Nursery Challenge Update

  WARNING: This is really just a long post of me bragging about my semi-thriftiness, feel free to skip it.

  After a long, LONG bout of laziness, last week I finally kicked myself in the butt and got back into acquiring much-needed items for the nursery.

  One of the things I really wanted was a bassinet of some sort, since there's no way our crib could fit into our bedroom and I really didn't feel like climbing our steep stairs four times a night to feed Lincoln. But a new bassinet would pretty much wipe out a huge chunk of my Challenge tab (a grand total of $300 if you'll recall), so I turned, once again, to Craigslist.

  Unfortunately, I forgot to ask some basic questions before I went to check out one of the bassinets. Such as "Smoking, or non-smoking?". Also, I thought I was actually going to a house to check out a jumper (I was juggling a lot of Craigslist inquiries that day), and was very confused when I was shown a very grimy, very smoke-permeated bassinet. It didn't help matters that his kids were there, and very attentive. So, not wanting to shame the guy with some spiel about not wanting to expose my baby to second-hand smoke, I said, "OH, crap! I totally thought I was here for a jumper, I'm really muddled right now." [which was true]

  "That's okay, take your time." He said kindly.
  While my mind ran circles, the best excuse I could think of was, "I'm really, really sorry, but I only brought enough cash for a jumper."
  "How much is that?" He said patiently.
  "Fifteen dollars." I was confused on exactly which bassinet this was I was checking up on, but I knew it was somewhere between $25 and $40.
  "Well, my wife really wanted at least twenty-five, since this cost us over a hundred . . ."
  "That's okay, I completely understand." I said, relieved, starting to step back.
  ". . . But I really want it out of here, so I'll take fifteen." He finished. Dang, dang, dang.
  "Aaalright then." Trapped, I handed over my fifteen dollars. I then berated myself the whole car ride over to Goodwill, where I quickly dumped my "new" bassinet.

  Still not able to afford a new bassinet, but now wary of Craigslist options, I headed to the kids'  second hand store in town where the owner is known to be very anal about the goods she takes in being in near-mint condition. Long story short, I got a much, much nicer bassinet for $40. Could I have found something cheaper on Craigslist? Obviously, since I did. But since my baby's going to be spending a large amount of time sleeping, the quality of the bassinet was much more important to me than, say, a swing. The bassinet is also Sylvester-approved, unfortunately, and he has taken to sleeping in it when my back is turned. Punk.

 Other items I've recently added to our collection:
-white dresser: $0 (generously donated by a family in our ward. After pealing off about two dozen butterfly and flower stickers and a quick rub-down with a Magic Eraser--can't recommend those things enough--it's looking pretty darn good)
-Diaper Genie: $10 off Craigslist (you still got it, Craigslist)
-BRAND SPANKING NEW Graco stroller/carseat: $0 (much thanks, Mom and Dad!)
-various small items (bottles, hygiene kit, sheets, etc): $45 at Target. It was actually closer to $75, but we had some store credit on items we received doubles on from the babyshowers. Woot!

Total from previous finds: $60
Total from new finds: $95 (I'm not counting the fifteen from the smokey-bassinet fiasco)
Grand total so far: $155

  Ooooh, yeah. As Liz Lemon would say, "High fiving a million angels!"