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There She Grows

I know I’ve talked about this in the past, and its that time again. I’m a fan of this bi-annual LA Kids Consignment sale, where I sell stuff and also shop. There are many great deals to be found. There’s necessary new-baby items I’m looking for this time. Plus I can get Lil all the clothes & shoes her growing body needs, and tons of art supplies and toys. And since there is nothing this kid loves more than new books, I bring home a pile of them. (50cents each, pretty sweet!)

I feel like this presents a healthy way of showering Lil with new fun things. The fact that everything is super-cheap is great, but that doesn’t (and shouldn’t) register with her. I like that she helps me choose old toys and books to get rid of, in exchange for new surprises. She gets a sense of sacrifice and trading, rather than just new new new & more more more. Plus, we just downright don’t have room for any more stuff without subtracting some.

I also like the underlying message that passing things on for other kids to use is better than throwing them away. She talks about that as she sets things aside. “Lets give this toy to babies at the consignment sale,” she’ll say about some old thing lying around that she hasn’t used in ages. But now she is also mindful about saving stuff for baby Violet, so we aren’t getting rid of quite as much this time.

The closest sale is in early october in Burbank. Click for the official flyer for all the infoz:

Here is the flyer I made for a MOMS Club fundraising event. Attn: Los Angeles locals – get some quality second-hand kids & baby items while supporting Alexandria House.

In preparation for our upcoming travels abroad (!! yes !!) we were in desperate need of a lightweight umbrella stroller. One that could endure being thrown around by countless baggage carriers, one with a strong cargo area. Preferably something I can control one-handedly with authority while I’m being pulled in the opposite direction by Marley. And perhaps the most elusive feature of all: something that works for tall people.

We needed something lightweight but durable like that Maclaren Volo.
Its $130 online.

Today I got that very stroller for less than a tenth of that price – gently used in great condition. This is exactly what we need for our trip! For about a hundred bucks total, I not only found the Volo, I also got a pretty awesome step1 desk & chair. The fact that its used means the thing is already assembled, nice. I have it all set up in the livingroom with lots of art supplies stashed away, and she hasn’t even seen it yet. That will be a fun surprise tomorrow.

Oh and a bunch of other stuff. Three pairs of summer play shoes and a bunch of gymboree & children’s place comfy clothes. Lil has grown out of everything. I also got a huge bag of dress-up clothes like tu-tus, accessories and princess dresses. A nice red silk kecci convertible diaper bag for a friend, and some other stuff for the many pregnant women in our lives. A swimming floaty ‘bubble’ for L, like the one I had as a kid. (Mom always said, I was swimmin’ since I was 2.) A cool new kid’s backpack (also thinking about our imminent travels!) and other odds and ends.

That’s right, its that time again. The LA Kids Consignment Sale is open to the public starting tomorrow and through the weekend. A lot of the great finds on sought after items go quickly, so I am glad that as a consignor I’m able to get in a day early. But seriously there is just so much stuff there you can’t even see it all on the first day. On Sunday most of the remaining items are half price. I’m planning to go back that day to get tons and tons of books and play clothes for Lil. Moms in the area, you should check this out.

Location:
7733 Hayvenhurst Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406

Sales totals from today were just posted online and I found I have already made about $70 from my own items. Does that mean I only spent $30 for all my new stuff? kind of!

end-of-sale update: Read the rest of this entry »

Those who know me know that thrift shopping is a long time guilty pleasure of mine. I love finding those unique gems on the rack amidst all the crap. its like a treasure hunt and I dare say I’m good at it.  I guess it was fairly unavoidable I would start to seek out second-hand goodies for Lil girl, from toys to gear to (especially) clothes. Since she grows out of things so rapidly and constantly gets her clothes dirty, thrifting makes more sense than ever. I love for her to have a fun wardrobe and I love spending hardly any money. Yes, you might say I’m cheap. Or frugal, or of a specific ancestry that often garners razzing on this subject. What’s that phrase… never pay retail? yeah.

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A few weeks ago, Daddy cut some windows and a doorway in an empty pampers box, and presented it to Lil as a new little house. Stroke of genius! We figured it was good for a bit of fun that day, but since then the luster has not worn off by any means. She still plays with it often, and sometimes for extended periods of time. The primary residents thus far appear to be two separate families using the home as a bit of a timeshare. Its either the baby dolls and her plastic doggy, or Mickey and Minnie and Goofy.

The other day when Lil was in a foul mood (teething, again?! I hope this is the final bout of it!) I tried lots of activities & distractions to cheer her up. She wasn’t having any of it until I suggested she paint her house, and her face just lit right up. It really saved the afternoon. So I’m pretty happy with how much we’ve all managed to get out of a plain old empty box. Here she is, just getting started:

btw, the empty plastic container that previously contained the array of hummus we served at a recent BBQ was really worth saving; it is an absolutely ideal painting palette.

And when she was finished, she ran around the yard saying “blue-y hands! blue-y hands!” A friend of ours joked after seeing these pictures: looks like she took care of that pesky smurf problem.

For awhile Lil has been interested in feeding herself with her own spoon but its been quite a mess for the most part, until just recently. She seems to have turned a corner these last couple weeks and has become much better at it. She keeps the spoon facing upwards now, and most of the food actually ends up in her mouth instead of all over her clothes and the floor. Its quite liberating to be able to serve her a bowl of applesauce or yogurt and  not have to spoon feed every bite.  If I even try to do that she gets extremely annoyed, so I guess thats officially over.

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Wednesday is a very exciting day for Lilah. Not only is this our playgroup day, but its GARBAGE DAY in the neighborhood! For a few months now, Lil has been super interested in the whole concept of garbage. She knows the locations of all our household garbage receptacles and not to mess with them. Only trash goes in, and nothing is taken out. She knows where the special recycling container is kept, as well as the tupperware that stores our organic scraps for composting before we add them to the large bin out back. She knows that we periodically transfer the contents of our indoor garbage cans to the three large outside containers.

The whole process reaches its dramatic climax on garbage day,  Wednesday, when the large noisy trucks can be seen and heard throughout the neighborhood.  She knows they will drive down our street 6 different times. (One truck for trash, one for recyclables and one for green waste…on both sides of our street). Her ears are poised and ready and she hears them coming long before they arrive. That telltale screeching of brakes will make her stop what she’s doing and yell, “truck coming!” Sometimes she’ll be napping, completely sound asleep, and suddenly emerge from our bedroom at top speed because a truck is approaching.

Then she runs to the front door waiting for me to bring her outside. She waves and yells “hi truck!” over and over. Occasionally the driver notices and, if he’s feeling peppy, will wave back. She’ll stand to watch the truck stop at house after house until she can’t see it anymore. While the truck picks up each can, raises it up high, dumps it out and places it back on the street, Lilah announces each step as it happens. And she doesn’t have closure until the final part of the weekly process occurs: we drag the emptied cans back up our driveway to the side of the house where they reside until next time.