parenting | Penny Pinching Peach

March 22, 2013
by pennypinchingpeach 10 Comments

Thrift Store Score

Today was one of those fun 50% off sales at two of our local consignment shops, which happen to be next door to each other. I signed up for their auto-calls for when they run sales, so I won’t miss out on them when I need things for my little ones. Since both of my munchkins are in need of warm weather clothing, I loaded them up and we scurried in to the first day of the sale, while the older kiddos were in school and many other shopping mommies were at work. I figured they’d be less crowded that way, but they were still buzzing with bargain hunters. For $38 I loaded up on some beautiful (mostly name brand, not that I care or ever have cared) clothing for my beautiful babies! 🙂

Baby’s Booty

My little pumpkin is on a rapid growth track, and basically needs everything except shorts, since someone was kind enough to give us several pairs for free. I focused on getting him things first and foremost. He got two pairs of jammies, three one piece short outfits, two pairs of pants, one pair of overalls, two shirts and a little hat. He was tickled with his bountiful booty, as you can see from him checking out his new duds above. 🙂

My peachy princess has some clothing already for summer, since she grows more slowly and alot of her winter clothing can transition to summer (like pants and t-shirts). I wanted to get her some little sundresses and saw a few other things she could use, too. She wound up with a pair of dress shoes for the next size up, one skirt, two pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, and four of those adorable sundresses Mommy loves to put on her. She insisted on putting on the new-to-her shoes to show off for the photo op with her collection of pretty doodads, as you can see below. 🙂

Lookie Mommy!

I already have too many clothes that I can’t wear, so am planning to purge my own closet. I actually got their instructions on bringing clothing in for consignment, since I have tons of nice clothes of my own sorted out to get rid of, plus some of the munchkins’. However, I needed something cooler to sleep in that I can still nurse my little pumpkin while wearing, so I got myself a little pajama set. No photos of that, but I’m happy with it. 🙂

To sum it up, we got 21 clothing items (counting complete sets as one item) for $38 dollars. Since these are all very nice things in like-new condition, I consider that a great deal. 🙂 Probably just two or three of these items new would’ve cost us that much, honestly.

I know I’m not the only one who loves a good consignment shop or thrift store score at just the right time! What’s one of your favorite things you’ve found at a secondhand store?

March 20, 2013
by pennypinchingpeach 26 Comments

Mommy Meltdown Moments

: When Mommy is having a meltdown, but we’re still cute….

My toddler loves to go shopping with Mommy. Does Mommy always enjoy that experience? Umm….nope!!

There are times when shopping with my beautiful children is pure bliss.

We wander the aisles of the grocery & department stores, racking up compliments on how gorgeous and well behaved my little angels are while my daughter points out all the neaterific things she sees everywhere with witty descriptiveness and my baby happily chortles at every grandmother who smiles at him. These are the moments of pride & joy in motherhood. I glow and think I could handle a few more of these wonderful beings.

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there are the “Mommy Meltdown” moments on a routine grocery shopping trip.

If you’re a mother and claim to have never had one of these, you are either actually an angelic being posing as a human mommy or a big honkin’ liar! I’m betting on the latter! 😉

My personal meltdowns have been triggered by a myriad of crazily challenging experiences. Want a sample? Let me see…

How about the time my daughter was pitching tantrums and trying to grab things all through the store? The icing on the cake was when she grabbed my coupon organizer and scattered it’s contents all over the cleaning aisle. An older lady came upon me in tears on my hand & knees, baby strapped to me in a carrier and my other hand holding the seat of the pants of a squirming toddler. She was very sweet and helped me gather up my many pieces of paper gold, assuring me this happens to the best of us now & then.

Oh, oh! And the other day when my sweet little girl was sharing Cheerios with her baby brother, and dumped the whole container all over the drugstore floor? That took awhile to clean up, especially since I made her “help” and had to keep her from putting the nasty crumbs into her hungry little mouth while baby brother cried from his perch in the buggy.

That same trip, as I strapped both kids into the car, she pulls two lip balms out of her pocket and exclaims “Surprise, Mommy!!”. Yeah, that was a fun trip back into the store.

You should’ve heard the lecture she got through our whole grocery trip about what stealing is, why it is bad, and what the consequences will be if this ever happens again. She can now be heard loudly lecturing random strangers in stores about not taking things without paying for them.

My most recent meltdown happened this morning at home.

Both kids were content playing for a moment, and I walked away for a minute to get something. Suddenly, I heard suspicious scribbling noises. As I walked back to the kitchen, asking Princess Peach what she was doing, I heard a clattering crash and baby protesting loudly. Miss munchkin ran guiltily away, pencil in hand, refrigerator covered in her hastily scribbled “artwork”, with the echo of me hollering “TIMEOUT! NOW!!!” following her into the other livingroom. Baby was looking at up me in irritation, still grasping the trash can lid in hand, wondering why everything was scattered all around and why I looked so frustrated. The next little while saw me scrubbing the fridge, gathering the trash, scrubbing the floor, cleaning the baby and muttering under my breath “God made them cute to ensure their survival”. 🙂

So, yeah, I’ve had my share of “I-am-so-embarassed” and “If-one-more-thing-goes-wrong-I’ll-implode” during routine trips to the grocery store, ill-planned visits to restaurants or even simply trying to get a few things done around the house.

What triggers your “Mommy Meltdowns”?

February 28, 2013
by pennypinchingpeach 2 Comments

Deciphering Diaper Deals

Blissful sleep in discount name brand diapers

If you’re the parent of a diapered darling, you know that the the little stinker is going to to keeping doodying in those diapers and you’re going to have to keep wiping those bottoms. Unless you are one of those brave (and commendable) souls who ventures into the world of cloth diapers and reusable wipes, it’s an inevitable part of parenting a small, drooly being. They are going to poop & pee and you’re going to keep buying something for them to stinky up over & over & over &….well, you get the picture. 🙂 I have a few simple strategies which have kept me rarely buying full price diapers or wipes, and have saved us a truckload of money.

First of all, sign up with all of the diaper makers for their email lists or clubs or whatever they have available. They will often mail, email or post on their sites very high value coupons to get you to continue buying their products. Huggies and Pampers also have rewards programs you can use to earn different things. I’ll probably write more about those another day. 🙂

Secondly, check the online printable coupon sites at least once a week, and print any coupons for diapers and wipes they have available. They will usually let you print them at least twice, so try to do that. Keep these coupons in your purse all the time, in case you run across a real bargain you can stack the coupons on top of. One site that frequently has baby product coupons is http://coupons.com

Third, sign up for store loyalty cards, and don’t forget to use them. They track what you buy, and since you are obviously buying diapers & wipes, they will often wind up giving you coupons for those items to keep you buying them in their stores. Many stores, like CVS and Walgreens, will allow you to “stack” their store coupons on top of a manufacturer’s coupon, which makes for some great bargains.

Fourth & finally, never wait until you actually need bottom wipers or poopy catchers to buy them. If you do, you’re probably not going to get the best deals or even close! Always stay ahead. Buy them when they are on sale and you have coupons to help pay for them. It’s easy to check when you’re already shopping or glance online briefly before you head to the store and see if there’s a good sale going on.

See? All of that is super duper easy, and hardly takes a few minutes each week. The pay-off is huge when you compare it to the time you put into it, too! I rarely pay more than half price for diapers and the wipes are usually deeply discounted, as well. Just by spending a few minutes a week on this, and only counting these two items, I would estimate that I save at approximately $60 to $70 a month. If you count that like wages, I’m making pretty good money for my time! 😉

Diapered dude and discount diva proving frugal is cool!

Try these little strategies out, and let me know how they work for you. They’ve been budget savers for us! Diapered dudes and divas aren’t discounted, so anything to make them less costly is great by this frugal mama! 🙂

February 12, 2013
by pennypinchingpeach 3 Comments

The Princess and the Potty

So, my latest money saving scheme is to get my very stubborn 3 year old to completely stop having accidents in her britches. She’s intelligent and knows how and when to go potty, but all of Mommy’s best efforts to completely get her accident free have been massive fails. I think I’ve finally struck gold! I refuse to buy more pull-ups, so I’ve put her little hiney in panties (other than a diaper to sleep in). The psychology I used? Desperation! Kidding….kinda! She doesn’t know that, though. On to my real strategy…

Two things about Little Miss Princess Peach- she loves to help and she hates to get her pretty clothes messy. Using this knowledge to my benefit, first I told her that Mommy & Daddy can’t afford to keep buying diapers & pull-ups for such a big, smart girl. We need her help to save the diapers for her baby brother, who is just plain too little to make it to the potty. Can she help us? “Suuuuurrrrrre, I can do dat!”, says she. “YES!!!!” thinks me. On to point number two, where I tell her that since she is wearing panties, if she peepees or poopoos on herself, it will go right onto her pretty clothes and ruin them. “Oh, no!” says she. “Oh, yes!” says me. “I gotta stay dry, den.” she states, and Mommy thoroughly agrees. Strategies in place. 🙂

Shortly after we started our latest foray into the mission to stay dry, I hear a little voice hollering from the bathroom. “Mommy! Mommy! I have a surprise for you!” she exclaims, throwing open the lid of her pink princess potty, “It’s peepee! I know you are so happy! Give me a huuuuuug!”

A few days in, we’ve went from a few accidents a day to one or two times, which is pretty much only when she does a number two (HELP ME!!!). Methinks Mommy is winning the war, finally. BWAHAHA!!!

*counting the money I’m saving and the frustration that is fading*