(Now you know Emily and I would never really fight each other. This was just a training session for the BIG EVENT)
Saturday was a day Emily and I had been looking forward to for…oh, about six months – the semi-annual mom’s market sale we go to religiously. Sometimes it’s crazy, sometimes it’s not so bad, but it is always not to be missed! To get ready for the sale, Em and I had to have everything on our checklist:
1) Fat wad of sweaty money and/or credit card
2) COFFEE (because we get in line at the butt crack of dawn, an hour before the doors open)
3) A firm idea of what we want to buy in order of importance
4) The will to take down and scratch the eyes out of any hag who tries to get to the exersaucer (Em) or 2T girl’s coat (Jenny) we’ve been coveting (in the most loving,Christian way possible of course!)
So…let’s see…check, check, check, check. Em and I arrived bright and early and we weren’t the craziest senoras in the casa because there were approximately 70 or so people in line in front of us. Nevertheless, we were VERY pleased with our place in line. Here are the poor suckers that were behind us, just a few minutes before the doors opened.
The line went all the way past that telephone pole you can see in the distance. It was insane.
But it got a whole lot crazier once those doors opened. Em and I had to “divide and conquer” as she hit the baby gear/toy room looking for that exersaucer and I booked it back to the infant room to get Sophie some 24 month fall clothes and the perfect 2T winter coat. The infant room is in the back of the building so I had to go through several hallways filled with older kids’ clothes on my way. I did a grab and run of a nice pair of 5T khaki pants for Joshua and shoved them in my bag without missing a beat as I sprinted to the infant room. Within about 5 minutes, I had DECIMATED the 24 month girl section. I loved seeing the crestfallen faces of the other moms as I left the section with my bag bulging with all the best Carter’s, Children’s Place, and Old Navy outfits. (Insert evil laugh here.) Nothing was over $2.50, except for this, the perfect Carter’s 2T winter coat. It was a steal at $8.
Can I get a “what what!?”
I then went back to the boys 5T section, where I scored Joshua a couple of pairs of PJs and a really nice fleece outfit. (He has a ton of hand-me-downs from his boy cousins so he didn’t need too much.)
Next I headed to the toy room, intent on finding some new toys for Sophie and maybe a Thomas the Tank Engine item to thrill Joshua with. THIS is where my plan broke down. You see, I am a raging tad claustrophobic, and the toy room was almost my undoing! There were so many other rabid moms in there, I couldn’t even get near any of the tables with the toys on them. I started to get a little hot and panicky, so I backed into a corner near the door and snapped this picture of the mayhem:
(shaky hands from near panic attack = blurry picture! sorry!)
Then I tried to exit, but I COULDN’T GET OUT! There was a traffic jam!
Had I not trained rigorously for this event, I would have seriously probably had a panic attack. But I took some deep breaths and just waited patiently for the line to start moving. Then, I went back to the infant room in search of Emily, but didn’t find her. (I did find all these people though!)
(ooh that girl in front scored a BUMBO SEAT! way to go!)
I decided to head toward the checkout, and there was, like, no one in line. Sweet! My panic started subsiding. Then, I spotted my awesome cousin going through the spoils of her victory. Together we geekily and giddily shared our purchases with each other and then headed up to the checkout. We got separated at different checkout tables. I almost died with excitement when I saw this lovely lady checking people out at the table one over from mine:
“Why,” you ask? “Who could this lovely lady be?” It’s none other than Emily’s and my OB-GYN, the wonderful Dr. who delivered all four of our kids, Dr. Trisha Pachiano! We *heart* her! I excitedly waved Emily over so we could say hello. She is a mom of four girls but we didn’t know she was involved with the moms group who puts on the sale! One more thing that makes her so awesome. I made a real nerd of myself and asked if I could take her picture for the blog, and she graciously agreed.
{Ok, sickening gushing about OB-GYN (that I may or may not have a platonic girl crush on) over.}
Anyhoo- when we left the sale we felt like we had run a marathon! Or at least a 5k. But it was SO WORTH IT!! Look at what I got, for $48.50 total!
That’s a crap lot of kids clothes!
And I didn’t even have to scratch anyone’s eyes out. Sadly, that was kind of disappointing. (Maybe I need to lay off the Red Bull.) Well, there’s always the next sale…5 months and 28 days and counting!! I think I’ll sign up for kickboxing lessons and get some hypnosis for my claustrophobia so I can take no prisoners next time!
this sale scares me! i’ve been one time, and i couldn’t go back after that. Then again, i’m the kind of person who gets nervous about finding a good seat at the theater, too! Kudos to you for braving the insanity! In the words of someone famous (I don’t know who), “Good things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Yea for you!
Good golly. If only you could pay with ECBs!!
I would not dare go in here…lol
Oh my!
That is like extreme shopping…
Bradley
The Egel Nest
oh. my. effing. gah.
Why in the world would you put yourself through that? Do you not know of resale shops?
Well, where I live, there are also moms consignment sales, and I think they are just as brutal. I try to stay away from the mayhem for the exact reason you have described.
Soon, my dear sister, when your children have aged a bit, you will realize that they don’t give one flipping rip what they wear and end up putting on the Dora shirt with the tweety bird shorts, or the BOb the Builder overalls with the Wall-E shirt, and the plan all goes to hell. Then you’ll be hitting garage sales where the only criteria is that the item has no (noticeable) stains or holes and will fit for at least 6 more months. Forget matching outfits. FOrget name brands (the only one who cares is us when we put the shirt on the kid and the label disappears against that sweet-smelling neck). And half the time the label gets cut out anyway.
So, anyway, I’ve been down the road you’re on. And I’m telling you, if the sale is big enough, you can go on the last day and get the stuff for half price and not get claustrophobia.
BTW check out the consignment sale that is down here:
http://swfortworth.jbfsale.com/
So…I am a crazy mom who spends days and days getting ready to sell all my children’s old belongings at that very sale you went to this past weekend. Let me tell you, this sale is the craziest most wonderful event that I participate in all year. It is really rewarding to get the money at the end of the sale, but what is REALLY REALLY awesome about selling at that sale is that you get to shop before all those crazy people in the line. So Jenny, needless to say, I got to comb through and get the best deals even before you entered the doors. (not to rub it in or anything:p)
You would be amazed at the racks the night before the sale. This sale, in particular, had so many 4t and 5t boys clothes that the floors underneath those racks were covered in stacks of clothing. IT WAS HUGE!
As a seller, there are advantages like getting to shop early, but you also have to work your butt off before, during and after the sale. I was given the job to help people checkout. I must say, it was very hard for me not to jump for joy every time I saw something with my number going to it’s new home….I was also wiping my brow every five minutes because it was such a blazing inferno in that school! (I was glistening/ glowing, not sweating like a pig)
So…After all that rambling, thank you Jenny and Emily for coming to the sale that supported my habit of shopping and the Children’s hospital. I’ll let you know when the results are in just how much money was raised for our cause.
This isn’t about the market sale, but I had to tell Jenny that I bought the Snugli with Sophie’s picture on the box! I bought it as a shower gift, and just grabbed it off the shelf at Target without paying much attention to the box. But last night I got it out to wrap and looked at it again. At first I thought to myself ‘hey this baby looks familiar’. Then I said ‘oh, this is Sophie from Mommin’ It Up!’ I felt like I knew her and was proud that someone I “know” is on this product! Just wanted to tell you, you’re daughter is famous, very cool!
So am I crazy if I say that looks like fun? 🙂 I love scoring awesome deals like those!
okay, so my girlfriends from Wash. DC were in town this past weekend, and were talking about all these huge mom sales that she goes to, and I was thinking, “gosh, it would be great if we had those in Dayont.” So, yeah. Next time, let me know. I KNOW, I don’t have kids yet, but I need to be in the loop with these things. 🙂
ARGH! I missed it again!!!!! give us a head up ahead of time when it is happening! PLEASE! (PS I was in Columbus meeting natalie grant so I guess I am okay with missing this.)