Prince Lionheart ROCKS!!!

We received a Prince Lionheart wipes warmer as a baby shower gift from my sister before my son was born. Let me just say we loved that thing! It really was awesome! We used it for cloth wipes since we cloth diaper and it helped us save so much money since I also make my own wipes solution, while at the same time it gave us the comfort of warm wipes (which is not a thing to underestimate in the winter especially).
Well, sadly, our Prince Lionheart died one week before my son's first birthday. My husband looked at it, but it was unfixable--something about the electrical connection. So, we sucked it up and had cold wipes for awhile. My son and I were both miserable. And with a newborn on the way soon, I just wanted to go ahead and get a new one.

This past week we were near a Babies R Us, so DH ran in and bought a new one with a gift card. It cost $32.xx after tax. I was shocked because our old one was $19.99 when it was new, but this new one was specifically for cloth wipes, yada, yada, yada.
I opened it up, and while really nice, I just really liked the lid on our old one.

So, I got up some courage and emailed the company just for kicks. I told them how much we loved the wipes warmer, but that it had died. I told them I didn't have the box anymore and I didn't have a receipt because it had been a shower gift. To make a long story short, they requested photos of the wipes warmer and told me they'd be happy to replace mine!!! I nearly fell out!

I emailed the requested photos on Friday afternoon, and guess what showed up at my door this morning via Fed-Ex???? You guessed it! A brand-spanking new wipes warmer, just like my old one! I couldn't be happier!

So, I just want to say, if you are considering buying a wipes warmer or other baby product, and Prince Lionheart is one of the brands you're considering, do not hesitate to buy it! They have great products and absolutely amazing customer service!!! I can't say enough about them! And in this day and age, what they offer is truly rare! You will not find many companies that stand behind their product and respect their customers as much as Prince Lionheart!

Prince Lionheart ROCKS!!!

(And, on a thrifty note, I just saved us $32.xx because now we can return the unused wipes warmer we just bought! Yay!)

Earning Extra Money: Babysitting

This wasn't a planned way to earn some extra money, but my neighbor (who is a very good friend of mine) called me the other night because her babysitter's daughter was sick and so she needed someone to watch HER daughter for 2 days while she was at work.

I agreed to watch her; my son got a playmate for 2 days, and I got $70 in unexpected cash--can't beat that!!!!

I <3 Baking Soda

I do. It's great stuff and you can use it for so many things! Not to mention, you can save money by using it to replace some products you would normally buy.

Some of my personal favorite uses for it include:
*adding it to my infant son's bath -- it takes care of any diaper area redness like a charm
*using it in the fridge and freezer to eat up yucky odors
*sprinkling it on the carpet, then vacumming to help with pet odors
*mixing it with essential oils and then adding it to the diaper pail as needed

I was just flipping through a recent issue of All You magazine and clipping coupons when I can across this little article, "20 Uses for Baking Soda." So, I thought I'd share a few more uses that I found interesting!

1. Make a fluffier omelet by adding 1/2 tsp baking soda for every three eggs.
2. Fight dandruff by tabling the shampoo for a few weeks and massaging your wet scalp with a handful of baking soda instead.
3. Gargle with baking soda, or use it as mouthwash.
4. Use baking soda to brush your pet's teeth.
5. To clean a toilet, add 1/4 cup baking soda to the bowl, swirl, then scrub.

How do YOU use baking soda???

4 Giveaways Left!

I still have Palmolive Pure + Clear samples & $1.00 off coupons to give away! Hurry! Only 4 spots left!

Read the post here!

Diaperswappers!

I don't know how I've made it thus far without mentioning Diaperswappers. It is an online cloth diaper and parenting community where I have spent many, many hours over the last year and a half. There are so many members that there is such a wealth of diapering and parenting knowledge! My favorite forums are the FSOT (for sale or trade...for cloth diapers, clothing, etc.), the Diaper Q & A, the Thrifty forum, and the Parenting forum. If you are the least bit interested in cloth diapering, I highly, highly, highly recommend this site to you! You can learn so much from reading what others have posted and you can ask questions that get quick answers. You should definitely check it out!

I just thought that since I posted my Craigslist buys and sells, that I should also post my DS ones. This is all done through paypal. Shipping is included in my buy/sell prices and my sell prices do get charged pp fees. Again, any money I make or spend on DS does not count in my monthly budget, but is rather "recycled" in a way. I have to sell to be able to have money to spend.

Here are totals from the last 30 days:

Buys:
+ 1 embellished GMD orange newborn prefold $6
+ 1 lot maternity clothes $26
+ 1 maternity dress $6
+ 1 small lot maternity clothes $15.10
Total: $53.10

Sells:
+ 1 fitted $35
+ 1 pair crankypants + 1 matching T $86
+ 3 maternity items $48
+ 2 diaper covers $38
+ 2 wool covers $64.60
+ 1 diaper cover $6.90
Total: $278.50 (minus pp fees & shipping costs)

Trades (mine for theirs):
+ my "lot" of large maternity clothes for "thier" lot of XL maternity clothes + 2 PB&E small preflats w/doublers
+ my new Goodmama fitted for "their" $17pp and a new Monkey Doodlez AIO
Total: +$17 (minus pp fees & shipping costs)

Grand Total: $242.40 (minus pp fees & shipping costs)

Recent Craigslist Buys/Sells

Here are some recent buys/sells I've done on Craigslist. This money is not included in my monthly totals, but rather used to buy things we want/need.

Buys:
+ "lot" of maternity clothes $115
+ Tot Tutors lego table $35
Total: $150

Sells:
+ 1 dozen toddler prefolds $28
+ 1 pair maternity capris $6
+ 4 nursing bras $19 (including shipping)
+ 3 wool diaper covers $45 (including shipping)
+ Gerber baby food lot $7
+ 7 fitted diapers $35
+ 1 diaper stacker $4
+ 2 nursing bras $24
Total: $168

Grand Total: $18.00 (minus shipping costs & pp fees for 2 items)

Updating March Totals

Eating Out:
+ $14.49 K&W Cafeteria 3/1
+ $15.62 Schlotzsky's Deli 3/1
+ $22.87 Cracker Barrel 3/4
+ $7.84 Wendy's 3/4
+ $5.66 Bojangles 3/4
+ $8.84 ColdStone Creamery 3/5
+ $14.64 Little Caesar's Pizza 3/5
+ $12.52 Salsa Fresh 3/9
+ $18.31 Bojangles 3/10
Total as of 3/10: $120.79

Services:
+ $1.17 USPS 3/3
+ $5.72 USPS 3/4
+ $7.07 USPS 3/7
Total as of 3/10: $13.96

Groceries:
+ $5.70 Harris Teeter 3/2
+ $5.75 Food Lion 3/3
+ $10.49 Great Harvest Bread Company 3/9
+ $48.06 Kroger 3/10
Total as of 3/10: $70.00

Merchandise:
+ $32.00 Target 3/1 (wedding shower gift + 2 $1.00 dog collars)
+ $5.33 Ollie's Bargain Outlet 3/5 (Super Hero straw cup for DS)
+ $57.09 Gap Credit Card 3/10
Total as of 3/10: $94.42

Grand Total as of 3/10: $299.17
Total left for March: $200.83

your February total is...

BUDGET:
$500

GRAND TOTAL:
*Total OOP = $707.56
*Total savings = $470.78
*Percent savings = 40%

REMAINING:
-$207.56

Yikes! We went over by a lot in this short month. The main reason for this was DS's one-year photos. Althogether, we spent $176.12 on his photos. I do not regret buying these beautiful portraits one bit, but perhaps I should have planned for them to come out of our personal savings (designed for spending on items such as this) instead of our monthly budget. If you discount the pictures from this budget, we only went over by $31.44, which is a much nicer number to have to deal with!