Born a Wildcat--Baby's First Basketball Game!

Last weekend, we checked a "first" off of our list for Akinya...she went to her first K-State Basketball game!

We had talked about going to some games earlier in the season, but Justin was concerned about the noise hurting her ears...plus, being around such a large number of people during cold & flu season made him even more anxious.

Then, the invitation came.  Legends Weekend was once again upon us and it was time for Justin to take his annual trip down to the hardwood for a halftime presentation.  You see, every year, K-State hosts a reunion for all of their former basketball players--there's always the game, plus some sort of meal.  I made the executive decision that we were going--after all, by mid-January, Akinya's immune system should be fairly strong!

Finally, the day was here.  We started at the new football West Stadium Center.

We were originally supposed to have breakfast and the recognition ceremony of the 1964 Final Four team at the Training Table...turns out, they had recruits down there, so we had to meet elsewhere.

We were moved to the concourse area of the West Stadium...I totally stole these two pictures off of the web, but the space was gorgeous!  It was a perfect spot to have breakfast and check out the field!

The morning sun was VERY bright, so our "tourist" photos didn't turn out the best...but you could still see the field in the background!

Miss Akinya Kate & her cousin, Marcella.  They were the two cutest AND best-behaved cheerleaders at both the breakfast and basketball game!

A "K-State Family" picture...we had the privilege of sharing breakfast with the very sociable George Shupe (class of 1968).  And if you know anything about K-State, once you put on the purple, we're all family!

Finally, it was time for the game at Bramlage Coliseum...as we left the West Stadium, the Athletic Department had a 6-passenger Gator waiting to take us to the front door of the coliseum.  Considering how windy and cold it had become, we were more than happy to hop on board and let people think we were someone "important" as we zipped by them!  lol...

I was actually pretty excited about the game!  We were playing West Virginia--not only did they recently join our conference, but old Bob Huggins had been our head coach just several years ago.  After one season at K-State, he left to accept the WV job...lots of K-Staters had been hurt and angry about his choice, but fast forward to 2014 and I don't think there were any hurt feelings in the room!

After all, two coaches later and I think we've found something in Bruce Weber!

 Even though her parents were excited about the game, somebody managed to snooze through the first half!

Fortunately, Akinya woke up in time for the recognition ceremony...she waited with the guys (Justin, Schyler Thomas & Kyle Taylor) for the elevator to the tunnel.

Pretty sure there was a nice 80-year age difference between her and some of the older "Legends"!

Finally, it was time to go out on the court!  This is the picture of the "Legends" from the 2000's...neat part?  Kyle, Schyler & Justin were teammates.  Discouraging part?  There are 12 years of "2000's"  teammates out there that need to make the trip back for Legends Weekend!  I know Justin would absolutely love getting to spend time with the other guys!

Smiling for the crowd after his name was called!

And getting ready to wave "bye" to the crowd!

All in all, it was a great day to be a Wildcat!  Akinya did great--she pretty much slept, ate and just took in her surroundings.  It was definitely sensory central--so many new sights, sounds and smells--and I was worried how she would be later that night.   Our evening at home was a happy one and she only woke up once during the night.  Guess she enjoyed her day and getting to celebrate a win over West Virginia!!

Baby on a Budget

I'm back to work.

Thank God.  Because having a baby is not cheap.

But I'm cheap.

That's all there is to it.  But much to my surprise, the two CAN go together!

When we found out we were having a baby, one of my first thoughts was "cha-ching."  I could hear the bank account getting sucked dry!  We knew babies were "expensive," but on top of that, my job is strictly commission.  Until I'm sitting at the closing table, I don't get paid...and in real estate, the average lag time from activity to paycheck is 45-60 days.  We knew to budget for a maternity leave of at least 6 weeks.  Thanks to an emergency c-section, that leave turned into 8 weeks.  Thus, we were automatically looking at a minimum of 4 months without me bringing home any income.  Let me tell ya, that definitely made the "cha-ching" only grow louder!

In order to soften the blow once we learned of the pregnancy, we started socking away what money we could--but we also tried to cut as many corners as possible.  Fortunately, no pain came with being cheap...the only pain came when we had to face expenses that just couldn't be found at a reduced rate elsewhere (ie the crazy hospital bills).

I know not all of you are mamas or daddies, so this might not apply.  But if you know someone who's is expanding their family, maybe some of these tips will help them?!  Who knows...but I thought I'd pass some of it on...

CONSIGNMENT SALES.  We bought things like bouncers, burp rags, bibs, basic onesies, play mats, stroller, you name it at our local semi-annual kid consignment sale.  Just the other day, we literally cut a onesie off of Akinya when she had a record setting blowout--considering we paid just pennies for the onesie, we weren't out anything.  You wouldn't want to buy everything there, but we managed to pay about 1/3 of the retail cost (including tax) for everything.  Uh-mazing!

MATERNITY CLOTHES.  A lot of women borrow maternity clothes, but honestly, my ridiculous inseam made that nearly impossible.  So, I hit up eBay for gently used high-quality clothes...and I also stalked GAP, Old Navy and Pea In The Pod until they had sales.  Surprisingly enough, their sale prices were cheaper than Target & Motherhood Maternity, and the items always laundered without developing holes, etc.  Plus, the designs were "normal" enough that people thought I was still wearing my "regular" clothes while I was pregnant and I'm still wearing some of it as I wait for my pooch to disappear!

WAIT IT OUT. We obviously bought some things ahead of time--bouncers, a swing, etc--but I wouldn't go crazy buying every little thing out there.  With the advent of Diapers.com and their overnight delivery, I would recommend waiting out some things to see what you truly need once the baby is here.  I always heard a white noise machine is "a must."  Turns out, Akinya could sleep through a freight train running through the backyard.  We never bought a white noise machine and at this rate, I doubt we'll need to.  There's a lot of stuff out there that you COULD buy for a baby, but how much of it do you really need???

WELLNESS INCENTIVES. Check with your health insurance provider to see if they have any prenatal wellness programs.  Our company offered one and if we went to just half of our prenatal appointments and called when the baby was born, they would give us a $250 Visa gift card.  You know how many diapers that will buy?! 

DON'T RELY ON YOUR REGISTRY.  My sister-in-law gave me this heads up and it was SO true.  While we certainly received much needed items from our registry, the seasoned moms in attendance usually gifted me items that I never would have thought of registering for--and now I find myself using those items all the time.  But, when it came to the leftover registry items that we wanted/needed, Amazon and Target offered post-baby-shower-date discounts for the items we took care of ourselves.  Discounts were from 10-15% so not huge, but every bit helps!

GOODWILL.  Maybe it's the transient nature of our community, but I have found super cute, name brand baby clothes at our local Goodwill.  There were times that I'd be in Goodwill and there were entire sections of baby clothes that still had the tags on them!  Hello, $35 Baby GAP sweater for just $2!  It's also a great option for basic sweats, onesies etc that are great during those first few weeks when you're pretty much home 24/7...or, those days when you go through 3-4 outfits!  

SECOND-HAND FURNITURE.  We scored well-loved "real" furniture on Craigslist that we had refinished.  It wasn't as cheap as buying the fiberboard alternatives, BUT, the stuff will last much, much longer--and it cost a fraction of what it would have cost to buy the items new at a furniture store. 

POST-DELIVERY MEALS.  Several months prior to my due date, I started buying items when they'd go on sale and when I would make one dish, I'd make enough to freeze for another meal.  I even did this with basic items such as taco and sloppy joe meat, sauteed diced chicken, etc.  Two and a half months into life with a baby, we're STILL digging into our stash of food.  We only order out once every blue moon as we always have something to eat and usually it's quicker to defrost taco meat than it is to wait on the pizza guy!  

However, if you do find that you are ordering out, pick up gift cards from your local Kroger/Dillon's for the restaurant.  It won't save you money on the cost of the food, but you get crazy gas points for buying the gift certificates at the grocery store.  Also, the holidays is a great time to snag deals on the cost of the gift cards.  For example, several weeks ago, Hy-Vee was offering $100 worth of gift cards for just $80 bucks.  

CREDIT CARD REWARD POINTS.  We have a credit card that we use for gas, groceries, etc...We discovered we had enough reward points to purchase a new crib and changing table and pay only $40 out of pocket.  Had we waited several more months, we wouldn't have had to pay anything, but it was more important to us that the items arrive while I was still able to help put them together.  Every month, we pay the balance on our card, so I love earning money when purchasing items that we already have to buy!

THANK YOU NOTES.  Go to Target and buy their bulk Thank-You cards.  You get 50 cards for about $8.  They are super cute and the quality is excellent.  And if you have any manners, you will write a LOT of thank-you notes once you have a baby.  At last count, we're at 120+ cards!  I definitely feel like we're doing our part to keep the Postal Service in business!