...brought to you today by the letter P

Painting


Perfectionist


Pout


Plane


Precious


Picnic


Peaceful


Peanut butter and jelly


Posing


Paparazzi


Protection


Pool


Pals


Pirate ship


Postpartum


Packing up


Park


Playing


Peekaboo


Pigtails


Potty training


Princess soap (+ Patootie)


Patience


Pretending ("Look, mom! I am a turtle!")


Pacifier



Puke


Pain


Pinterest


Pudgy


Proverbs


Penny pinching


Pork, Pasta, Peppers


Pork, Pasta, Peppers


Procrastination


Pegging


Punishment


Pecan clusters


Propel


Piles


Pretty


Plumber


Picking up


Pink


Pillow


Prayer


Pucker up


Paradise


Pulchritudinous



Publish :)

Perfect. :)

No Spend Challenge - week 1

A couple months ago, Brad and I decided that we were actually going to do this. We had talked about it before when we lived in Japan, but never did the prep required, and really just didn't even want to try it.

Our spending had gotten reckless, and we really felt the urge for some accountability in the self control department. After this expensive Christmas season, and with an impending move, we decided that February 2012 was going to be our first annual no spend month.

This isn't as easy as stocking up on groceries to last you the next month...we had to meal plan for January AND February so that we could buy groceries for both months on just our January grocery budget.

We took in our recycling at the end of January and got $83 (the fact that we had that much in cans and bottles just shows how excessively we spent on sodas and what not throughout the holidays). I spent $13 on Wendy's (our last fast food for a while) and the other $70 went in an envelope on the fridge, with a goal of using that for NEEDS.


Anyway, I decided to informally document each day of the challenge, to include our meals and my thoughts on our activities each day.

Here is week number one!

Wednesday, February 1st –
Breakfast: french toast (bread-frozen, 2 eggs-exp 24 Feb, milk, vanilla, cinnamon) and canned mandarin orange slices
Lunch: Amy&Brad-frozen hamburgers with bacon, lettuce, cheese and tomato Kids-PB&J, applesauce and string cheese
Dinner: frozen grilled pork steaks (garlic salted w/bbq sauce), frozen corn and PastaRoni fettucine alfredo
MONEY SPENT today: $0 Brad took $10 out of the envelope on the fridge to go get a haircut (a 2x a month necessity for his job)…BUT, I convinced him to put it back, that we weren’t spending THAT kind of money on DAY ONE..and, I cut his hair!!!!! Go us. Cash envelope balance - $70

Thursday, February 2nd-
Breakfast: Pop tarts
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup…and applesauce
Dinner: Baked chicken leg/thigh combos, steamed rice and steamed asparagus
MONEY SPENT: $0….We did pay Jocelyn’s preschool tuition today, which is counted as a “bill” so, I had to take $180 out of the ATM (we only pay them in cash because they take FOREVER to deposit checks). Her tuition is $175, so I got $5 in change that went into the milk/fruit/need envelope on the fridge. Non eventful day. Took Jocelyn to school, went for a run, took Sam to the park. I got some house cleaning and some pilates done during nap time. Not feeling the need or want to buy anything yet, but we do have 27 days of this left. Cash envelope balance-$75

Friday, February 3rd-
Breakfast: toast with plum jelly
Lunch: left over chicken and rice for me and Brad, and hot dogs, string cheese and mandarin oranges for the kids
Dinner: grilled steaks, rice, and corn
We were going to go to bible study tonight, but we got into an argument last night that lasted into the day today (not anything to do with spending), and we were both not in appropriate moods to go be around people. So, we saved on gas there even though we had planned on using it. But we missed out on dinner and fellowship. :( Cash envelope balance - $75

Saturday, February 4th-
Breakfast: pancakes
Lunch: BLTs for the grown ups PB&Js for the kids
Dinner: Grilled BBQ Pork Ribs for mom and dad, chicken nuggets for the kids (though after Sam scarfed his nuggets, he ate half my rib!)
I drove the van for the first time this month. Jocelyn had another 4 year old girl’s princess party to attend. It was only 4 miles away, so no big deal. Luckily I have a giant bag of brand new 4t girl Gymboree bargains just sitting in the closet, so we just picked out a dress and a tank/shorts set for the gift…and I have one of those boxes of birthday/sympathy/wedding/new home/get well cards, so we were covered without spending anything. It was fun! We had to spend our first of our recycling cash today, as we ran out of milk and eggs. We went for a family walk to the mini mart after dinner, and got one gallon of milk and a dozen eggs for $8. Next time we drive somewhere, I am going to the commissary because milk is almost $2 cheaper. Anyway, we are doing okay in most other areas. Having to take $8 out of the envelope was hard, but we need milk and we knew we would be buying milk throughout the month..that is what the envelope money is for. And the only reason I am out of eggs already is because we have had French toast, and I made cookies a few times to pass the time. Cash envelope balance: $67


February 5th-Superbowl Sunday-
Breakfast- cereal (Cinnamon Life, yum)
Lunch- tuna melts for Amy and Brad, Spaghetti-os for the kids
Dinner- Mac and cheese and sliced apples for Jocelyn and Sam, and Super Bowl Party food for mom and dad (I made a chicken Broccoli braid, but Brad brought home a bunch of food from the party he went to today, so we ate that…and I cut the broccoli braid into segments for him to take for his lunch this week). The kids and I stayed home and napped while he was gone. Cash envelope balance: $67


{Three lunches for Brad}

Monday, February 6th
Breakfast: Cereal for everyone (we are going to need milk again before we know it)
Lunch: Chicken nuggets and left over mac and cheese from last night for me and the kids…Brad took one of the broccoli braid slices to work with him.
Dinner: Kids-corndog muffins and green beans Brad-frozen hot wings and green beans I cheated and went beyond the 'need' spending to go out to dinner with all the ladies from home port...and I had Prime Rib. Not fair at all, I know. :(

Sam had an appointment at 9:30 this morning, and it made the first half of the day more a little faster. It was only 3 miles away, so the tank in the Van is still full. I went out with some ladies, which was definitely not a need…but two of them are moving off the island for good this week, and it was worth sacrificing some of our envelope cash to spend that time with them before they go! I took $20 out, so the new balance is: $47.

Tuesday, February 7th:
Breakfast: poptarts/cereal
Lunch: broccoli braid for Brad, PB&Js and applesauce for me and the kids
Dinner: Crock pot chicken curry, steamed rice, and steamed broccoli
I drove to drop off and pick up Jocelyn from school today because it was raining, but the tank is still on F. We just stayed inside and did some rain day stuff. I got some sewing done during naps, which made me feel just a little accomplished. Nothing spent..cash envelope balance: $47


So concludes week one of 4 weeks of no spending. I don't long for any fast food or Starbucks. I can hear my name periodically being called from a distance, I think it is Gymboree. I want a candy bar, and I am running low on soda already (I am not good at rationing that stuff). I can already forecast that we will run out of certain things that I will want more of...but we will cross those bridges when we get there...as long as the toll isn't more than $47. :) I am feeling positive and motivated, and I definitely think we can do this.

Haiti

Yeah, this is a very belated post. I started to write a summary/thank you letter to those who financially and prayerfully supported my trip to Haiti as soon as I returned in April. I have revisited it as a saved Word document on my computer many times since then, but have never felt like it was coming out just right. So here I am, finally getting around to expressing my gratitude on paper to print and mail with Christmas cards. It's kind of sad to admit that the idea of saving stamps was what it took to finally get me to finish the letter. As you can see to the left, there was a big gap in blogging on my part between February and June. It's not that I haven't had blogging hiatuses before, because I have, but this one was because I wanted to blog about my trip to Haiti and just couldn't seem to get my feelings out in a comprehensible way (before or after the trip). I started a blog entry a few times, just like I started the thank you letter a few times. What it came down to, was that I experienced some pretty powerful emotions, from both ends of the spectrum, while I was in Haiti...and I don't think I will ever be able to share them effectively without writing a confusing novel. I think a trip like that is something that you can't experience through another person's story. I cannot make sense of many of my own thoughts regarding Haiti, so I definitely can't get those conflicting emotions out in words that anyone else could make sense of. I reread my journal entries, and just pray and pray for the people there.

The trip was a life changing experience that I will always carry with me. I learned so much about my relationship with Christ, my relationship with my husband, my relationship with my country, and my relationships with some of the people I have the joy to worship and fellowship with on a regular basis. I learned that even when you don't achieve exactly what you were aiming for, it doesn't mean that nothing was achieved. We did a lot more in Haiti than I originally thought we did. I allowed myself to get discouraged about the physical things we were unable to make happen, when the physical things weren't REALLY why we were there.

Every time I stop to think about that week, I feel something new. I will forever be impacted by thoughts of the people and sights we saw there. I plan to go back, and I plan to consider adoption from Haiti in the future, when our family meets the requirements.

Thank you, again, to all who wrote checks and prayed for our team and our mission. Please continue to pray for Haiti.

Here is the awesome slideshow that my sister Amanda put together for us, if you haven't seen it yet.

Introducing Carolyn Sue

(Don't you love the shark fin hair-do?)

Brad and I went to the movies on Saturday night while the Paines watched the kids. I had experienced zero signs of labor up until that evening when I lost a little bit of mucous plug. I didn't get overly excited (unless you count posting "MUCOUS PLUG" on facebook followed by a few exclamation points). I figured I still had a few days.

We got home a little after 10 pm and chatted with Melynda and Gabe for about an hour. I didn't make it to bed until about midnight.

2 am - GUSH. Ew. Waking thought, "I just peed the bed". My brain tried to tell my body to shut off the flow and stop peeing...but it didn't work. Within seconds I was sitting in a giant puddle and didn't know what to do. I yelled for Brad, who was sleeping in the other room because I have needed an entire bed to myself these last couple weeks of pregnancy. I told him that I thought my water just broke, but as I was saying it, I couldn't even believe it. My water had to be broken by the OB with Sam and Jocelyn, after epidural, pitocin and about 6 or 7 cm of dilation. I never expected this to happen anywhere other than the delivery room...especially because I hadn't had one single contraction!

I wasn't sure what the protocol was for hanging out at home after my water broke, so after transporting myself with a towel diaper to hang out in the bath tub, I called Labor and delivery. They told me that there was basically a 24 hour window to get baby out after water breaking to avoid infection in mom and baby, NICU stay, yada yada. Basically they said to come in right away. I probably should have gone for a walk instead.

Melynda came over to stay with the kids, and Brad and I left for the hospital around 3 am.

They checked me upon my arrival and I wasn't even dilated to ONE centimeter, which I expected because of the zero contractions I had experienced by this point. I was so bummed that this was happening. I didn't even think your water could break like that, out of nowhere with no signs of labor. I always thought it was a load of crap when some character in a movie was just walking around shopping and BAM water on the floor. Well, I am glad it didn't happen in a store, because it wasn't a little puddle. I gushed waterfalls for hours and hours.

Anyway, after they checked my cervix of steel, they suggested inserting a balloon thingy, and inflating it to "help" my cervix dilate. I was turned off by that idea and told them I was going to go for a walk instead. Brad, went back to the car to sleep, and I walked around the hospital entrance from about 4 am to 6:15 am. While walking, and talking to my sister Amanda on the phone, there was another woman in labor walking with her husband. She looked miserable, and I envied her so much! I wanted to be miserable too! I still wasn't feeling anything. I walked outside, down to the parking garage and back up the hill a couple times until it started raining. Nothing.

Then, the doctor called me and said that he had to prepare for shift change at 7 am and he wanted to evaluate me again before he left. So I headed back up to L&D around 6:30. They put me back on the monitor and I was registering really tiny contractions (yay), but not feeling them at all. The new shift doc brought up the balloon thing again, and I mentioned that I would rather keep walking. She reminded me that we were on the clock thanks to my water breaking and that they really wanted to avoid an infection. I felt like walking would be less risk of an infection than sticking a foreign object up inside of me, but whatever. I was indecisive, and kind of argued with her for a a few minutes. Then she decided to check me...and I was at 4 centimeters! The fact that I had progressed 4 centimeters by walking for two hours made the whole argument irrelevant, and the balloon thingy wasn't even an option anymore. Whew! I really didn't want to do that.

At this point they wanted to put me in a room and told me that I'd have to sign a waiver if I wanted to keep walking around. I decided to decline the waiver, take the room and see if my contractions picked up. I forgot to bring my exercise ball, but when Cori reminded me about it via text, I asked and they provided me with a ball bounce on.

Brad and I watched the new transformers movie while waiting for something to happen.

At 10:30 am, they checked me again and I was barely at 5 centimeters. This disappointed the staff, who was in a big hurry to get the baby out. I should have been dilating more than one centimeter in 3 hours according to them. I started to get a little scared by their protocol of c-section if there is still no baby 24 hours after water breaks. They kept asking me if I wanted pitocin, and I kept saying no.

After being stuck at 5 centimeters for a while longer, I accepted the pitocin. And just under two hours after that, I was asking for an epidural.



The epidural was fine for a while. The docs realized that I wasn't dilating because baby's head was not engaged and pushing on my cervix. She was head down, but kind of sideways. So, they had me turn on one side, trying to get her to turn a bit. When I turned on my right side, the epidural drained all into the right side of my body (thanks, gravity). I started to feel contractions on my left side, then eventually feel them everywhere.

The anesthesiologist came in to give me a bump of something through my epidural. I had the weirdest reaction! It was like the drug all went into my face. I felt as though my tongue and lips were tingling and swollen and that I was talking funny. My head started feeling a whole lot of pressure, and when I tried to point to where my head was hurting, I couldn't lift my arms! They felt like they weighed 200 pounds each. It was terrifying, but it only lasted a few minutes. However, because of this reaction...they shut the epidural off for a while. Owie. By this point the pitocin rate had been upped a couple times, so the contractions felt REALLY lovely. Eventually they pulled out the epidural and placed a new one. When it started working, I sat perfectly still. No more of that rolling over on one side nonsense for me. :)

I think at that point it was around 4 or 5 pm. I was totally expecting to have had a baby by this point. I prayed a little prayer of thanks for the new epidural and how great it felt to not feel much after the couple hours of horrible contractions. Then, I took a nap.

I woke up a little after 6 pm, in pain again. I felt like the epidural was only working on my left side this time. I was so scared that they were going to have to shut it off again, and that I still hadn't dilated, and that I was going to end up having to get a c-section. I started crying. I thought I was feeling a contraction, but when the contraction was over on paper, I still felt it. I watched the monitor show 4 or 5 contraction over 10 minutes, but I didn't feel the breaks in them. I felt like I was having a 10 minute long contraction. The doc came in and decided to check me. Turns out, it just hurt that much because I was a complete 10 centimeters (Praise the Lord) and baby was ready to come out. I started to get really excited about discovering the sex of the baby, not needing a c-section, and basically just not being pregnant any more!

Brad pulled out the camera as the rest of the delivery folks were coming in to prepare the room for baby's arrival. He filmed this at 6:29:


Then, Carolyn was born at 6:32 pm. Here is what that looked like (not exactly attractive):


The time frame from being checked to baby coming out was the same with Sam. Both times, I was discovered to be at 10 centimeters almost exactly 3 minutes before holding baby.

This time was a a little more exciting because I got to find out it was a girl!

She weighed 8 pounds and almost 1 ounce. She was 20 inches long:


Brad went to pick up the kids and bring them back to meet Carolyn when she was about 90 minutes old.


Jocelyn is in love with her and wants to be up in her face all the time, singing to her and telling her stories. Unfortunately Jocelyn is sick right now, and I have to keep dragging her away. :(

Sam wants nothing to do with her. He won't even acknowledge her presence in the house, won't say hi to her, won't give her a hug, nothing. But he climbs into the bouncy seat and pretends he is the baby, as well as crying for me to hold him constantly. I am hoping he starts to adjust very soon!

Carolyn has been a very hungry little baby. She latched right away and hasn't stopped eating since. The first night, and last night she slept from 2am to 7am, but nursed for two straight hours before and after that period.

She looks adorable in her teeny tiny, girlie, cloth diapers. I will be posting more pictures on my facebook page soon, for sure. :)

We were only in the hospital for about 24 hours after she was born, and we are so excited to finally have her home with us. :)

We have plans to try for baby number 4 next summer after our move to San Diego is complete. We will see how that goes when the time comes, as I know I don't have ultimate control over that kind of thing. But, for now we are going to make the most of our team of five and the time we have left here in Hawaii.

We are so blessed to be where we are at in our lives right now. We are looking forward to new adventures...like doing a half Ironman as a family in June! I can't wait to start training! :)



Popsicles for the kids


Daddy and Carolyn


This looks JUST like one of Jocelyn's newborn photos!

Perspective

I have been thinking about perspective a lot recently.

Perspective makes it really hard for me to be unhappy with small inconveniences, worry, fear, and my life in general.

However, it cannot erase any of those things from my life, or change the fact that my emotions are still affected.

Also, at the same time that perspective is helping me avoid becoming depressed over my own issues, it makes me extremely sad about so many other things.

Recently, I was freaked out about the possibility of a c-section. Yes, the idea of getting my stomach/uterus cut open was/is terrifying to me. Stupid, right? It would have had to happen to ensure a safe delivery of my new baby, who is a JOY to me no matter how he or she comes into the world.

Let me stop and put this into perspective for a minute. I have a friend who had her spleen removed in January, and will be having monthly medical treatment for the rest of her life to ensure her immune system is functioning properly. Also, today I babysat for a friend while she went to the hospital to have biopsies done on lumps in her neck...to find out she has cancer.

Now, what? I am supposed to use perspective to rejoice that my situation is not nearly that bad?

How can I possibly be happy at all?

All I feel is guilt for even being scared of a cesarean in the first place, then more guilt for baby flipping and being able to avoid a cesarean...and then sadness. I am filled with sadness for my friends who are having to deal with life altering medical issues that will affect them for the rest of their lives. All perspective does is change the joy of my blessings into guilt.

I am blessed to have many wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ who were praying for me and my anxiety about my breech baby. I believe the power of those specific prayers helped me to avoid the risky procedures that I was in fear of. BUT, what if I would have been having those people pray, instead, that my friend's biopsies came back negative? I can't help but think that all that prayer was wasted on me, when it could have potentially saved someone else from such a horrifying diagnosis.

I really don't think God wants me to feel guilty about answered prayer. But, it is hard not to.

I know all these things are happening according to God's plan, but I am sick of perspective. I am sick of easing my mind by contemplating the unfortunate situations of others. It doesn't work. Perhaps I am supposed to feel guilty, and I am pretty sure that I am supposed to feel sympathy and compassion for these other people. But, I refuse to do those things by comparison. I don't want to compare my life to other people's lives, whether it be by coveting their lives or pitying their lives.

I will examine my life as it is, and be glad with it because it is full of blessings, not because it has less severe trials than the life of another. If something unfortunate happens to me, I will be sad about it and eventually get over it with the strength provided to me by my Savior...not by considering my troubles against a scale of who is worse off than me.

I don't want to compare anymore. Isn't that all perspective is, comparing?

I also, don't want to offer perspective to anyone else again. I know I have done it plenty of times, thinking I was going to help someone feel better by pointing out how much worse things could be. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. If someone is struggling with something, it shouldn't matter how much worse someone else is struggling. We need to overcome the things that affect us negatively by examining our personal relationship with God and not by examining other people.

I am currently meditating on the old Portuguese story in Chapter 11 of "Calm My Anxious Heart". I am going to try so much harder to see things as they are, neither a blessing or a curse, but as a fragment of God's plan. I am going to work on patiently waiting for that plan to unfold, and be grateful that I get to witness it.

Gymbucks Math: $471.80 = $75 :)

Okay, before I start going on and on about how awesome Gymbucks are, and how they work, I have a confession.

When Team Hayes first moved to Hawaii two years ago, my sister Amanda and her two boys (then 2 and 3 years old), came to stay with us for two months while she filled an Air Force reservist position at Hickam AFB. I got the boys dressed every day, and secretly judged Amanda to the extreme for being such a rich snob that every single clothing item, right down to their bathing suits, underwear, and pajamas were ALL Gymboree brand. I never shopped there because I am frugal, and all I knew was that they were overpriced, "brand name" kids clothes.

WRONG!

Amanda educated me about the super glorious clearance racks at Gymboree and Gymboree.com, and also about how to use Gymbucks. She wasn't a children's clothing snob...she was a bargain hunter just like me! In fact, let me just take this moment to thank Amanda for all the money she has saved me with her sharing of knowledge and products. Between turning me on to cloth diapering, and delivering me my first brand new Phil and Ted's stroller at 30% of (not off, of) the retail price (my second one was 100% free), and educating me on Gymbucks, she has saved me thousands of dollars to date...and counting every time I wash diapers or use Gymbucks. :)

Anyway, this is a quick rundown of how Gymbucks work.

-You buy stuff at Gymboree. I keep to CLEARANCE stuff only, $8.99 and under for pants/shorts, $6.99 and under for tops/shirts, and $10.99 and under for dresses or one piece boy outfits.

-You spend $50, you earn $25 in Gymbucks. For example, while EARNING Gymbucks, I bought the following 12 items/6 outfits for $50.14 plus tax (that's an average of $4.16 per item), and I earned $25 in Gymbucks:



-You bring in your $25 in Gymbucks during the Gymbucks redemption period and get $25 off your $50 purchase. There are no restrictions, all sale and clearance items are eligible. So, you can get a WHOLE lot for $25. You can earn them, but cannot use them at Gymboree outlet stores...but who cares, you don't need no outlet store!

Over the last couple months, I made three separate trips to Gymboree, all resulting in $50 purchases (similar to the one pictured above), 10+ clothing items, and $25 in Gymbucks. I spent $152 plus tax on 18 pieces/9 outfits for Jocelyn, 14 pieces/7 outfits for Sam, and a couple items for new baby gifts. It all averaged out to less than $5 per item (and that is not counting socks and hair bows and stuff that SHOULD be under $5 to begin with). I cannot even do the math to tell you how much the original prices of those 40ish items totaled, but it was close to $1000. Those were bargains...and that was just while earning Gymbucks! It gets better!

Now it is the redemption period, and I had $75 GBs burning a hole in my hand (not in my pocket because those babies were out and ready to go first thing this morning). The redemption doesn't actually start until tomorrow, BUT Gymboree Rewards members get a day head start on everyone else. ***That's kind of a key thing here. Becoming a rewards member is free and all they need is your phone number and email. You will get 30% off coupons in the mail/email that you can use on clearance items while earning your Gymbucks! $35 dress, on clearance for 60% off = $14 + 30% off coupon = $9.80. Get five clearance items like that, you are getting $175 worth for $50 AND earning $25 in Gymbucks. SCORE!

So, today I went in and picked out $150.11 worth of clearance items. I am VERY good at spending WAY too much time in the store, hunting through every clearance item to get the matching tops and bottoms of the outfits I like, in the sizes I need, AND making it equal just enough for me to earn/spend Gymbucks. Today was my best yet...just 11 cents over what I needed to spend. Not just anyone can do that. I am pretty talented at this. :) It was actually $149.12, so I quickly grabbed a pair of $0.99 matching socks for one of Jocelyn's outfits. These items totaled over $470 in original retail price (GAG). They rang up my $150.11, then subtracted my $75 in Gymbucks, and here is a detailed photographic inventory of what I paid $75 for today:

FOR SAM:


CALL ME CHIEF
Brad likes this one because, well, Brad is a chief. :)


RED MONSTER MUSCLE SHIRT AND SHORTS
These two items ended up being $2 each...originally $14.95 each.


TURTLES - ARE WE THERE YET?
I originally had this shirt paired with cuter non-shiny orange shorts, but then noticed after leaving the store that I got the shirt in a 3 and the shorts in a 4, so these shorts were the only size 3 shorts that matched the shirt that were on clearance for the same price as the other ones, for me to exchange...and it took me 20 minutes of hunting around the store to find them. Hey, I am dedicated to this bargain hunting thing. :)


I'M GAME
These shorts and this shirt, weren't 'made' to go together (from the same line), but I think they look fine together. :)


LEGEND
These weren't from the same line either, but hey, bargain hunters can't be too choosy. There are times when I fall in love with an outfit, but have to turn it down because it doesn't meet my maximum price standards. I want more for my money. :)


BIG BRO
This is the only thing I bought for Sam in size 2T.=, because we already owned these shorts, and the matching shirt that says "Lil' bro". And this shirt was $1.50. Everything else is 3T.


FOR JOCELYN:


ORANGE SHORTS TIGER TOP
I love the knit shorts like this, because they are always on clearance for $3.99, when the more expensive, 'cuter' linen ones are $9.99....but these come out of the dryer looking like this, and the other ones need ironing, so it's a double plus for me.


SOAK UP THE SUN
This outfit could have come with the much cuter matching denim cutoff shorts that were marked $8.99, but I opted for the $2.99 bike shorts. Jocelyn liked them better anyway, even if I didn't. :)


HIGH FIVE STARFISH
These ended up being $2 a piece also...and totally cute. You can't even get stuff for that price on the clearance racks at Walmart or Target, much less the selection!


BATHING BEAUTY HIPPO
This is part of the line that had an outfit I really wanted. The shirt said "little jetsetter" which is kind of perfect for Jocelyn...but the ADORABLE matching shorts were marked $14.99, which would have ended up being $7.50, which is above my limit for half an outfit
.

GREEN SHORTS
I was surprised these shorts were on sale for $6.99 because all the other similar ones were still $12.99ish.


ORANGE DRESS
This was the most expensive item I bought today. It was originally $35, on clearance for $14.99, so I paid $7.50 for it, but it is a whole outfit, and I justified it because Jocelyn REALLY wanted it. She was so sad when I told her she couldn't wear it for a year. Haha.


SOCKS
"The Kicker" These socks match a few of the outfits that I bought for Jocelyn while earning the Gymbucks. I needed them, at just $0.99, to put me barely over the $150 mark to use my $75 in Gymbucks. Originally $4.25 for ONE pair of socks...I paid $0.50.

FOR NEW BABY HAYES:


INTRODUCING ME
Uh, it's a giraffe, and it's gender neutral. :) There was a ton of newborn giraffe stuff on clearance, but I don't need newborn stuff AT ALL...and most of it was girl stuff, and I don't know if this is a girl or not (for this very reason - I don't need to buy newborn stuff)!


GREEN BABY BOY
I bought one boy thing, in case baby III is a boy. This was my biggest bargain of the day. Originally priced $29.95, I paid $3.25, that is almost 90% off!


ADORABLE GIRAFFE PANTS AND ONESIE
And I bought one girl thing. This could be gender neutral (I think) if the onesie didn't have a bow on it. I LOVE this set.

In conclusion, the original price of these FOUR items (14.95 for the adorable onesie, $26.75 for the giraffe pants, $14.95 for the 'introducing me onesie', and $29.95 for the green embroidered romper) was $86.60:


But, for $75, I got all of this (26 items, averaging $2.88 per item...not counting the socks as an item):


Who in their right mind would go into Gymboree and pay full price for anything?

There are two new boy lines out right now, one is lifeguard themed and the other is all Helicopter stuff. I want them both a lot! But, I can wait. Time is money. :)

So overall, in the past couple months, I spent a total of $225 on kids clothes, clothes that would have cost nearly $1400 if purchased at their original prices. And, the kids are nearly all set with outfits for their next size up (3t for Sam, and 4t for Jocelyn). If only I could get 65 brand spanking new name brand articles of clothing in my size for $225. Could you imagine?