The Art of Resale

"You paid what?!" And "how much was that? Where did you get it?" And other type questions in regards to Ps wardrobe. I'm sure plenty of people think it's indulgent, crazy, not practical- I could go on forever. I totally understand all of those opinions- and even agree with them. 

But let me just share a few things that may change your mind. 

This dress is almost closed on EBay. I bought two of these about 3 weeks ago for $45 each. This one will sell for over $100. That pays for the other one I bought for Preslie. P will wear hers, It will be adorable, I'll take pics and post them on IG and then sometime I will sell this dress for close to another $100. Even used. That means I have made $100 profit, and Preslie got to wear the adorable dress. 

Well dressed wolf. I snagged this and another one that I will show in a second. I bought them when Pres was still in the womb, at a garage sale in draper UT. It was a total fluke and I'm pretty sure I was on the verge of tears out of sheer excitement at my find. Not even with the intention of resale- but because I knew WDW was a rare find. I bought this one for $15 

This closed at $318. I bought it for $15 at the same garage sale. 

 This is a more common example. Mustard pie capris- we wore A TON. I purchased on sale for $18, the top is just a children's place onesie- all in good shape. All used. Sold on my Instagram shop for $20. 

Yesterday was sweet honeys weekly load- I lucked out (it truly is luck!) and was able to snag some capris- 

I paid $28 for them... 

Currently on the boards they are selling for $50.. 

On the same day! 

It's a crazy, completely illogical, out of control, mind baffling shopping world. It really is!!! 

For those reading this and being so completely confused- I'll explain. 

There is a few clothing companies that make a very small amount of things. Sell them for a pretty reasonable amount, and they are very very cute and well made. They post or "load" the items on their websites and in about 2 minutes everything is completely sold ou and hundreds of Mamas mourn and cry that they didn't get anything- so then, in desperation, they hit the resell boards on Facebook, Instagram and eBay and pay double, if not more- for items they want.  Crazy right!? 

But SO fun for me :) 

Matilda Jane- we wear a lot of it. 

But again, resale on these is awesome! And they are well worn. In great condition, no stains (this is where my awesome laundry skills pay off) 

Tights- bought for $7 on sale, sold for $10 :) 

Leggings- I think paid $32, sold for $28

Puffer chevron- paid $32- sold for $15.

Red shorties- sold for $35. I paid less. 

It's pretty awesome. 

Most things I don't make profit- but I do get back more then half of what I paid- and Preslie wore them. 

So here is how I look at it. 

I buy something for $50. We wear it. I sell it for $38 ( this is about average) 

My cost was $12. 

Here's what else has happened. I buy a cute Carter's outfit- It was $15. and try to sell it for $5. It doesn't sell. I give it away. 

My cost was $15- for something I didn't LOVE. That's a downer. 

It is pretty fun shopping for the deals, trying to guess on new releases which ones will sell out quick and which ones will be in high demand. It is also really fun to re-sell. I love it! 

Whatcha doing???

This.... 

Searching/ Researching/looking/negotiation/ on one of these... For Devin. Not me. 

Learning a new trick... I still have a lot to do, and learn. But I pretty much love it. 

Selling stuff outside 

Turning this ....

Into this....

Into this. Yikes!!! That was crazy. 

Encouraging the idea of pants and real shoes... 

Bingo for books, young women's, 4:40am wake ups, snow grumbling in April, ready for a break! and some sun. And feeling slightly overwhelmed that I will never get ahead of housework, projects, laundry, catching up on TV shows, menus and to do lists. One day... 

EIGHT!

Brody is eight! 

And is really good at it. He seems to be at the stage of having all sorts of missing teeth, combined with new adult teeth growing in, he hates to bathe or change his clothes and is more concerned with comfort than anything else... So what I'm saying is he's in the stinky-awkward stage of life :) 

He wanted a minecraft- extreme dodgeball birthday party, plans were in place before the 2nd broken arm. So we went for it. It was NUTS. Fun- and so loud!! 

I rented the rec center, after hours- totally worth it. They pulled out all the gymnastics pads and stuff and the kids used them to make their bases for dodgeball. 

Decor! Thanks Allie :) 

Presents 

Creeper piñata - I totally made it 

Photo shoot wall- I took mini pics for take homes and I guess this is the only one I got on my phone.- the girls 

Brody and Grandma- with his special quilt she made him. He picked the pattern. 

He was also baptized- and I didn't take a single pic!!! So, family, if you have pics from that day please send them to me! :)

Brody is still super tall compared to other kids his age- does really well in school, loves to be outside more then anything, thinks he always needs to have a friend over, bugs Zane all the time, and is getting more and more picky. Nothing with red sauce- spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, chilli- all no's. Makes meal planning interesting. 

 

Because I have nothing to really blog..

Brody turned 8! 

My parents came to visit. 

Brody got baptized! 

Awesome things.

But I don't have pictures so I'm going to wait. 

I just went down to the storage room to bring up more toilet paper- again. Our family usage of TP has not improved- In fact I think it's hit a new record. 

This morning I was welcomed with a wonderful surprise of a brand new roll that appeared to have been submerged in water and the wrestled onto the TP holder. Dripping and soggy and wrinkled. It had Zane written all over it. 

I asked him. And he told me yes- it fell in the toilet while he was getting it down- but it would dry. Right? 

At least he tried and was honest.

PS- why are there still commercials for toilet paper? Does it really need to be marketed? Who is NOT buying it?!!! 

Anyways- so I go downstairs- bringing with me blankets, sheets for basement beds, clean towels, a bag of food storage, a picture, and about 13 random toys that belong in the toy room and according to "not me", toys that have magical walking powers and come and go as they please- arms loaded and the dogs at my heels ready to be let out. Once again common sense let me off the hook and I made it safe and sound. 

Upon returning to the upstairs I collected dirty socks and dishes on my way, my favorite pair of sewing scissors, potatoes for dinner, library books that Brody insisted were not anywhere just hours ago, and of course- toilet paper. Happy that I actually remembered my initial reason for trucking down in the first place. Yay me! 

Conclusion: 

I should be super skinny for the number of times I do stairs in a day. What is the problem!?

My children... And let's be honest- Devin- need their eyes checked because no one can find anything.. Except me.

I live with pigs.

Im going to master the art of carting things on my head without my hands. Now there is a true skill!! I wonder if the "how to" is on Pinterest?? 

I know all my woman friends can relate to this. We are super heros with true super hero powers. 

Oops he did it again...

For real. Same arm. Pretty much the same spot. Not quit as bad. Happy news no ER visit, no anesthetic- and at least it's not summer.

Bad news is it's still a big ol cast, his b day is next week and is all planned for a minecraft theme and extreme dodgeball. Not to mention his baptism. 

I am feeling like less then mother of the year considering he actually hurt it a few days ago- slipped and fell on the neighbors playground equipment that isn't set up- so it wasn't a high fall or anything- we put the heavy duty splint on and he didn't ever complain about pain- but today he was still not willing to take

off the splint and said it hurt when there was pressure on it. Back to our good friends at the orthopedic surgeons office. A huge needle of numbing solution and then the doc used his superman powers

to manipulate the bone into place and back in a cast. Poor guy. 

Zane had kindergarten registration today- such a crazy thing! I'm more sad/nervous/reluctant/ about him being gone all day then I was Brody. He seems so little to me still. Luckily he is beyond ready and excited. 

Devin and I have gone looking at new furniture twice. The first time was not happy. Holy smokes. I thought we were the definition of compatible until we stepped into RC Willey. Then it was like we puddled into oil and vinegar. Yikes. He has really bad taste- like all manly and cup-holderly- If he was a blogger he would say I'm crazy and have millionaires taste and am completely illogical and obsessed with weird and green and curvy (some of that is true)

We tried again without the extra stress of all 3 kids with us. It did go better- we actually even made a compromise. Not a decision- it was a definite compromise. Well it was on Presidents' Day- also known as the entire population of Utah county go furniture shopping. We had our little ticket and were standing in a line comparable to DisneyLand - anyways, sometime in that line we changed our mind. We left- went to lunch- looked at some other furniture stores and went home and then had non-buyers remorse. Is that a real thing? Later that night Brody and Zane were doing "face dives" off the couch, Preslie smeared lipgloss all over the love seat and I appreciated my old furniture because it prevented me from having a total flip out on my kids :) dive and smear away. 

That's all folks. Oh except for my customary photo purge of Preslie. 

Not in nursery. She's going straight to CTR 5.. If we are lucky.

Oscar deserves an Oscar for patience. 

On a typical day you will find my kitchen chairs all over the house, Preslies dresser drawers empty- and other weirdness. Like this. 

And this. 

New sunnies when we went boy-free shopping. Dev took the boys to the Monster Truck races. 

Boys valentines 

Playdoh and glitter. Fun times. 

 

Haircut

I know I IG, blog and FB more pictures of Preslie then the boys. But it's because she actually lets me take her picture! Zane seriously freaks out and is genuinely angry when I try and snap a moment, Brody is at school all day, and when he's home isn't a fan or at all cooperative in front of a camera. So Preslie it is!! 

Baby hair is so weird. And Pres has a patch in the back of her head that is ringlet tight tight curls- so it makes things interesting. Well I decided to cut it :) 

It started off with intentions of a trim- because I really have no idea what I'm doing. But she was so cooperative that I decided to attempt layers. That was really bad. I took a break and watched some you tube tutorials, found some candy for her and went for round two. Improvement... 

Earlier that day- pre hair cut 

That evening after the haircut 

The next morning I was at it again. It was pretty much a disaster in the back. Uneven and weird. She was again so patient! With a promise that we would paint her toes. 

Ta Da!!!!! So cute!!!!!! 

(We went to McDonald's breakfast) 

I still notice some weird pieces but overall

It was a success. But- it took 2 days and probably 2 hours. Really worth it!? I don't know. Lol.

In other news- this guy had a sleepy day and missed school. 

So we did science experiments 

And got chores done. Zane is a wonderful helper. And a great bathroom cleaner. Even if he uses a whole roll of paper towels and a ton of cleaner and will only do it if he has gloves on and Mannheim steamroller playing. Love it. 

Trying to come up with a plan for operation by by binkie... I'm nervous. She's a junkie. And it's hard to have her sad because she likes to wear poofy dresses everyday and that does something to my ability to tell her no. 

Settled

Months before Devin was finished school he was looking for a job. Without much luck. Graduation came and went, Brody was 3 and Zane was a newborn. And we had no idea what was going to happen with us and our lives as far as a career. My sister in law's family owns a music store in town and her Dad gave Dev a full time job. I think it was a minimum wage. Not even kidding. We had a house and bills and I had stopped working when Zane was born. It is truly a miracle that it all worked out. And looking back I don't recall feeling destitute or even financially stressed- I was more "life" stressed. Wondering what the heck we were doing and where we would end up. Devin applied for HUNDREDS of jobs. That is not an exaggeration. Anything was an option and anywhere was an option. We had zero requirements. I am beyond grateful that my educated, smart, husband was willing to take ANY job and work hard to support our family. There was maybe a 2 or 3 day lapse between graduation and working at Mikes Music. 

The stars aligned and in May Devin got a job offer with Kern River in Wyoming. We packed up our home and came. So willing and excited and grateful for a job. At the time, that is all we were feeling. 

We have been here now for almost 5 years (in may). 

In the fall of 2012 Devin started getting pretty serious about looking for a new job. The hours with Kern River were crazy! Yes he was home every night but it wasn't uncommon to work 13-15 hour days and the majority of weekends. His work ethic is unwavering and when something needs done, he does it. He is truly an incredible example to me and our kids of hard work.  But he was getting burnt out and we missed him. 

I also REALLY miss being close to my parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents and Canadian friends. We have a very tight knit family. Sunday diners at my Grandparents with Aunts and Uncles and cousins and now their children, celebrations for birthday parties and holidays, and other gatherings that we were missing. I wanted those things to be more of a possibility. I wanted to figure out a way to be closer to the border :) so I started in on the job hunt efforts in Devs behalf. 

Some interesting things happened. 

At one point in time, since then, we have been close to certain that we would be moving to Ohio, Idaho or Washington and then Montana. 

All better jobs- at least money wise and room for growth and better set up for retirement, all jobs that Dev was qualified for and interviewed well for. But things just didn't line up in a way to accept any other job. 

Right before Christmas a "dream job" came up in Northern Montana. Thanks to knowing the right people in the right place Devin was notified of the job, interviewed, spoke to HR about relocation and bonuses. It seemed like it was happening. I was SO EXCITED!!! I even started looking for homes and talking to realtors. Christmas came and went and we were told that he wouldn't have an official offer until the New Year. 

Then things got interesting. An incredible opportunity opened up here, still with Kern River but a management position- salary, better hours, awesome career move, more family time just to mention a few. T It was a huge dilemma and decision as to even apply for it. Devin had some hesitations and still hadnt heard from Montana. After some long hard thinking, praying, talking, and waiting, he decided to apply for it. He ended up getting a job offer with a start date of Feb 1st with Kern River. So exciting! And great! And proud of him!!! But to be completely honest I was pretty (sad for a day) about Montana (we still hadn't heard anything!) before Dev accepted the kern job he notified Montana what was going on via email and didn't hear anything back. The day AFTER he accepted the job here, Montana called with an offer. Are you kidding me?!?!! OUCH!! 

But the management job is overall just better. Hands down. 

It has just been such an interesting process and results. I guess we are truly meant to be in Wyoming! And we are happy here. We have incredible friends, the kids are happy, the schools are amazing, it is a wonderful community. We have a GOOD life. It is such a relief to know that this is it for a while. No more active job looking, no more waiting and wondering what the heck we are doing. Evanston is home. All of these grounding events and I'm feeling more and more antsy. Not unhappy or ungrateful- just antsy. Like if this is where we are then I want to be where we want.. Which is on some land without close neighbors and just have space! We did some very minimal looking- not a stinking thing that has land is on the market! Have you been to Evanston?? We are surrounded by NOTHING! Why is that nothing not for sale? Because farmers and ranchers are in love with their nothing and unless you are 6th generation blood- they ain't sellin'    . I think things will continue to work out- I'm learning patience.. Life is good- Things happen for a reason, things seem to work out how they should. Home sweet Home. I'm going go buy a pokes t shirt.