When we first started using gDiapers for our daughter in 2007 you could only order the “little g” pants directly from gDiapers and very few places carried the inserts. I just noticed that BabiesRUs stores are now carrying the individual pants at some locations.

I recommend buying the “little g” pants with the starter kits as they are much cheaper.  However once you start using them and your spouse sees how “cute” the non starter kits pants are, you’ll be looking for a place to buy these individually.  BabiesRUs is the only store that I know of around here (Delaware) that carries them individually. Best of all you can save on shipping and pick it up at your local BRU if they stock them.

I just thought I’d mention that I noticed TRU is having a buy 1, get 1 1/2 off sale on all Melissa & Doug Products.  Amazon is usually a good place to find these toys but with the B1G1 sale at TRU, you might want to check them out as well.

For those of you concerned about toy recalls and compliance with lead in toys, check out M&D’s compliance info below

We are pleased to tell you that YES, Melissa & Doug products are compliant with the new CPSIA regulations. From day one, we have had a comprehensive testing program in place for all of the products we produce and sell. Our testing programs have always been in compliance with all US consumer product safety regulations, and we will continue to stay compliant even as some of these laws evolve and change.

As a result, you can continue selling our products with confidence knowing our products comply with the new total lead standards imposed under the CPSIA that became effective February 10, 2009. Of course, we also have General Conformity Certificates readily available for products produced after November 2008 as required under the CPSIA guidelines as further assurance of our products’ compliance to CPSIA.

Looking for the perfect gift for the tree huggin’ hippie mother to be? gDiapers are a great alternative for parents that don’t want to use traditional diapers but aren’t ready / interested in trying cloth diapers.  gDiapers are the best of both worlds…you get a cloth style outer diaper with velcro tabs and an insert that you can flush, compost or even throw away. The kits are the best way to save money as they include 2 little g pants and 10 liners. The kit retails for $26.99 but is $26.28 at Amazon currently. That breaks down to around $11 – $12 per pant if you include the liners which are around $0.35 each. “little g” pants normally sell for $16 – $19.

More Info about gDiapers:
gDiapers, which stands for green diapers, consist of a washable, cotton outer ‘little g’ pant and a plastic-free flushable diaper refill. They are made of breathable material just like sports clothing.  So, babies stay dry and happy and are far less likely to get diaper rash.
Flush, compost or toss.
Can’t flush?  It’s ok to toss our flushable diaper refills because they’re plastic-free.  Or garden compost the wet ones.  They’ll break down in 50-150 days.

A totally new way to think about diapers.
Once you get the hang of it, the whole process will seem as normal as recycling your newspaper. In the beginning, you may have an icky encounter until you get into the groove of using gDiapers. You can also compost the wet ones or simply toss the soiled refill. It will break down in the landfill in about 90 days vs. up to 500 years for a disposable. Ah, the beauty of eco-friendly plastic-free diapers.

Learn how to flush the flushable diaper refills and how to get the perfect gDiaper fit.

If you don’t mind buying in bulk, Amazon is a great place to order eco friendly cleaning supplies and paper products.  I recommend normally signing up for subscribe & save as it saves you an extra 15% off Amazon’s price.

I just came across this $20 off $79 coupon and thought I’d pass it along to everyone.  I’d normally post this on DealCatcher but we are having “issues” with Amazon right now and are not posting deals for them this month.  I can’t pass up passing this along to friends & family though

I just posted another really good deal on a dell desktop to the catch of the day section on DealCatcher.  If anyone is in the market, this looks like one of the best deals I have seen in a while.  It comes with a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, dual DVD-ROM/DVD Burner drives, 250GB hard drive, 23″ LCD monitor and a 1TB external hard drive!  I’m not sure how long this deal will last but Dell normally adjusts their prices on Thursday mornings so this deal will most likely be gone by tomorrow.

*Note – If it’s no longer in the catch of the day spot, the deal is most likely gone but you can check here as well.

Why is this a good deal?
The above system comes with a Samsung 23″ Widescreen LCD Monitor which alone sells for $238 at Buy.com. It also comes with a Western Digital 1TB External Hard drive which sells for $118. Basically you are getting a dell desktop with core 2 duo processor, 2gb of memory, 250gb hard drive and dual dvd burner drives for $201!

If you are in the market for a budget laptop and need word, excel, powerpoint this is by far the best deal. Dell is offering their Vostro 1510 15.4-inch laptop for $499 with Microsoft Office Small business. MS Office small business alone sells for ($200 – $280 on Pricegrabber.  I bet this deal will be gone by mid week at the latest if not by the end of the day on Monday.

Visit DealCatcher for the complete stats.  I apologize in advance if the deal is gone by the time you read this post.

I just picked up my first 1/2 share of the season from Highland Orchards.  The share included: bok choy, potatoes, onions, broccoli, apples, sprouts, cauliflower and an herb (Rosemary?).  I’m not sure yet which herb it is but I’ll let you know when I find out. Below are pictures of all the items in the share so you can get an idea of what types of vegetables / fruits you’ll find in a spring share.

I paid $165 for a 12 week share so that breaks down to $13.75 per week.  I priced out the above online at Shop Rite to compare how much I would have paid.  A few notes:
1 – I could not find fresh rosemary so I had to substitute it with prepackaged rosemary
2 – Most of the items excluding the Apples were priced at the non-organic price.  They would most likely cost the same or a bit more depending on sale prices.

One of the best parts of signing up for the CSA is that you get to try vegetables / fruits you might not normally try.  I’m going to try to make something with the bok choy this week and will let you know how it goes.  If anyone has ever made anything tasty with Bok Choy, I’d be interested in hearing about it.

Update: The herb was dill which is selling for $0.79 per unit (whatever that means).  We got a ton so I’m guessing it would be at least 2 units which changes the price to $12.90. As I mentioned above it is $12.90 not factoring in how much all of these items would have costed if they were organic.  I’m going to try to write another post showing how we used the veggies / herbs.  This might force me to use more.

Share Items / Usage
Bean Sprouts (Sunday) – We used the sprouts on our tuna sandwiches
Onion (1 of 2) (Sunday) – We put in a chili we are making for dinner tonight
Dill + Potatoes (Monday) – We made garlic dill potatoes with all the potatoes and part of the dill
Onion (2 of 2) (Tuesday) - We used in Chicken Enchilladas
Apples (Sunday – Monday) – We used as a snack

I just posted a 50% off any one item coupon on DealCatcher and thought I’d share it here as well.
http://www.dealcatcher.com/coupons~view_type=8~m=400~c=161379

Make sure you follow the directions and wait for the flying kite in the background to get the coupon to appear