all good deals most of the time. Costco also has some great deals on name brand baby and children's clothing from time to time. But overall, I love Costco!  Oh, and the Gas prices are almost always the best in town!

Shout for Zout!

My mom turned me on to this one. There is a laundry stain remover that gets just about any food stain off your kid's (or husband's) clothes. It is called Zout. It is there with all the Tide, Sun, Downy, and other laundry stuff. But I have  only seen it at Target so far. It is pretty much the same price as any of the other stuff and I just really love it. I haven't done any of the test like on the commericals where I would put the same stain on the same shirt and wash them and see what happens, but by experience, this stuff works pretty great. I know by experience it won't take motor oil out clothes, since my husband works at a quick lube company, but it does improve them somewhat. It does help with armpit stains a little though. I've really enjoyed this product. Let me know what you think and if you've got anything that will take motor oil out!

Zout Laundry Stain Remover Spray 22 fl oz (651 ml)