Brianlily's Bookcase...

I finally did it! Brianlily has her very own bookcase! I did a little shopping around and ended up buying this one from Target. I had lots of trouble deciding on one. Babiesrus and Walmart didn't really give me anything I had to have, and on the day I went to Target this was the only one they had. It worked well though. It's much smaller than I imagined it to be, but it's cute watching Brianlily take out her books and put them back! lol It has a space under the books for a storage box which is nice, and I love the fabric shelves. My little girl loves to read! Thank god! I'm obsessed with reading to her and now she sits in her room and reads on her own!!! LOVE IT!!!

My New Riiiiiide...

I finally have my wheels!!! lol Brianlily and I have been patiently (not really) waiting for our bicycle to come together so we can get on the road! Here it is!



Isn't she the cutest!? It ONLY took me 5 hours to put it together! It's my early Mother's Day gift from Brian, and I'm so in love! Can't wait for some sun this weekend!

I was originally going to go with the Schwinn Southport bike from Target, but found out the shipping and tax would be an extra $80 & I freaked! What the hell!? The point of purchasing this bike was because of the price. So I checked out Walmart and found, what looked like the same bike just different name and some fenders, the Schwinn Landmark. I purchased it for $129, plus $2.97 for shipping! Can you believe that!? The price has actually gone up for the bike, it's now $148.54! Pretty cool that I got it for such a steal! The reviews were pretty good too. Although I had the added stress of wondering if the child carrier I purchased for Brianlily would fit on the bike, it worked out just fine. I went with this Bell Cocoon Carrier from Target. The price was ok and the reviews were good. I see this carrier on the road a bunch, so I figured it would be good. This too gave me hours of work to put together, but it could just be the nerves; knowing that you're putting something together that you have to trust with your child's saftey.

We're going for our inaugural ride this weekend, so I'll be sure to get back with some reviews of both!

H&M...

So I got this great suggestion from Hungrysmurf over at Cookng, to try H&M for Brianlily's clothes. Hungrysmurf knows I love Target and said the fashion is great and so are the prices...only problem is there isn't an H&M for 3 hours!!! The closest would be Seattle, Washington! So I'm missing NYC right now. I told my sister and she stopped by H&M today and fell in love!! Dammit!!! lolol.

If you're near one, check out the kids department!

G Y M B O R E E ! !

God...

I did it again...

And I will do it again soon...

Gymbucks...Gymboree...why do you hurt me so???

I swear, Gymboree kills me! I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEE THEMMM! I just wish I had the money to shop there allll the time! My cheap, cute favorite is Target. My luxury is Gymboree, and sometimes BabyGap.

But seriously, it's all about BOREEE!!! It's all about Glamor Safari right now! I am on a first name basis with my sales girl (I love that about the place, whether I'm in NY or OR they are AMAZING sales people!), and when I angrily asked her why it seemed that there was a new line every week, she said "every two weeks sweetie!" WTEEFFFF!! Whoever is designing for Gymboree is a GOD/DESSSSS!

Check out my baby's summer suit!

First Easter Basket...

I couldn't wait to make my babys first Easter basket! Problem was, she can't have candy yet! So I had to find a way to make an age appropriate basket, while loads of candy practically fell off the shelves of Target! This is what I came up with:

Plush Bunny (found in the infant section upstairs. the ones I found in the seasonal section were cheapy, creepy, and the fur came out easily)
Easter book (Karen Katz, "Where Are Baby's Easter Eggs?"
New toy (Elmo bath boat)
Easter card
Elmo shaped eggs
Felt basket
Plastic grass









I love it, love it, love it! Can't wait to give it to her!

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Kohls...

Is WACK! I hate that store. I thought it was just the one I had been to back home in Brooklyn, but it's ALL stores. Went to the on closest to home and it's the same pathetic store. It feels like a psuedo store, like it's a phony, like it's random stuff thrown in there just to get you in then they'll steal your body! Ugh I hate it!

The only reason I went, and might have to continue going is that Safeway gives you $20 off coupons for Kohls. Why can't it be for Target!? Now that's what I'm talkin bout!


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Diaper Review

I am guilty of purchasing Pampers brand Swaddlers and Swaddlers Sensitive diapers for the first 6 months. I loooooved them. I tried Huggies, but they were too stiff and hard. I tried Luvs, but they were crappy. Pampers brand is amazing; super soft and fit well. Once we moved to Portland, and were living on one small income, paying $40 for a box of diapers was out of the question. I decided to look into store brands, and started with Safeway Mom to Mom brand. They were horrible. The shape was ridiculous. They were square, which meant my daughter walked around with a huge bulge between her legs. On a trip to Target I saw that they have their own brand Up & Up. The polka dot pattern was cute (wish they made pink and yellow for girls!) and they were cheap so I gave them a try. I loved them! They're great great great! The shape is close to Pampers brand, and they are not stiff. I have been using them now for 6 months and am doing wonderfully. I even got my sister in NYC (who gave birth to my nephew 5 days after I gave birth to my daughter!) to switch from Pampers! She's also tried the Babiesrus brand, and didn't like them because she had to re-adjust the tabs all of the time. I just couldn't believe how much money I spent on diapers before Up & Up. I've done a little research online, and have found some mothers complaining of rash with Up & Up, or most not even mentioning them and talking more about CVS and Rite Aid brand diapers. So I checked out their sites for cost comparison and Up & Up are by far the better value!

Here's the break down for a size 4 (example):

Pampers Cruisers 46ct $17.49 shown here that's over 38 cents per diaper
Pampers Dry 52ct $17.49 shown here that's over 33 cents per diaper
Babiesrus Supreme 46ct $10.99 shown here that's over 23 cents per diaper
Rite Aid 34ct $9.99 shown here that's over 29 cents per diaper
Huggies 46ct $17.79 shown here that's over 38 cents per diaper
Mom to Mom 64ct $15.99 shown here that's over 24 cents per diaper
Mom to Mom 52ct $10.99 shown here that's over 21 cents per diaper
Target 82ct $14.99 in storeshown here that's over 18 cents per diaper

Please keep in mind, just about every brand has a regular diaper and sometimes a supreme or "better" quality diaper. I included a few, but not all. I tried to find packages that were about the same size too.

In the end Target brand Up & Up totally wins! By the way...they make just about everything else too. I've purchased their version of Oil of Olay facial moisturizer, Johnson & Johnson baby lotion and body wash, and Head & Shoulders shampoo, and they're all great! Shopping on a budget is totally doable...it just takes some time and research!

Busy season....

With no money, I've managed a few treats for us. We thought we couldn't have a tree because Brianlily would rip it down, and decided we could do without the added financial cost....BUT I needed one! For me AND my baby! It's her first Christmas and I wanted her to have a tree. I went through hell and high water and found the perfect fit for us. After searching high and low (my dumb ass didn't buy it at Rite Aid when it was in stock) and found something at Home Depot! I always love real trees, but this would be better because of the baby. It was the display! The last one! And I got 10% off! Yippeeeeee!!! Again I wasted my chance at purchasing our lights and decorations at Dollar Tree (perrrrfect place for that stuff) and ended up getting pricey stuff at Target. All in all the trees total cost was about $30! I don't care...baby has a tree!

Now for her gifts. I have been searching Craigslist with no luck. I did however pick up a few things from Target and books from Dollar Tree. I like to buy a few classics (they're too expensive at almost $10 each) and buy a bunch from the Tree!

We're visiting Santa tomorrow! I can't wait! Her dress is from Oldnavy and her shoes from Payless! LOVE it!

I'll post photos soon...I'm zonked!!!


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New Toy!

It's always so hard finding something for Brianlily. She's almost 11 months and starting to walk, so sitting down and playing isn't number one on her list. I found a few things on Craigslist for her a couple of months back. They turned out great! $35 for 4 toys that equal over $100! A little bleach and soap and they were good as new! I wish I would have thought of it before I spent $45
on a shopping cart push toy for her from Babiesrus. I love them all, but what else could I get her now that she has a walker, activity table, and a few table top toys? BLOCKS! I love building blocks, but just didn't find what I wanted. While I was at Target yesterday I took a walk through the toy section and found them! Perfect building blocks for her! They're rubbery and squishy. They squeak, have adorable raised animal designs, are the coolest colors, have numbers 1-10 on one side and shapes to count. I love love love them...it'll just take her the usual 2 weeks before she warms up to them.

They're "Parents Counting Pal Soft Blocks" and they also have a bigger set with arches that looks like TONS of fun (Parents ABC Architect Blocks)!