What are your essentials in your diaper bag??

I have really come a long way from the twins giant diaper bag to nico's which can fit everything for 3 kids!
I know that having a newborn is differnt then what i have in my diaper bag..for a 5 month old even. I do carry a lot in the car in case of emergencies too. So the cooler stays in the car unless we go out to eat
What do i have in mine?  or what do i bring with me when i leave?
1. Diaper bag- Lexi Barnes Bag- Love love love it! mamabargains.com thank you
   -Changing pad
   -Skully Wet bag- by mini me- Great for wet CD's, wet clothes, nasty bibs, and anything else
   -Gro baby shell and inserts
   -Emergency Disposable diapers
   -Teething tablets
   -Infant Tylenol
   -Epi-pen - for my poor allergy ridden Reese!
   -Wipes
   -A extra onesie for Nico
   -My nursing cover
   - Sunscreen - we live in Las Vegas
   -Desitin
   -Emergency formula and bottle- Baby's only organic and avent bottle...I nurse but I am always prepared for the worst!

   -
2. Lunch size cooler for Snacks for the boys.
      - Water for the boys
      - Snacks for the boys
      - bottle if needed for Nico
      - santizing wipes - for cleaning off nasty dirty tables/highchairs and such!
      - Ikea bibs- They are a must have for kids when eating out! They cover the arms and have a pocket to catch everything and they aren't bulky!! I just rool them up and shove them in the side mesh pocket! They are by far the best find ever!!! And look at the cute new colors..Must get some more!

3. Ergo if needed that day!

4. My purse! Which is a PPB small diaper bag. lol
     - A small first aid kit
     - benadryl chewables
     - Emergency snacks
     - Lipgloss and powder and.. ELF All over color
               I never get a chance to fully do my make up so I can leave and put some on when we get where we are going if I never had a chance.
     - Emergency diapers just 3 - 1 in each kids size - so i can run in w/o the diaper bag sometimes!!

Super diaper deal--- Hop on the diaper bandwagon NOW!! Amazon deal even better!

The Amazon.com diaper deal just got hotter: You can stack the magazine codes!!

Okay, so I’m pretty sure that you all are well aware of the great diaper deals available on Amazon.com right now. But I just found out that they are a whole lot hotter than we originally thought because you can stack the 20% off codes in the Parents and Parenting the Early Years August and September issues.
The thought never occurred to me to try this, so a huge shout-out to Baby Cheapskate for discovering this and passing it on! Here’ how it works:



::Go to the Baby section on Amazon and click on the “Special Offer” link at the top to see all products which qualify for the 30% off discount. (Be sure to check the Amazon Coupons Page here and refresh a few times to see if there’s any applicable coupons. They have $2/1 Pampers coupons and more.)



::Choose the diapers you’d like to purchase.



::Add them to your cart using the Subscribe & Save feature and they should show up at 30% off plus free shipping.



::Add the 20% off coupon codes from the August or September 2010 Parents or Parenting the Early Years magazines to the coupon code box. It looks like you may be able to use at least three different codes in one order!



::Once you receive your diapers, don’t forget to log in and cancel your subscription — unless you’d like to continue receiving diapers at the discounted rate.



Thank you Money Saving Mom for your info!!

Free Full Size Fekkai at Saks on August 26th

On August 26th, you can get a free full sized Fekkai hair product at Saks 5th Avenue. How?? Here's what Frederic Fekkai's Facebook page says:

On August 26th, Fekkai will be giving away complimentary full size styling products to Saks Fifth Avenue shoppers nationwide. ($23 value) Guests can make their styling dreams come true by pre-registering, going to their local Sa...ks Fifth Avenue with their registration certificate, and choosing the luxurious Fekkai styling product that fits their hair needs. Styling choices include voluptuous volume, radiant color protection, silky and straight, and brilliant shine. Pre-registration instructions will be sent to Facebook fans first, so look out for details!!!



So go here to become a fan. Registration begins next week!

Attention Target Shoppers!!! Mens polo's only .74 cents

Heather from The Clearance Chick emailed in to say she found Men’s Polo Shirts on clearance at her Target store for only $3.74 each. She used the $3/1 Merona Men’s Shirt coupon to get these for $0.74 each.

I can’t guarantee that you’ll find the same clearance prices at your Target store, but I’d definitely encourage you to print the Target clothing coupons available and check the clearances available at your Target store. You may be able to get some items for free or less than $1 each! YOu know how target clearance is so check and see what you can find! And share some of your finds!!

Amazon has Melissa and doug craft supplies 70% off

Amazon.com has a number of different Melissa & Doug Arts and Crafts Supplies clearanced for up to 70% off.

Thanks, The Thrifty Couple!

Aggo and FuzziBunz deal!!

Fuzzibunz and Agoo have teamed up to bring you this awesome Agoo Friends Event. This event features 2 diapers and a $50 Agoo voucher that allows you to shop any Agoo products just in time for back to school.
Reg price $100 on sale now for only $45.00 until supplies last. 

 

Fuzzi Bunz Giveaway!!

Check out the blog Growing Green Bums  and enter to win... one of our lucky readers will win a 3-Pack of One-Size FuzziBunz® Reusable Cloth Diapers (your color of choice, of course!)

I love fuzzi bunz and hope to doa review of them soon on my blog but check this out.. you could win a 3 pack, wooo hooo!!

Making baby food- How to start??? Part one

First off, Why make your own baby food? 

• You know where everything is coming from!
• You know exactly what is in each item!
• You will save tons of Money!!
• Your baby food will be fresh and taste better then anything you can get in the store!!
• No added preservatives, ingredients, no weird colored things in your pantry! 
• It is really very easy!!

When to start?

Many medical professionals still advise introducing baby's first foods anywhere from 4 to 6 months.
However, this is a subject that has been hugely researched of late and the current recommendation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is that:  no solid foods are introduced to baby for the first 6 months.

These days, most experts agree that you shouldn't be looking at introducing solids until baby is at least 6 months old. And there are good reasons for this ...

• Very young babies have poor control of their throat and tongue muscles. This makes swallowing difficult and can cause choking or gagging.
• The tongue thrust reflex is still strong and can make solid feeding difficult.
• The risk of allergies increases if baby's first foods are introduced too soon.
• Early feeding can cause obesity.

The best advice when considering starting solid foods for your baby, "Watch the Baby - Not the Calendar"

Things to remember:

ALWAYS follow the 4 day wait rule when introducing a new food to baby - offer your baby the same new food for 4 days to test for allergies to that food. This applies even when you are making homemade baby food. Never introduce more than 1 new food at a time.

ALWAYS use clean hands, clean cooking utensils, preparation surface(s), pots/pans etc when making and and preparing homemade baby food. Cleanliness and Food Safety is a MUST when making homemade baby food. I always use the sterilize selection on my dishwasher!!
 
Introduce New Foods During the Morning or Early Afternoon - Why? Just in case of allergic reaction you can call or go to your doctor!
 
Give food after you have nursed or given a bottle, so they receive all the nutrients from that first! If this makes your child not as hungry the try feeding half the normal amount or time then finish after you have fed the baby food!
 
Try and Try again later!!
Remember the rule- your child may not like the flavor or texture at first! It take up to 10- 12 tries before they may like a food item! So you can try and move on to a different item and come back to something if necessary. So don't give up!

Don't forget to read signs from your baby as well though. My son was ready to eat everything on my plate at 5 months and was holding his own head up very early on. He was clearly ready to start on solid foods. So, listen to yourself and your doctor!

Now that you haven't been scared off, lets start with the basics.

What do you need?

• Ice cube trays
• A good blender- I use a Bullet- Yes, they work awesome! It is better then my blender!
• Plastic baggies- large or quart freezer bags (you can use Tupperware if you  want but it takes up lots of room
• lots of fresh veggies and fruits 
• Some place to cook it - My favorites :A pressure cooker or steamer - OK you can microwave but i prefer not to unless desperate. My new fantastic method is the electric pressure cooker!!

Note: Don't worry about having the baby food mill or the baby food freezer trays you will do fine with what you have!

This is a pic of the pressure cooker i have!

 This first thing to start with is rice cereal and you may feed this till your baby taking it well and not spitting it out at you and eager to eat!

So get your tools together and part 2 coming soon.. What foods to start when?

The Sunday Rant ~ Where is Vons?

No, I mean that literally!! I went to go do my shopping @ the grocery store and realized when i got there it was gone!!! I don't get to the actual grocery store often, with my bountiful basket and Costco.. I don't need the grocery store often. But there were some good vons deals I was gonna get and then *boom* I get there and it's gone. I went there 3 weeks ago and it was still there and now gone. What is happening out there?? I mean every place we turn things are closing down left and right. They opened a brand new sporting goods store near us and 4 months later its going out of business. Who wants to load the kids in the car to go shopping only to find out when you get there it's gone. Boo hoo hoo... I liked that Vons, it was close to my house, clean, and they were nice there! Oh well, I guess i have to go to Smith's. Which I like too, but i'm a coupon/add shopper!!
Hope you all have better luck then me!