Diaper Fail

I am somewhat notorious about not replacing our paper products before we run out, and unfortunately, diapers are no exception. I typically order a huge package of diapers from diapers.com when they have a good coupon code out. I am quite partial to Pampers, and I've found I can get them cheapest this way. However, I haven't seen a coupon code for diapers.com recently, so the past few weeks, I just bought packages of Comfort Babies diapers at Kroger. They're reasonably priced and work okay, but--they're definitely not Pampers (let's just say we've had more leaks than usual).

Recently, I've been hearing some buzz in the blog world about Amazon's new Amazon Mom program. You get 30% off of diapers and wipes, in addition to free Amazon Prime for 3 months, which gives you free two day shipping. It sounded pretty good to me, so when I started getting low on diapers, I finally got around to looking into it for myself. I finally decided to order a big box of 156 Pampers Baby Dry diapers, on Saturday night (the 18th).

This is where the big fail comes in. When I placed the order, I had fewer than 10 diapers left, and because of the timing of the order, my diapers weren't going to get to me until Wednesday, and FedEx comes around our house in the evening. I made a mental note to go ahead and get some diapers at Kroger when I did my weekly grocery trip just in case. However, since I didn't write diapers on my list, I forgot to get them.

A trip into town costs us about $5 in gas, and a package of 27 diapers at Kroger is $6.99, making the grand total almost $12 for 27 diapers if I headed back into town. When I did the math (especially consider I paid just over $18 for 156 Pampers after two $5 gift cards), I was determined to NOT make a trip to town to buy diapers. However, I faced the impossible task of making eight or nine Size 5 diapers last 3 whole days and night. Ha! I dug around in Katie's room and found some Size 3's, which she wore during the day, and I saved the 5's for nap-time and overnight.

By Wednesday afternoon, I had used up all my Size 5's and all my Size 3's, and FedEx still hadn't come. So, we did the unthinkable--we dug through Katie' closet and found some Size 2 Pampers Swaddlers from eons ago. They were pretty small but covered her up just enough to avoid disaster.

Wednesday evening, we had a pretty big storm and it got pretty late and FedEx still hadn't come. Major rain, wind, and thunder/lightening do not allow for great driving conditions, so I was really hoping they were just running late. Our power went out after dinner so we decided to drive 1/2 mile to my in-laws' farm and when we got in the car, the box was on the driver's seat. Ha! Only in the country. :o)

So, that's the epic story of the diaper fail. What in the world am I going to do come December when I have TWO in diapers?!

For more fails, by sure to pop over to Friday Fails at My Blessed Life!

Can I blame it all on double mommy brain?

What a week! Between being tired and not-all-there from growing a little one in my tummy and chasing a VERY active(!) toddler all day, I think my brain is all but gone. This week was just completely full of fails (not the least of which were blog posts written and left unpublished!). Throughout the week, I've been compiling a list in my mind, but I can't seem to remember them all (another fail--I *have* to write these things down), so here's a sampling...



::The week started off with drying the one load of laundry I did last week (Did you catch that? I only did one load of laundry last week, and it sat in the wash for almost a full week.). Today, I finally started making my way through the huge, massive, unbelievable, worst-it's-ever-been pile of laundry in our bedroom. A lot of it doesn't fit in the hamper, so it's just a big mess on our floor. Romantic, no? I have actually had to go into my maternity clothes and wear a couple shirts because I was completely out of shirts! To add to the lovely atmosphere in our bedroom, I made the bed today for the first time in a couple weeks (ahem).

::Just in case that's not enough, in my fridge is a crockpot full of beans that I cooked to bag up in 2-cup portions and freeze. Problem is? I cooked them before I went to Florida April 13 and I ran out of freezer bags and wasn't able to freeze them before I left. The month old beans are still there...is a highly reactive first trimester gag reflex a good excuse for just leaving them?

::About a week ago, I decided to stop using my nonstick pans in favor of my healthier stainless steal cookware. This week, I've managed to burn my large skillet and my medium sized sauce pan to the point of needing to scrub them with something more than a soapy sponge and/or scrubber, except I don't have anything to do the job. Should I use steel wool or something else?

::Now for my mommy fail of the week. When I'm pregnant, I sleep really soundly. My sister-in-law, her husband, and their sweet baby boy are visiting and our guest room is right next to Katie's room. Apparently last night, Katie cried (screamed?) from 12 to 1, and then again at 4, and I didn't hear her at all! So, she kept our company awake all that time (and also woke up their baby) and I didn't hear a peep. In fact, I woke up this morning so pleased that she had slept a full 11 hours. Ha! Maybe it's time to hook up the baby monitor?

And to think that's not the full list! Maybe it's best I forgot some of my fails for the week lest I scare you all away... ;)

For more fails, head over to Friday Fails at My Blessed Life.

Major Kitchen Fails

Last week, I had a couple of big fat fails in the kitchen--and both in the same day, no less!

I set out to make a quiche for breakfast before Katie woke up. I was getting my ingredients out and realized the only grain I had ground up already was spelt. I had read that with spelt, you should add a quarter cup for every cup of flour the recipe calls for, but I ignored that and proceeded as usual. The result? A crust that would not unstick from the wax paper to save my life! We had crustless quiche for breakfast.

The second major fail of the day came that afternoon. Our pastor's wife was coming over for a visit and I was scrambling around to get the house ready. At the last minute, I decided I ought to bake something. At 12:30, just an hour before she was set to arrive, I drive over to the farm to get this recipe. It looked easy enough, so I jotted it down as fast as I could and rushed home. Once I got here, I wanted to go ahead and grind some wheat to avoid another spelt failure. While the wheat was grinding, I decided to multitask and wash the dishes. When the wheat finished, I went over to start baking and it turned out I hadn't closed the lid to the canister all the way. There was freshly ground wheat flour all over my counter! Major fail!

Thanks to my sweet hubby's help, everything got clean before company arrived, besides one burner that *ahem* still has flour in it.


This post is linked to Friday Fails.

Toilet Paper Fail

I am the worst about remembering to buy paper products. I guess my frugal side hates spending money on things I know are just going to be used once and thrown in the garbage (especially when I could use the same grocery money to buy healthy food for my sweet family!). As a result, we often have no paper napkins and no paper towels. However, I do try to keep toilet paper on hand since it doesn't have a suitable cloth alternative.

This week, however, was a different story. I actually let our toilet paper supply get down to one square before I remembered to pick some up while Ben and I were in town. Definitely could've caused someone a problem!

This post is linked to Friday Fails.

Friday Fails: Kitchen Blunders

I am pretty frugal and try to use our grocery money wisely. I am also guilty of not throwing away things I should, whether it's leftovers left too long or something we just plain don't like. Unfortunately a couple of the dishes I chose for November and December freezer cooking just weren't good. One was the turkey tetrazzini. I didn't know to cook the pasta less time than the package called for, so once I baked it, it was mushy. In fact, just thinking about the consistency makes me want to gag (I think my memories of it are worse than the actual experience of eating it, truthfully).

Today, I was able to score a lot of great deals at Kroger (NOT a fail! :). But, this required getting rid of the freezer fails to make room for good stuff in my freezer. Plus, February's freezer cooking is right around the corner and I'm hoping to fill my freezer with some "fast" food. So, as painful as it was, I had to throw away 3 quart bags and 1 gallon bag of food from my freezer and (ahem) the leftovers from my freezer fails that were STILL in my fridge. And yes, I did just say that out loud. Keeping it real, folks!

And, then there's the pot full of water in my bathroom (not THAT pot). I thought it had been washed when Ben and his brother helped me clean up after a family gathering at our house. When I went to put it away a few days later (fail #1), I took the lid off and the lovely stink told me I was mistaken about the state of its cleanliness. It's my big stock pot and it's too big to wash in my kitchen sink, so I rinsed it in the bathtub and put the lid on. And left it there (fail #2) and (ahem) there it sits.

At least I never claimed to be a perfect homemaker, and since one of my original desires in this blog was to share both my struggles and my triumps, there you have it. Just keeping it real folks!

Linked to:

• Friday Fails