Christmas Card Shopping

My family has been using Shutterfly/Tiny Prints for many years for photo ordering.  They have good prices and it is always nice to have a package on the doorstep instead of waiting at the photo counter with little ones.  Two years ago, we chose photo cards from them for the first time--and they were wonderful.  We have never had so much positive feedback on a Christmas card before.  Of course our kids are adorable, but the quality on these cards heavy paper was great too.

The customer service was great on those cards too, as we moved not too long before I ordered them and I forgot to change the shipping address.  We were able to remedy it with the excellent service they provided and get our cards out for Christmas.

Since it is November, I thought I'd share their Christmas Cards collection with you too, so you can make an order!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Simple

Pretty

Informative

Fun colors!

Don't forget to check for special promotions they offer here.

*I am receiving a coupon code, in exchange for my promotion of Tiny Prints, but all the opinions are my own.*

Computer

I can't get over how the price of computers have dropped. Our first laptop was over $750. As I've been scouting this week, I found them for $350! And of course they can run circles around the one we had before. Now to see if we can avoid purchasing a new one for 10 years!

We were late into the DVD scene because we knew if we waited we would be able to save quite a bit. Whats more, we could by those inexpensive VHS tapes that no one else wanted. Sometimes it pays to be late to the party!

In case your wondering, we got a Dell Inspiron, at recommendation from my mother.

Computers

My computer went kerplunk kerpluey (as in won't even run DOS) as I was scanning in pages from a little story that Kate wrote that I planned to let you read today. The netbook I'm using can't use my scanner (no CD drive), so you're stuck with just me today.

We'll be purchasing a new computer this week, which we haven't done in 10 years (yep, we aren't into the latest and greatest), so if you have any recommendations for the most basic of laptops or ones that haven't been great to stay away from, drop me a note. I blog, facebook, and email. I store pictures, type for home schooling, and occassionally stream a TV show, if my computer cooperates. The kids play a few educational games, not the things that take up a lot of RAM. So we don't need anything fancy. I prefer laptops to desk tops as a space issue. And that Nate tends not to type on it so much if I close a lid and hide the keyboard.

Dish Washin'

We bought this house nearly a month ago, knowing that the dishwasher wasn't usable. We opted to wait to order one until after closing, since there had been a few bumps along the way and we didn't want to have a dishwasher show up and not be able to get inside to hook it up. Besides, we weren't moving in for a week, and I could wash dishes by hand for a few days if it came to that.

Then the dishwasher wasn't immediately available, as we were ordering directly from the manufacturer. When it was to be available, our order had to be delayed due to Kate's camp, since I couldn't be available the entire day while I was with her in the mornings. Since then it has been delayed three more times. In the course the the past month we've used disposable plates a grand total of once (when we had company over for pizza and I was expecting to have 19 of us). That's a whole bunch of dishes we've been washing for a family of five!

Then today the delivery company I set a day and time with yesterday called and said, oh yeah, we don't install. I already paid for installation! And while I consider myself moderately good at doing things around the house that don't require heavy lifting, I don't know how to install a dishwasher.

I asked why the manufacturer picked them (out of all the available delivery companies in the world) and why, oh why, did they accept the order. Well, it seems that the fellow who set it up on the delivery company's end didn't know they don't install dishwashers (How did that happen?) and the manufacturer assumed that they did install. You know, since he didn't tell them otherwise. So now what do we do...

Since we ordered through Justin's dad, who worked for the manufacturer from which we ordered (we get the family discount...which truly is a good price), we have to go through him. We're asking him to see what can be done if anything to remedy this. So one of these days I'll get my nice shiny dishwasher, and one of these days we'll have it hooked up so that it works, but I'm not precisely sure which of these days that will be.

So if you need me,

I'll be here.

Step 812 of 1000

Never underestimate the time it takes to call all those utility companies...and to call them back again.

We are keeping one service provider, but everyone else is changing in this 30 minute move. That means that I have to call quite a few people to schedule the starts and stops. I spent the first third of my afternoon trying to find someone...anyone...who would provide us with internet. It is evidently that difficult. There is one provider who we've had issues with before, so I was trying to avoid them. Five phone calls later someone thinks they can help us. We'll sign up on Monday, after closing happens (oh please let closing happen as it is scheduled!!).

I had spoken with the gas company quite awhile back to see about service. Since that was all but done, I was saving it for the last of my requests for service. Oops. Since that time the gas has actually been turned off. Evidently they need to be sure that the water and electric are already on or they won't turn it back on. And I had to be there. I had to pick either 8-12 where I wait (outside in the heat with the three littles) or an all day appointment where they would call me. But I have to be downtown for closing at a set time in the afternoon, so I can't be available all day. They can't do both, "because it isn't available on our form." The supervisor concurred. So much for customer service...

They told me that they could use the pass code for the door lock to get in, since the house is vacant. Nice, but I don't have that information. Oh, and all the other utilities have to be on before they will turn the gas on--you know the ones that I spent the second third of my afternoon setting up for that day also. So, I emailed the realtor to work out getting the pass code to the people at the gas company. Next I called the water and electric companies to be sure that the service is on ahead of the gas company's arrival. The last third of my afternoon gone, but it's done--except for our water turn off, which requires me to appear in person--of course. So unless the closing is delayed by a month, I ain't doing that again!

I'm starting to wonder about free market in utilities though. Our garbage collection is free market...and it isn't cheap, as they have to run several different companies garbage trucks down our street each week. Does the improvement in customer service and the price drop because of competition out weigh the rise in cost of the extra utility lines that have to be installed... Probably not, but that's too bad because it would be nice to choose sometimes.

Hoping, hoping, hoping that everything goes through on time now. Evidently a request that the home inspector re-chech the a/c was put through this week, as we got a copy of that report yesterday morning. When I checked on it, I was told that it was because Mr. Appraiser I made a mistake two weeks ago and now it was required it be proven long, despite the more recent appraisal from Mr. Appraiser II that reported that the a/c worked.

Step 1 of 1000

Ack. We're starting to get our ducks in a row to buy a house. I've had my eye on the MLS since we moved here (okay, since before we moved here), so I've just been looking more intently lately and filling in all those numbers on the mortgage calculator to see what is feasible and what is not. Our lease isn't up for about three more months, but with the flood of short sales on the market and the fact they can take significantly longer to close on now seems like the right time...

This week I called up our bank, who we have been using since we left my hometown over 10 years ago. The fellow in mortgages worked quickly and got our pre-approval letter ready in less than 24 hours. Here's the kicker--I gave him what price we were looking at as our cap and our pre-approval is for 30% more than we think we could possibly pay! Then he quoted me a number for a payment that sounded really feasible, BUT it didn't include the taxes or insurance (which, in my experience, add up to nearly 20% of the monthly cost of owning a house).

No wonder many, many people are left in ridiculous amounts of debt, wondering what happened. The bank said they could afford it, the real estate agent said they could afford it, the numbers sounded reasonable, but there was no way they could make those payments without making major changes or living on credit. I was really surprised though, I thought after all the short sales and foreclosures that are occurring that the banks would have tightened their loan qualifications.

If you are buying a house, please, please, look for a calculator that adds in the cost of the house, the taxes on the property, an estimate for your home insurance, PMI (if you are paying less than 20% down), and allows you to put in the proper amount of down payment and choose your interest rate.

On the upside, since we were able to pay the difference that we owed on the house that we sold in Kansas (rather than short sale) we qualify for a really good interest rate. Yay for excellent credit!

So here we go again!

Adventures in Cooking: Hummus

Last week we ventured to the store before lunch one day last week. The same old, same old for lunch was sounding, well, old. So I picked up some hummus and pita bread. Kate tried it and liked it immediately. After watching Kate eat it Gabby decided to try it too. I figured Nate wouldn't like it, so I made him a peanut butter sandwhich, then he ate a third of my hummus. I think he would have eaten all of it, had I let him.

Since then I've been doing a little exploring into the possibility of making my own. The store bought was a tad expensive and we went through it quickly. I found it is a lot like ketchup--everyone has their own recipe, and they all have some of the same basic ingredients.

I tried it tonight with a basic idea of what went into it, but no real recipe. It turned out well. Here is (approximately) what I did, since I didn't measure.

First I couldn't find Tahini, so I placed an entire spice box container of sesame seeds (60 gram size) on a cookie sheet and roasted them for 5 minutes at 350*. As those cooled I assembled my other ingredients:

2 cans of chickpeas (16 oz size), drained
2 artichoke hearts (from a can), squeezed to drain
1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon of salt

In a food processor combine cooled sesame seeds with enough oil to make a thin-ish paste.

Add all (including the Tahini paste) to a food processor or blender (I used a Vitamix) and pulse until well combined.

Last week's hummus cost $3.49

This week's hummus cost $5.26 ($.84 chickpeas (each); $2.69 seeds; $2.68/3 for portion of artichokes used) for what I guess is three times the amount and the added splurge of artichoke hearts. I'm also going to venture to guess that there is a more economical way to procure tahini.

About a 50% savings.

Because some times I'm just not all there...

...I can tell you that Shutterfly has good customer service. You see I got those 50 free photo cards from writing about my favorites from their website. So I hopped on over there and ordered my nifty cards and had them sent. When I got the message telling me that my cards had shipped, I panicked. See, I had them shipped them to Kansas. And I now live in Tennessee. And didn't notice until I saw the tracking information. Big uh-oh.

I called UPS, but they said that they had to hear from the shipper. Urg. Understandable, but urg. Shutterfly was so nice that they offered to help me out. So I changed my address on their website.

Yeah, not so good. See I changed my address for the billing information. I had to call them back again. At least this time I caught it in the 30 minute window to cancel an order. If they can flag your account for stupid, then mine probably is, but it's worth it because today I got back from the store (again, we just went yesterday but they were out of chicken--what grocery store runs out of chicken anyway?!)

this was on our porch.


And these were inside.

Yippee! They are so nice. I'm so excited for photo cards that are on nice card stock and open up. They are pretty, and they are also made on eco-conscious paper (per the information in the package). Now I just have to finish addressing my envelopes and then off they will go! So exciting.

*The cards were free, but the stupidity is all mine.*

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

I am so excited. I got the code for my free Shutterfly cards. There were so many different choices I couldn't pick! I made three different ones and let Justin pick, this was his favorite:

Harmonious Noir Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

We took the kids to the park after church today and took pictures. Kate even took one of Justin and me. They had a lot of fun running around.

I'll have to let you know how they turn out when they come!

* I did get my cards for free and I may be eligible to get a $25 gift certificate for this review (maybe I'll get caught up on the baby book), but the opinion is mine. I've been using Shutterfly for several years already. *

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

I try not to get in to the Christmas thing until after Thanksgiving, but as we moved this year we will be trying to send out our Christmas cards just as soon as Advent begins, so I've started thinking about those already. For the past few years, I've been making my own photo cards using pictures I've taken and PowerPoint. They have turned out pretty well, but the font isn't always as clean as I would like.

I've been using Shutterfly for photos for several years. My mom started with a site that was bought out by Shutterfly, so we have just always uploaded there. She does most of the ordering, but I do from time to time as well--I really need to update my photo albums at some point!

Last year I purchased some personalized stationary for our grandmother's there as well. This year they are having a special promotion for bloggers to get a free sample of their cards for Christmas. I've been paging through the many choices. I like this, this, this, and this one. I have requested permission to post pictures from the site, but I haven't heard back yet. If I get that permission, I'll post the pics so you don't have to click to see each picture.

I really like that they are offering cards on card stock and even in folding styles. The price on those is over my budget, but a really nice option for those who can afford it.

And if you are interested in linking up to get free cards, here is where to link up.

I have not received my cards yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to tell you how they turned out!

Deal!

I'm not a very good deal seeker. I suppose part of it is the time involved and having to shop at different stores with little ones. But I hit on a major score, so I had to share.

Amazon has a deal that if you subscribe to them for diapers (You tell them how often you want them delivered, and you'll be automatically billed.) they will give you 15% all the time and a total of 30% off your first order, so that was $10.76 off of my $35.88 order (of 204 diapers). I had a coupon (from one of my parenting magazines--I wish I could remember which one it came out of) for 20% off of diapers so that was another $7.18 off. So a box of 204 diapers only cost me $17.94, plus no shipping!

It's definitely worth looking into if you have something that you buy regularly. The extra 15% is on diapers, but you can get the standard 15% off your regular purchases and free shipping on all sorts of things--paper goods, razor blades, OTC meds, even laundry detergent, not that I need laundry detergent anymore because the homemade stuff is working amazingly! I think it is a great deal--and I don't even have to leave my house or carry the big box out to the car while juggling the three kiddos, while I leave the cart inside so no one has to bother with it. I guess maybe I should just get over that silliness, but I hate taking a nearly empty cart in the parking lot for someone else to have to drag back in later...

Oh, if you decide to buy something that way, let me know--'cause I'm nosy like that. Or don't--'cause I'm nosy like that.

*Not a paid plug at all, I just thought it was a great deal!*

One of the Good-Byes

It's not the first, nor will it be the last, of the good-byes we will have to say here in Kansas, but perhaps it is the most unusual to cause sadness. I mean how many people are sad to say good-bye to their Wal-Mart. They are all over the place. The thing is, we weren't saying good-bye to our store, but Miss Bonnie.

Miss Bonnie is the greeter. She works every Monday morning, except for a month and a half when she was in the hospital. She always greeted the girls with a warm smile and yellow smiley face stickers, so I made it a point to learn her name and Kate did too. She kept tracking of the growing baby before he was born and since his arrival. A couple of weeks ago we let her know that we would be leaving, and today as we were leaving she gave each of the kids a present. They each got a really neat ball with glitter inside and the girls got flashcards too.

We found it very hard to build relationships when we first moved here, but Miss Bonnie has been a staple part of our week since we started shopping at this store shortly after it opened, after Gabriella was born. And she's a good reminder to always greet people with a kind word and a smile because I know how much she's meant to us.

Tale of Four Can Openers

Is it wrong to fall in love with kitchen utensils?

I had the best can opener I had ever used. My aunt gave it to me at a wedding shower about eleven years ago. The handle had split and while it still opened cans well, Justin thought it would be prudent to replace it since it was so hard to hold, so he gave me a can opener for Christmas (2009). We'd been using it for less than five months when it gave out. It never was a great opener. It was hard to latch and even harder to turn. Do you realize how often you reach for a can opener in a week? It's quite often around here.

Christmas Day--I wasn't sleeping much then!

I was at a local grocery right after it broke, so I picked up a plain jane can opener there. It opened three cans and then it bit the dust. While turning it, Justin literally broke the steel. I knew he was stronger than me, but come on?!

Today I was at the store with the munchkins doing our weekly food run and I got a new can opener. It works like a dream. Now I just have to keep Mr. Kryptonite from breaking my can opener of steel.

Can opener, how I love thee. I will be boxing you up in the near future, but I promise to unpack you as soon as I can!

New 'Do

It's gone. My long hair is officially gone...again. Every couple of years I go and have it cut much shorter. I've been measuring it for awhile now. It finally got to where I had the 10" that I was willing to part with. (Yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition, but it sounds silly and presumtious the other way.)

I headed off to the hairdresser with my hair tie and a plastic bag in hand. 10", plastic bag? I had the gal hack the pony tail off. Then we bagged it up. She washed what was left of my hair and then neatened it up. I'll be sending the hair off to Locks of Love.

I like my hair long, Justin likes my hair short, so I've done this before. Last time it was over a foot--and I nearly cried. This time it wasn't so traumatic.

I didn't take a before picture, since it was a last minute decision--everyone was behaving and Justin thought he could handle the munchkins for awhile, so I took off lickity split before someone melted down or he came to his senses, so this is from last Sunday at the zoo with the girlies.

Here are some after's

FYI, if you decide to donate, Fantastic Sam's offers half off of your hair cut if you're donating it.

Nate's First Professional Pictures

I love pictures. I've been quite pleased with getting the kiddos pictures at Target the past few years. We used Sears for Kate's first photos, they take excellent pictures as well, but they changed their portrait package that was covered by the coupon, so we switched companies.

I took Nate for his first portraits yesterday. They turned out really well. Some of the images were lost as they were being transferred from the camera to the computer, so we were given the Smile Station (digital images that aren't of a quality to be printed) for free.

The photographer took her time and really worked with the little guy to get some cute smiles.











*I was not compensated in any way for this review.*

Cell Phone

I've found that a lot of times customer service is, well, lacking these days, so I was pleasantly surprised yesterday.

My cell phone evidently fell out of my pocket Saturday evening. I noticed it was missing when we got to the church to drop off the kiddos to go out on our date. I assumed I'd dropped it in the house and didn't bother to look for it until bed time. When I called it, it rang and rang until the voice mail picked up, but I never heard it. I went down stairs to try again, but this time it didn't ring at all. I was sure that meant that someone had turned it off. To be sure Justin checked the van, but then I called to cancel service to the phone. This was very simple. It was automated, which was good, since there wasn't anyone working at 10 PM on a Saturday night.

Yesterday when I called to check and see what charges had been racked up, the gal I talked to was just wonderful. She complimented me for having turned off the service so quickly and told me I wouldn't be responsible for any charges. Some activity already showed on the account--some mobile downloads of something. The text messages that I expect there to be hadn't shown up yet and may still take a day or two.

She did make a mistake--she told me that I could log in on the internet to check the charges, but couldn't because I got a message saying that "This phone has been reported lost or stolen." I just went through Justin's number and created an account, but I'm sure that's not easy for everyone to do.

Over all the service was excellent though, and that message said it was part of their updated security. I still think that all the employees should be up to date on it AND she also offered to stay on the line while I set up the account. I had declined to do some things for the kids before I did it.

To the person who took my phone: If you find a lost phone in the future, please be kind enough to return it (I had "HOME" programmed in.) It really is a pain to have to replace them and add all the numbers back in and you didn't get to play with my eight year old phone for very long. It wasn't worth it, was it?

Whining...

Where did the competent people go?

I went to the pharmacy again, different place though. The girl told me it would be 15 minutes, so the munchkins and I set about to kill some time. After checking back twice we finally get up to the window an HOUR after we got there. Once there we're told that they have one of the three things we needed. One of them (the glucose test strips) they don't have a number on the script and the other they don't keep in stock. It's insulin! A certain type, but it's insulin. Then I found out the problem with the insulin as she tried to hand me the one they had (he takes long acting and fast acting). The doctor, who hadn't specified how many test strips--probably because he wanted us to get whatever we needed, but evidently the pharmacy needed it specified--also hadn't said that we were supposed to get the insulin pens instead of the vials. This may not be a big deal to many, but Justin hasn't been taught to use these, he transports them to and from work (so the pen type--looks kind of like an EpiPen is safer and easier to transport), and we don't have that kind of needle, nor do we have a script for them. So I left with NOTHING, because at this point Nate's crying in his infant seat (I didn't put him in the wrap because it was supposed to be super quick and he was already asleep), Kate, who asked to sit in the seat of the cart is crying that she wants down, and Gabby, who has truly been a good sport is starting to run out of good behavior. I just hope they figure it out so we can pick it up this afternoon. Thank goodness we didn't wait until the last minute on his his insulin. Now the test strips are another matter all together, but we thought he had 50 of those left too... Can I have a do-over?

Annoyed

Okay, I'll admit it, sometimes I'm a little easily annoyed. Like on Monday, I was driving the three miles to the grocery store. In that time I dealt with two lane closures and two trains (very slow trains). You roll your eyes and you move on.

Then, as we are now running late, I was helping Kate get ready for gymnastics. The child was a bit grumpy about the whole situation, so she let the leg she was standing on slide out from under her, scuffing her elbow a little. This led to hysterics. I remember being a kid and the initial pain being pretty severe, but she just wouldn't settle--I actual wondered if she broke it somehow. She cried when we put her long sleeved shirt on because it rubbed against it. She screamed when I came at her with a band-aid to cover it so the shirt wouldn't rub it. Then she took off running across the kitchen in her sock feet to beat her sister so she could...throw away a dirty diaper?! This led to a face plant on the hard floor. What do you do? You laugh and move on.

But now I'm really annoyed. Justin was diagnosed as diabetic last week and given prescriptions for insulin needles, a meter, and test strips. I take these to our closest drug store, assuming we will be making a lot of visits to this national chain. The next evening when Justin is in need of a needle, we find it's the wrong one. When we call about it, we were told, "The perscription wasn't clear." What?! So you just guess? They didn't tell me to check to be sure it was right. It was all in a bag when I got it, so I wouldn't have even known if I wasn't completely new to all of this. We went and purchased the correct needles, at a cost of over $40, that didn't apply to our deductable because this time it was without the prescription. He was able to talk to a manager and get the money refunded, but then the person kept the receipt that we needed both for our insurance records and to get a rebate on the meter.

Then last night he opened the new test strips...they are the wrong kind. Everything they gave us (I chose the meter) was WRONG. Not one of the items was correct. So it's been well over 12 hours since he has checked his glucose levels. I'll obviously be looking elsewhere for our pharmaceutical needs--our thousands of dollars of business a year and they can't even give us the right syringes or testing strips (while the employee was holding the meter in her hand).

As a friend told me, this isn't the wrong size of underwear. This is people's health! So I suppose my public service announcement today is know what you're supposed to be getting--know the name of your prescription, it's generics, and what it looks like. I seriously have questions about what they are putting in bottles if they can't pull two correct items off the shelf in the 35 minutes I waited.

Life is busy! I'm finding it difficult to get two hands free to type. I get plenty of time to look online while nursing, but to put together more than a sentence or two in type is a tad more difficult at the moment. For some reason our children are on opposite sleep schedules. Nate gets up early, sleeps most of the morning, wakes up around lunch time, naps when the girls get up from their afternoon naps, and then is up from about the time I start dinner until I go to bed--later than I'd like. He's only two weeks old though, so his sleep patterns will change drastically in a few weeks--like the size of his foot has this week. One of Justin's co-workers gave us some socks last week. They were really too big for his little feet when he brought them home on Tuesday. Today I put a pair on him--and they fit!! What?!

I'm trying to get going on my Christmas shopping and having a hard way to go. My little sister asked for the very descript--blue ray movies. Yikes! I have not a clue which one or ones to get her. Then there are our parents. Both sets of them are quite able to purchase pretty well whatever they want, so I've found myself trying to find things that they never knew they needed or wanted. The in-laws aren't privy to my blog, so I can tell what I have planned for them...we're getting them a web cam so they can chat with the girls. My parents have one and the girls think it's great to see them instead of just using the phone. Plus we can show off the baby (who while he can occasionally roll--yes he's only two weeks old and has rolled twice[!!!]--can't yet converse).

I took the three children out shopping today. It's not the first time we've been out solo. Actually, I've been out with them several times, but today was the first day that one of the girls had a melt down while we were out. We were leaving a store (the first of our two stops) when Gabby decided not to hold my hand. She is very stubbourn about her independance, so I told her she could hold my hand or I would carry her (remember I'm already carrying the baby--in my Moby thank goodness). We get halfway across the main drive when she falls to her knees screaming. This is not good. Kate's carrying a heavy bag, I'm holding Nate and Gabby is screaming and flailing tucked under my arm. Enjoy laughing at me. I'm sure it was commical. I eventually wrested her into her car seat and got her strapped in. Poor Kate was so good through it all. She lugged that huge bag for me and waited patiently as I struggled with Gabby's straps as she tried to get loose. Lesson for me--Gabby rides in the cart--it's much easier to push her out screaming than to carry her away from the baby!

I have our parents taken care of (no hints for my mom though!), our two grandmothers are done, I've started on Justin and the girls, and I've got a list started for Nate. Not done, but we'll get there!

Baby Things I Love...

I've been thinking about the things that we use for our little ones, since I have a newbie.

I LOVE...

Pampers Swaddlers. These are great because they feel so soft. I only use "name brand" diapers when my kiddos are small and switch to a store brand later, but I really do like the Swaddlers and I pay the extra for them. Huggies are nice enough, but for some reason my kiddos don't fit well in them. There's too much space around their skinny little legs when they are young and they leak considerably. I'm sure they are great for many families though and we do like the umbilical cord notch, since it's cut lower--we still had to fold down the Pampers to keep the diaper off of it.

Cetaphil. I am not a fan of the standard baby scented soaps, though I will admit I really like the lavender ones. For little bitty babies an unscented soap is a better choice, per our pediatrician. We also used this for Gabby's face since she's always had sensitive skin there. She still breaks out if we don't wash her face with it regularly.

Aveeno Baby Lotion. Again, it's unscented. It works well on dry baby skin, even through the winter months with our young babies (they've all been born in the fall).

Boudreaux's. While I'm not a fan of the full name (The only 'but' allowed in my home growing up only had one 't.'), this stuff works so well that I forgive it. My oldest daughter had a horrible time with diaper rashes, but we started using this regularly (at every change) and we rarely ever saw red after that. We used it intermittently with Gabby and have a tube ready for Nate.

Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent (perfume free, dye free). I do lots of laundry (five loads just today!), so separating baby's laundry from the rest of the family would just add to that. Instead of pricey 'baby' detergents I just opt for my regular detergent sans the big allergens. I've never had a baby react to laundry washed in regular detergent, but we have no family history of that kind of sensitivity. I'm sure it's saved us quite a bit of money and who knows how many loads of laundry!

**I was not compensated for these reviews nor did I receive free samples beyond one Pampers and one Huggies diaper--sent to anyone who signs up that they are expecting a new baby (I also purchase packages of each of these).**