Of course they did!

I have to vent! You probably know that I planned Grayson's little tractor themed party for many months...so OF COURSE I would go to the Gymboree website the following Monday to see they debuted a tractor line for toddler boys! I about died. Mainly because I'm not exactly blown away with boy clothes but these are pretty darn cute! They missed a spot at our party but they will have a place on this blog! :)

These shorts were my saddest realization since I struggled with bottoms for G's tractor t-shirt. These would have been perfect!

Patchwork shorts. Oh my. And in green/blue (sigh)

A hat. Of course there are accessories. 

Smocked Sample Sale!

My Mom and I headed out bright and early this morning to shop the Smocked Auctions sample sale! Smocked Auctions is a brilliant concept: two online sales a week T/Th 8:30pm CST where they sell deeply discounted smocked children's clothing on their Facebook page. But you have to be a fast typer b/c there are very limited quantities, 60k fans and it's first come/first serve. And those cost-conscious mamas are crazy! Today's sale is only one of a few sales they have had where you can actually shop in person. So of course I had to be there. And my sweet mom is really up for anything so she happily joined me and got right in there with all those crazy ladies! 


I knew it would be safe (for my wallet) to attend since the boy items aren't nearly as cute as the girl items nor do they have that many options for the older boys. However, I was looking for some cute short sets and swim trunks and I'm very happy with my finds!


Beau was so sweet to watch Grayson while I went. Anything to not actually have to GO with me. :) 

Grayson really took an interest in my buys.
But I think he just wanted to pull things out of the bag.

He rolled around in it all for a while, which is
just what I wanted to do too!

This is the only shot I have of the 1 shorts set we got
for 4th of July. You can see the white T with flags to the left.
More to come after the actually holiday. Oh, and darling
PJs to the right. He looks like a little old man in that 2-piece style. :)

Quite possibly my favorite find - smocked swim trunks! And for
a fraction of what they cost on other online smocked sites.

Divine Consign!

I volunteered at this massive consignment sale that I mentioned recently. It takes up the entire Plano Convention Center - full of gently used (or not used at all) baby/child items. My thoughts and time have been consumed with what I want, things we need, etc so that I could be efficient with my time once I actually got into the sale! I volunteered Friday for 5 hours during drop-off, which was awesome because I got to scope out the incoming loot. Then, the pre-sale opened at 3pm Saturday for volunteers. 


By the time I left my volunteer shift, the conference center was only half full but I snapped pictures to show you the magnitude of this sale!


Pre-apologize for the terrible -iPhone photos......

The Stroller/Car seat room was HUGE - this shows maybe 1/5 of it.

I worked the diaper bag/playmat/sling room - this practically-new, silk
Petunia Pickle Bottom bag came in for $50. I DIE. They are $170 new.

I counted 18 Baby Bjorns before I left - do you like my organization skills?
I was later told it was unnecessary b/c by the end of drop-off, this table would be PILED high.
They were right! Oh well.

Ride-on and Push toys

Bumbos

Play mats - I was not happy that I had to overlap these. So cluttered.

So this was my list going into the pre-sale complete with the price I would pay if I bought new:

• Outdoor slide ($75 - $100)
• Toddler puzzles (don't know)
• Winter hats/mittens ($25)
• Winter shoes ($40/pair)
• Halloween costume ($30-55)
• Baby Bjorn - for someday when we have a new baby but are chasing around a big baby - ($90)
• Bumbo & tray (borrowed one for Grayson) - ($50)
• Indoor toys ($30-50/toy)
• Push toys - Grayson LOVES the ones we have borrowed but need to return them - ($25-40)
• Bath toys (cheap but what the hell, I was there!)

I got to the pre-sale on Saturday at 2:45 (15 minutes early) and was probably the 200th person in line (these women are crazy). I only had an hour to shop since we had early-evening plans in Dallas. I'm happy to report that I got everything on my list (and then some) and was out by 4pm! Isn't that impressive?!

Waking up on Sunday was like Christmas morning! I don't feel bad about this since I really don't ever buy Grayson toys and he has grown tired of the ones he has had since birth :) He's tired of spatulas and empty boxes and is far from spoiled....

basketball/baseball/football play center
(the bat in his hand below goes with this toy :)) - $8

The COOLEST Leap Frog shopping cart! It has a SCANNER that scans the groceries
items and tells you what they are! I didn't even realize how cool this was when I got it.
$10

The big/outdoor and normally-expensive items go first so with 200 people before me I wasn't expecting to get the outdoor slide I wanted.... but I DID get one and it's in excellent condition!

Woot! $30

My other great finds worth mentioning:


2 new Halloween costumes - $5/each
2 Puzzles - $3
Baby Bjorn - $20
Bumbo/Tray - $12
Bath toys - $4.50
2 Hats/mittens - $8.50
4 pairs of shoes - $32
New long-sleeved Polo shirt - $5
...and on and on.....

As you can tell, I absolutely recommend this sale to anyone in the market for great quality kid items who is looking for a great deal!

Consignment Sales - My New Hobby

Why didn't I know about these little HUGE gems before I had Grayson?! Gently used baby EVERYTHING in one massive space just waiting for my cheap little hands to give them a new home. I think before your first baby, you go through this whole "I want everything new and clean and expensive" phase. I remember it and I get it. BUT it's so silly since a) most things get barely any use out of them and b) a lot of the things at the sales still have tags on them or have only been used a couple of times. Strollers, crib bedding, large toys - all can be pricey - and here it all sits at a fraction of the price!


I look forward to going to the BIG one in Plano at the end of August. Everyone is buzzing about it - I feel so stupid saying that. But it's true! The one I went to today was already picked over but I did figure out one special area where these sales will benefit me - SHOES. New infant shoes are $40 a pop. Did you know that? FORTY DOLLARS for something they wear for like a minute. And buying these gently used is AWESOME b/c someone else's child wore them for...yes....for like a minute and now they are yours for EIGHT DOLLARS!!

$8 and they are brand new!

My First Garage Sale

Well, we did it! 6 signs, 3 online ads, 4 hour worth of sale and the Asels & Reynolds pocketed a combined $800. Not too shabby, especially if you saw how much stuff we had left over! Our neighbors Scooter and Brittney had a TON of baby clothes (mostly boy stuff) and they were nice enough to give us first dibs. I went through SIX bins and got some adorable things for Grayson! In fact, he is fully outfitted this winter AND next! I'm SO excited. Here are three of our great finds!

Who put this TODDLER on my floor??

Ahh, lobster swim trunks.
I resisted buying them but alas, we have them!

Cute Adidas wind shorts and CUTER duckey slippers - ha!

The Asels have been such a blessing -saving us SO much money on 2 winter wardrobes - and the stuff is CUTE! I washed and played with it during the only hours I was awake yesterday. :)


To bring it back to the sale, I think we'll do it again. It was pretty easy, despite me having had surgery 36 hours before. I had some uber-helpful advice given to me from friends, which made a world of difference. Without that, we would not have been as successful! Overall, the people that came to the sale were very nice and respectful (even the 4 people that showed up at 6:30am for a 7am sale). I DID forget to set my alarm and I overslept but our prep the night before (I even laid out my clothes) made it okay. I miss some of the items I sold (my yellow couch and Bombay coffee table/end table) but I can't hold onto furniture for 5+ more years *assuming* we will have a bigger home and that it will even fit then. You know? That's called hoarding.