Resurrection

I have been busy today. With Easter tomorrow, I have been in the kitchen. Cooking! I love to cook. More importantly, I love to eat! That's why I like to cook. :)

First off, I made biscuits for our breakfast this morning. After those finished, I baked brownies for tomorrow's dessert. (we're going to use bunny cookie cutters and decorate them) Then I boiled eggs for deviled eggs. After that, I cooked a Petit Jean peppered ham in the oven, and some glazed carrots in the crock pot.

Then I went to Rhea Lana's and helped sort for 4 hours.

After I got home, the girls and I did a neat Easter food craft. Resurrection Buns! (If you don't feel like clicking the link, they go like this. You put a marshmallow in a biscuit and fold it over. As it cooks, the marshmallow melts. So when you bite into the bun, it is empty!)

I found the recipe on the internet a few days ago. I've heard of them before, but never made them. Until tonight.

I'm glad the girls are old enough to help in the kitchen with minimal assistance from me. FINALLY! I can relax a little and have fun with them instead of stressing over the mess.
I thought I understood the recipe so I didn't have it in front of me.

Maybe I should have. It mentioned putting the biscuits "seam-side down" so they wouldn't open in the oven. Ours weren't seam-side DOWN, but we pinched the edges together very well!

Well, never underestimate the power of a GRANDS biscuit!
S'more Jesus anyone?

Wait! A few worked! See?
The marshmallow melts which makes it an "empty tomb". Pretty neat, huh?

I also thought of a Bible verse for this one.
Revelation 3:16
But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"
(see, it looks like a tongue....this marshmallow now resides on the bottom of my formerly 350 degree oven.)

Happy Easter Everyone! HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Years of Consignment

This month marks the 10th anniversary of my first trip to a Consignment Sale!

It was April 2001. I was 8 months pregnant with Alpha. I had heard about the Duck Duck Goose sale a few times, but never understood what it was. Once someone explained it to me, I knew I had to go.

So after class, I headed over to the old Expo Center and went inside. Since I was new to this kind of thing, I didn't know anything about consigning, or pre-sales, or how to get the good stuff. So there wasn't much left when I went. I bought a baby bathtub, a wind-up swing, and a package of diapers. I didn't need clothing because I had had a baby shower at church and had plenty. Now imagine an 8-months pregnant woman dragging a box of swing parts, a baby bathtub, and the diapers around. Yea. It was hard.

We used the bathtub for both girls, finally selling it in 2006, I believe. The swing came in VERY handy for a new baby. It didn't last as long as the tub, though. For Beta, I bought an open top, battery powered swing. I figured I should move into the 21st century, baby equipment-wise.

Every fall and spring since then, I have shopped at a consignment sale. I have made out very well! The best thing to buy at those sales is baby equipment. Those exersaucers that cost $50-$100 in the store? $20. A little 409 to remove the few spots the consignor missed, and you're good to go. Bumbos, that new-fangled infant chair, cost $35 (!!!) brand new. The tray is another $10. I got a Bumbo with a tray from a friend of mine. J4 used it for about 4 months. I sold the chair and the tray for $10 total. Someone got a GREAT deal on that one.

My best purchases have been strollers. Back in 2003 or 2004, I found a Peg Perego stroller for $40. They cost $360 new (well, in today's dollars). We used it until we sold all that stuff in 2006. At this most recent Rhea Lana's sale, I bought a Maclaren stroller for $60. They sell for around $200 brand new.

Since that first sale 10 years, ago, I've learned a lot. A lot about consigning and shopping and getting in early. In short, the rules of the game and how it's played. I could go on and on and on with tips for consigning, working, and shopping these sales. But we'd be here awhile so I won't. I will, however, reference another post I made when we had first moved to Northwest Arkansas where I compared Duck Duck Goose and Rhea Lana's. I didn't think anyone read my blog except maybe 4 of you. Looking back through some old posts, though, I found that RHEA LANA, the lady herself! had commented on that post! I was then embarrassed that I had said I liked the other one better.....but hey, I had just moved, and I didn't sell as much at my first Rhea Lana's as I did at Duck Duck Goose. But I've been a loyal Rhea Lana's consignor ever since!

Musings

I love what I do. I am very blessed. Both Jim and I are. Jim has an awesome job that he loves more than (almost) anything that challenges him and interests him and, most importantly (to me), pays him well.

Which allows me to stay home with our baby boy and watch him grow and play and love on him every second of the day. As well as be home when the girls get home from school so I can watch them grow and love on them, too. (and mitigate fights, but that's another post)

But sometimes....I start feeling...I don't know. Like I should be MORE. Like I should have done, or should do, more with my life.

I see other people my age who are successful. Accomplished. I mean, they've DONE SOMETHING. Besides change diapers and quit their jobs. They have titles. Or clients. Or students. Or patients.

I'm not sure I ever had many goals in life. Well, I guess I did, but I'm starting to wonder if they weren't big enough. I knew I wanted to get married. I knew I wanted kids. Beyond that, I wasn't sure. I figured I'd go to college and get a job. I did that. It's funny that I NEVER pictured myself as a full-time stay-at-home mom. (or housewife.....I hate that term.) I remember realizing in college that I really didn't want to set out to be the CEO of a large company, even though I wanted to work in an office.

And sometimes I wonder if I should have set out for that goal. The thing is, of all the goals I've ever set for myself, I've reached every one of them. Which is a cool thing to say until I realize I'm 36 and done. I've done everything I ever wanted to do. Well, I mean, there is the whole "raise 3 children" thing that I'm still working on. But as far as personal goals, I'm there.

I also realize that to be in the places where some of my friends are, i.e. they have clients and patients and students, etc, I would have to give up some of the things I enjoy now. Like getting to watch J4 grow and play and loving on him every second of the day. Like helping the girls with their homework or listening to their after-school stories.

So, I love what I do. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Honestly. Also, and Jim can vouch for this, if I didn't love what I did, I would change it. I'm a horrible liar and actress. If I don't like what I'm doing, it shows. Big time. I know I'm doing what is best for me and my family at this point in our lives. But sometimes, I still wonder.......

Blast from the Past Wednesday

I need to post something, but nothing is running through my head at the moment. So I opened up iPhoto and pulled up one of my favorite photos of the girls.


Alpha was 3 and Beta was not quite 1. I LOVE this picture. I also miss my baby girls. :( I'm having fun with a baby boy this time around, but I miss these little sweeties. I know they still live with me, but they were so much fun at this age! (well, mostly....) I loved the innocence of the preschool years.