Myra Kushon Photography »

Of course everyone likes a good deal.  When you have kids you definitely loves sales because these little people get expensive. With summer rapidly approaching and the baby in my belly only weeks away from being fully cooked, I knew I needed to find some stuff for Karlyanne to play with as the weather warms up.  I started looking on Toys R Us’s website and quickly realized I would not be paying those prices so instead I headed over to Craigslist.  I’ve always been a little creeped out by Craigslist but figured I’d give it a good try.  I wrote to a few people and either got no response or one that said they just sold what I was hoping to buy.  I started to cave and even emailed Tim trying to justify spending a certain amount on a playhouse for Karlyanne and all he did was respond with another Craiglist posting for me to contact.  Ugh.  I spend the rest of my day watching Craigslist and responding to a whole bunch of postings.  Then low and behold I started to get responses and I was even “bargaining” some of the prices down.  I felt so proud!

On the first day of my mission I scored a sandbox and a wagon.

New on Amazon

Ours is a little faded…but who cares.  It gets the job done and Karlyanne LOVES it.  Tim went a bit crazy on buying sand so we’ve got plenty to get us through the summer.  Good thing sand is cheap or he would have totally derailed my good deal!

New On Amazon (are people crazy!!!)

I had no idea how much this wagon cost but when I looked up prices before I bought one I knew they weren’t the cheapest things.  $524 is ridiculous!  I think this price is a little absurd on Amazon, so I looked further and couldn’t find the exact wagon anymore but  basically these plastic Radio Flyer wagons go from $80 bucks and up.  I am really proud of myself for only spending $35.  This wagon is great because Karlyanne actually wanted to stay in it and ride…the stroller is not her favorite place anymore.  She insisted that the seatbelt be on too.   Plus it has a nifty little storage bin for our phones/keys/waterbottles…etc.   When Tiny Tim is big enough they can ride together!

Next, I bought a one of these handy little things for Tiny Tim.  Rock N’ Play Sleeper

I don’t have any pictures because I basically washed it then stored it until he arrives.  I’ve heard great things about this sleeper, for several other parents, so I knew it was one of the items I wanted to get before he arrived.  The exact one I got is selling for $61 on Amazon and I paid $25 for ours.  The girl who sold it to me only used it for her son for about 5-6 months so it was in great shape.

Let’s see, next I wanted more toys for the backyard.  So I contacted a lady about a slide she was selling.  Her kids were outgrowing it.  I don’t think they make this slide anymore but when I looked up Little Tyke Slides on Amazon it looked like a good deal.

I was still on the search for some sort of playhouse and around this area they seemed to be going like hotcakes.  I was getting annoyed and figured I wouldn’t be able to snag one but I kept trying.  I found one in our area that was listed for $50 bucks.  I asked them if they would take $40 and she wrote back and said, “Hey, Myra!  You just bought our slide yesterday so of course we’ll take $40 from a returning customer!”  I laughed a good bit at the fact that I was now making friends on Craigslist.  So we headed back over the to this person’s house and picked up the Little Tykes Pirate Ship.

Even Doyle gets to enjoy it!  HAHAHA…rrrrrright!

And last but not least, I bought Karlyanne this picnic table , for $10 bucks.  I figured it would be good for painting and little picnics this summer.  I need to give it a good cleaning and haven’t done so yet so I have no pictures of Karlyanne or Doyle using it.  :)

Phew, well there you go.  My adventures on Craigslist proved to be a success in my eyes.  Karlyanne is thrilled and Tim was happy I didn’t go out and spend a ridiculous bunch of money.  For the first few days after bringing home all these “new” treats, Karlyanne started asking me when she’d wake up if I had a surprise for her.  What a punk…but a cute punk at that!

A helpful/important tip about buying stuff off of a site like Craigslist.  Always, meet at a public place or if you are picking up from their house take someone with you.  I either went with Tim or I met at a Target or a some sort of store.  All the people I encountered were really nice but you should always be extra careful.

I also, downloaded a Craigslist App on my iPhone just so I could see new postings right away and respond quickly.

Okay, I’m done.  Time for us to head outside and play.

 

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day. I am finding it hard to believe that I just had my 3rd Mother’s Day as a mom.

To be honest my day started out rough. It was just one of those mornings when I woke up grumpy and annoyed for no reason. Then walking into Karlyanne’s room and her telling me, “No, mommy…where’s daddy?” didn’t exactly help my mood. My hormones must have been going wacko because I kind of wanted to jump out of my skin for good chunk of the morning. Luckily, things settled down and the sun was shining, so I had a nice rest of the day with my family. PLUS…I got a good long nap in. :)

Being a mom is a blessing but sometimes it comes with some bumps in the road. I fully admit I am no perfect mom and some days I want to pull my hair out, let Karlyanne watch TV all day so I can accomplish something other than mommy duties, and complain about my achy pregnant body…BUT…when it comes down to it I need to remember something. Not everyone has the chance to be a mom. It’s something we can take for granted so easily. It is a huge blessing that I have been given and I don’t want to forget that. I am not saying on certain days pity parties won’t slip back into my daily life but I will say that I will do my best to enjoy what I have been given. I pray for the ladies out there that hope to be mommies, that some day soon their prayers will be answered in one way or another.

If you are a mom, try and remember to be thankful on good and bad days. Simply, count your blessings.

Mom, thank you for being an AMAZING friend, mom, and role model for me. You are a stronger woman then you know. I will always love you no matter how loud you chew your gum.

Karlyanne, “I wuv you too” even when you don’t like me. I know you are going to be an amazing big sister and I can’t wait for you to meet your little brother! Thanks for making me a mommy. You really are the coolest little lady. Oh and thanks for always letting me know who you are over the monitor. With my pregnancy brain, I might forget. “It’s me…Karlyanne, open da door!”