Are You and Avid Consigner?

I have never consigned before, at least not to this extent.  I've taken some of my things to the "higher end" consignment shops here in DC.  My style just doesn't "fit" in with what they are looking for, nor do I feel that the prices are very "consigny" in my mind. 

I've heard about these consignment events here in the DC metro area, but never partook.  It just seemed like so much work.  TRUTH!!! As a newbie to this, it was overwhelming to say the least.  I had already collected PCs clothes I then had to use their online system to make labels. I had to say size, a description, brand, price.  You could also select discount which would be half off at the Half Price Sale or donate.  So I printed out all my tags, hung all my clothes, but didn't affix my tags to my clothes- Rookie mistake! Ugh....I went last night to drop off my items, moms were pulling up with minivans filled with trash bags of clothes- no lie.....people with huge storage containers and wagons full of clothes. WOW! I thought my laundry basket and large bag from Marshalls was pretty snazzy- FALSE! I also brought our extra baby swing, which after seeing the amount of swings feared it being sold.  I ended up only tagging a few items because I was too overwhelmed and hadn't tagged a thing and thus was sitting on the floor as prepared mom after prepared mom went by me. Whomp Whomp! 

People even have their own clothes taggers- you know the ones that attach prices to clothes! Although I can see how it would save A LOT of time with safety pins. 

Most of these big consignment sales are hosted by mothers of multiples, but as I do not have a multiple, I could still participate, which was nice. It also meant that there were a lot of double clothes too. Some were even rubber banded together. Don't break up the team! 

This picture is of the non clothes room- aka gymnasium. There were books, toys GALORE, swings, strollers, walkers, excersaucers, videos, more toys, baby gates, rockers, pack n' plays, I mean the list goes on..... 

Some of the girls clothes, I mean there were racks on racks of baby girl clothes! But they are so organized. They've been doing this for awhile. Everything is run smoothly.  You get an ikea bag to use for shopping- Totally normal- people hoarded, then sorted. Again, overwhelming!

The Calm Before the Storm

So, if you donate you get 30% of the sales, but if you volunteer 5 hours of your Saturday you get 70% of the sales. Win. You also get to shop at 8 am before the public. OOOHHHH! It's worth it! These moms mean business. I got there at 8:30 with my shift starting at 9:30.  There were only like 4 swings left, mine was gone! WIN! I bought a few items, but I really didn't need much as PC is pretty well taken care of. However, I did do a little shopping at the half off sale.  Here's a picture of my loot.  She needs summery items. I tried not to go too crazy.  The gray chevron dress actually has a C on it, very specific, but it works for PC.  

We also scored a few toys, not too many.  PC likes to play with cars, although these aren't the ones I thought they were the ones that rev and then crash into each other, but they do make noise. 

 

 I also scored a Britaxcarseat at half price - it was priced at 65$ I purchased for $32.50. I know I know, it's used and I'm being trusting. But I saved over $200 and it doesn't expire until April 2017, so we can get two years out of it.  It is also rear and forward facing. I think it's the Britax pavilion in cowmooflage. Looks like this. 

Tips that I learned:

1) I may need to start earlier than the day before I drop off items

2) Organize by size, makes drop off sooo much easier

3) Save all baby hangers!

4) Investing in a tagger may not be soo bad, if you intend on doing this more than once

5) Put shoes in ziplock bags, or use zip ties to keep them together

6) If you consign a lot, you also have to take back a lot if it doesn't sell

7) Toys are hit or miss

8) Furniture sells (swings, bouncy chairs, etc...)

The event I attended was the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples - they have a spring and fall sale (I will be back!)

There is also the Annapolis Mothers of Multiples Sale

Our First Easter

So another PC first, Easter, Easter Bunny, Easter eggs, I think you get it!

Just a happy go lucky lil girl

Friday morning PC and I kicked off a nice long 4 mile walk around DC, followed by a nap and then a trip to the doctor for her 8 month appointment(except it was really supposed to be her 9 month appointment, hubs got it a month early). Any who, poor lil girl was a trooper and took her 3 shots in her thighs like a champ.  The doctor even complimented her on how well she did and how calm she was throughout the appointment, a nice change compared to the wailing and screaming coming from the other rooms.

And....baby girl has shredded the mat

After the appointment we headed home to meet Auntie Jess who was coming for the weekend from NJ.

Saturday consisted of a walk up to Eastern Market with all three pups, our two and Aunt Jess' pup, Leroy.  Charlotte was enjoying her walk, Aunt Jess even let her hold Leroy's leash for a little while.
Ohhhh also, notice the two rings under PC's arm, there were two other links attached earlier with her raspberry teether. Apparently we lost them at some point along the walk.  I was kinda distraught over this, I mean it isn't expensive, but I don't like losing her things. However, love living here! Some assumedly, parent good Samaritan saw them, picked them up and hung them on a sign right where we dropped them. Yay! Found and cleaned very well. WIN!






Our church, NCC, was also doing an Eggstravaganza at Lincoln Park, before the chaos of hundreds of little ones rushing to collect as many eggs as possible, we got a few pictures in. PC was slightly interested. I'm still loving this non-moving stage!

The Easter Bunny before he gets run down by the hoard of children 5 and under(and their parents).

PC is a little unsure of what's about to happen. She's just taking it all in....wait till next year baby girl!

I almost think that there were more parents than children....also.....I was actually surprised that more children didn't get lost. We did see one kiddo, screaming "Daddy! Daddy!" Don't worry, he was reunited with his father.

After the chaos, we headed home for PC's nap.... this is how she started on the walk home. Happy and bouncy......

 And... this is how she ended up--so trusting...feeling safe in her daddy's arms....

PC took a good long nap and then we headed to Cava Mezze(one of my favorite Greek restaurants) for dinner.

Aunt Jess got to spend some more time with PC

 Loving me some pita! I am a bread lover- I take after my dad!

 Um....Auntie Jess isn't from the city, she left her GPS displayed in her car and ON!!!! She's one lucky girl, or.....we have a super awesome neighborhood(she's lucky!)

Hanging out with Aunt Jess after we've both had our shower/bath. So fresh and so clean clean!
Thanks for coming Aunt Jess! Please come back and hold me again soon! :-)

Happy Easter All!!!

Springbreak Adventures in PA

So for part of Spring Break I headed up to my mother's house in PA for 3 days.  PC hasn't seen her Granna since Christmas, which was months ago(obviously). Actually she hasn't seen either grandparent since then.  It's hard with people working.....hopefully everyone will come and visit this spring! Hint Hint!

I'm not a fan of driving, but the hubs let me use his nice new Ford Escape, more room for all the "stuff" and safer/better gas mileage.

PC had a little bit of a rough go sleeping there.  She was in the pack n play and it just wasn't "home." I can totally relate to that too!  She looks a little perturbed that she had to wake up. Like the emo hair?!

Mommy and PC inside the conservatory

We ended up going to Longwood Gardens on Monday, it was warm and sunny. Unfortunately, Spring hasn't officially come to PA yet, it's crazy, we are only two hours apart and yet our trees are blooming and flowers are bursting out, PA is a little behind. So....Longwood will explode in a few weeks, but isn't quite there yet.

PC did sooo well. She is quite a trooper.  So content to ride in the car(most of the time) and enjoyed being pushed around, taken out of her stroller and plopped on the ground for photographs. I mean, who could resist this face? At this point PC is not on the go, so having her just sit for pictures works out pretty well. Hopefully she doesn't become mobile for a little bit longer. I have lots of places around DC that I want to take pics.

The flowers were in bloom in doors! Yay!

Later that day PC experienced her first ride in a shopping cart.  She looks very unimpressed. She just slung that leg up. (Ooops bad parent moment, she wasn't buckled, but we weren't racing around the store)

 PC tried on her new bathing suit and hat for Granna. She can't wait to try this out at the pool this summer!

 Tuesday, we went to the mall, I had to try this weird little hat on her. I don't know if it was supposed to resemble an old swimming cap? I don't think that she was a fan.

 We also saw the Easter Bunny, doesn't he look wise with his glasses? Again, my unimpressed daughter, but at least she wasn't screaming her head off like some little ones!

Went to lunch at a "fancy" place. They brought out a whole little dish of cut up avocado for PC. She sat at the table like a big girl, well until mommy's lunch came.

 PC was a happy little girl on the way home, with her new bunny! Somebunny is happy;-)

 Heading home to DC, Can't wait to see Daddy!

Photo Shoot of Panda Cub

So, I love to take pictures of PC.  I use our nicer camera a lot, but often don't load the pictures up on the computer due to time, or forgetfulness.  So, on the last rainy day we had(and I mean it rained ALL day, and then snowed/sleeted what have you), I decided to finally load up and edit some pictures. When I say "some," I literally mean some.  Ha! Don't worry, I will work on more later. But here are just a few.

When I say Photo Shoot, there was no professional photographer, just me and my camera and my beautiful PC!

I took these window pictures during our last snow day, I think it was St. Patrick's Day. I propped PC up in the window and started snapping some shots. Thankfully you can't see the birds nest on the back of her head, it's basically dreads!

Here's her "Hey Mom, what's up?!" I'm cute face.

Here's her pensive contemplating life face.

Here are a few from my pinterest inspired Christmas photos. It looks dangerous right? The long strands of plugged in lights with our daughter gnawing on them like a little rodent.  Thankfully she didn't have any teeth at that point! The lights do make for good photos!

Here's the, "Someday I will be a dancer" pose. Look at those awesome leg warmers and her toe touch is almost there!

Starting Solids

Big Girl Food!

Solids vs. Purees?

Eeek.....according to books, parents, doctors, it is time for PC to start solids.  The doctor gave her specifics about what PC should be eating at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Here's the thing, I always thought I would do pureed baby food, you know, maybe try and steam my own fruits/veggies and then feed them to PC.  Of course I have learned that something I may think I will do, may change. Gotta be flexible.  I tend to be very thorough with my research whether I am buying something for myself, or PC, or ever hubs. I like to read the reviews and watch videos to give me a better idea. Obviously there is nothing like experiencing it first hand because you never know how your little one will respond, or even how you will feel about it when you do it.  

A few weeks ago I got together with a bunch of mommy friends. Our kiddos are very close in age so it's fun to see how they've grown/developed.  It's also great to talk about what stresses we are having or challenges, as well as what we are doing that seems to work.  Someone mentioned Baby Led Weaning. That phrase was unfamiliar to me.  Actually it seems that a lot of friends, not in the group, also are unfamiliar with that phrase, our families aren't familiar either.  I don't think that it is all that new, but more people are starting to choose to do it.

With Purees babies learn to swallow first and then learn to chew, with baby led weaning babies learn to chew(gum) and then swallow.  PC has begun to show interest in what her dad and I eat, watching us and occasionally reaching out for what we are eating.  She has also become a little better about sitting up independently, although she sure isn't a pro. 

I think both purees and baby led weaning have a tendency to be messy. With purees babies are spitting food out a lot, unsure if they like what they are eating and with baby led weaning babies explore the food and may mush it and gnaw on it. Either way, the beginning stages of feeding are not the cleanest of events. 

I'm not against purees and baby cereal. I think that we will try both. Try the cereal and also try solids. They say to start with bananas and avocados and to leave a little of the peel on the banana so that baby has something to hold onto, as bananas can be slippery, so can avocados for that matter.

The problem that we found with the banana is that it is too thick for PC to hold on to with her tiny little panda paws. So the next time we tried I sliced the banana into longer slices, easier for her to grasp.

We also mashed up the banana a little and fed it to her- I know that this kind of defeats the whole baby led weaning thing. We are kind of forging our own way right now.  Oh, and yes, that is a spatula.  We do have baby spoons, but this worked. Improvising at the spur of a moment. haha

I also noticed, that with the softer foods, avocado, banana, pear, PC picks them up with now problem, but then she also squeezes them and smush, it breaks and then it's harder for her to grab. She also likes to rub her hair after smushing said items, much to my dismay! 

There's my little green monster....mmmmm....

With purees, you have to spend the time making them or buying the little jars. With baby led weaning, baby eats what you are eating, which does make it a little easier and cheaper. 

What worries me is the choking, but PC doesn't really have the teeth to bite off pieces and you aren't supposed to give the babies teeny tiny pieces, more like finger size pieces, easy to grab and easy to put in their mouths. Oddly enough baby gag reflex is much further up on their tongue than back in their throat. Who knew that the gag reflex changed over time? 

She enjoys the apple, I've also started putting it in her paci feeder.  That way she can kind of self feed, teeth, while getting yummy tastes. The feeders don't hold much, but I don't have a problem carrying around a little container and filling it up as she finishes.

I love all the many faces PC makes when she tastes something either for the first time, or just any time. Priceless! 

So, thanks to a great Public Library, I checked out this book to help me understand Baby-Led Weaning: 

At this point it is trial and error for us. We've given her some of the organic baby pouches, we've given her solid food that she feeds herself and we've also given her the feeder pacifier.  She isn't opposed to any of them at this point. Who doesn't like a well rounded child?  I definitely understand the whole pouch thing, especially once PC gets more independent. They would be great for car trips or quick snacks, easy to carry in the purse and with very little mess.

Do any of you do baby-led weaning?

Anyone make their own food pouches? If you buy, what brand do you buy?

Wordless Wednesday- Baby Love!

No Excuses!

The finish line, where Marathoners, Halfers and 5Kers finished

So I ran my second 5K since PC was born, Saturday.  Yay! Here's the kicker, I only logged 5 running miles total since I signed up, due to weather, sickness and time. But.....I didn't say, "I'm not gonna do it." I knew that there was an hour time limit, but I also knew that come race day, I would be motivated to go "faster," to keep up with other runners.  Call it my competitiveness.  I also knew that it was only 3.1 miles. I say "only" because I've done a half before, so 3.1 miles is just that.  If you've never run before though, those 3.1 miles can be daunting, but chances are the majority of you have walked farther than that.

A very unflattering double chinned selfy

So, even though I wasn't as prepared as I would like to be, I knew I had made the commitment, at least monetarily....haha. The night before I felt awful, sore throat, headache, chills, achey....but I wanted to do it and just hoped and prayed that I would wake up feeling a little better.  All I had to do was commit to maximum an hour of exercise.  Thankfully, I woke up feeling better. Too bad waking PC up earlier than normal, kinda screwed up her schedule yesterday. But....she did get to come and cheer on her mama, even if she had absolutely know idea what was going on! Also, thanks to the hubs for giving up weekend sleep to come and support me! Although we all know that PC wouldn't have been able to cheer her mama on without the hubby!

Runners come in ALL shapes, sizes and ages! There were children running, there were elderly running/walking, there were disabled people participating. So, really, NO EXCUSES! Don't let someone tell you that you CAN'T do it.  If you can walk/run you can participate. It's all about the attitude you have.

 I am healthy(so-to-speak), I can run, I can breath, I AM FORTUNATE and THANKFUL! So, even though I didn't feel the best or overly prepared, I didn't want to give up.  I loved seeing the little kiddos running with their parents(hopefully PC will do that with me someday, chances are she'll be faster than I). I loved seeing the determined woman walking with her cane. I'm pretty sure if it were me, I still would have been asleep in my bed. zzzZZZZ..... I loved seeing supportive teams the 314 teams and people running for a friend.

I couldn't take pictures of everything that I saw, mostly because it's hard to take pics while running and two, I've pretty much maxed out my picture limit on my phone(thanks to PC).  Here are some of the snapshots from yesterday- apologies for the blurriness, that's due to the fast pace that I was running;-)

I always love when people love costumes, the next time I run with friends, that will be happening, but alone, it's not quite as fun, but maybe that's just me.  I love the tutus and don't feel like it will impend on my running abilities too much.

I can't get the photos below in order, but the one on the right is the beginning of the race as the sun came up over the Anacostia River, this is us running over the bridge. Notice the person in the green shirt/skirt carrying the little girl?! That was the father. One I love that he's dressed up all fun for St. Patrick's Day and two I love that when his daughter got tired after the first .5 he picked her up and put her on his shoulders. I also want to add that he was in front of me, then I passed him and then he re-passed me heading back, still carrying his daughter! LOVE! 

The picture on the left is after they passed me, he put her down he ran basically the whole race with her on his shoulders. Perfect image of a father, well maybe minus the skirt.  

Didn't have a friend to take the picture with me, so it's just me and the RNN background.  Nothing like meeting up with PC after the race. Can you tell that she loves the medal?! 

Proud of how I did and inspired by all those around me! Congrats runners/walkers! Well done!

Run any races this weekend?How did you do/feel?