Extra Alphabet and an awesome deal

Today I woke up with a "feeling"....
One of those feelings where I didn't want to go downtown but I had the urge to shop.  And I felt like the second-hand shop nearby, Sillinteri, was calling my name...
I rarely ignore those feelings or sudden urges to cruise through a second hand store - because more often than not - I find something at a wonderful price and something useful for my son or the home...

Today was no exception.

I wasn't feeling all that great today (possibly coming down with a cold?) and started my morning with a trip to the playground with my (almost) 20-month old...he was bored and only wanted to keep eating crackers - so my "Shopping Senses" got tingly and I walked over to Sillinteri...
I didn't get a basket right away - thinking I wouldn't find anything bigger than a novel or a cloth diaper...
Well, wasn't I wrong!

I found 9 Chick-Lit novels (Queen of Babble series by Meg Cabot, The Nanny Diaries and some others) in English and all super cheap.....I grabbed a basket as the hood of my son's stroller wouldn't hold or support all of them.
Then I saw a laptop for 2�!  Not any kind of laptop but a children's laptop!  I confirmed with one of the workers that the label said it worked (although the power key is stuck - it thankfully auto-shuts off)...
And look at the inside of this thing:

Fisher Price's Laugh & Learn Preschool laptop

Note the funny alphabet?  � is a Swedish "A" and � and � are Finnish letters

I continued on and found some cloth diapers - which I'm constantly collecting if I can find them at cheap prices!  This way I'm prepared for whenever we have another kid (no rush! I just love a sale!) - and often times, I find bigger cloth diapers and can slip them onto V�in� now - so we save on disposables too!

Well, I was about to leave when I decided I'd do another quick run through and hit up some aisles I had previously missed...

WOW! Good thing I did!
For 20�  I found a baby back-pack carrier...no not a Manducca (I have a Patapum - which is quite similar) - but a "Deuter Kids Comfort III "!
What does that mean? I had no idea either...I just saw it's sturdy frame, it's hiking-like style, the big zippered enclosures for diapers etc. and the real eye catcher?  The sun/rain roof!

It still has the original foam and plastic protection on it!

Now, my husband wasn't terribly pleased when he saw I came home with "more stuff we probably don't need" - but once I did some research online and saw how much money we saved - even he couldn't disagree with this AMAZING find!

Okay - let's do some math and I shall explain what I learned about the "Deuter" brand.

The Deuter brand is a Germany-based company - mostly hiking and camping equipment stuff....kind of like MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-Op in Canada) I guess!

And then I started looking up this specific model of back-pack carrier....

• It was rated one of the Top 10 carriers in 2011 in a Youtube video....
• It's normally sold for 200-240�...(on MEC's site - I saw it for 315$ Canadian + taxes)....I PAID 20� FOR THIS!!!  And it's practically brand-new!
• It has large compartments to carry diapers and a hydro pack if you have one...
• There is a little zippered pouch near the hip band which contains a little mirror that sticks inside with velcro!  This way you can keep an eye on your little one and see how they are doing!
• Sun/rain roof can be zippered away or opened
• High back for the child - so their head and neck don't snap back like many other carriers do...
• Lots of room for a child to grow and move around in - without being in control of the walk! (aka if V�in� wiggles a bit - I often don't feel it because this carrier is so sturdy and has great padding).
• A kick-stand so you can fit your child in there without it toppling over
• Easy to adjust!
• The chin rest/pad is removable and you can wash it by hand!!  My son loved this feature and looked so comfy resting the side of his face on it while dozing during our trip to the grocery store.
• Here's the site with more specific information

Look at the TERRIBLE neck support from the Patapum! (This was taken when he was  17-months old)  Thankfully he didn't seem to mind this pose...but it was really scary to see him hang his head backwards like this!

I started slowly by taking my son to the nearby library, about 10 minutes away from our door and other than the fact that I did not properly adjust it - it was still quite comfortable!  I didn't have pains in any one particular spot of my body - which was a real joy!

So we returned some things at the library and I rushed home to adjust it as well as I could - and off we went to the grocery store (which is about 15 minutes away - walking at a lazy pace pushing a stroller)....With the exception of the hot temperatures (not the carrier's fault!) - it was a pleasure to carry and use!

I only brought 1 plastic bag with me because I didn't want to put eggs in the carrier's zippered pouch and a baguette wouldn't fit either...but for the most part - a lot of things did fit and yes it does add weight - but it's worth it for the convenience of not having to carry extra bags!

We met with my husband on the way back and he was really impressed with how comfortable and well-supported V�in� looked in it!

When we got home this is what happened:

He didn't want to get out of it!