Baby on a Budget: Couponing

So most of us have seen or heard of people who are so good at couponing that it just blows our minds. But if you're like me, starting off with couponing can be quite overwhelming. For that reason, I thought I'd tell you how I do it the easy way. Of the following tips I try to do at least 2 if I'm in a hurry.

1) Check the local supermarket ad which can be done at the store or online
2) Check out a website that offers free printable coupons
3) Make sure to look for coupons in your supermarkets flyer
4) For specific items, check the companies website for coupons or offers
5) Sunday newspapers are the best, save the coupons you need until the item goes on sale

Most of the time, when items go on sale at the supermarket, coupons will come out before the promo is up in the supermarket flyer and online. Put these all together and you will walk out with plenty of free items like I do or at least get awesome bargains.

Here is a great deal for those who live where there is a Publix supermarket:

Huggies diapers $5 off

1) print coupon for $2 off from coupons.com
2) print coupon for $3 off from publix.com

http://www.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=12926&zid=ta33&nid=10&bid=alk0331090332f4d4357a624518

Trying to Hang in There

So I'm having another one of those moments where I feel like the world will end before I can ever be a mother. I know why we are waiting to start trying but I just get so scared that it will never happen for us. Maybe it's because over the course of our marriage I went through hundreds - yes HUNDREDS - of pregnancy tests that always came out as "negative". Even when we weren't trying to get pregnant it saddened me to see one line instead of two.

Somebody please tell me that I'm not alone.

Two Great Finds

I found these wooden baby toys from Childtrek.com. Aren't they great?! You can find them here at http://www.childtrek.com/?=babybound

My Home-Made Baby Wrap

Here is a picture of my Moby Wrap that I wrote about here: http://babycravings.blogspot.com/2011/03/baby-on-budget-home-made-moby-wrap.html

I'm not done with it, I want to add some detail to the front so that it would be easier to identify the middle of the wrap and also to personalize it for my sister-in-law. Any suggestions?

Am I Ready For a Baby?

It's a question most of us have asked ourselves.....

Am I ready for a baby?

There are so so many factors to consider but in your opinion, what should be taken into consideration before taking that jump into trying to start a family?

What are the most important factors for you?

Meet Danny and Rachel

I wanted all of you to meet my brother Danny and his wife Rachel. They are expecting their first child in August and I am so excited I can barely stand it! They have an appointment with their mid-wife (she is choosing to do a natural birth - GO RACH!) on Sunday to find out the sex of the baby and if all goes well, we will be posting the video of them finding out what their having along with their reactions here.

To Danny and Rachel, I really wish I could be there to share in this wonderful time in your lives but just know that I am thinking about you and my niece or nephew every single day. I can't wait to see you in August and I really hope I make it there before the little one arrives!

I Really Want To Hear From You...

I just wanted to put this out there; I am really looking forward to communicating with my fellow bloggers and I can't wait to hear what you think. So if you could be so kind, let me know that you were here by commenting on any of the posts that interest you or let me know what your suggestions for my blog are. It would really make my day! :)

Yours Truly,

Eliza

P.S. Feel free to tell me about yourself too

Things My Mom Told Me Part 1

When I was around 10 years old my mom told me, "A girls reputation is like a glass rose, it needs to be taken care of because once it's broken there's no way to make it perfect again"


Then - 6th Grade Dance (my mom went too!)






Now - 4 months ago                             

                    
While I wholeheartedly believe in second chances (along with 3rd, 4th & 5th chances too) that always stuck with me. I thought about it through the rest of grade school, middle school and on till today. She might not even remember that moment but I have a hard copy imprinted in my mind. I'm thankful for words like that which reminded me to make good decisions as a young girl and hopefully one day, I'll have a little girl who will hold on to those words too.

And They Lived...

So I'm feeling the need to explain something. In my second post I mentioned that my husband now wants to wait to start a family but I don't think that was very fair to him. As a matter of fact, he said, "Hey, that's not very fair". And he was right. Sometimes I think this crazy path makes me well - a little crazy. As mentioned, we are currently in Bolivia and we are here as volunteers so when he said he wanted to wait he meant until we got back home and back on our feet. That's why I married him (well, one of the reasons at least) because he is so smart and such a logical thinker. He has a very strong desire to take care of his family well and that just makes me love him more. So when he says we should wait, it's only because of his love for me and our future family. I need to remind myself not to let my emotions take over sometimes.

So why are there pictures of my wedding day here? Because it's the perfect reminder that I have all the lovely I need right now and that the walk I took that day was hands down the best decision of my life.

So here's to my Mr. Lovely and our Happily Ever After....

Baby on a Budget: home-made Moby wrap

So while we're here in Bolivia I decided I could take the extra time on my hands that would usually be spent watching TV, to learn a few things. A few years ago my mom gave me a sewing machine and I have been wanting to learn how to sew..... so that's exactly what I'm doing and I am so excited about it. My brother and his wife are currently expecting their first child and so my first project is a home-made Moby wrap. I love love love Moby wraps and anything like them. They start at around $40 and go way up from there but when I look at them I can't help but think how simple it is. The fabric on most is just a cotton jersey knit. My friend emailed me the dimensions of hers and off I went! I purchased the fabric at the local mercado (outdoor market) and started my lessons with a very kind Bolivian native.

Now let me just say you don't have to sew anything if you don't want to for the Moby wrap but I can be kind of a perfectionist sometimes and I want it to look professional. We cut out the pattern and started sewing. First we just folded over the edges and did a straight-stitch (I think that's what it's called) to enforce the ends and then we surged over that. It looks great and I can't wait to give it to my sister-in-law when we get back.

I also made one for myself... I know, I know.... I don't need it right now but I like saving money and this will save me money down the line.

Have any of you made a wrap? What fabric did you use and do you think it's worth doing it yourself?

I'll post pictures of the finished product soon!

Phillip taking in the breeze in a Bolivian Park

We have been in Bolivia for 2 months and are enjoying it very much. There's a lot to learn from this strong group of people and I am just amazed at the culture and the fact that not much has changed here since the Spaniards arrived. We will be here for about 4 more months and while we will always cherish the moments we've spent here, we cannot wait to get back to our world and start on the next journey in our lives.

Waiting For Lovely

I'm starting to think this blog should be called "without a baby blog" because that's exactly what I am - without a baby. I go back and forth between being happy to write about these topics like baby on a budget and feeling just down right silly. I know I have no REAL experience compared to all of those hard working mamas who actually know what they're talking about. But then again, this is my place. My place to write about what I'm thinking and feeling... and what I'm thinking and feeling is Baby. When will I have my own? How will I raise him/her? How will I make my child feel safe in my arms? How can I provide a lovely little life for my lovely little one? So I guess I will just keep marching along on this path and learn and share as much as I can on this topic until my day comes. And when that day comes, oh how lovely it will be.

Baby On a Budget: Diapers

So I think it's only fair that I start off by admitting the obvious... I'm no expert on this subject and I am fully aware of this fact. However, I am known in my family and circle of friends for being quite savvy and always knowing the best deals. I am always on the look-out for ways to do things cheaper. Quality is extremely important but I am a firm believer that it's not how much money you make that can help you have the things you want or need (materially speaking) but rather, how you spend the money you make.

First Topic: DIAPERS...

The answer for how much diapers will cost you from birth to potty trained vary big time. The most common answer I get is almost always well over $1000. Wowza! So that got me thinking, why not go for cloth diapers? They're better for baby and the environment and not to mention the wallet. There are so many options out there from G diapers to FuzziBunz. Some have disposible liners and others don't. What seems to be a great option though, is to make your own. There are so many sites dedicated to showing you just how to do that. Depending on where you buy the fabric you will spend around $5 for each one. If you aren't a sewer and not so interested in learning how, here is another option: etsy. I LOVE etsy and have recently come across a few sellers who make adorable cloth diapers. Many of them are a lot cheaper than store bought but they serve the same purpose.

But let's face it - not everyone is cut out for cloth diapers so for all those who aren't, what advice do you have to parents and parents-to-be to save on this expense? I really want to hear it!

How Much Do Babies Really Cost?

About a year ago I read that Baby's first year can cost around $30,000... Um what?! I don't know if it's just me but that number sounds crazy. I started doing my own homework in preparation for when my time comes to see if we can realistically afford another life. And by the way, we don't have an extra 30k lying around to use so we need to get crafty.

From what I've researched, some of the biggest expenses are diapers, formula, food, and daycare. That number also included everything from clothing to nursery furniture and daycare to insurance. So a large part of it obviously depends on your life style for example, will you be a stay at home mom and does your partners employer pay for medical and how much of it? If you are already a parent, how much do you think is realistic for baby's first year? What money saving tips do you have?

Coming up: A series of "Baby on a Budget" for all those who are looking for a more economical solution to starting a family.

So tell me...

Here's my story. My husband and I got married when we were just 20 years old and have been very happily married since.  I was a Nanny up until we got married so I've always known how much I love children and how badly I want some of my own but we originally talked about waiting until we were 27 to start a family even though we knew we couldn't wait til that day. Our thoughts were to try to enjoy being just us two for as long as possible. And I know even now that enjoying each other is a great idea however, after being married only a few months we both started to get the baby urge. We tried to be good about it and keep ourselves distracted which worked okay for about 1 1/2 years. However, the urges only intensified more and more with each passing month. Another year and a half brings me here; sitting in front of my computer looking for anyone to exchange sympathy with. Oh yeah, here's one of my biggest problems.... My husband now wants to wait. Not indefinitely but he for sure wants to wait. Now I feel more alone than ever and I am desperately waiting for him to jump back on with me. So tell me... what's your story?

For all those future Mama's

I know many of us are in the same boat, wanting to be a mother so desperately yet not knowing if that day will ever come. I used to feel so alone in this until I starting searching the Internet and to my surprise, I'm more normal than I thought. Not completely normal... Just better than I thought.

So here is my hope: that other women like myself who just can't wait for the day to hold their own child can find comfort in this blog by sharing their thoughts and concerns with others. Others just like you. Everyones journey is different and reasons for not having a family at this very second will vary but we are open to hearing it all and just maybe I can find that very comfort too. :)