Did you know that this year we have the most days possible between Thanksgiving and Christmas?
Which means that THIS YEAR we have the longest Christmas season possible.
I love lights and trees and wrapping presents and holiday playlists so this is SO LIT.
We bought Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving. The ToddlerMonster was super excited. But she didn’t want a big tree. (Mama did though so obvs we have one.)
But she got her little tree too. HER CUTE FACE IS IRRESISTIBLE! Literally impossible to resist.
The little tree is in her bedroom, waiting for ornaments. ($40 plus a $25 small stand.) I have a feeling we have started a new tradition.
Oh look, there’s that $9.99 robot pillow we bought at Ikea. Yet another offering to the Goddess of Tantrum-Free Shopping.
What else have I forgotten? Gas. For years and years, I filled the minivan once a month. I worked from home and I hate driving anywhere outside the beltway. But now, I fill the tank TWICE a month. I still don’t often leave the beltway but Babystar and I find ourselves on mini adventures every day. This started when she was about eighteen months old and noticed that we were walking to the same three playgrounds and one library. So a year ago. And a tank of gas is about $40. I’ll add $480 for the last year and $40 per month going forward unless something changes.
Oh, and diaper pail liners! We buy one pack of Harris Teeter brand thirteen-gallon trash bags every month and we only use them in the Ubbi diaper pail. We bought the diaper pail in February of 2016, twenty-one months ago. The bags are $6.47 per box. Um. Math. That’s $135.87 so far. And I’ll add the $6.47 going forward until we are done with diapers.
I wonder what else I have missed. There hasn’t been a change in the electric bill or anything like that. I used to work from home, so we had the air or heat on all the time anyway. Am I overlooking anything obvious?
Yes. The Target Baby Box. $7.42. They only offer the Baby Box once in awhile but I got one last month! We already love the honest face and body lotion — both of us. Babystar likes to lotion her hands and legs and put on chapstick just like mama. SO CUTE I COULD DIE. (You see why she gets her own Christmas tree just by asking nicely, right??)
And again with the food. Below is November’s list. I KNOW that this part is horribly boring but I’m really all about the accuracy here. Just skip reading this part. I don’t mind. I barely want to write it. All those bullet points and typing, ugh. Amirite?
- Costco fruit bowl 9.99
- waffles 2.50, 2.50
- blueberries 6.99, 3.99
- pirate’s booty 8.99
- Costco hot dog 1.50
- IKEA pizza 1.75
- IKEA hot dog .75
- IKEA water 1.00
- Trader Joe’s strawberry bar 1.99, 1.99
- Trader Joe’s fig bar 1.99
- Trader Joe’s toaster strudels 2.69, 2.69
- Mac and cheese 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99
- cheese slices 4.99
- pasta snakes (penne) 1.49
- letter cookies 2.99
- bananas 1.50
- Honest juice boxes for popsicles 3.69, 3.69
- frozen pizzas (don’t judge me!) 3.14 3.14, 2.15, 2.15, 2.15, 2.15 (hell of a sale!)
- vanilla ice cream 4.49
- McDonald’s Happy Meal 2.99, 2.99, 4.19 (they gave me the wrong one but I didn’t bother to complain), 2.99
- Chick-fil-A kid’s meal with uncharge on my fries to share 3.49 + .20
- Chick-fil-A kid’s meal 3.49 + .20
- Chick-fil-A kid’s meal 3.49 + .20
- Chick-fil-A kid’s meal 3.49 + .20
- cantaloupe 3.99
- grapes 4.24, 4.76
- tots 3.49, 1.65
- Panera kid’s meal 4.99
- small box of cereal at 7-11 1.99 (ripoff)
- Busboys and Poets kid’s pasta and juice plus tip 10.00
- Harry’s fries plus tip $7
- goldfish crackers 2.49, 1.79
- animal crackers 1.49
- Haagen Dazs sundae 5.68
- turkey pepperoni 2.19, 2.19
- strawberries 2.99
- penguin crackers 1.49, 1.49, 1.49
We bought some other boring stuff in November.
- diapers 23.49, 15.09
- bubble bath 14.09
- baby wipes 3.49, 2.99, 4.99, 2.99, 3.29
- laundry detergent 8.46
- storage unit 127.00
Hopefully you haven’t read all the way down here because WHO CARES about the cost of grapes in November although why are grapes always on sale in November? I never noticed until I started writing this shit down. It’s such a weird time for them to be in season. When is grape season? I need to go to bed.
RAISING BABYSTAR: $24,297.64
BabyCostsMoney 