JUDGE ME – BabyCostsMoney

When Grandma Comes to Town.

Published on October 27, 2016December 12, 2016 by Darlene DeeLeave a comment

Granny and Grampy (the in-laws) were in town last weekend and they wanted to take Babystar shopping for things that she NEEDS. I anticipated this because I am excellent at seeing the future and because they do this every time (AND because they kept reminding me) so I thought Stride Rite seemed the perfect destination.

Babystar got new Mary Janes because her current favorite shoes are about to not fit anymore (and I have no idea where to buy them). And she also got some fuzzy-inside, comfy winter boots because it gets cold here in Northern Virginia. So that was wonderful and very helpful. And Babystar even got a few stickers. Luckily, Stride Rite made sure she knew which stickers were appropriate for a little girl via the tried-and-true color coding system. And luckily my baby don’t give a fuuuuck. You already know we came home with Star Wars AND Sesame Street WHAAAAAAAAAT.

Have you ever been to Tyson’s Corner Mall? If you live in or near Northern Virginia, the answer is probably yes. Do you know what store is right next door to Stride Rite? If you said the American Girl store, you win. Guess what you win? You get to give ME $100.

I have already gone on record about the American Girl store. But I’m not even mad. Here’s how it went down. Babystar raced into the red and pink wonderland so Grammy and I followed.

Babystar headed straight for the ‘babies’ like they were calling her name and singing her favorite songs and I’m not convinced that they weren’t. And of course the ‘babies’ are on REALLY LOW shelves, right? So here is Babystar manipulating Grammy into bringing a Bitty Baby home with us.

So effective, right? I almost want to buy her one and I DEFINITELY DO NOT want to buy her one.

Of course it worked. She even got an extra outfit because she said ‘kitty’ and pointed to an outfit with a cat on it. (Yes, she knows the word kitty and I am very proud but am I more proud of her vocabulary or her clear ability to control her world around her? I’m not sure yet.)

She immediately has to show Grampy who is waiting on the bench outside because he is smart. And she is smart.

And then be ALL CUTE about it. Jeez, ok, that little pose is worth $60, I guess. Suckers.

And here I imagine her thinking, mama, give me the camera. This is none of your business.

The lovely, thoughtful, well-meaning grandparents also bought her three pairs of maxaloones from etsy because I wanted her to have pants that will fit over her cloth diapers and hopefully last an entire season. I let Grammy pick (but I only showed her cute ones to choose from) and I’m excited for them to arrive in the mail!

RAISING BABYSTAR: $12,790.51

Unsolicited Rave.

Published on June 6, 2016June 2, 2016 by Darlene Dee2 Comments

I swear no one paid me to say this.

I WISH someone would pay me to say things. Type things. Whatever.

I have a huge crush on Babyganics Toy & High Chair Cleaner. I use it on the high chair and on toys and on the table and on the floor and on everything. It’s basically my new favorite all purpose cleaner. It works really well to clean off the sticky. And my house now has a lot of sticky. And it is made to clean toys, so I think it is safe for Babystar to then lick those toys. And she is actually licking everything, so I might as well use it to clean everything. Yes, she licks the floor. Intentionally. I’ve seen her do it. I do not understand it. I guess she is just doing her experiments.

Four thumbs up. (Mine and hers.)

(I already bought this so no adding to the bottom line here. I should probably need a new one by now but it lasts a really long time. Or I don’t clean as often as I should. Yeah, probably that.)

RAISING BABYSTAR: $7,647.75

Business Opportunity.

Published on July 12, 2015April 23, 2016 by Darlene Dee1 Comment

We really need better children’s used clothing shops in northern Virginia (NoVa if you’re nasty).

If I wasn’t so tired I might open one. Would I? I don’t even know. I have not slept more than five hours in a row since June 19. And that five hour stretch I just mentioned? That was an anomaly. An anomaly I remember quite fondly. Fond Anomaly would make a great name for an experimental jazz band. I am tired.

Today I checked out the local used clothing game. We don’t have a Once Upon a Child nearby, but we have some local boutiques. I won’t mention the names because they were garbage. Unorganized, overpriced, unfriendly GARBAGE.

I did buy one shirt in one of the stores. I need long sleeves for this baby as we are going to Canada later this month. This one shirt was twelve freaking dollars. What?

RAISING THIS BABY: $2,783.87