Big Boy Budget Birthday

Hey now, Simple Butta Blog! You thought I forgot about you, right? In addition to new businessy ventures, it is also the holiday season (as if you hadn't figured that out from the incessant barrage of waste and attempts at financial ruin). That has made things extra crazy and, round these parts, December gets even hairier as two of my three progeny made their way into the world in the 12th month. Not good planning on our part, but the one kid we weren't trying for was born in June so go figure. I'm just sayin' it - December can be a crappy month for celebrating birthdays. Most people think of the financial burden, but to me it's strictly scheduling. It has taken me weeks to figure out when to hold their parties, yet it took minutes to get their gifts together. My store of choice lies in my basement where I stash all the treasures I have picked up during yard sale season and on my weekly (OK, sometimes daily) trips to the thrift store. Yes, I give my children second hand gifts and they LOVE them! They don't even notice the lack of packaging.

This Weeks Thrift Store Haul

Sometimes I am on a mission when I go to the thrift store only to come up completely dry. I love deals, but I won't just buy anything. It has to be the right thing. Sometimes I go and just peruse and maybe pick up a gift to tuck away or a great pair of shoes. This week though, I went armed with a mental list that included:

• a few backup pairs of mittens or gloves for the girls
• a new hat for Caroline who is blessed/cursed with my hair which is ridiculously thick and makes hat wearing a challenge
• something to organize the barrettes and ponytail holders that are taking over
• materials to undertake a complete Montessori-ish playroom makeover

After spending $19.50 I walked out with the following:

• 2 cute hats
• 3 pairs of gloves
• 2 metal lap traps with the folding legs in great shape and with identical girly design
• a small three drawer organizer (for the accessory explosion)
• 1 laundry basket
• 3 medium storage totes
• 2 plastic stackable storage drawers
• 1 very nice plain wooden truck in perfect condition
• 1 wooden tray
• 2 basket trays
• 3 sectioned plastic trays
• 2 plastic sink size bins
• small plastic storage box
• small wooden handled brush, never used
• a brand new dust pan
• a huge vinyl placemat, brand new
• brand new set of measuring cups and spoons
• 2 small ladles
• 1 pair of tongs
• 1 small spreading knife
• and my best find of the day, a totally cool three wheel scooter which Josie has been asking for as a birthday or Christmas gift, in great shape and only $1

Everything except the outwear, the hair nightmare holder, the lap trays (Christmas gifts for the ladies) and the scooter will be combined with things I already have to organize the playroom and create works and activities for the kids. I am only loosely using some of the ideas that I witnessed when Noah attended Montessori preschool and kindergarten. I want the girls to begin to keep their materials in a confined space, to finish what they start, to put away something before they take out another activity and to just up the ante a bit in terms of their home education. I am chronically feeling guilty because I spent so much time working with Noah on anything and everything and the girls have never gotten that type of attention. There will be a few new things out for Noah as well, but he is generally pretty neat about his things and has a high level of natural curiosity that leads him to explore in his own way.
So that is my room redo plus extras for less than 20 bucks. I will post some before and afters once it is completed and, in the meantime, I am preparing to arrive before the doors open at a super mega Rummage Sale on Friday. I hope to walk out with my Christmas and birthday shopping for the coming year done. I may get buck wild so I'm bringing $40.00.

Give me $5 and call me Santa

On Wednesday's Noah has Coyote Club which is sort of a kids nature group that meets at a local park. He loves it and I am quite keen on the activity since I am a much bigger fan of trees than sports. What this means for me is that I need to find a way to occupy the girls for and hour and a half since it isn't really worth it to drive home, nor is it enough time to do any serious errand running like grocery shopping. So today we took a quick trip to Agway to pick up chicken supplies, stopped in at the vets to pick up medicine for George, the hot mess puppy bulldog, and then went to our most coveted place - the thrift store. Ah, those two little words set my heart a flutter. My affinity for thrift stores and their many Eco (logical and nomic) benefits will be the subject of many a post here, but for today I will sum up my $5 score.
After scanning my usual hot spots, shoes for Noah and me and pants for the boy giant, I let the girls hit the Toy Room and I went over to check CD's and books. No "new" music of interest. I think I hit my high in that department when I found a copy of "Ill Communication" to replace my scratched one. Who the hell gives away a Beastie Boys CD? Hello, inheritance? On to books. I quickly found a hardcover for me that looks completely untouched. Then one that screamed "Buy me for Mom". Then one for my sister. All in beautiful condition. When I had finished scanning the shelves and surveyed my pile I had a total of eight - four gifts and four for me. Prices? 50cents for hardcover and 25cents for soft. Total = $3.00.
Back to the toy room to pick up the girls and I discover two very girly cases filled with never-used art supplies. A buck a piece. I am always on the hunt for two-of-something to avoid "She won't SHARE it with me!!!". So that's a couple things that will balance out Christmas a bit. I checkout with a total of six future Christmas presents, plus four new reads for me. Not that I will get through them anytime soon, but most of them are reference anyway.
So some might say that I did not need to spend that five dollars. But come December when everyone else is frantically throwing their money at anything that looks like something they can pawn off as a thoughtful gift, I will be at home making wrapping paper out of brown bags and bragging to David about how cheaply I acquired this bounty and resting in the knowledge that my generosity is recycled and still full of love. See you next week Thrift Store!