Tag: mom blog

Happy Father’s Day (Mate)!

Published on by Darlene Dee1 Comment

Ok, so it’s not actually Father’s Day in the United States. But yesterday was Father’s Day in Australia, which totally reminded me that I did not write a Father’s Day post this year.

Whoops.

I didn’t write the things we bought for my darling husband on my eternal Babystar list because they were for HIM, not HER. But obviously I should have, because he is a father BECAUSE OF HER.

So. How freaking cute are these matching Big Dipper and Little Dipper t-shirts? I bought them from blackbirdsupply on Etsy, and they were $70.68. I paid for rush shipping because I am a terrible wife that did not plan ahead. Annoyingly, they arrived in plenty of time so I probably didn’t NEED the rush shipping but I am a wonderful wife that likes to be prepared. 😉

I also got them matching socks ($9.99) so they could look cool together at the local soft play rooms.

And Babystar painted a wooden heart shaped frame ($3 and I already had the paint) all by herself and it is the cutest thing in the world. Almost three months later, and I still haven’t ordered a picture for it. Maybe for Christmas?

IMG_8637

HEY AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND PARENTS: Happy Father’s Day to you or any fathers in your life. How did you celebrate?

RAISING BABYSTAR: $21,140.46

Mo Potty, Mo Problems.

Published on by Darlene Dee25 Comments

I hate potty training. Can I say that? Am I still a good mom?

I don’t even care. I DESPISE potty training.

Can’t I just put the kid in diapers until she’s like, dude, stop buying me diapers, I am old enough to drive to the store and get them myself now. Or something.

UGH.

But yeah. Ok. The oldest two go pee pee in the potty like big boys and girls (they are gonna love this sentence btw as they are in college haha). So I guess the little one gets her shot too.

I blame the cousins. Ever since those two weeks of Toddler Fun in early July, Babystar wants to pee in the Big Potty. There were tons of potty breaks for the 3yo and 4yo, as you might imagine. Babystar was watching everything. We have spent SO MUCH FREAKING TIME hanging out on the Big Potty singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and Open, Shut Them and I’m getting a bit sick of it.

Guess how much pee has made it into the Big Potty. Go ahead, guess. Did you guess one drop? If so, you are incorrect. The correct answer is ZERO.

We went out and got her a sweet bathroom set up. A BLUE potty seat, WITH handles, as requested ($15.99 for a two-pack). A step stool (ubbi, $14.99), as requested. (Although her feet still barely touch the stool when she sits on the potty. We recently remodeled our bathroom and all of the toilets are now ‘comfort height’ which I guess is comfortable if you are six feet tall but not so much if you are a tiny toddler.)

potty training seat

But the waters remain still.

I AM NOT READY FOR THIS NONSENSE.

MAYDAY MAYDAY: Help. Just help. Tell me something that will make this better. Pretty please.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $20,487.28

Baby’s Gotta Eat.

Published on by Darlene Dee10 Comments

I have no idea how to make these posts more interesting. 

Once again, I fed the baby. A+ parenting, I know.

  • Trader Joe’s Mac & cheese $2.99, $2.99, $2.99
  • Trader Joe’s Apple bars $1.99, $1.99
  • TJ’s Blueberry bars $1.99
  • Multigrain Cheerios $5.49
  • Eggs $3.99
  • Salmon $4.00
  • Mahimahi $3.00
  • Ice cream minis $1.49, $1.49, $1.49
  • Cookies (she wanted them but I ate them whoops) $2.89
  • Blueberries $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $2.99, $3.99, $2.99
  • Strawberries $1.50, $3.00
  • Pineapple $2.99, $1.86
  • Bananas $1.11
  • Watermelon $4.99
  • TJ’s French fries $2.99
  • Robek’s small smoothie $4.99, $4.99
  • Starbucks fruit cup $2.99
  • Chick-fil-A kids meal $3.75, $3.75, $3.25, $3.25
  • Wendy’s French fries $1.00
  • m&m’s $0.99

MAYDAY MAYDAY: How do I get my toddler to eat vegetables? I put them on her plate all the time. Sometimes she takes a bite or two. But not often. I am trying to remember the whole ‘my job is to offer the food and her job is to eat it’ thing. She loved Brussels sprouts red pepper and spinich purees as a baby. What gives??

Have I broken the baby somehow?

RAISING BABYSTAR: $17,877.65

B. Ball. Balloon.

Published on by Darlene Dee1 Comment

This post is brought to you by the Letter B.

We finally brought out the letter magnets that I’ve had tucked in the closet for over a year. I can no longer find my refrigerator. Babystar likes naming the letters now. Not all of them; she has favorites. And she is convinced that we have two ‘W’s.

 

Also, unrelated, Babystar fell in love with this rainbow ball at Micheal’s. I posted all about the crayons and stickers but forgot about this ball. And so did she, apparently, because it is currently under my seat in the van. $4.

And another balloon joined our family. Babystar asked for the ‘LELLOW STAR!’ at the Harris Teeter checkout line and then I almost died when I handed it to her and she very clearly said, ‘thank you, mama.’ But I recovered long enough to pay for it. $3.50.

We have also been to Busy Bees (more B’s!) twice lately with my darling niece, during 2-for-1 Tuesdays. $15.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $16,921.49

Back to Cloth.

Published on by Darlene Dee7 Comments

With few exceptions, Babystar has been in disposable diapers for about a month now. I started when I packed the bag for the Women’s March last month and disposables were so much lighter. I kept her in disposables through a bathroom renovation that took away my access to the diaper sprayer for a week. Then we all got sick and now we are better but yet the disposable diapers remain on the baby.

I’m not gonna lie — I don’t hate them. They are not as cute as the cloth diapers, but they definitely have their benefits.

disposables

But today we are back in cloth. Let’s do this!


We bought eleven packs of diapers during this glorious, lazy month. The Target brand was somehow always on sale for $4.99. Score! So $54.89 for almost a month. Eh. The fancy cloth we use costs $30-35 each. I think you CAN save money using cloth but I definitely did NOT.

(We still have disposables left but we also still use them at night and on Sundays in the church nursery.)

RAISING BABYSTAR: $14,738.38