Gotta love the library

I have rediscovered the library. Now that I have a kid, I am finally checking out the children's section and, boy, there's some good stuff! In Mississauga, many of the libraries are becoming much more family-friendly, with toys, puzzles and games scattered around. And what I'm totally addicted to is borrowing DVDs for my daughter! I've been able to get my hands on Barney (my daughter calls him "Marmey"), Elmo's World, Yo Gabba Gabba, Johnny and the Sprites, Roll Play, In The Night Garden ... you name it. This saves me from spending money on DVDs, especially since my daughter gets tired of them so quickly. (Totally off topic, but did you know Selena Gomez was on Barney when she was a kid?!)

Also, I've just learned that many libraries have free programs, such as song-and-dance classes for tots, crafts, story time, etc.  So if you need something different from home activities and/or what's available at a drop-in centre, see what your library has to offer.

Diapers and In The Night Garden

First off, let me say how disappointed I am at the diaper sales for the past few weeks. Diapers from all brands have started at about $0.19 per diaper, going up to as high as $0.29! However, I was at a Superstore in Mississauga and they have an in-store coupon for Huggies Snug & Dry for $3 off. I don't remember the count, but a size-3 box with the coupon was $0.16 per diaper. Unfortunately, I recently bought a box of Pampers 222 count (and with a stupid coupon they totaled at $0.18 per diaper!), so ... I'm stuck with that for now.

On the plus side, I discovered a thrift store called Talize. I never bothered to figure out what it was all about. However, I saw their sign in Brampton that said "Discover the new Power of Thrift" so I thought, "Okay, why not?" Well, thank goodness I did check it out because I found an In The Night Garden doll for $1.99 and it talks, too My daughter absolutely LOVES this show and Upsy Daisy, the doll below, is her favourite character. (Like many first-time adult viewers, I totally found the show weird at first (uh...Makka Pakka and Hahoo?!), but then I discovered it was made by the creators of Teletubbies, so it all made sense.)

My friend was asking me the best days to visit thrift stores for good finds and to be honest ... I can't think of any best days. (But if you know the secret, let me know please!) From my experience, it's been a luck of the draw. Sometimes you find things, sometimes you leave empty handed. So if you're trying to save some bucks on toys ... just keep checking out the thrift stores whenever you can. But come spring and summer time, it'll be garage-sale season, so those will be fun to sift through!