I'm Going To Be An Aunt!

My hubby's sister is pregnant and due next January, or February we think. She isn't quite sure of her due date yet, but she will find out soon at her next appointment.

We're all very excited! This will be the 6th grandchild for my In-laws, and the first grandchild they'll be able to hold from birth. They haven't met my one niece who lives in Minnesota, and my father in law has only met my kids once. We're planning a trip out there next summer, July probably, and then we'll be able to meet the newest member of our family. My sister-in-law and I have gotten quite close, and text and talk all the time, so it's like my own sister is expecting. It is quite funny because as this is her first pregnancy, she is full of questions and keeps asking me stuff about being pregnant.

We're all hoping she has a boy too. My brother in law is the only boy in his family, and our son is the only boy in our family. Actually, my son is the only grandson on each side! So we need some boys!!!

I was at the mall yesterday picking up a shirt for myself, and also stopped by Gymboree to check out their Red Balloon Sale. I picked up this for Katie (my sis in law):



The romper was a whopping $2.39 and the pants were only $.79!!!!! I'm going to try find the coordinating jacket and hat for her as well.

I love those pieces. Aren't they cute? They're a soft velour material.

I also picked up these items for my own kids:




For the older girls, they got the shirts and skirts, my son got the Halloween shirt, and the baby got the jeans and cami. Our oldest got the Halloween tights, and all the girls are sharing the hair accessories. The Christmas ones will be going in stockings, as will the tulle skirts. The older girls will love them (and I got one for them in each of their sizes!)

My grand total was only $52.62 plus tax. I got 22 items for $2.59 each with tax!!! But if you want to get technical like me, without tax, each item cost $2.39. Way better than Wal Mart or Target prices!!

Cry With Me!

Many of you know that I am a die-hard Gymboree shopper. Even Mama Bear knows it, and sends me her coupons in the mail from Canada.

Well, last January was Gymbuck Redemption time. That is when you redeem your "Gymbucks", which are essentially $25 off a $50 purchase. You have to spend $50 to earn them too. I had a bunch of Gymbucks, and bought a large majority of my daughter's fall and winter wardrobe. It was stuff I was so excited for her to wear, I even had her do a little fashion show. I bought big too, because I knew she would be growing during the summer months.

Little did I know how much she would grow.

Are you ready?

Since her 3 year checkup on March 12th, she has grown almost a half inch and GAINED 4 POUNDS!!!! 4 freakin' pounds in 2.5 months!!!!!

So guess what? Tomorrow all those clothes I got for dirt cheap are going back. That means the $2 shirts, the $5 jeans, everything is going back. It fits her NOW. We're into summer heat now, and averaging about 70-80F days, so there is no sense in keeping it in case it fits. Her little chubby belly won't let me button up the jeans without them being at the loosest possible hole on the adjustable waist. I could possibly hold off and keep them, but she would need everything new by October at the latest. And I only have 6 months to return anyway, and my 6 months is up June 14th.

I'm so bummed out about this! Some of this stuff I can't buy anymore because it is a 5T, and Gymboree's baby girl sizes stop at a 5T. She'll be almost exclusively in Kid girl now. So most of it isn't even replaceable in a bigger size. I've learned my lesson, that's for sure. I was lucky that I bought a few size 6 tops for her, so I have a few items I can keep.

I guess there is a silver lining to this cloud though, I get to replace the items that don't fit. Which means I get to buy all new stuff for the fall.

For the record, she is 3y3months, almost 40" tall and weighs 38lbs. She is wearing a full size 5 right now, with a few 4s and 6s thrown in. Her jeans are a size 4, and all the new ones I buy will have to be a 5. In the fall, her tops will be mostly size 6 with a few big 5s thrown in. This does explain having to size up on her shorts yesterday, her thighs looked like they were in sausage casings!

What are your 3 year old's stats?

Bargain Shopping

I'm not sure I am what some people would call a bargain shopper, but to myself I am. We've had a bit of good luck with sales lately, so I wanted to share my good deals.

Today we had to run to the mall to pick up a charger for my kids' game boy, and also stopped into The Children's Place and Gymboree because both were having a Memorial Day Sale.

Shopping at TCP was even more of a bargain today, because their points card was giving double points for the month of may and June. I spent $28.20 before tax, so double points brought me to $76 worth of qualifying purchases (I had $20 already). Once you reach $75, you get a $10 rewards card. So I will be getting that shortly, and can use it in store to shop. With my perks place rewards card, I also got an additional 10% off my purchases. Today I bought 6 t-shirts and only spent $31.25 total.

Gymboree was my favorite stop of the day, as if that isn't already painfully obvious, lol. I haven't been shopping there very much because we've been trying to save some money, and because my husband just had an accident. But I had been saving my pennies, and also had a coupon saved for this weekend's sale. For a total of $55.72 including tax, I got:

2 pairs of pants
6 pairs of pajamas (2 for each older girl, one for the baby and one for the boy)
2 sets of hair accessories

The pajamas averaged about $6-$7 each, and my cheapest item was only $.95!!! I tried to paste pictures, but the stock photos are missing for some reason off the website. I can't find them anywhere.

While I wasn't planning on shopping at Gymboree today, I'm glad I got some good deals, and everyone got something. Even I did, because Bath and Body works was having their Memorial Day Sale as well. I bought myself some "Just A Minute" hand scrub for only $6. It was 50% off!

Look What I Just Bought!

No need to hide my Gymboree "addiction", lol, so I had to share what I bought tonight for the girls. The poor boy didn't get a stitch, but that is ok, because he is going shopping with Daddy next week for school clothes (so are the older girls, but my hubby will probably get him a few extra things).

This is what I got for the baby, I also got antennae too, but I am not sure if they will fit her yet. If not, I can easily buy or make some:

I got this shirt for all three girls so they can match

I also got this for the older two girls. Now all three girls have matching pjs. The baby has those pjs already from last year, they still fit her.



I'll be buying the older kids halloween costumes soon, but I wanted to get the baby's costume because it was 30% off. Gymboree has some really cute pjs (gymmies are what they call them) this year, they also have black skeleton gymmies that I have for the baby as well. Unfortunately, not in the boy's size, as he is a bean pole and needs a size 10.

My FANTASTIC Deals Today!

Not many of you would consider this a big deal, but to us die-hard gymboree shoppers, it is. I was invited to go "back-room" shopping. Does anyone know how big of a deal this is? they have all of the clearance stuff there, from last year and sometimes before. Only select customers get asked/invited. All of the clothes are very highly discounted. So needless to say, I was sooooo excited!! I shopped for all 4 kids today and got over 1K dollars worth of merchandise. 55 pieces. How much do you think I paid for all of it? just guess.

$163.00
yep, ,that's it! Everything was on sale for 20% off, plus the stuff was already discounted, PLUS...I had a 20% off coupon!

And I earned 3 gymbucks!

I forgot to add, my best deal of the day was a t-shirt for the boy. It was marked down to $.49 cents. I got it for $.29 after all the discounts!!!

Gymboree Time Again

Here is Karen's lastest gymboree installment

Gymboree has a new sale starting Thursday--it's the Circle of Friends sale, and this time around it runs May 8-11. With a coupon, you get 30 percent off of your entire purchase--and YES, that includes marked-down merchandise! But you have to have a coupon. (Sometimes, you might get a nice sales associate who will give you the 30 percent off anyway (maybe if you are a loyal customer, etc.), but for the most part, a coupon is required to get the discount.) By the way, the COF discount cannot be combined with any other coupon.

Many COF coupons already have been distributed in stores, and I just got another one e-mailed to me today. If you need one, try this link for a printable version--or I can forward the e-mail to you. (This is an e-mail that can be forwarded to share the savings, and I'm happy to do so.)

The Circle of Friends sale runs a few times a year. I can't remember specifically how many times or when it occurs, but it's at least twice (maybe more). A lot of people will go in on Wednesday before the sale starts (that's tomorrow, folks) and put their items on hold. That way, they have a better selection and can just go in on Thursday to purchase their items and not have to fight the crowds while making their selections.

Many people will use this as an opportunity to buy the latest line (a new line debut usually coincides with big sale/promotional events like this), but I like to stick with already-marked-down items to get the biggest discount I can. (I am like that pretty much across the board with Gymboree--I buy things already discounted and then like to combine that with a coupon or other promotion, etc.)

One other tip: Some people try to sell the Circle of Friends coupons. Please don't pay for one! This is one Gymboree coupon that is easy to get. It is usually freely distributed in stores before the event and is printable from an e-mail sent by Gymboree. As I mentioned earlier, I am happy to forward the e-mail to anyone who needs a coupon--Gymbroee encourages this. I guess that's why it's called the "Circle of Friends" sale.

If you are an online shopper, the discount code to use is "GYMFRIEND."

Happy Shopping!

Now for myself, I am not sure if I will shop this sale. The older girls need some summer stuff, but I guess it depends if we get our stimulus check this friday or not. There is always the "Camp Gymboree" sale that starts on the 12th, and certain pieces are on sale for $8...NEW items. And if you have a coupon, you can use it during the Camp sale and get items for $6 a piece. I might hit that up instead of COF, but like I said, it depends if we get the stimulus check on friday or not.

Gymboree Sale!!!

Hey Readers...

Just a heads up for an upcoming Gymboree Sale on 4/23. Items are going to be priced at .99, 4.99 and 6.99 I think. Best of all, you can use a coupon too!!! If you can still find the April "Cookie" magazine, there is a 20% off gymboree coupon in there.
There will be lots of markdowns, so head over early if you want to stock up!

Happy Shopping!

Also, Karen has updated her gymbo tutorial, so here is the link to her latest post.

I want to add too, I used to be one of those "OMG I can't believe she shops there! Doesn't she know how expensive it is? What a waste of money" blah blah blah women.
But I have been converted and now shop mostly there for our youngest. She does have Target, Old Navy, Wal Mart, TCP, and Gap too though. As do all of the othe kids. Though I shop mostly for them at TCP and ON as I don't really care for gymbo for them.
You have to shop the sales, otherwise you're not going to get a good deal. If I can find items for 6.99, and I have a 20% off coupon...that's a great deal. I would say I pay less than 10$ a piece for an average price, but I have found some awesome stuff for only .99 cents! And I stock up for future years too...usually just the next cold or warm season though. For example, this summer I will purchase for summer 2009. And last winter i purchased for fall/winter 2008. This way I get clothing at bargain prices, and she still looks put together and cute! And I almost always try to have gymbucks so that I can get stuff for 50% off or even better.

One disclaimer I have is that Gymboree is NOT as cheap in Canada. Sorry for my Cdn readers!! It has a huge markup there.

For All You Gymbo-Phobes

Here is a small tutorial, thanks to my fellow GF Karen. You can visit her blog here. She will be posting more gymbo tutorials, so I will add those as she does, and add my own info if necessary.

Gymbo Mumbo Jumbo--Part 1

By popular demand, I have agreed to start divulging top-secret secrets regarding buying Gymboree on the cheap. Please note that this is classified information. If you see me in a Gymboree store, please do not approach me. If asked, I never knew you.

But seriously ... here are a few ground rules:

1. Never pay full price for Gymboree. Ever. Well, I guess you could pay full price if you really wanted to ... but really there is no reason to--unless, by some bizarre sequence of events, your daughter is asked to be a flower girl in a wedding and the bride has chosen a dress from Gymboree--and she just asked your DD to be the flower girl less than 24 hours before the ceremony, thus leaving you no time to at least scrounge up a coupon. That might be called an extreme circumstance and a full-price purchase could possibly be understood. But these should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

2. Join GymboFriends.com. This is a message board dedicated to Gymboree clothing. Yes, there are such things. But it's also so much more. There are forums about other things also--as well as a buy/sell/trade section, where members can--you guessed it--buy, sell and trade items (mostly Gymboree clothing, but it is not limited to just Gymbo). It does not cost a thing to be a member or to buy--but if you want to sell or trade, then you have to purchase a subscription, which is only $1.99 a month. Well worth it, IMO. As a buyer (again, it's free to buy), you can get some amazing deals. Amazing, I said. Even if you are not interested in the B/S/T section, it is definitely worth it to sign up on the site. Some of the members are Gymboree experts--they post announcements/reminders well in advance of the next sale, and they post the new line photos days before a new line makes an appearance in the store or on the Gymboree Web site. I have learned A LOT about how to get the biggest bang for my Gymbo buck on this site.

There is so much to cover regarding how to get great deals at Gymboree, and I don't think I can do it all in one post. So I think this will be a series of posts over the next several days or weeks. I'll try to cover the major sales, coupons, GymBucks, and resale as well as any other related topics that may come up. Happy Shopping!

Thanks Karen!!!

I wanted to add that I recently got the baby 7 outfits for $55, from the Tres Chic line. This was a fantastic deal because the items were 60% off already, plus I had a 20% off coupon. I think this is probably my favorite line so far, minus the poodles. I don't like poodles.

Spring Break Started With A Bang...And A Very Sore Throat

Yep, you guessed it...i woke up this morning and I can barely swallow. Halls, Tylenol, ice cream, diet pepsi, ice cold water...nothing helps. NOTHING!!!! I hate feeling like this, I'm miserable. Ugh!

We haven't gotten to do much of anything for spring break yet because it has been raining. But hey, what else can I expect from the rainy northwest, right? Yesterday we were treated to a trip to our Real Estate agent's office, and a run to the bank and to the grocery store. Today we had an even better day, as I got to take all four kids to the dentist and walmart for cat food, baby wipes and vinegar, which I didn't know I was out of yesterday, or I would have bought them. Let's hope tomorrow is better. We're going to the mall first thing because it is time to spend my Gymbucks. For those of you gymbo fanatics, I need not explain. For the rest of you...I spent $150 and got $75 in coupons in february. Tomorrow I get to purchase $150 worth of Gymboree clothes for the kids for only $75. And it doesn't cost me a thing, because I received a gift card from LOWES for free delivery from my washer and dryer that I bought last month, and covers the total amount!! Score!!!

The kids and I were so excited today because "The Water Horse" came out on DVD today. We have a netflix account, so it was going to arrive today because netflix shipped it yesterday. It didn't come today. I dont know why, but i think I have a super cranky mail carrier.

So my dear readers, and I think I only have a couple ;o), I must go now as I have to change a poopy diaper and get dinner out of the crockpot. Tonight we are eating my famous meal, tator tot casserole! Tonight I decided to change it up a bit and add an extra can of cream of chicken soup. I think I like it better like this, it's a lot creamier.

Don't I lead a glamorous life?

And just a quick edit to add: It turns out our mail carrier is not only cranky, but also VERY slow. I had the boy check the mail at 5:45 and it was finally there. I am used to getting my mail at 11am or sooner, so I don't particularly care to receive it so late in the day. So, after dinner and the dishes are done, the kids and I can sit down and watch the movie.