Store brands vs. Name brand

So I'm a strong believer in getting more for less.  I don't care about the label on a can of food or pair of jeans.  If it suits my needs, I'll get it and save myself a few bucks, or more, in the process.  Well, today, I had to question my long-standing beliefs.  I had bought a store-brand can of green beans.  I had not bought this particular store's canned veggies before, but thought that off brand is off brand.  Opening this can of green beans, I was excited.  Nothing sounded good all afternoon and upon getting home, my nauseated pregnant stomach said "I could do some green beans."  I quickly responded before said stomach could change its mind, heated up the beans and away I went.  They tasted good too!  After a few bites, I noticed something yellowish in the bowl.  Thinking to myself, it's probably just an unripe bean, I pulled it out to throw it away.  Well folks, it was a dandelion head.  Ew.  So I picked it out, thinking, what a fluke and continued eating my beans.  I mean, I understand that with all the technology and such around today, it is possible to get a stray field green into my beans now and then.  I continue eating and low and behold, along comes another dandelion.  This one has gone to seed.  You know, after they turn into white puff balls and the seeds start to blow off the head and float away, only to infest millions of lawns?  So, now I'm calling my financially savvy decision into question.  Is it worth spending more for green beans without dandelions?  Am I just making a mountain with a molehill?  What do you think?  Should I keep buying my store brand, penny saving foods or should I pony up the dough and use name brand items?  Let me know your thoughts...

Rain, rain, go away!

So it has rained pretty much for a week straight here, so I thought this new layout was fitting!  The news reported 7 inches of rain for the month of June, with yet another storm rolling through as I type!  We've been forced to turn on the air conditioning as we can't have the windows open reliably due to all of this rain!  We went over to Saylorville the other day to look for some driftwood for my mom and weren't able to access the lake at several points due to high water.  The beaches are pretty much non-existent because the water levels are so high, though there were several families attempting to enjoy the hot and humid day.  This rain has put into effect Flash Flood Watches that will last until further notice.  No end date and time...just "until further notice."  That's saying something!
Lately, we've had some time to start researching and pricing all of the things that we "need" to get ready for our family expansion in December.  Figuring out which crib will be the safest and how much you really need to spend for a quality crib has been exhausting!  Did you know that you can spend anywhere from $150 to $800 for a bed!!!  That doesn't even include the mattress!  I was shocked!  So after adding up the cost of a crib, mattress, car seat, stroller, play yard, breast pump, clothes, diapers, the list goes on and on and on....we were SHOCKED and began to realize that we need to start saving now!  While we knew that children were expensive, it made it easy to see how so many families go into debt when they have children.  The "Baby Industry" is driven to guilt you into buying the "best" for your child and in order to get the "best" you need to spend more, more, more.  Thankfully we have another 26 weeks to continue our research and ask lots of questions of my friends with children to find out what is really worth the money and what is not.  I haven't even started talking about finding day care yet.  Another day, another blog.  For now, enjoy the rain.