Yard Sale, Etc.

I am having a yard sale this upcoming weekend.  It will be the first I have had since the girls were born, so I am unloading a massive amount of baby clothing and equipment.  Yes, I'm a little sad to be pricing and tagging all the little remnants of my girls' infant days, but I am also looking forward to neater closets and a bit of extra cash.

Everyone knows people love to buy clothing for new babies, and who can resist TWO tiny little GIRLS??  As a result, we have boxes upon boxes of baby clothes, including quite a few never-worn pieces.  I have priced and boxed at least ten large boxes already.  Just last night, I finally got around to the nicer dresses and outfits hanging in the girls' closet...and there was a lot more than I had realized.

After removing all of that (and more!), their closet now looks practically bare.  Time to start rebuilding!  : )

We didn't go into the whole yard sale idea with a specific financial goal in mind, but we have been tossing around the idea of a wooden swing set for the backyard.  They're so expensive though...it's hard to think about spending that much money on something we can find for free at the park just a couple of miles away.  I do like the idea of just walking out the backdoor to spend a fall evening watching the girls enjoy something like this:

 

Image credit

It would be nice to make enough money to pay for most of the cost of a swing set, should we decide to get one.  If not, I suppose we could put the extra funds toward our beach trip in late September.

Oh, I haven't mentioned the beach trip?

That's because we just decided last week that we were going to take one.  Vacation on a month's notice is about as spontaneous as my husband gets, so we are pushing his limits with this one.  We were discussing some friends who are getting a good deal on a condo at the beach later in September and after perusing some of the available deals, we decided it sounded like a good idea.

After the not-entirely-successful beach trip last May, Jeremy and I publicly announced that we were not taking the girls to the beach again until they were at least four or five. In fact, my dad reminded me of that very fact when I told him we were going next month!  I am desperately hoping this trip goes better than the last one...and I have reason to believe it might...

(1)  The girls are almost a year and a half older than they were in May 2010.  They weren't even walking alone at that point, and so were still very dependent on us for everything.  At this stage, they will understand a bit about where we are going and can enjoy a few more fun activities than the last time.

(2)  Unlike last May, my girls actually understand the purpose of sand and water now:  it's supposed to be fun.  They love the sand, and we have really been talking it up this week.

And the biggest reason I have high hopes for the success of this trip:
(3)  There will be grandparents!  My mom hates the beach, but Jeremy's parents jumped at the offer to accompany us.  It will be awesome to have two extra sets of adult hands along to help out.


Of course, I have adjusted my expectations for the trip as well.  Jeremy and I already had our relaxing, restful trip this year, so this one is much more for the girls' enjoyment than for our benefit.  If they have a good time, we all get a decent amount of sleep, and I get to eat a meal at both Sea N Suds and The Original Oyster House, I will call it a success!


Have you been on vacation with your kids lately?  Any advice??