Moving with Relative Ease with a Toddler

Edited with permission, CC. 

    We moved to a different city a few months back... and I thought I'd share our experiences with a successful, relatively easy move with a toddler in tow. 

First off, Buy quality boxes and tape:
   I love saving money, but you do not want to cheap out on boxes and tape when it comes to your precious belongings. We purchased tape and boxes from Walmart and unfortunately found out that the quality was not there. So we went with Home Depot boxes/tape and it was so much sturdier and not a single one of our items broke. 

Buy packing materials:
   I preferred the packing bubbles from Home Depot to Walmart, but they both seemed to do the job. I just noticed that Home Depot's items were far sturdier. But you can utilize other items to protect your breakable things, such as newspaper as a filler, towels, pillows... The packing bubbles are great to use for things like plates and cups that you don't want to have to wash as soon as you unpack them. Newspaper tends to get those items dirty. 

Edited with permission CC.

Properly label your boxes:
   I made sure that with each box I labeled it thoroughly (it really paid off in the end). For fragile items, those boxes were extra labeled. I made sure to list the items thoroughly as well with sticky notes and tape. Anything that were last minute things to pack, was labeled "last minute" so I knew those things needed to be unpacked first. The "last minute items" were usually essentials like plates, dry goods and so on...

Consider hiring movers:
   Mr. Picturesque and I have always moved ourselves. We have been through two to three moves since we have been married and just always managed to do it, but this was prior to children. One friend suggested we at least price out movers, and when I did, I realized it was worth the extra cost. I did go through Angie's list (which you can gain access with a free account). Angie's list gave me the security in knowing how a moving company was truly rated, and if they could be trusted. We ended up spending $700 for 7 hours and weren't completely exhausted at the end of the day. 
   We did have everything packed up prior to the movers coming, and organized, but the movers did everything. I was even able to get Toddler P. down for her nap that day with a house that was pretty much already set-up! It was totally worth the extra money.

Keep children entertained:
   I packed when Toddler P. was eating and/or watching her cartoons. I also packed when she was napping. I started packing about two months in advance, which helped with my stress level. On moving day, Mr. P. stayed with the movers... while I took Toddler P. and we went to our new place to prepare while she played with some toys I had brought over the day before. 

What have you found helpful with moving?

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Why I Buy Used Children's Items

   Mr. Picturesque and I get super excited whenever we can save money and get a good deal. Well, yesterday Mr. P. and I went to a bi-annual event where they sell gently used children's items and I had to share my awesome finds! 
   All over the country there are various types of events in your city that offer gently used children's items for sale. We have been able to get such great items for dirt cheap at these events! If you want ideas of where to buy gently used children's items, I have written another article with some ideas (see it here). 
    I don't know why more parents don't buy gently used items. All you have to do is clean up the items when you get home, but they are such a good price and in such good condition... I don't really have a problem doing that. Check out this adorable adirondack rocking chair we bought from Salvation Army (original price $60, SA price was $25):

   There of course are certain items I will never buy used... like items that are severely stained, too hard to really clean, or items like underwear/bras. But other items like clothing, toys, high chairs, I will never buy retail!
    Here are the awesome finds I bought at our local even Just Between Friends yesterday:

V-Tech Fly & Learn Globe, Original price: $160, Used price: $5.

Radio Flyer Trike Original price: $70, Used price: $10

Step 2 Fun Fold Slide Original price: $99, Used price: $25

Radio Flyer Trike Original price: $70, Used price: $12

    What kind of steals have you found buying used? 

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Shared at Christian Mommy Blogger

Easy & Inexpensive Outdoor Fall Decor

    I just came from my weekly trip to Walmart, and came back with some adorable, CHEAP, Fall decorations for outside! I'm a sucker for decorating for the seasons. 

    For approximately .98 cents each, I was able to get these bigger fake pumpkins (2 on the left, 2 on the right). The little pumpkins are real and were $2 for 5 pumpkins. 

    The final touch I added for Fall, was the cross on the door. I bought the Command strips to hang it on the door for $2 for a pack of 2, and the cross cost $8 from Walmart! Super adorable, and it says blessings on it. For a grand total of less than $15 I decorated our front porch for the Fall! 

    So there you have it, an inexpensive way to decorate for the Fall season! Have you started decorating for the Fall season? 

Easy & Healthy Salmon Dinner

    I had to share my husband's and my favorite dinner, it is Salmon with Quinoa and organic mixed veggies (all from Sam's Club, so it's very affordable)! 
    It really is quick, easy and cheap!
    Grilling the salmon usually takes 20 minutes or so, especially because I love the edges on my salmon crispy. So typically I start the veggies on the stove at the same time I put the salmon on the grill (since the veggies are frozen). 

• First I cut up the salmon into smaller portions, then I take heavy duty aluminum foil and spray it with olive oil spray (since fish tends to stick to things and then falls apart when trying to get it off the grill). 
• Then I place the salmon on the foil and season it lightly with Susie Q's Santa Maria Style Seasoning (a little of this seasoning goes a looong way, but it's delicious). After starting the grill and putting it on Medium heat, I put the salmon (on the foil) on the grill.

   

• Then I put the stove on medium heat and heat up dairy free butter (we use either Smart Balance or Earth Balance butter). 
• Next I put the organic mixed veggies in the pan, leaving it uncovered and cook slowly for the next 15 minutes. 

• The last thing I do is put the Quinoa in the microwave. It takes 90 seconds.

    And there you have it! A simple, easy, healthy meal!

    So tell me, what's your favorite healthy meal?

Thrifty Monday: Busy Bag for Church

    Yesterday we went to church and typically we would have to leave a few minutes into the sermon because Sweet Toddler P. just gets too antsy. But before church this Sunday I had an epiphany... what if I packed her a busy bag?! Surely at 15 months she's old enough to enjoy one right? Right! So we made our way to the local dollar store the night before, to see what we could find. We found a few items but I wasn't sure what Toddler P. would think when it came down to it.  
    Then came Sunday, and I have to say, my busy bag was a huge success! We lasted almost the entire service, all thanks to snacks and a successful busy bag (filled with dollar store finds)! 
    So what was in my busy bag? I'll tell you:

• First, let's talk about the bag. I decided to use a purse, since Toddler P. is to the stage where she loves pretty things and purses. So I used one of my purses I've always wanted to use, but since I have a diaper bag I have to cart everywhere, I never get to use. This one has flowers all over it and all kinds of pockets for Toddler P. to explore.
• Snacks. Of course I had to pack snacks. So i packed a Gerber pouch, teething crackers (by Happy Baby and Plum), pretzels, and pita chips.
• Water. I brought her My Little Pony sippy cup, full of water.
• My dollar store finds:                             

• A horse. Look at this adorable horse I found! Toddler P. loved it! She was having it prance around all over her seat!

• Blocks. Toddler P. loves these blocks. She's at the stage where she loves stacking things and putting objects into other objects. Which leads me to the next find...

• Watering Can. This adorable child's watering can served as a place for Toddler P. to put her blocks. As I said above, she loves putting toys inside other toys. This occupied her for a long time!

• Big Calculator. Mr. Picturesque picked this out and I'm glad he did. Big buttons are a kids dream! Toddler P. kept coming back to this throughout the service!

What toys do you use to keep your toddler happy and occupied during church?

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Shared on: Good Tips Tuesday, Titus 2s Day

Finding Budget Friendly Children's Gear

    If you are a parent, then you know that children's clothing and gear can get extremely expensive! I'm not just talking about diapers and wipes (if you use disposable, then you know it adds up)! Clothing alone can cost an arm and a leg, especially when you have more than one kid! 
    I have good news, though! There's hope to find cheaper children's items! How, you ask??? You can easily save a few bucks on children's clothing and gear by buying gently used! Mr. Picturesque and I have found some great places to buy these items and have seen that you can find some great things that look and feel barely used! Of course when you buy used, you have to make sure you clean the items before giving them to your child... but I would hope you do a deep clean with stuff that you buy new anyway.

1. Consignment Sales Events. 
    In Florida, the state where we live, there is a sale we go to called Just Between Friends (JBF).  It happens about twice a year, once in Fall and once in Spring. They sell everything you could need for a child: bottles, clothing, cloth diapers, high chairs and toys, etc... We have been able to get some cheap, adorable clothes at half the cost! Just to give you an example, we were looking for the Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair. New, it costs about $70. We bought it at the JBF sale for $35! 

 

2. Salvation Army or Thrift Stores.

    Sometimes the items you find in thrift stores can be far from gently used. Sometimes the items look like they were buried, then burned, then left outside for a year! However, if you find a thrift store in the nicer part of town, you can often find cheap, gently used items. For us, we like to go to our Salvation Army. We can't always find items, but when we do it's like we had the jackpot! 

3. Stores That Offer Coupons.

    There are certain retail stores that regularly post coupons for new children's items. Two stores that I know regularly offer coupons are Burlington Coat Factory and Target. Target has an app called Cartwheel. In this app, if you click on the baby section, you can see all of the current coupons they are offering for children's items (like Circo children's clothing or Gerber baby Purees).

Where do you like to shop for cheaper children's items? 

DIY Easy Crochet Beanie with Felt Flower!

   As a relatively new SAHM, things can get overwhelming and frustrating since I'm still getting used to being at home full-time and living in a city that is newer for Mr. Picturesque and I. So instead of solely focusing on getting Baby P. down for her naps, sticking to our daily schedule, and meeting new mom friends... I decided to start some crafts that I've always wanted to do for my children. This led me to crocheting!

    I've always wanted to crochet. I've been interested in learning for at least ten years, but every time I started I stopped from it seeming too complicated. During Baby P's nap times, I decided it was a good time to start picking this up again. I found an amazing video that literally was SUPER EASY to follow and started to crochet Baby P's first handmade beanie.

    Here are the video directions:                                    

    I did have to make some alterations to Wooly Wonders Crochet's directions, since I had a different sized crochet needle than she used and Baby P was much bigger than the video directed. Basically I just added many more rows than the video directed and it fits perfectly! It took me a few days to complete this project (mostly because I worked on this at nap times and her play times).

    When I was done, I decided it would look even cuter with a flower on it. I had felt lying around so I thought, "hey let's find a video on how to do a felt flower." To complete the felt flower, it literally took me 5 minutes! Super easy and quick! Here's the video with those directions:

   

A photo of the finished product:

          

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Living Room "Re-do"

My husband and I recently purchased our first home back in January. We have been working hard to get it looking great! One of the big things we have been doing is getting it painted. It has plain white walls throughout the house. Here are pictures from the before and after of our living room.

Before we moved in:

 The colors we picked for the living room and the accent wall:

 Right as we finished painting

After: