Isaacs first Day of school and Consignment Sale.

I took my dad to the airport on Wednesday morning, after stopping for breakfast of course.  It was harder to say goodbye than I thought it would be, and I got a little teary on the way home.  Luckily Paul had taken the day off to look after the kids, so I was able to mooch around after my 4 1/2 hour trip.  It was great having my dad here.  He mucked in with the housework (don't think I emptied the dishwasher the whole time he was here), distracted the kids as and when required, and had a lot of fun doing it.  He enjoyed the pool, and the break away from real life.

Last supper with Granddad.

Yesterday we had a chilled day around the house in the knowledge that Isaac was going back to school today.  We lazed around the house pretty much all day, the boys only got dressed about 3.  I did get Oliver to try on his school uniform in preparation for when he starts back in 2 weeks.  His t-shirts and trousers are too short.  His shorts are far too snug around the waist, so we got Isaac to try them on.  A perfect fit!  Isaac now has shorts specifically for school, and I need to spend about $100+ on uniform for Oliver.   I only got dressed to go to the pool when Paul got back from work.  Don't think bad of me, I have weeks now of school runs, that will only get earlier when Oliver goes back to school.

Isaac went back to school today.  We were able to walk him down to his class room instead of carpool.  Seb was not at all phased about not going to his classroom (thank goodness), despite the fact we walked straight past it.  Isaac went in no bother, and we left him to it after saying goodbye.

Isaac's first day back

I had already planned to meet up with Liene and her boys so we headed into Greenville.  She had suggested we check out Switcharoos Consignment Sale at the TD Convention centre, just on the outskirts of town.  We met up inside, and headed in.  For those in the UK who don't know what a consignment sale is, it is a bit like a table top sale, though instead of manning your table, you price your items and give them to the sale organizers.  They then set up the sale, containing your items, and sell them for you.  You get 65% of the price you ask for, but have to pay a consignors fee (for this particular sale).

Anyone who has been to a conference/convention centre before knows how big these halls are.  This one was HUGE!!!! I have done a consignment sale before, but never on the scale.  It was overwhelming.  We started with the toys, then moved on to the clothes and shoes.  I then looked around the knick knack and baby section.  There was so many clothes, it was difficult to see the wood for the trees.  It also felt like a lot of items were quite over priced, and quite tatty.  We had had our fill by 10.50.  Then we noticed the size of the queue to pay, it stretched the length of the building.  We obligingly joined it.  It took a good half hour to get to the front.  There were people with washing baskets, trollies, buggies and giant Ikea bags, to name a few.

I am happy to report I got a few bargains.  I got 10 items for $43.  These included: 

a potty for Seb ( he may be nearly ready, he was most insistent on taking his shorts and nappy off the other day and getting on the toilet, about 5 or six times, didn't do anything though), 

a couple of books Lego and Spongebob  (I find the books here quite expensive, even with Barnes and Noble membership, and yes, I know they are not the cheapest), 

some Gap slip on black shoes for Oliver for school (these were a bargain, $2), 

a blanket for Isaac for his lunch and learn afternoons (they have rest time, he needs it, and it was brand new with tags), 

Cars jigsaw puzzle, 

t shirt for Isaac and Seb, 

orange Hawaiian shirt for Oliver (his choice), 

T-shirt and jeans for Oliver ( he's the one who needs the clothes, the others get plenty of hand me downs) and a 

Melissa and Doug Paper doll Puzzle set.  This looked quite awesome, but unfortunately it is missing a few pieces, not many, and it is still useable.  Think the boys will have good fun with it, especially Isaac.

I think I did quite well.  I am thinking about maybe being a consigner for next summer sales.  You get to shop first quite often, or get discounts.  By then Seb will have outgrown all his clothes from this year, and it maybe easier and slightly more profit than a garage sale or Craigslist.  We will see how I feel when it comes around next year.....

All in, a good day!