She wore what?

Recently as part of our move my husband and I encouraged our kids to go through their clothes and rid themselves of anything that doesn't fit, they don't wear, or the just don't like. We also encouraged them to get rid of clothes that no matter how much they loved, if it had tears, rips, and holes- it needed to go to...

That said we decided that we would be an example. We were moving! Did we really want to carry all our clothes to the new house? We work 5 days a week, we are home 2. Even if we rush home and change out of work clothes every day... how many tee-shirts do you possibly need? 205... WRONG ANSWER! Yeah, it was clear that there was some thinning that needed to be done and it wasn't our hair we were thinking...
We found a shirt from when Lizzy was a baby and I "finger painted" their three hands on the shirt for Father's Day. Keep. We found shirts from YEARS of baseball, softball, and football where they guilt you into buying so you can sit and cheer your child on, learn to hate the coach and other parents, and in some cases some of the kids... TOSS! (HATE is a nasty word, maybe I should say learn to not tolerate). Then their were the volunteer shirts... WOW what haven't we done... Whales, we haven't saved the whales... I think there's a fat joke lurking that we really didn't want to step in so we backed away from that cause and figured they could find some skinny person willing to risk being eaten. While its great to volunteer for ah... everything, some shirt designs... ah wow! TOSS some, Keep Some! Benefit walks... now I don't know about you, but when you EARN and I mean EARN a shirt by walking/running whatever the distant and end up with blisters or that great rash - you know where... I don't know about you but that shirt becomes more than just something to collect your sweat, its almost like a badge of honor... KEEP! Long live the BOOBIES, DIABETES, HEART, AND MS PEEPS!

So after tee-shirts came all our other cloths- that was easy!
But we did do one other thing... LIKE MORONS we did allow our kids (WHAT WE WERE SETTING AN EXAMPLE) to comb through and if they had a "favorite" something they could grab it up. - So much for a clear purge!

What to do with all this... Well, we wanted to show our kids a few lessons... Sure donations are great (and trust me- stay tuned) but we wanted our kids to learn that they have options and could make money (sometimes) by getting rid of what they don't need.

We knew of a woman that buys and sells GENTLY used cloths (thrift shop). So off we went with PILES of NICE clothes. (Tee-shirts GONE).

Now mind you I was BORN in 76', I know you are all looking at the photos in pure disbelief (and that is fine). I GRADUATED high school in 94' (yes, on time!) So MOST of my clothes that I own are from 2007 and beyond... Believe it or not I do have a few items from 1996... only because of the quality!

Okay so here were are... she is going through my husbands dress shirts (mind you he is only a couple years older than me) and pants- as she sorts them she turns and looks and says- "hmm... looks like its from the 80's... " ah, okay... then she starts going through my stuff... she pulls out a few things, talking all the while about how "nice" things are, but then also saying things like "this is a 80's color, this looks early 80's, this is from late 70's, hmm, this is from what early 80's maybe, then she looks at one thing and looks at me like- hmm, you wore this..." (but that item she keeps).

Now seriously, this was ALL adult clothing... 70's I was 4 at the end, the 80's I was 14 at the end... so NO... NONE of the items are from any of those time periods, and no- none of the items where the "retro throw-back" idea....

I had two thoughts standing there (before she paid us)...
1) A simple yes/no is easy enough... I wasn't there for fashion lessons (and to be honest I wouldn't be asking her in the first place.
2) I am not sure how old she thought my husband and I were so I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or flattered, but either way it was kind of rude (see #1).

So in the end she took a bunch of stuff, paid us cash... who doesn't like cash? And we carried (okay my kids carried) the rest to the car. The rest of the clothing will be up for sale at our yard sale (God help me!) Then OFF to Goodwill or some where else...

I find it very funny she didn't even want to look at some very expensive tailored suits... but to each their own! I guess its not her market.

As for my kids... the PILE of STUFF that didn't make it to the new house grew beyond my wildest dreams! Apparently seeing mom and dad get cash for clothes we didn't want anymore was enough for them!

Growing up fast

Today the "twins" turned 19 & 17. It's hard to believe how quickly time flies. They grow up so fast. While Amanda has made it clear she isn't going any where we all know its just a matter of time. Time... Something that seems to be gone before you can blink. I'm hoping to keep enjoying watching them grow, cause they have been awesome to watch so far!

Growing up... FAST

There was a day when I thought my kids would never leave, okay, let's be honest there are still days I think that. But as conversations in my house are more "eye level" and in some cases starting to put a strain on MY neck, I have come to realize, before too long there will be more room in my house.
So... do I go with a hot tub or do I set up a bigger office? My first thought is the hot tub, but the practical side says an office seems to make more sense.
All jokes aside, oh the hot tub really isn't a joke! I will sort of miss them when they are gone. I mean I won't miss cleaning up after them. I certainly won't miss "Nobody". As in "Nobody did it". I am totally looking forward to THAT person and "Not Me" moving out! I wish I could charge those to rent for all the havoc they cause in my house. But it will be quite, I will miss the loud tv, arguing over the remote, and fights over the computer. Who am I kidding? NO I WON'T!
I will miss cleaning up after them when they were told to do chores like sweep so I could mop, only to have to re-sweep because there is no way I can mop... wait I won't miss that either.
I'll miss the way they greet me when I get home from work all happy to see me- wait I'm thinking of the dogs! The kids just want to know what's for dinner (after being home themselves for almost two sometimes three hours)- yeah getting right on that.
I'll miss the way they handle laundry! Well they do take care of their own... that is a good thing- how they take care of it... yeah I won't miss that! MARCO... POLO!

So I will miss them when they are gone, but I will rather enjoy not doubling my efforts. Who knows maybe I might learn this thing I hear about- free time? Werid!

"Hanging at the Beach Anna Maria"

Is it any wonder?

I often wonder why people read a blog. In some cases I know people just want to check in and make sure that the person they do know hasn't gone off the deep end. In other cases I think its because people who are total strangers are hoping to see if the blogger has gone off the deep end and can shed some light on find their way back.
In either case, I know I personally like feedback! Call me silly, but nothing says "you're getting warmer" like a good ole' "comment".
Grant it I know some of my blogs are mindless rants regarding people who just annoying me with their rude behavior- I mean stupid is NOT a disability! You don't get to park in handicap parking! But I'll get back to that another day.
And I know my absences from the blog world can make for a cause for concern (okay I know no one filled a missing persons report). But fear not! I'm here! With LOTS to say, but making sure what I have to say, is worth saying...

I could be so lucky!

I knew early that my life was blessed. I was able to see from a different sort of lens that not everyone had the sort of things I had. And while I might not have had all the latest fashions instantly, or the most expensive everything, my family provided me with so much more.
Today, I often find myself in shock with the "not good enough" generation. And while I know that each generation probably felt at one time or another the same way. It does seem the current "young" generation has life "instantly" easy. As in even mac- n-cheese has hurried up the process so as not to make them wait a second more than they have to. And yet, often you will still hear a complaint. I think that is what gets me. Remember pagers (beepers)? Remember getting excited when you not only could get one- but could afford it? I remember my first one (it was black- duh, although my second one was teal) and the bill! I remember calculating out how much I needed to have to pay for everything so as "not to worry". I loved that stupid thing! I loved hearing from my friends and calling them back, or getting the "coded messages".  It was mine, something I worked for, and it was totally good enough.
Now days kids are given cell phones as a right of passage and act as though they should automatically get every bell and whistle offered. Heck, I just got internet leaving the world of "stupid phones" upgrading into "smart phone" world... 
My favorite is clothes! I live in reality. I know that is a shocker for some of you. But I pay real money for things. So it always cracks me up when my darling kids lock on to "brands" and can't let go for dear life. Ah, the peer pressures of growing up! Trying to convince a teenager that spending $50-$70 on a shirt is silly when they can turn around and look on the clearance rack and pay $10-$20- well I must be out of my mind! And don't get me started on shoes! This coming from the shoe queen... I am smart and thrifty so DON'T tell me you HAVE to spend $75-$90 on a pair of shoes! Seriously?

I am looking forward to the day when my kids see that they have ALOT, alot more than what others have, and they are lucky! I could be so lucky for the day to come for them to realize.... they didn't have so bad!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!