Don't judge.

This is how cheap I am.

I reuse swim diapers.  

If you live in a climate where it is HOT and you swim on a regular basis you aren't going to want to shell out $1.50 for every diaper you put on your child while in the pool.  You can rinse them out and hang them out to dry and reuse!  We were up to about six uses on this bad boys pictured above when my husband made me give it the old heave-ho.  Some of you may not know that swim diapers do not hold pee.  When a child is in a swim diaper it only filters out the poo so beware if your child is wearing it on dry land!  (This is why I think it is okay to reuse because the diaper itself isn't holding any urine.)

I must admit when my friends first caught me doing this I believe a few called me cheap and laughed.  Yet, I've made them into believers and last time we were all together all of our babies were rocking used swim diapers!

I have an addiction . . .

 I have an addiction to Craigslist.  Almost every piece of furniture in my house is from Craigslist.  Don't believe me?  My kitchen table, dining table, coffee table, hutch, desk, daybed, tv cabinet, elliptical and rocking chair I bought off people from Craigslist.  I even found this beautiful house we are renting from craigslist.

I am also a very thrifty craigslist shopper.  I am 'that' person who offers half of what the seller has it listed it for.  Doesn't hurt to ask!  For all my worried family and friends I am also a safe craigslist buyer and seller.  If I am buying I usually send Adam in our truck (aka van with no seats) or if he is working or out of town and I need to pick it up I ask the seller to put it in the driveway.  If I am selling I put the item in my driveway or garage and then ask the buyer to call or text when they arrive and I meet them outside. 
I am also addicted to thrift stores.
Salvation Army is half off on Wednesdays. This is where I buy Elizabeth's clothes.  She probably has around two outfits I purchased new and the rest are hand me downs or Salvation Army purchases!  The wonderful thing about girls clothes in Elizabeth size is that they are practically new!  Sadly for my boys I must buy new because well . . . they are boys.  I almost cried looking in their drawer and noticed they don't have one pair of jeans that don't have a hole in the knee!
Goodwill just opened one of their biggest stores right down the street from my house.  I go there at least twice a week because they have cheap furniture.  I now have almost painted every piece of furniture in my house.  I am re-hauling my warm Minnesota design style for an airy cool Floridian style.
I often warn Adam if it isn't nailed down I am going to sell it on Craigslist and if it isn't painted it will be!

$5 Goodwill bedside table

$30 dresser 

(Shoved in the corner of my super organized garage)

While living in Minnesota Adam and I purchased a bedroom set from a model home.  It came with a dresser, mirror, two bedside tables, bedframe, headboard, mattress and boxspring, pillows, sheet set, comforter and bedskirt all unused for $300.  It was an amazing deal but I hated the set.  It was a faux wood.  I hate faux wood.  So I sold just the headboard, dresser and bedside tables for $500 on craigslist!  I found a dresser and nightstand at Goodwill (shown above) spruced them up and a new headboard from craigslist and they now are beautiful pieces in my newly designed master bedroom!

old set

   new set

I actually made money on this bedroom transformation!  That is the best kind of room makeover!

I'm Back!!

I am BACK!!  I took a year (or two) off of blogging and now I am back with a new twist to my blog!  I was going to start blogging about my Etsy shop yet as of a few weeks ago I was contacted by an attorney of a popular children's product that I was in breach of their patent on a product.  So I have an empty Etsy shop with nothing to blog about!  So I changed the theme of this blog and it will be around the crazy silly things that happen to our family mixed with the creative projects I am working on!   I hope you enjoy!  

Here are a few pictures of a baby shower that was thrown at my house a few weeks back.  A wonderful friend Jenny is having a baby boy and the ladies at our church Aletheia threw her a "little man' baby shower.  My friend Pam and I had fun decorating the house full of bow ties and mustaches!  

The party was so rocking the police showed up.  Yes, I throw that good of a party.  (They showed up at my last Mary Kay party too!)  No, they don't show up because of the loud music or crazy uncontrolled parties inside -they come because of all the cars parked on the street. Apparently if you live in my county you are NEVER allowed to park on the street.  You must park at the clubhouse a mile away and shuttle people.  Ridiculous.  When he knocked on the door we were all praying for Jenny or else I would have invited him in and asked if he'd like to wet his actual mustache with some lemonade and take a group photo for us.  I also regret not getting his picture with Jenny.  It would have been a keeper for the baby book.

Here are some of the fun pictures taken of the decorations and beautiful ladies!

Me with the beautiful Mommy of the hour!

Fun way to use chalkboard paint - spray paint the glass of a frame with chalk board paint and voila you have a chalkboard frame!  These now reside on my kitchen wall with the bible verses the boys are memorizing for the week.    

Bow tie onesies were used as decoration and then taken home by the Mommy!

 What a beautiful fun group of amazing women!

(This picture is awkwardly taken because the police man didn't take it and we had to use a self timer.)

Excited to meet you baby Joshua!