Have money? Dont spend it when you can save it.

Everyone knows that the economy is in the crapper right now. Jobs are being lost by the thousands, more and more people cannot pay their bills, and those who used to think they were in secure jobs are starting to sweat. All hell has broken loose on the financial front. It is just not good.
So far our family has been extremely fortunate, thank God. While we have had steady work so far we are realistic. We know that it could end because right now, anything is possible.
Today I decided that I wanted to go shopping just to go shopping. I know that Kyle is quickly growing out of, well, everything and that I am picky about clothes. Because of that, it is best to shop early in anticipation of him outgrowing things. I also wanted to look for a few things for myself.
So I loaded Kyle into the car and we set out on our journey. We looked at some things from Old Navy, some from The Children's Place, some really cute Levi's, and some things from boutiques that I have never even heard of. Some things were cute, some looked a little cheesy, some were just to die for!
However, I did not actually GO to Old Navy, or The Children's Place, or any boutiques. I went to a thrift store. Yes, a thrift store. At this time in our lives we actually COULD go to those places and spend $15+ on any given shirt and more for pants/shorts. Honestly though, Kyle grows out of things so quickly, what is the point? And I am so hard on clothes (stains, holes, etc) that I feel guilty when I ruin a shirt I got at Wal*mart, so I cannot imagine how guilty I would feel if I had gotten a new shirt from somewhere expensive.
Yes sirree, I am a bargain shopper. I cannot bring myself to spend more money on clothing than I need to, and when there are perfectly good clothes at thrift stores still in great shape that have a lot of wear left in them, I feel like I am being extremely wasteful buying clothes somewhere else. My job is to save this family money whenever I can. That means home cooked meals instead of eating out, fixing rips in pants a few times before throwing them out, and cutting costs for food and other things we need. I will, on occasion, buy clothing at full price. At Wal*mart. I figure $8 for a brand new shirt is not bad. But I don't do that often. I feel really good when I go to a thrift store and can get a cute shirt or a great pair of pants for $2-3, even less if that color tag is 1/2 off that day. Super score!
So anyway, all of Kyle's pants and shirts in 18 month sizes are used. Someone else's castoffs. And to be honest, most looks unworn. I have found 2 pairs of pants that still had the tags on them. 1 pair were Faded Glory ($2 used, probably at least $10-12 new) and 1 pair were from The Children's Place ($2.50 used, at least $15 new). Just with those two pairs of pants I saved our family a minimum of $20 so that means that I 'made' $20 at my job today! Yay for me!
If you are smart you will take my advice- buy used when it will do. Or take the Duggar's advice and "buy used and save the difference." Either way, your long-term financial goals will thank you!

*NOTE* All the pictures of Kyle looking super duper cute in this post contain USED, SECOND HAND clothes. Can you tell? Didn't think so!

Oh Gracious

My poor boy is so miserable with his molars coming in. He is so crabby and unlike his normal, happy, giddy self. I miss my baby! Sometimes he comes back, once the Tylenol and baby orajel kicks in. Poor baby...
Poor Mama! I have been listening to crying, screaming baby for days and I will be the first to say it is grating on my last raw nerve. I am so thankful that Larabee has ALL weekend off this week and I will get a bit of a break from the monster that has taken over my son. Or at least help wrangling that monster LOL.

Ears, Nose, Toes, Piggies

You are thinking right now, what do these things have in common?
Well, I will tell you.
Kyle can show you where all of these things are on himself and on others! I am so proud! Especially about the ears since he cannot see his own but he still knows they are there. Also, being able to show you his toes AND his piggies is big too because they are the same thing. He understands that things can have more than one name. Yay for my big boy! I am such a proud mama right now!

Juno- Such a great ending!

I finally joined the real world and watched Juno. I know I am behind, but give me a break. It was a witty movie, and even got Larabee laughing. The best part, by far, was the ending. I cried buckets. I could feel the very raw feeling you experience when you hold your baby for the first time, and I think that is impressive for a movie to be able to make me feel that way. Very very touching!

Darn Molars

My poor baby. These molars are just kicking his little butt. Load up on the Tylenol Mom! I feel so badly for him, especially before the Tylenol kicks in. I think they are hurting so badly at times that he cannot suck on his sippy cups. I am going to try to time his Tylenol intake better tomorrow so that he will have as little pain as humanly possible when he eats. A child cannot survive on raisins and fruit snacks alone!

Real life, good people

I love life. I love reality. I love nearly everything about, well, everything. There are, however, things that annoy me.
I am annoyed that I find it hard to accept the fact that there will always be someone out there who does not like me. I know that seems strange, but to me it matters. I am a Leo, constantly seeking approval, desperately wanting people to like me. I am likewise annoyed that I find it hard to admit that there are people out there I just do not like. Plain and simple, I am not required to like everyone I meet just like they do not have to like me. Why is that so hard for me to get? What is it about that concept that escapes me?
I am annoyed when, after giving many people the benefit of the doubt numerous times, I still get burned. I know that not everyone is going to live up to all expectations people have of them, myself included. I do, however, believe in constructive criticism. I believe that if people can dish it out they should be able to take it. I wish that more people would give me constructive criticism because I know I am not perfect and that I have a ton of room for improvement. Sometimes it is hard to improve if you do not know what you need to work on, and I invite a third party to let me know the areas in which I need to grow.
As annoyed as I can get, I am also heartbreakingly thankful for the wonderful life I have. I just have a few beefs, ya know!

Swimming Outside In February....

I have swam outside in February. At the Castle Mountain Pools and at Terrace Lakes Pool, both of which are heated by natural hot springs. I have also hiked my butt up to hot springs by the highway and down to hot springs by the highway. Once I even jumped into an unheated pool on a dare...but that was in December, so that does not count. But never, in all of my life, did I think that I would allow a child of mine to swim outside in February in an unheated pool. That was before I lived in Texas.
See, down here in Texas winter is all of about a month long. Sure, there are some cold (and by cold I mean clear down in the 50's) days, but for the most part, February is Spring. I am guessing March is Summer. We will see about that.
Where was I? Oh yeah. A few days ago Kyle and I were at Target looking for some Sandals. They were for him, I swear! After I found a super cute pair I noticed that the store already had all of their summer stuff out. And by summer stuff I mean pools, pool toys, water toys, water guns, water balloons, etc. Then I saw it. The Pool. Need I say more!
Since Kyle has always had an extreme fondness for water, and since the day was a blistering 88 degrees, I decided that a pool was the way to go! Boy was I right! For 20 bucks I created hours of bliss in not only Kyle's life, but Levi's as well. Those boys are so funny!
It took Kyle all of about 1 minute to figure out how to get into and out of the pool. It took another minute or so for him to figure out that he could splash all he wanted without being told "No, you are going to soak the entire bathroom!". Yay for outside! Needless to say, the pool was a hit.
The other night, however, Kyle got into it fully dressed. Yeah. I guess even great things have downfalls. It was sure cute though :)