• I LOVE how easy this booster is to move from car to car. Basically unthread the seatbelt from the shoulder belt positioner and you’re good to go!
• Ethan loves the race car color scheme (as does his daddy!) and the fact that he now feels like a ‘big boy’.
• Kate loves that she’s not getting hit in the face with the side of a huge car seat. (She sits in the middle of the back seat between her two siblings. Not something she’ll be able to do much longer as her hips and shoulders grow and become wider than the opening between the two seats. Hopefully we’ll be able to purchase a larger vehicle by the time that becomes an issue. And when we do, we’ll probably get Kate the pink princess version of this same seat.)
• Shawn loves that the price didn’t strain our pocket book too much. I think we got ours on sale for around $40.
• Karis loves the fact that she’s not stuck in that rear-facing infant seat anymore. She loves being able to see out the windows! 

So, if you’re even the slightest bit thrifty and want to know how to get a hold of baby and maternity stuff for free, check out the site and sign up for your local area. Then come back and tell me what YOU gave away or got for free!

Here’s the product description from Step 2…

This adorable Sand and Water Activity Center features wood crafted styling and nature’s colors that blend with traditional landscapes in residential outdoor living areas. It’s divided into two separate sides – one for water, the other for sand.

It holds up to 20 lbs. of sand and two gallons of water (not included). The eight-piece accessory set includes an umbrella, two bridges, two boats, two pots and one shovel. A durable, one-piece plastic cover keeps the sand clean and dry – and your little ones, too. Elastic tie-downs on the ends of the lid keep it securely attached. Molded-in roadways on the lid provide an additional play surface. Legs detach so product can be used at ground level. An umbrella is included for shaded play (design and colors may vary). Minimal adult assembly required. Measures 20.75″H x 46.25″W x 26″D.

I have to say that when I got this table for Kate 2 years ago, I never expected how well it would hold up. This table has lasted through many a thunderstorm and HOT summer days (we DO live in Houston), plus it’s held up to LOTS of kids abusing it, too! It is just heavy enough to be durable, but not so heavy that it’s impossible to move around the yard by myself (even when it’s loaded down with sand).

The ability to fill up one side with water adds to the fun of the table for the kiddos, too! They love being able to build sand castles on one side, while floating boats and motoring monster trucks across the bridges on the other. The water side has a drain so that you can get rid of the nasty water that collects after a rain, too (or when Ethan a certain child fills it with sand). The lid fits VERY snugly and bungees to ensure that rain and bugs stay OUT (when you remember to close it, of course). And Ethan even loves driving his cars around the ‘track’ on the lid, too. The umbrella is a nice addition that allows you to place the table anywhere you’d like and still have shade for those sweet little faces.

My only complaint (and it’s a very small one) is that I wish the sand side also had a drain for when Ethan certain children decide to fill the sand side with water, too. Of course, I’ve found that a decent work-around for this problem is to leave the water side empty so the temptation to go back and forth is alleviated.

Overall, I give this sand and water table two thumbs up. It’s a great outdoor play table for the kids and it holds up summer after summer. So, if you’re in the market, give this one a look. It’s a great product and priced pretty competitively, too.

What are your favorite outdoor toys that have stood the test of time at your house?

Granted, it’s not my dream bag (I’m still in love with the whole DadGear line of bags), but it’s still a great bag, especially for the sale price of only $16.83 on Amazon!

So, as soon as I got my new bag in the mail today, I dumped the contents out of my old bag and proceeded to slowly figure out exactly where each item belonged in the new bag. (I know, I’m a freak about organizational types of things. Just humor me here.) I was so surprised that a bag that is slightly smaller on the inside of the main compartment than my old back pack style bag actually fit all my stuff and still had room for more.

“How?” you might ask? Pockets, pockets, and more pockets. This bag is loaded with pockets, inside and out. Inside the main compartment there are three pockets – one zippered mesh pocket, a vinyl velcro pocket, and an iPod pocket (complete with access port to pull wires through). I’ve got an extra outfit for Karis, all her toys, a container of Cheerios and a mini diaper tote for all our diapering needs. (BTW, this was one of the best purchases I’ve made in a long time – it’s so much easier to grab the mini tote to take with the baby into the restaurant’s bathroom when it’s time to change the diaper than to take the whole diaper bag!)

Zip that compartment closed and there are 3 more mesh pockets (2 elastic and 1 zippered) on the inside of the flap that covers the big zipper. On the outside of the bag, there’s another zippered pocket, and a big elasticized mesh pocket for bottles or sippy cups. On the back side of the main compartment, is a large zippered pocket that holds the matching changing pad and actually has enough room that you could carry diapers and wipes, too. Then on the sling there are 2 more pockets – 1 zippered and yet another elasticized mesh.

Believe it or not, I haven’t even filled all the pockets yet!

The entire thing is made of a vinyl type of material called Nylon Rip Stop that will wipe off easily with a wet rag (always a plus around babies!). And it has several ‘D rings’ that you can hang things off of and a bungee across the front that you could slip a blanket or lovey under and not have to use the space inside the bag.

Overall, I’m in love with this bag. My only suggestion for improvement would be to make the inside of the main compartment a lighter color than black so that you can see things a little better. Other than that, I’ll let you know how it holds up over the next couple of years!!

Let’s just say that I enjoyed that vacation experience of whipping out the stroller and putting Karis in it in 10 seconds flat so much that I decided to buy myself an umbrella stroller to throw in the back of my car for quick jaunts to the library and such.

So, last week when I was at Wal-Mart I stopped in the baby section to see what they had in stock. They had the same exact stroller that my mom had bought just a month ago, but I found one I liked little better. The one I wound up buying had metal legs and a really cool primary color design.

And the best part??

I only spent ten dollars and 52 cents!!

What could be better?

And I’ve already used it several times and have LOVED how easy it is to get out, use and put back in the car without throwing my back out!!

Don’t get me wrong. I still love my bigger strollers for longer walks and strolling the mall and anything else that would need the diaper bag and other gear to come along. But for those short little adventures out with baby, I’ll take my $10.52 Wal-Mart umbrella stroller any day of the week!!

Mundane topic alert! I’ll bet some of you have an image of me sitting around obsessively crunching diaper prices. I swear it’s (mostly) not true! But a reader asked me how much she should be paying per diaper for size 4 premiums. I figured I’d go ahead and create this list for everyone. Make a note of this, it will help you evaluate the deals you find.

These are the per-diaper prices to beat for Cruisers (or Swaddlers) & Huggies Supreme. In other words, this is the most I ever want you to pay per diaper. I arrived at these figures by assuming a $7.99 per jumbo sale and a $1.50 coupon:

Size N: 15-16 cents
Size 1: 13 to 15 cents
Size 2: 16 cents
Size 3: 20 cents
Size 4: 23 cents
Size 5: 25 cents
Size 6: 30 cents

Interestingly, diaper costs double from size N to size 6 (which hopefully you’ll never need to buy). Newborn diaper needs can be as much as a dozen diapers per day, while toddlers can get away with as few as six, so it all evens out. Coincidence?

Since it’s on the web you can print a coupon out as many times as you like and the store will take multiple print-outs of the same coupon as long as you follow the normal directions on the face of the coupon. I tried it out today on Gerber foods (buy 2 Gerber products and get $1.00 off). I bought 12 Gerber items so used 6 $1.00 off coupons….so I ultimately spent $2.28 instead of $8.28!!!!!!!! This particular coupon is only good until the 15th of August but you could totally go and stock up now for later. What’s also great is it doesn’t stipulate what Gerber food product, so it can be any stage, cereal, crackers or whatever. I don’t know how often you shop at Target, but I think it would definitely be worth at least one visit!!
http://coupons.50webs.org/

I know that I’ve written about this before, but I just found out about another aspect of this that makes it even more worthwhile. Not only can you buy your non-perishables online from Amazon and have them shipped straight to your door (Ah, can you imagine not having to load up the kids in a cart and push them around the grocery store all the time?? Talk about heavenly!), BUT you can also sign up for their “Subscribe and Save” service that will automatically send you items on a routine basis.

For instance, I could add a box of Luvs Diapers to my “Subscribe & Save” list, choose how often I want them sent (every 1, 2, 3, or 6 months) and not only get free shipping every time, but also get 15% off. So the box of Luvs that normally costs around $30 now drops to only $26. Talk about cheap diapers! And what mom doesn’t want cheaper diapers?!?

Amazon will send you a reminder email before every shipment so that you have time to change anything you need to, and you can also cancel your subscription any time you want to! Wow! Cheap diapers arriving at my doorstep and there’s no strings attached? I’m signing up today!!!

Just click on the banner above and then click on the graphic on the right side of the screen that says “Subscribe and Save” and ENJOY the savings!!!

Then lilaguide.com is the place for you!

This site is a great resource for finding everything from a local park to a lactation consultant. Plus it’s got product reviews from REAL MOMS!! Great way to check out that new stroller before buying it and finding out that it doesn’t do that one thing you wanted it to!

Best of all, I just found a new activity that I never knew existed. Anyone up for a movie at the Angelika Theatre in downtown Houston? They have a “Cry Baby Matinee” that you can bring kiddos to on Friday or Saturday mornings complete with stroller valet and a baby changing station INSIDE the theatre! No more missing that important scene because you had to change a diaper! Sounds like fun to me!!! Let’s go!