Ergo Baby Carrier Clearance!

UPDATE: Someone left a post saying they never got their carrier from Yellbaby, so I'd recommend buying through the Ergo website instead.

Yellbaby.com is having a clearance sale on their brand new Ergo Carriers! They are $79 plus $15 shipping, making them just $94. Ergo carriers normally sell for $105 (with free shipping from several sites), so this is a savings of $11. We love our Ergo baby carrier. You can read my rave review here. We bought it after F was born 2 years ago and have used it a lot, even with M because it carries kids up to 40 lbs. We used it A LOT when we went to Disney World, as it is especially nice to use with sleeping children. Here are some pictures of us with our Ergo in action. (We haven't taken any new ones with baby J in the carrier yet, though we have used it!)

Me with baby F at the park, using the older style infant insert.

F helping Daddy rake leaves when she was about 5 months old.







Daddy carrying two girls! F in the carrier and M on his shoulders.












Me with F asleep on my back while bell-ringing last year.

Veterans Day and Bell Ringing

Today all four girls and I went to ring bells for the Salvation Army red kettle campaign. This has become an annual tradition for us, and I'm really glad we do it. We talk about serving others and raising money for the poor. This year our shift fell on Veterans Day, so we were also able to talk about what Veterans (not the same as veterinarians!) are and why we honor them on this day.

Last year our shift was in December, and the windchill happened to be below zero. The store I picked, although we were between the doors, was not heated. Needless to say, we were VERY cold, though we did complete our two hour shift!

I wasn't about to make the same mistake again this year, so when online signups began a couple of months ago, I jumped on a shift much earlier in the year (and at a different store!). It later occurred to me that our shift was on Veterans Day. Hmm, I'd been thinking about staying warm, not about the fact that November 11 was maybe a little early for some people to be hearing Christmas carols, besides it being Veterans Day. But we decided to make the most of it.

The girls and I made a sign that said, "Honor a Veteran, Donate Today" and put it by the kettle. We all dressed in red, white and blue and waved a small flag. We decided not to sing this year, but just to smile and wish people a good day while ringing our bells. These pictures were taken at the very end of our two hour shift, by which time F was asleep in the Ergo on my back, and G was asleep in a cart next to us (her medicine makes her sleepy).

Only one person asked why we weren't singing. I offered to sing her a song, but she turned me down. :-) A few people commented, "oh, is it that time of year already?" Most people can't pass up such a cute group of girls, so we got a lot of donations! (I know I wouldn't get nearly as many donations if I were ringing bells by myself!) It worked out great, and I think we did our part to kick off the red kettle campaign this year!

May Week 3 Spending

I did my double coupon shopping yesterday and there were GREAT deals to be had! I hope a lot of you were able to get in on the action, too!

I just couldn't pass up all the free stuff, so I did 4 transactions. I know, call me crazy, but I had 20 coupons I wanted to double! I wanted to do more, but I really had to keep my spending in check. I'm just hoping some of the deals I had to pass up will come around again. And I'm sure they will! ;-)

Even though I spent over my $40 self-imposed challenge, I counted the trip a huge success because I was able to do 4 separate transactions and keep my coupons in order, AND I did it with 2 kids in tow in less than an hour! Praise the Lord, F fell asleep on my back in the Ergo and H was a super-shopper! I spent about an hour planning my transactions at home before I went. I had things all divided up so that each transaction would be between $26-$28 before coupons. After coupons, my totals were $6.42, $18.31, $13.66, and $14.84 for a grand total of $53.23 for 55 items. I saved $54.72 just in coupons!

Among my deals were free Mtn Dew, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Crystal Light, and marshmallows, and $0.50 graham crackers and sliced cheese and $1 shredded cheese. I had free coupons for the Kashi waffles and Cascade Rinse Agent that I used to help me get to $25 for one of the transactions. I also got a free gallon of milk after buying 4 Tombstone pizzas. (The pictures aren't of the 4 transactions, it's just how I laid stuff out. One of the milk gallons leaked all over the Mtn Dew on the way home, which is why that picture was taken outside.)

Week 1:
Groceries: $38.36 (34 items)
Aldi: $14.77 (17 items)
Walgreens: $1.98
CVS: $0.71
Total: $55.82

Week 2:
Groceries: $51.03 (25 items)

Week 3:
Groceries: $53.23 (55 items)

May Total so far: $160.08 and only a week and a half left to go! Since I was hoping to save $50 of my $275 monthly household budget, I'm on track! Even though I've been spending an average of $50 a week on groceries, I've been saying no to Wags and CVS, which honestly hasn't been hard for me the past couple weeks, even with the $5/$25 coupon at Walgreens today. I'm just not a fan of the Register Rewards, so now that they don't have the rebates anymore, I probably won't shop there as much. I'd like to go to Target, but I've been hesitant because I have not had good luck there with coupons and have left empty-handed and flustered too many times. I know there are deals to be had, so we'll see if I get up the courage to go before the month is out.

What about you? How are you doing with your May savings goals? Are you on track? What are you doing to save? I'd love to hear an update, so please leave a comment!

Paci Baby

F is now 7 months, and yes, she now takes a pacifier! She started taking it RIGHT before our long road trip (around 6 months, like many of you said!), which was such a blessing. She did such a great job on the trip, both in the car and also during those long days at Disney World. She was strapped on in the Ergo (usually to Ted) and was so flexible and good-natured. By the end of the week, though, she was wanting to face out (one limitation of the Ergo is that they can only face in), so we tried to spend as much time as possible holding her facing out so she could see more of what was going on!

She's kind of petite, though she eats like a horse! I honestly don't know where she is putting it all. Yes, some of it still comes up, but I think her spitting up has decreased a little. No teeth have surfaced yet, but her sisters all cut their first tooth between 7 and 8 months, so I'm sure it'll be soon! She can sit up on her own for short periods of time, though she still seems to prefer to be on her tummy. She can really get around by rolling and scooting, but no crawling just yet, which is fine with me!

And my favorite Christmas gift is that she has FINALLY started sleeping through the night! Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! :-)

Ringing Bells

On Monday morning, all 4 girls and I braved the VERY cold weather to ring bells for the Salvation Army. A friend of mine turned me on to this idea last year, and I thought it was a great way for the girls and I to serve together. I want to teach them the importance of serving and helping those who are less fortunate than us. H and G both understand that we are raising money to help the poor, and they collect food for the Salvation Army in the summer, so they are somewhat familiar with the organization.

I had signed us up for a 2 hour shift in between the doors at a local grocery store, thinking it would be warm. Unfortunately, this particular grocery store didn't have the heat on between the doors that morning. Further, the outside temperature was 2 degrees (not exaggerating!) and the windchill was below zero. We were bundled up and started off alright, ringing bells and singing Christmas carols. We went into the store a couple of times for a break to warm up during the first 1 1/2 hours, and after that I let the girls go into the play area inside the store while F and I finished off our shift (she was in the Ergo in my jacket, so she was nice and warm!).

It was worth it, though! The workers in the grocery store all came to "ooh and aah" at the cute girls ringing bells and one man even took a picture (I wish I'd remembered my camera!). Several shoppers commented on their way out that they couldn't possibly pass up those faces without giving a donation, so I think we did our part to help out! We'll definitely do it again next year, but I'll be more selective about which store I choose next time. I really like the idea of this becoming a Christmas tradition for us to serve together.

Fall Fun!

It's that time of year! Here are some pictures of fall fun in the leaves!

Here's H posing with a couple of her ladybug friends. She has one on her hand and one on her back leg. They were everywhere that day, which meant that even after they helped rake the leaves, the girls didn't want to jump in them for fear of squishing their many ladybug friends! Clearly more looking going on than jumping!



The ladybugs weren't quite as plentiful a couple days later in the backyard (though G is clearly focusing on one in the picture on the right), so in the leaves they went, happily getting buried as we raked around them!



H and M wanted me to rake the leaves like a princess dress, so here are the leaf princesses!

Even F got in on the raking action, thanks to our Ergo!
Did I mention we love that thing?!? :-)

This is my favorite accidental shot of the day: G throwing leaves at me! I don't know how she got the leaves up so high, and I love that you can clearly see the smiling faces of G, H, and Ted. Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see the sheer joy on their faces. H, G, and M spent the next 20 minutes throwing leaves at me, trying to get another shot like this one. We didn't get another good one (the timing was off, or the leaves weren't high enough, or the picture was blurry. . .), but we all had a great time laughing!



And a couple days later. . .we left the leaves in a pile and the girls have had fun going out there to play in them. I took a few pictures of them, then came back in to put some laundry in the dryer (since my washing machine works again!), and when I came back out, M was walking around with no shoes and only one sock! I've looked everywhere for it, but I'm afraid either the lawn mower will find it or it will be raked into the compost pile. Maybe it will become a home for some animals this winter, kind of like the story The Mitten.

Labor Day Pictures

Here are my favorite pictures from our time at my in-law's cottage over Labor Day weekend. The weather couldn't have been better and we had a fabulous time!
It takes a long time to get to the cottage! Of course they were too excited to nap, so they fell asleep shortly after we left the house!

G and M walking out into the lake together. I love that they WANT to hold hands with each other.


The girls fishing. Notice there are no hooks on their lines and the boat is still docked. I highly recommend this form of fishing for preschoolers! They had hours of fun casting their real poles with no worry of injury.





My in-laws, holding hands while walking. I hope we are still best friends and holding hands after 40 years of marriage.

Daddy carrying two girls! We love our Ergo and use it frequently!






H on the boat ride with Grandpa.

The rest of the boat crew. Ted tried hard to get a self-portrait with everyone on that side of the boat! Grandma, F and I were back at the cottage.


Grandpa and Grandma coming in from a sunset canoe ride.


My honey taking me sailing. Aahhh....a little slice of alone time!

Ergo Baby Carrier

I love my new Ergo Carrier! Like most newborns, baby F likes to be held most of the time, and prefers we be standing up and moving constantly as well, thank you. I was also wanting a carrier that we could use when we go to Disney World, and it had to be comfortable enough to carry a heavier baby in for hours at a time. A friend of ours has an Ergo and let us borrow hers to see if we liked it, and we were sold!

What do I like about it? It has wide, padded shoulder straps and a wide waist belt, so it really is comfortable to wear. Infants lay in it sideways with their feet to one side, and older kids sit in it with their weight resting on their bottom, not hanging from their crotch (I've always thought that must be terribly uncomfortable!). You can carry kids up to 40 pounds in it, so I've tried it with M (age 2), G (age 3 1/2) and even H (age 5) on my back like a piggy-back ride. It doesn't pinch their legs and they all really enjoyed it! It has an attached sleeping hood that can also be used as a sunshade, which comes in very handy when you forget to bring baby's hat to the park with you (phew!). We've walked around with F in the carrier for a couple hours at a time in the hot sun and she doesn't get sweaty and overheated. If anyone is in the market for a carrier, I highly recommend it!