A Family of Five... Surprise! ~www.TheBloggingMom.com~

I was looking through some photos and came across this one. When I checked the date on the photo, I noticed it was taken exactly one year ago today. Man, how time flies! By my calculations, I must have been about 3 1/2 months pregnant at the time. Today I have a beautiful baby boy I couldn't imagine life without (in addition to my other two beautiful children). I can't believe he is one week short of 6 months.

Six months ago, this was me and the happy hubby welcoming Baby Hudson:

I was so absolutely happy when this little guy was born. The good Lord blessed us with the sweetest happiest baby. Or should I say that [nearing 40] he surprised us with the sweetest happiest baby. Needless to say, since his arrival the Phillips' family household has been filled with joy.

Life has changed indeed. I am a stay at home mom a second time around, which is an adjustment in itself. Having to make the decision to stay at home or continue to work was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I suppose because it was so unexpected. I had moved more to the middle school/high school thinking mode versus the diaper changing mode. Keeping in mind that my other children are 13 and 11. It had been a long time since I changed diapers. I must add though that big brother and sister adore their little brother, and the big sister will even change a few of those diapers.

I left a wonderful teaching job at a terrific school working with the most fantastic people, but wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything. I am a firm believer that Madison and Gibson benefited from my decision to stay home with them for the first few years of their lives, as Hudson will benefit too. After all, he gets his mommy ALL day long!!

Believe it or not (most people don't know this about me), I even wrote a book about staying at home when I did it the first time around. Even though I never sent it off to publishers, I do hold an official copyright on the book and it can be found at the Library of Congress. It is titled Building a Home by Staying at Home ~ Reflections from Stay at Home Moms. Basically it is about the sacrifices and hardships of staying at home (whether it be for a year or long term), but it also focuses on how the benefits outweigh all of those. Maybe I will share more about that at a later date. I should pull that out of the basement and edit and add to it this second time around.

Here is my little "Huddie Boy" as he nears 6 months...

Baby Clothes and Goodwill ~ www.thebloggingmom.com

Thirteen years ago when my two older kids were just babies, I started to shop Goodwill for their baby clothing. At the time I felt like I was a minority, but I have to say, I had some of the best dressed little ones around, and I paid next to nothing for their clothing. The thing about baby clothing, dresses, and holiday clothing is that the kids tend to outgrow them before they ruin them. Therefore, bargain shoppers like me reap the benefits. Just as an FYI, I always double check a few things before I buy... zippers, snaps, and stains.

One of my favorite finds for Madison when she was a toddler was when I came across about ten outfits by the brand Chocolate Soup. They make absolutely adorable and unique clothing like these dresses:

Needless to say, I bought every one!! PLUS, I think I only paid $1 for each one.

As the kids grew a bit older and finding stain-free clothing became a bit harder, I switched my shopping gears and went more for the regular high-end retail chains.

Now here I am thirteen years later with a five month old bouncing baby boy and I am back to my old habits of looking for baby bargains. I see it as a challenge and find it quite fun. Even being the picky shopper I am, I can find most of my baby clothing at the four-five Goodwill stores in my area. This is not to say that I don't ever buy new clothing. There is always going to be that adorable outfit that I have to swipe up from the mall or some other specialty store.

Here are some of my most recent Christmas finds for Hudson.

I am sorry to say though that the prices have risen to $1.60 an outfit. HA HA... not so bad, ah?

Right now he has a closet full of clothing for fall and winter. The brands include Gymboree, Baby Gap, Old Navy, Carters, The Children's Place, Kelly's Kids, and more. Did I mention that sometimes I find brand new clothing with the tags still attached?

I read a recent article about Goodwill that stated Goodwill Industries is opening stores in higher socio-economic areas. I am finding this to be true in my area. According to the Goodwill stats, in 2010 alone their sales have increased by 10% and they have done over 15 million dollars in sales.

Looks like I might not be the minority for long!