State of Confusion

It's no secret to any woman who's been pregnant that babies steal your brain.

Yes, it's true. I don't care what Discovery Health says, with ALL THREE of my pregnancies, I've been "dumbed down". I forget things, process thoughts way more slowly, the whole nine yards.

Unfortunately, in my experience, it often takes up to a year AFTER the baby comes to regain full mental capacity. I also figure there's some sort of direct correlation between the number of children a woman has and the number of brain cells lost to "baby brain".

As crazy as baby brain makes me, though, I do know that I've not completely lost my common sense.

One of the (many) things we had to replace for Mr. Baby was his crib mattress. While we hadn't yet gotten rid of the crib itself (AmenandthankyouJesus!), the mattress was reincarnated as a bed for Princess the Wonder Dog, and, while I'm all about recycling, there's just no way that it was going back into the crib.

So I went online to one of my new favorite shopping sites, Amazon.com. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I'm late to the party. I've had baby brain for the past nine months.

Anyway, I discovered that there are about as many different types of crib mattresses as there are babies. And while I love my children, and want the best I can afford for them, I'm pretty confident that Mr. Baby doesn't need a $299.00 crib mattress.

So off to Walmart.com for me. Now, I'm not a big fan of the Evil Empire, but sadly, for us frugal moms, it works. I found a lovely, highly rated Kolcraft brand crib mattress for a mere $36 in their "Site to Store" program. I called my local Walmart to see if they had that particular model in stock. The associate was gone for a minute to check.

WM Associate: "Yes ma'am, we have that model in stock. It's $57."

Me: "FIFTY SEVEN DOLLARS?! For that model?"

WMA: "Yes ma'am."

Me: "Uhm...it's available on the Walmart.com website for $36. That's a $21 difference!"

WMA: "Yes ma'am. I understand that some things are priced differently on the website."

I don't know if you've used the Site to Store feature of Walmart.com, but it's pretty simple. You place your order and pay for it online, and they ship it directly to the store at no additional charge. We've purchased a few things through the site, and while we've noticed the occasional minor price difference, we've never purchased anything that is marked up more than 50%.

Here are the options as my baby-affected brain worked it out:

a) I can walk into Walmart today and pay $57 plus tax for the mattress.
b) I can order the mattress through Site to Store, pay $36 plus tax, and they will ship the mattress from the warehouse (even though they have them in-stock). In 1-2 weeks, pick it up at the store.
c) I can order the mattress through Site to Store, pay $36 plus tax, plus $3.97 shipping (all STILL $17 cheaper than option a), and they will deliver it TO MY DOOR in 1 week.

Can you guess which one I chose?

I realize that we, as a society, are more into immediate gratification than thinking through things and saving money, but I'm really confused as to the price difference in this situation.

And that's not my baby brain talking!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something....Green

By now most Americans know that Chelsea Clinton got married this past weekend. The media glommed on for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being the secrecy that surrounded the preparations and event itself.

It was reported that the secrecy was due not to requests from her slightly famous parents, but from the bride herself. And really, who can blame her? It's not like the media have a history of being civil kind to her. She clearly wanted this day to be about celebration, friends and family, not about her dress, the guest list, the locale, the money that was spent, or any of those other things that bridezillas the press seem to lap up like heavy cream.

Oh, but the money. Yes, the money. THAT is what had people's tongues wagging even before the happy couple said "I do."

The Clintons were rumored to have spent anywhere from $1M to $5M on their only child's wedding. Yeah. $11K just for a cake.

A cake. A consumable good. People EAT it, for Pete's sake.

Now, I don't know anyone in MY social circle who is financially secure enough to spend THAT much on a cake, let alone the wedding. And yes, frankly I think it's more than absurd to spend that much money on ONE SINGLE DAY in your life. Apparently in 2010, the "average American wedding" (whatever that is) costs upwards of $28K. As an event planner, I can certainly understand HOW one could spend $28K on a wedding event.

Notice I said understand HOW. That is very different than understanding WHY. That logic escapes me.

But I digress.

The Clintons are rumored to have spent $1M to $5M on the wedding of their only child. And people are livid. The economy is in the toilet. People everywhere are suffering. Children are starving. Dogs and cats, LIVING TOGETHER.

Okay, so maybe I exaggerate.

It's THEIR money, people. THEIR daughter. Sure, I personally think it's an IN.SANE. amount, but hey, if they can afford it, more power to them. As far as the economy goes, when was the last time YOU gave the economy a boost like that? Seriously, all those Benjamins went to a multitude of caterers, servers, bakers, tailors, valets, bus drivers, housekeepers, musicians, photographers, makeup artists, hairdressers, airlines, travel agents, retailers...

Need I go on? That money was poured into the economy in Rhinebeck, NY and many other locations. Talk about a stimulus!

But of course, the naysayers will still talk. "If they have that much money, they should do something worthwhile with it!"

What about people, with a far smaller net worth, spend a few thousand dollars on, say, a really upscale television? Nobody questions them, right?

"But two thousand dollars can do SO much good for ____________________!"

What about people who spend $200 on a pair of gym shoes for their kid?

"But two hundred dollars could buy food for a family of four for a few weeks, maybe a MONTH!"

Uh-huh.

The bottom line is simple. You may not like what people spend their money on, but in the end, it's THEIR money. All we can really do is toast the happy couple and be grateful for people like the Clintons who have that kind of money to pour into the economy.

Sequel

My favorite men's body wash has done it again. Remember "I'm on a Horse"?

Well, the geniuses at Old Spice's marketing firm have returned with hot OS man, Isaiah Mustafa, and this time, he walks on water! These commercials are the best! I love that they are basically poking fun of their own industry. Check it out!

I'm On a Horse!

I'm of the camp that believes the best part of the Super Bowl is generally the commercials.

"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" has officially made Old Spice my favorite company ever.

Basically, the guy starts out in a shower, is transported to a boat, and then, yes ends up on a horse.

All because of Old Spice Body Wash, of course.

It was clearly shot through the magic of computers. Or was it? Check out this video. It's a bit on the long side, but so very cool.