Frugal Finds

Been suffering from a cold in this house. Not Me. Not K. Z. Saddest thing ever. We are getting through it and doing much better. Which makes a Mama's heart happy. But I haven't taken any pictures or done anything fun. Actually we haven't left the house except to go to the bank and a rugby board meeting. Neither of which seemed photo worthy. I was tempted to capture Z with a crusty nose as I am always hearing how clean he is. But I didn't. I will keep up the illusion that MY kid doesn't get dirty.
So with nothing to share I hopped over to one of my fave blogs. You guys HAVE to check her out. She is funny and her family is the cutest. Her blog is Harpers Happenings or "The Haps". Anyway, it pretty much sells itself once you read it so open link in new tab and I will get back to the point here. Mandy, the author, does a 'High on Thrifting Thursday' edition every week. She shares her latest thrift finds with her readers. Back when I was gathering ideas to start a blog with I was taking pics of all of the things that Z and I had found in the local Oly thrift and antique stores. And this morning while reading "The Haps" I was inspired to share some stuff with you guys. Since I have very little content otherwise.

When it comes to kids clothes and thrifting you have the right to be VERY picky. Check all over the garment for holes, stains and such. When I do this I usually leave shop with very little Z size clothes. Because most stuff is flawed. But sometimes you hit the jackpot. Like in the photo above. A Gap sweater, A Ralph Lauren vest and a robot thermal from Old Navy all under $5? They are all bigger sizes but I cannot wait for him to wear that lil sweater with the elbow patches. OMG CA-UTE!

Flower tile for .50 becomes trivet/ spoon rest in my kitchen. 

Couldn't pass on the owl s&p set for .25! Esp cause owls are so IN right now.

Aaaand BOOKS? Yes please. These books were in mint condition. Books are another item it is worth being picky on. Go through and make sure some clever child didn't draw a mustache on all the characters with sharpie. Even though mustaches are so IN right now. 

These pics are from one visit to one Goodwill location! We have three in our area. I def call this the jackpot. Also, it was during a "fill the bag for half price" type sale that they have. Double jackpot. 

Thanks for stopping in. Go read The Haps and then have yourself a terrific day!

Listening to:

Get Campy

No, this is not a post about Old Navy's newest shorts and micro-fleece. It is actually about camping. And myself. And my family. For those of you that know me you may want to sit down for this. I went camping! Tent camping. Just me and a tent. That's right. Yes it was only one night and yes I stayed within 5 miles of my house. But, K and I decided we needed a test run. To see what camping is like with and infant. Our theory is that camping is affordable family fun and therefore needs to be mastered by US. It was either going to be awesome or miserable with a nursing, non-sleeping thru the night, put everything in my mouth, 9 month old, Z. We threw caution to the wind, loaded the truck and hit the road (approx 3 miles). Destination: Riverbend Campground.
We sprung the extra 5 bucks for a river site. So glad we did!

View from our tent.

One downside of the constant running of water. You guessed it! Pee pee pants dance all day. But this view was worth it. 

Couldn't get a shot with us all posing.

After scoping out our marvelous plot, time to set up the tent.

Inspector Z approves.

What to do once camp is set up? EAT. There were not any trails for hiking there besides a small jaunt down the river bank. Which was fine for a one-nighter but could have been really boring for a weekend stay. So, we made dinner.

And dessert.

Z really wanted to put sticks of all shapes and sizes in his mouth. Telling him "no" and taking twigs from him got old REAL quick. Solution. K smoothed down a stick to be Z's while we were there. He wittled it down nice and smooth (and clean). It was a sure fire hit. To me it looked like a wand. Or a drumstick. But more like a wand. 

"expecto petronum"

Speaking of magic. We finally had a reason to put Z in this hand knit sweater from a family friend. It makes him look like a Teletubby. Or a woodland fairie. But more like a Teletubby.

I would love to say the magical camp land had put sleeping spells on us all. But alas. Had we slept less than we already do, that would have been a good reason to write off camping infant style. Sleep went pretty much the way sleep goes while at home and we woke in the am to bird calls and the river running. 

  

We had coffee and breakfast.

We McKowns had so much fun and will totes be camping more in the future. If you have been debating whether or not you can swing the great outdoors with your babe, trust ME. YOUCANDOIT! If I can, anyone can.

Don't forget your:

1. Ergo (or some other type carrier to wear baby)

2. 1 million blankets (babes get cold)

3. Pack and Play

Easy Cheesy. Happy Camping Everyone!

Hej!

What can we thank the Swedish for? Well many things; meatballs, fish, and IKEA! Yesterday K, Z and I hopped in the car (perfectly timed with first nap) and headed north to Renton. Our closest IKEA locale. We were there so early. There was plenty of parking and the store seemed virtually empty.
IKEA is a really fun store for any one. But, now that I have a family it has taken on a higher level of cool. It is probably the most family friendly shopping experience eva! I realized this immediately when my first stop was the restroom and there were kid step stools. There was a baby seat in the stall. A GODSEND for mom's who wear there babies and hover in public restrooms. That is a balancing act to be seen. Which no one will ever see, thank you. Anyway. That little seat is a lovely gesture, sanitary or not. There is a diaper dispenser. A diaper pail. They provide childcare in what looks like the happiest lil environment.
After the potty pit stop I went to retrieve my new IKEA family membership card. The card gets you special deals, free coffee and much more (not exactly sure what else it gives me?) But free coffee is reason enough. And just for signing up I got a free frozen yogurt in the cafe. Awesome!

Next stop, breakfast in the IKEA restaurant. We were expecting free coffee. However, we were not expecting free breakfast. WHAAAAAAAA? Yes free breakfast people. There were hoards of senior citizens in there just for the free food. 

Breakfast for the family was $2.19 because we chose to try the Swedish pancakes. Had we not added them, the eggs bacon and potatoes were FREE. Free? FREE...

...and edible.

We ate lunch there too (after shopping) and spent well under $10 on food (including the breakfast). Which is nice when you are spending your kids' education funds on furniture that you will soon spend the rest of your day and night screwing together while interpreting picture book directions. Its the least they could do, really. The message here is get in your car and go to IKEA now that you have a kid and notice all the convenience that you never noticed before the fam.

 Adjö

This post brought to you by:

B & E

It all started yesterday. K was throwing a ball at me to make Z laugh. I obviously was not a fan and attempted to go in our room and lock the door. I turn the little lock in the door knob, but the door still opened from the inside and I said "guess our door doesn't lock?" K said "that's probably a good thing!"
This morning, in an attempt to make the hall a little darker outside of Z's room (for nap purposes) I shut all the doors. Including our bedroom. Instinctively, I immediately try and open it. It's like I knew that I just pulled a fast one on myself. Like the intellectual Me was again one-upping the spacey Me. This happens quite often. End result. Locked out of our bedroom.
This wouldn't normally be a big deal. But, today I had big plans. Get Z down for a nap. Shower. Dress. Start the day when he gets up. Which would be more productive than yesterday when I watched not one but two movies.
So, yeah. Locked out. I go to text K and ask if there is a key. No phone. Locked in the room. OK. I email K. Then chat my friend and ask her to text K. K responds by email and asks if I tried the window. "Yes." Then he asks if I tried a credit card. "No!" I thought this was a myth. Just something for television.You probably already knew this BUT its the real deal! I of course got no where with the card, due to my lack of faith in the process. But K came home for lunch and jimmied the fortress open using that little piece of debt accruing plastic like it was his bidness! In my mind, this opened a Pandora's Box of questions as to why K knows how to get into locked rooms using credit cards. I have seen a new side to my guy. The breaking and entering getting ten to fifteen side. I would totes stick by him while he served his time.

Can we go back to yesterday? Not the part about how my family thinks its hilarious to throw balls at me. The part when I watched two movies! This may not seem like that big of a deal to you slackers but I only watch movies during the day if I am sick or snowed in. I was neither. It was a fine day to be productive. I blame Netflix. As I was surfing the Instant Watch I stumbled upon:

and

I highly recommend randomly watching movies during the day! It was quite enjoyable. And no one was here to see how many times I cry during Practical Magic (well Z was here, but he was mainly napping during mommy movie marathon). 

Enjoy a movie clip on me!