craig n' me

I have a new best friend. His name is Craigslist...I'll call him Craig for short.

Craig has turned me on to some wonderfully awesome deals recently. The first was an ad for toddler-sized clothing, for sale by a local mom of 3. I went over to her house one sunny Saturday morning and picked through a pile of clothing in Miss M's size. Came away with a big shopping bag of stuff--including a great winter coat--for just $13!

The second deal Craig hooked me up with was a halloween costume. I had been planning on making a no-sew ladybug outfit for M until I saw a listing for a 2T ladybug costume, mint-condition, for just $5. Picked that sucker up yesterday (cheaper than I could have made one!).I LOVE getting good deals. It means you can save money for other things (gas, food, gourmet coffees).

I know some folks refuse to buy secondhand anything for their kids, but I figure what the heck? Most little ones grow so fast that they don't get a full season's wear out of clothes anyway, and you can get stuff--sometimes brand-name--waaaay cheaper than buying it new. Plus I'm in the recycling loop, using things that otherwise might be thrown away.

So, thank you, Craig! I'll be turning to you for more advice--I could really use a few things for the house and maybe, just maybe, you can help me out with that, too.

FALL!

It was a beautiful weekend to engage in fall-type-stuff, so that's what we did on Saturday. There are a couple of farms on the edge of town that join together to hold a fall festival, complete with pumpkin picking, hayrides, petting areas for the kids & animals (kids pet the animals, not the other way around :), and more. We visited both farms and enjoyed just about everything there was to offer. Miss M had a blast. Here favorite by far was the "corn sandbox"--a giant tub filled with dried corn and stocked with lots of little shovels, rakes, and dump trucks. When we got home I had to dump the corn out of her shoes, pockets, and even the hood of her jacket!



Feeding the calves.





Way cool hay stacks to climb. She went all the way to the top with Daddy later!




"It's just the right size for me!"





The awesome corn-sandbox.








And finally...what's fall without pumpkins? (We brought home 2.)



Later that evening we went to an outdoor movie...The Wizard of Oz. Surprisingly, M sat thru the ENTIRE movie!! The first half of it she stared, wide-eyed, at the screen, absently dipping her hand into the popcorn bag that she was hoarding. The second half she spent on my lap, snuggled under a blanket (it was a chilly night). We don't have pics of that, but, true to form, Kevin took plenty of video.

Hope everyone is enjoying the season as much as we are!