The Eclectic Dabbler

I’m forever looking at clearance sales, with next year in mind.

Last year I found these Halloween PJs at Carter’s for $1.99 each. At that time it was hard to imagine the kids being that size in just a year.

But thankfully, they both still fit, since both kids are on the verge of outgrowing them.

My kids have worn them the entire month. (And I’m fine with them wearing them after Halloween too. After all, they’re just PJs.) So we’re getting our two bucks’ worth out of them.

Micah’s PJs say “Boo!” which is one of the few words he tries to say on a regular basis. Of course, when he says it, it sounds more like “Buh!” but it’s the same idea.

Mara’s say “Wickedly Cute” and I can’t think of two more appropriate words for my crazy little girl!

I took these pictures right after bathtime on Wednesday night. Mara didn’t want me to dry her hair; she said it would dry all by itself in the night. And she kept getting super-frustrated at Micah, who wanted to look at her and talk to her, while she gave her best smiles. She would suddenly flail her arms and say, “Micah! LOOK at the camera!”

We came away with a couple decent shots though.

When Micah was first born, I got him a blue Carter onesie that says, “The Cutest.” Actually, I got two: one in newborn size, the other in 12 months. When he was born premature at 32 weeks, it seemed incredibly encouraging to think past the baby stage and to imagine him as a one-year-old little boy. I think buying a 12-month set of onesies gave me a sense of hope and confidence that there really was an end to all the preemie craziness

He’s five weeks old in this picture (but still wasn’t “due” for several weeks) so you can tell this onesie is still a little big for him. This picture reminds me how skinny he was those first few months!

It’s amazing, but somehow he has reached the 12-month mark.

In fact, he’s still wearing this onesie at 16 months. It is awesome to think how much he’s changed and grown.

There’s nothing like the peaceful face of a sleeping one-year-old boy to make you forget the havoc he wreaked on your lives earlier that same day–or in his earliest days of life!

I love ‘im, my little buddy-buddy.

Around this time of year, moms are talking about costumes and how to find what you’re looking for and still save money.

During my first three years as a mom, I have taken a different route every year as far as finding costumes, but I try to strike the balance of finding costumes I really like–while not spending a ton of money. Here are a few options I have tried:

Make your own! The first year Mara was only ten months old. I really wanted her to have a soft, baby-girl costume–I didn’t really want her to be a funky animal or some sort of hotdog with mustard, you know? And the pumpkin idea is cute, but since she had no hair, we were constantly answering the “he?-or-a-she?” question about our baby girl, and I didn’t want to look back at pumpkin baby pictures some 20 years later and say ‘was this our son or our daughter?’

I found the perfect costume in Pottery Barn Kids magazine (I included the PBK picture here)! Naturally it was $59 before tax and shipping & handling. (How is it that I have such impeccable yet unaffordable taste?!) I’m sure some people pay that much for a Halloween costume, but for us it was not an option. I don’t pay that much for my own clothes, let alone a costume a kid is going to wear once or twice!

Still I loved that costume so much that, after seeing it, no other costume seemed to even compare. Friends would find me “flower” costumes other places. None of them were quite right. So I decided to make it myself.

In the end, I spent more than I’d hoped (probably close to $20) because I had to buy several kinds of fabrics (3 kinds of fleece and lining fabric for the hood), a zipper, velcro, elastic, gingham trim, thread, and embroidery floss for the flower designs on the sleeves and the bottom of the costume. If sewing were a more regular activity in my life, I’m sure I would have had most of the supplies (other than fabric) on hand. But I was very happy with the end result.

It wasn’t the Pottery Barn costume, but I felt my daughter was beautiful in the flower I had created.

Buy on Clearance after Halloween for Next Halloween! The second year I actually found the costumes on clearance in February. They were skunk costumes–of all things–but they were 99 cents each, at The Children’s Place. I was pregnant at the time, and didn’t know yet if Micah would be a girl or a boy, but I figured it would work either way. The kids could be the “Lil’ Stinkers.”After all, the experience of having two kids 17 months apart is better reflected in the ‘lil stinkers’ idea than a beautiful flower in a garden!

My husband was mortified that I would do this to our children (I said they were still young enough that it was cute!), but it was with great reluctance that he joined the Lil’ Stinkers and me for Boo at the Zoo. (And, no, my daughter isn’t running from the camera–she’s chasing geese at the zoo–and I’m showing off the back of the 99-cent costume!)

I figured it showed that we didn’t take ourselves too seriously. I mean, come on! Is there any costume that is really “classy”? Is it classy to be a monkey? or a pirate? or a skeleton? or a witch? These are costumes!

With moving twice, being on bedrest, and having a preemie in the NICU, there was no time for sewing costumes of my choice that year. I would make the same decision again in a heartbeat. Plus their costumes cost $1.98 total! You could hardly even make something at home that inexpensively–or find it at a thrift store or a consignment sale. I’m going to try to consign them next year for a dollar or maybe two and make my money back. Then I will feel fully vindicated on the whole skunk costume issue.

Buy Costumes on eBay a Month Ahead of Time. This year, my third year, I couldn’t decide for the longest time. I wanted my husband to be happy, so I decided to get the kids something a little nicer (which is not saying much since I spent only $1.98 the year before!). That’s another story, because when I told him, he said he thought all costumes were kind of tacky and pointless . . . which was my whole point last year . . . but . . . as I was saying . . .

I checked eBay for Old Navy costumes and found Mara the kitty costume (new with tags) for $3.50 + shipping. For Micah the lion costume (excellent used condition) for $5.99 + shipping. Total I spent less than $20. Each costume individually costs more than $20 if you buy them directly from Old Navy or Old Navy.com this year. (These costume pictures are just the pictures from eBay. Hopefully after this weekend, I will have some pictures of my kids in these costumes!)

The trick with buying costumes on eBay is to start bidding in mid- to late-September or very very early October. There is usually a decent selection at that point, and if you’re willing to bid on several auctions (and lose), you will probably be able to find what you’re looking for at a reasonable price. (Those Pottery Barn costumes are always expensive though. I’ve seen sold-out PBK costumes go for $150+ on eBay during the middle of October, so if you know what you’re doing, there is probably some money to be made there!)

Now that we know our next baby is a girl, I already found her costume for next Halloween at The Children’s Place on clearance. It was $3.99 (not quite 99 cents).

It’s not a skunk.

But she will be so stinkin’ cute!!!

And Daddy will love it.

That’s all I’m saying about it now. (I have to save a little surprise for next year!)

Well, several options Work for Me as far as finding Halloween costumes and saving money . . . Find more Frugal Tips at Life as Mom.

Things I love about my husband:

When he comes home from work, he is there for the kids!

And I can tell they love it too!

These are not posed. Just snapshots. (Which, on second thought, I’m sure is obvious, since my son is only wearing a onesie and my daughter’s hair majorly needs to be brushed.)

These pictures could be taken any day of the week (except that my husband is wearing jeans, so it must have been Casual Friday at the office!)

Stop by 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.

Once again, Daniel and I made a breakfast date of the ultrasound, dropping the kids off at 7:20 and going to Starbucks for a sandwich and coffee before our appointment.

Of course, we were dying to know the baby’s gender! I say ‘we were’ but I should really say ‘I was.’ Daniel kept saying, ‘Why does it matter? It doesn’t change anything. We will be happy either way.’

Well, for one: we can start thinking of names! Maybe this one won’t be called “Scudder, Boy” in the hospital for three days (like Micah was) before his parents name him!

Before the ultrasound, people kept asking if I had a boy/girl preference. (Not that it matters–I would completely love either one!) But I had mixed feelings. Part of me thought, if this one isn’t a girl, Mara will never have a close friend in a sister. Once you’re five years apart or so, that’s a pretty wide span when you’re a child! But three years apart isn’t terribly far apart. They could still be good friends.

At the same time, a part of me thought of Micah having a brother, only 21 months younger, a buddy to play with. And it could be hard for the little guy to be sandwiched between two sisters, one 17 months older, the other 21 months younger.

But he adores baby girls–he coos at them and nuzzles noses, and gently rocks their carseats. (Both with cousin Sophia and baby Eilidh, who lives a couple blocks over.) On the other hand: He tries to push baby boys right off my lap! So for the baby’s sake, maybe it should be a girl.

We heard the baby’s little heart beating at 149 bpm, and the tech said, “Without looking I’d guess it was a girl.”

It’s a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

I wondered what it would be like telling Mara. But she was not stubborn about it at all.

“The doctor told us we’re going to have a girl! It’s going to be a little sister,” I told her, expecting an argument.

She ran down the last couple of stairs into Grandmom’s living room–and squealed, “Can I hold her?”

Apparently she thought we went to the doctor and came back with the baby!

On the way back home, Daniel said to Mara, “Now we have to think of a name for our little girl.”