Thrifty mom

I am the ultimate thrifter. A penny-pinching treasure hunter.

Urban Exchange is next door to Indochine, my downtown restaurant gig. Half of my wardrobe was fostered there. It's a good thing I'm now working nights because my old lunch time tips hardly ever made it home.

Goodwill celebrates the holidays by marking all donated apparel half-off. Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, President's Day .. you'll be on vacation and I'll probably be shopping. Sunday and Monday are always double tag days - one color half-off, another for a $1.29. I've purchased a down winter coat for mere pocket change. All of my skinniest skinny jeans have come from second hand stores because a few pounds down the road and you're back up a size. Moms have to be resourceful. It's just part of the job description.

In terms of larger, utilitarian household and baby goods, I have fallen in love with Offer Up. This photo collage version of craigslist will scan your neighborhood and track down just about any item you need. I've not only found our baby swing, changing table and the coolest armoire but have also made a few dollars myself. Heck if you have the time and attention span you could potentially turn this into a SAHM business opportunity. Don't say I didn't tell you so.

We live two blocks from Kidz Kaboodle on 6th Ave. If you're less about contacting strangers and meeting up in parking lots for gift exchanges but you still appreciate saving a boat load of money on lightly used baby clothes, check it out. No need to empty your bank account for an outfit that you're child will only wear a handful of times over 3 to 6 months. Shop smart, and then sell the same stuff back next season. It's a win-win.

I've really only purchased one clothing item from the department store racks, and even that was half off. These cripplingly cute Osh Kosh overalls from BabiesRus. I mean, can you blame me?! Then again.. I had a gift card.

I also found her (mom's) favorite teddy bear beanie. On clearance. For 5 dollars.

My most recent score were these organic building blocks, now baby lion's favorite chew toy. Some moms will cringe at the thought of where these colorful cubes might have been but honestly with everything else she puts in her mouth these days, the toys I cleaned myself are the least of my worries.

Point is, being a mom doesn't have to break your bank (until private school.. or college).

Baby swing, aka the "third parent", $30
Baby bear beanie, $5
Tiny conductor demins, $15
Trash to treasure toy blocks, $3
No shame mom game and saving my money for days with this perfect little model, Priceless!

Wacky Hair Days

Dear Daughter,

I'm afraid you've inherited some wild hair.

It will probably always have a personality of its own. Good thing you wear it so well.

When skies are grey

Some days are just bad – terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. Maybe you wake up on the wrong side of the bed after three hours of sleep and stepping out of it is your first mistake. Your to-do list scrolls like Santa’s and the breather from one task to the next only fuels your anxiety, heating you like a teapot ready to scream. Or when the skeletons in your closet dare you to throw all your dirty laundry onto the front lawn like a true Hollywood story. Sometimes the matter is out of your control, like when the invite finally arrives for your ten year high school reunion and you realize it falls on the same day as your best friend’s wedding. Coincidence, or shit for luck?

I love that opening scene from Office Space when the main character is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on his way to work and no matter what lane he pulls into the others move faster. Sometimes you just can’t catch a break.

It was one of those days .. Thankfully, I diagnosed the symptoms early (a post-partum skill) and wrote out a prescription:
1. Avoid too much eye contact with your sad reflection.
2. Take those tired eyes and curl up under a down comforter.
3. Drink a fish bowl of wine.
4. Watch children’s movies you rented “for your (infant) daughter”, because everyone knows those always promise happy endings.
5. Remember, everyday can’t be the worst day.

Truth is part of the secret to happiness is enduring the ugliness and heartache and finding natural beauty in a messy life and sometimes tattered spirit. That’s what makes cloud nine feel so high.

Babies manage to make those days more difficult and more manageable all at the same time. It's a force that drives you to keep on keeping on and reminds you that there is more to life then selfish souls and grey days. It’s as if she knows. Like when she stores her farts or fussiness for those pivotal sun-setting seconds. Her timing is impeccable. I'm feeling like a puddle of crud so little lion puts on a show debuting a new trick. Suddenly the world could spiral out of orbit for all I care because she and this moment are all that matter. And amidst a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I find my happy place.

 

 

 

.. this went on for nearly an hour ..

Northwest is best

 

 

 

Sometimes you just have to pull over onto a residential road, sit on the hood of your car and watch the sunset over the Puget Sound. And it sure helps you look less creepy to the neighbors when you're accompanied by a baby dressed as a teddy bear.

Extra small socks

I said I would never wear mom jeans. But now I’m a mom and I have bigger concerns than what you think about my jeans, as long as they stay up past my crack. I also don’t care if my sneakers are synched and double knotted like I’m suffocating two hairy ankles. I’m just joking, I still shave .. sometimes. Some days I even manage to shave both legs.

I also said my kid wouldn’t be the one walking around in high water pants hula hooping around mid calf. We get it, kids grow a mile a minute and you’re too tired to keep up. “Tomorrow he’ll be two sizes up anyhow.” I didn’t want my kid’s laundry looking like it suffered massive shrinkage in the last load.

But then I had one. And I was enlightened by this denial of what size my baby is. Her room is lined with dressers, half of the drawers stuffed with clothes that don’t fit her yet. And still I’m packaging her thunder thighs like sausages, squeezing rolls upon rolls into skin tight baby jeggings.

Or this one –

 

 

 

She got these adorable socks from Grandma Sue for Christmas. There are still a few pairs she’s never even worn, but they’re obviously begging to be added to the donation pile. I can’t count how many times I’ve thought , “eh why not one last time.” It's this sad complex you develop as a parent that results in your kids looking like mine. There is this denial about how big they actually are and how fast they continue to grow. It’s not like I don’t realize my daughter is two weeks away from the 6-month mark but there’s just something so official and irrevocable about opening the drawer to the next size and clipping tags. It’ll mean my tiny girl is half of a year old and that 3-6 month old bundle is gone forever.

Guess it’s time to add those ridiculously cute socks to the closet spilling with “just a couple of keepsakes” for the never ending baby book.