Consignment 101

I remember telling a friend years ago that I could never go to a consignment sale. It wasn't because I have a problem with previously owned clothing; I just didn't like the idea of hundreds of women crammed in a building searching frantically for good deals. Now that I have my 4th consignment sale under my belt, I guess I can add that statement to the list of things that I misspoke about before I actually had a child. Never say never, friends:)

My favorite finds from a consignment sale a couple of weeks ago cost $12.

I had to pick out another child's initials, but for $6 each, these outfits were well worth a little seam ripping.

My grand total was $107. Please excuse the phone pictures.



Trent LOVED his $15 riding dump truck, and I was excited when I saw it's $45 on Amazon.com.

I went to another sale last week. I was excited to find some good Crocs. Trent lived in Crocs last summer!

My mom asked me to look for an inexpensive riding toy to keep at my parents house, so I picked up this tricycle for $5.

I didn't make it to the clothing section until after the rush, but I found a few things. My total was $82, which is less than I would have paid for the shoes if I bought them retail.

Since I don't coupon very well, and I am one of the least creative people you will ever meet, I am glad that I can shop consignment sales. ha! While I'm FAR from an expert, I will offer a little novice advice regarding these sales.

If you are intimidated by consignment sales, you are not alone. Here are a few things to consider before you boycott them. First, strongly consider consigning. I don't consign to make a lot of money. I consign so that I can shop early. Most sales only have a 15 item minimum. {This includes clothing, shoes, baby equipment, toys, etc.} You have to price and tag the items, which takes a little time. I recommend pricing items relatively low and considering what you would pay for them. You receive 60-70% of the profit for the items that sell. You can either pick up or donate the items that do not sell.

When you drop off your items, you are usually required to put them up yourself. At first this annoyed me a bit, but I quickly learned to use this time to scan for items I might want to buy on consignor's night. During drop off, you also receive a pass to shop one day before the sale opens to the public. Most sales also give you a consignor's guest pass, which allows a friend to shop a few hours after you and the other consignors. So, if a sale has 300 consignors, {which I think is a reasonable estimate} 600 people are allowed to shop before the sale even opens to the public. That's why you might not find the best things, even if you go the first day it opens to the public... and why you need to consign:)

I consigned in two sales this year, and I made $196 at the first one {the one above, where I spent $107.} I consigned about 50 items, which is more than I usually consign. I haven't gotten an update from the second one yet, but I only consigned 15 items.

I guess that's enough consignment peer-pressure:) If you need more or have any questions, just comment or send me an email. Good luck!!

Remission

Today we are rejoicing, because Mike is in REMISSION! Many of you have probably already seen the news on his Caring Bridge page or Facebook. I'm updating all of the sites tonight:) This is the first time in almost eight years that he has been cancer-free. We praise God for Mike's healing!

"O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me." Psalm 30:2

You can read more about Mike's journey with cancer here.

The mess and the tractor

If you walked into our house tonight, you would immediately see our dining room, which is usually the cleanest room in our house. That's not the case this week...

Thankfully we don't do a lot of dining on this table anyway.


The embroidery machine is only here for a limited time, so I am keeping her busy.


I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it on the blog before, but I'll say it again. Embroidery and applique is not simple. I have proof:

It's not horrible, but it's not good. And this picture was taken after lots of cutting and clean-up. I'm pretty sure it was my fault, and it will probably happen again. I'm just thankful he will only wear this shirt once or twice, and I doubt he will be still enough for people to notice the imperfections.

Here are the results of my labor {and why I look extra tired this week}:

I love these dish towels! They are smaller than your normal dish towel, and I plan to use them for drying sippy cups dishes.

I tried to make Darby's dish mat, but I failed miserably. I think it had something to do with my inability to cut straight and/or the fact that I can't really sew. I had convinced myself that making the mat was kind-of like hemming pants. Nope. After spending 2-3 hours and only making a major mess, I decided to ask for a dish mat for my birthday. But I think these will do the job until then. If any seamstresses are reading, I'll gladly make you some initial dish mats in exchange for a real dish mat:):)

While I've been making a mess of our dining room, Trent has been riding his tractor with anyone that will push him. When you stop pushing and tell him to pedal, he makes this face:

This day he decided to just hang out on the tractor.

I hope you're having a great week! I'm getting ready for a big consignment sale Friday night. If you've ever been to a big consignment sale on preview night, you know they require lots of mental preparation:)

Party Time

Would anyone like to plan Trent's third birthday party? His party last week was so much fun, but I am so not a party-planner. You know you have problems when you plan a small birthday party at a place that provides everything, but you still don't do anything until the day of the party, which is also a day you did not take off work. Just add it to my Mother of the Year nomination form. :) Thank goodness the little man was oblivious to my pre-party anxiety; he had a blast with family, friends, and Chuck E, which made it all 110% worth it! Here are some pictures from the party...

The last one was taken when Chuck E left the room. Trent tried to follow him, but we told him Chuck E was gone. I'm sure we will be back to see Chuck E soon!

Special thanks to my great friend Kelli for taking pictures during the party! Having a photographer there was definitely my best party-planning idea!

Venison and bedtime rituals

Warning: If you are a vegetarian, you should probably skip this post.

I tried deer meat venison for the first time last week, and I spit out my only bite it didn't go very well. I felt a little guilty, because it was Trent's birthday, and Mike was excited about using venison for the first time. We decided to make tacos. The first bad sign was that I did not like the smell of it when it was cooking. {Background info: I have a very sensitive nose, and I can not eat things that smell odd/bad. I have never tried tuna fish. I beg Mike to eat it in another room and throw the leftovers away outside. I also don't like preparing meat. I can do it, but raw meat freaks me out a little bit.} The deer meat didn't necessarily stink, but it didn't smell good either. It looked fine, but I waited on Mike to get home to take a look/smell before I put in the seasoning. He insisted it was fine, and he swears he liked the taste. Trent took a few bites, but I think after he saw me spit out my first bite, he was a little skeptical. In my opinion, it tasted like it smelled, and it did not taste anything like regular/beef taco meat. I wish I would have liked it, and I'm willing to try it again {especially since we have a lot more in the freezer!}. If any of you cook with venison, please pass along recipes and advice. Mike will love you for it!

In other news, Trent has a new bedtime ritual. After we bathe, read, and pray, he now insists that we arrange his animals in their sleep positions.

He puts his arms around them... until it's time to go to sleep.

Then he assumes his position: thumb in mouth, other hand twirling hair.

Don't worry, he's not a sissy. He drives a tractor.

TWO

Happy 2nd birthday Trent! We love you SOOO much!

Has it really been two weeks?

I can't believe Christmas was two weeks ago! We started a new tradition this year and spent the night at our house. It made it much easier for Santa.

We decided to start the three gifts tradition next year. Santa started shopping early this year and got lots of good deals on small stuff. He also totally forgot about our stockings, but maybe that was because we forgot to leave him milk and cookies.

The tricycle was by far his favorite gift, and he immediately started riding it down the hall. He quickly realized that he did not need to pedal and began riding "Fred Flinstone" style.

We headed to Christmas lunch with the Gunter family, but by the time we got there after a 45-minute drive, Trent had a fever of 102.5. After Tylenol, Motrin, and the stripping of a turtleneck, he was up for some lunch and presents.

Since Trent was sick and my camera was still smoking from our trip to Opp, I didn't take many pictures during our second Christmas celebration. I did, however, get a cute one of the Paschal family.

I really wish we could spend more time with the whole "Gunter" gang. We always have so much fun together, and this man, "Paw Paw" is our fearless leader:) He is an incredible man, and he pulled some funny stuff out of his big bag of fun this year.


After afternoon naps, we had our final Christmas celebration at my parents' house. It was so much fun that we got brave and attempted some family pictures.



Can you tell Trent's medicine is wearing off in this one?


We were all reminded of childhood innocence when after opening countless gifts, Trent and Trevor picked these $2 stocking stuffers to entertain us the rest of the night.

Later, we were shocked to find our first White Christmas outside!

He was unamused, but I think it was due to the fever.

It sounds like he might get another chance at snow in the next couple of days!