The Burleys: March 2011

Mar 16, 2011

My New Song

Camryn spent almost all evening working on "a surprise" for me. This is what she finally presented to me:

At the bottom was a song she wrote:

Just in case you can't read it:

My Mommy's the best

Mommy's the best

I love my Mommy

because she cooks good food for us and

that's why I love my Mommy

Love that girl!

Mar 14, 2011

For consignment shopping, that is! I know there are some great consignment sales going on all over the state right now, from Anderson to Fort Mill to Columbia to Rock Hill. This year I consigned and shopped at the Upscale Weesale in Rock Hill. Now, I shopped and consigned at sales when we lived in Anderson, but I've never seen anything the scale of the Weesale. It is truly a thing of beauty. The lady who runs it has to be one of the most organized human beings I've ever met, and because of her organization, she puts on a great sale.

I consigned over 100 items this year because we are seriously becoming overrun with little girl clothes due to my tiny addiction to shopping for them. I don't apologize for this, though, because that is one of the reasons I wanted little girls so badly - to play dress up with them! :) Anyway, I made $260 off of the things I sold and still brought about 40 items back home! I was super impressed and super excited since I said whatever I made would go toward buying the girls' summer wardrobes. I also shopped the Weesale but only came home with 4 things. As I said, I have an addiction to buying clothes for my girls, but for some reason, I can stand at a consignment sale or shop and talk myself out of half of the things in my hand. Don't know if it's because I think I can get a better deal on new clothes or what, but I am really bad about this! I was very happy, though, with the 2 smocked dresses and the cute summer dress I spent a little less than $40 on. Think about the price you pay retail for smocked dresses, and that's pretty darn good.

I also found this precious Hello Kitty water cooler for $3, and it has been the cutest addition to the new playroom. Camryn thinks it's the best and drank half the jug of water before lunchtime the first day I put it in there. Chickie-poo was making a beeline to the bathroom for potty breaks about once every 10 minutes!

So, with my earnings from the Weesale, I spent a day shopping by myself (heavenly!). I hit up Carter's, the Gymboree outlet, and Gymboree, got some great deals, and got a pretty good jump start on the girls' summer wardrobes. Plus, I even found some things on clearance racks for next fall. AND, I still have close to $75 left over!

Ella's stash

And Camryn's ... I know her's looks smaller, but I really already did have several things for her that I bought on sale at the end of last season!

Now, here's where I will do a bit of educational preaching. I get teased (and get a few eyerolls) over my fondness for Gymboree, which is often quite overpriced on their clothing. However, you can shop Gymboree and get great deals on clothing if you just wait for the right times! For example, when I went the other day, they had (and still currently do!) 30% off everything in the store, including clearance items. In addition to that, I had a 20% off coupon for my entire purchase, including sale items. Voila! My entire purchase was almost 50% off! In addition, I earned Gymbucks (click here if you're not familiar with that program), which is 50% off a future purchase if I stay within a $50 budget.

Now please don't think I send my kids to daycare wearing Gymboree (learned my lesson a long time ago there!) I am definitely a Wal-Mart and Target shopper for clothes I know Camryn will somehow manage to ruin within a 2 week period. However, for church and for times we're going out that I don't want Camryn to look like a ragamuffin, I love buying Gymboree. What I pay for outfits there (when I'm using coupons and shopping during sales) is the same thing I'd pay for a nice outfit at Belk or another department store. So, all of that to say, get on the Gymboree mailing lists, get coupons, shop sales and Gymbucks periods, and Gymboree suddenly becomes not all that expensive.

And, finally, it has been a while since I've posted a few cute kid shots. First, this is how I found Camryn in bed on Saturday morning ... reading to all her fairies and Tangled figurines. Sweet, sweet girl.

And then there's this little bitty girl, otherwise known as "Miss Trouble" around here lately. She crawls, pulls up, chews on, and pretty much gets into anything and everything. She keeps us hoppin' and gives us some serious attitude when she doesn't get her way. But, gosh, isn't she cute!?

Mar 3, 2011

5 Years Old

Can anyone else believe this sweet girl is 5 whole years old? Gracious. Why did I blink and let the time slip by so quickly? We have watched Camryn grow up so much during this past year. She is such a little girl now ... it feels like all traces of our baby are gone. We've watched her mature so much as a big sister, and she is truly a fabulous one. We are so, so proud of her.

This year we wanted to do something different and special for Camryn's birthday this year. So, instead of putting a lot of money into a big party, cake, and decorations, we surprised Camryn with tickets for her, Mommy, and Daddy to Mickey's Magic Show. She loved it! I was bummed that my camera died as soon as we got there until they announced we couldn't take pictures anyway.

The next day, we came back home for a small party with family. We all enjoyed spending time together, and Camryn got enough fairy, Barbie, and Rapunzel stuff to keep her entertained until her 6th birthday!