Days of My Life as a WAHM

Camp Storia's Summer Serving Tray

2008-07-03T19:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, I just have to show off my 4th of July themed craft project. I signed up to do Camp Storia's OLD GLORY SESSION which inspired me to try a few of the craft projects shown throughout the two week online session. The photo's and instructions for the crafts were fantastic (thank goodness as I am not very talented or knowledgeable in this). I love the 4th of July holiday and I looked forward to the new craft posting daily.

Here is my summer serving tray. Yes, I even learned what decoupage glue is and how to use it. To decorate my red painted tray, I primarily used vintage postcard pictures along with a couple of black and white copied photos. I haven't had a chance to try out my serving tray yet, but I am thinking maybe of vase of flowers and flags with glasses of lemonade would be nice.

America, My Home Sweet Home

2008-07-03T19:42:00.001-07:00

The 4th of July is for America. And while our family primarily celebrates it with picnics, family gatherings, flags and fireworks I try to be mindful of how thankful we are for this great country and the freedom we have. I feel so blessed to live in the United States of America and I love to celebrate Independence Day. Most of all, I love the red, white, and blue of our flag and seeing it softly waving on so many people's porches and flagpoles. This day has impressed upon me the amount of sacrifice that my ancestors made to get me in this place. I also think about all the veterans in my life that came before me, some I know well and some that I will never know. I also pray for the safety of the men and women who are currently fighting for our freedom. Tomorrow, when I am enjoying the day with my family I want to remember that there are soliders (dads, moms, brothers, sisters, grandparents) out there fighting to give me this day. A day they are not spending with their family, a day they are not watching fireworks with their children, but a day when instead, they are fighting for my freedom.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July holiday and that friends and family can come together and the happiness of the day is lasting. Display those stars and stripes proudly through the holiday weekend! Be safe!

True Lemon

2008-04-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

I just found out about a product that I think I am really going to love, True Lemon. These little lemon, lime, and orange flavored packets are made with 100% all-natural ingredients. They are a great alternative to sweetened drinks and flavored waters. They can also be added to beverages for an added flavor. I love a glass of water with lemon, but a lemon isn't always handy. I can pack these packets along with my workout water bottle to add a little extra flavoring.

Want free samples? I read about this deal on the Money Saving Mom blog. Anyone who blogs about True Lemon free samples and links to their free sample page can get 15 free packets of True Lemon, Lime or Orange for doing so. Just email them with the link to your blog post and give them your name and address. Oh, and you get to choose which flavors you want too!

The free sample page to link to is:
http://truelemon.com/gratitude-sample.html

And the email address to contact them is: customercare AT truelemon DOT com.

I can't wait to receive them in the mail! :)

Something Besides Bills in the Mail

2008-03-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I started signing up for a variety of freebies for items that I know I would use. Yesterday I received 4 different sample items including, Tide detergent, Dove shampoo and conditioner, Airborne Power Pixies, and Aveeno face lotion. It was so nice to receive something in the mail besides bills. Several of them also came with coupons for a future purchase.

Here are some great sites that I have found that give daily links to free offers. So far the experience has been great. I haven't received any spam to my email inbox as I always make sure to remove the checked box that allows them to send updates on their products.

Freebies 4 Mom
http://www.freebies4mom.com/

Money Saving Mom
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Mommy Gets PAID
http://www.mommygetspaid.com/

Spring Cleaning Continued...

2008-03-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to tackle Jaidyn and Addy's bedroom. What a Mess! Just picking up the room is a daily chore. The two of them continue to do a good job of dragging out the dress-up clothes, books, and stuffed animals on a daily basis.

I started by cleaning out their closet and pulling everything out and laying it on the bed. Jaidyn kept coming in the room asking me why I was making her room a big mess. I kept telling her I was organizing. LOL! I went through all of their clothes and pulled all of the truly winter outfits out. Anything that was velour, fleece, or had a snowflake theme was taken out. I also sorted through their shoes taking out the ones that weren't seasonal or were too small.

I also went through their bookcase and pulled books that they never cared for or have outgrown. I also thinned out the stuffed animals. I put all of the ones that I haven't seen them play with in the last couple of months in a bag. I figure they have until May to ask about an animal or miss it. If not, they will be put in the garage sale.

All of the bedding including quilts and shams were washed. I pushed the bed back up against the wall. We had originally moved the bed away from the wall because their was a draft on the very cold nights.

To reward myself for completing the task, (this motivates me to entirely clean a room) I want to purchase a wall plaque with two hooks so that I can hang their bath towels up. Their bedroom door knobs are being the makeshift place to hang towels.

Here are a couple of before pictures.

Here is the final result, although I still need to dust mop their floors and vaccum the rug. Hmmm, maybe I can talk Wes into doing that. :)

If you need some Spring Cleaning motivation, head on over to The Homespun Heart blog. Lot's of people have posted their spring cleaning accomplishments for the month of March.

Spring Cleaning in the Bathroom

2008-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks I have been slowly decluttering our home in attempt to get a head start on collecting items for our garage sale this spring. It seems like I have all the time in the world to get all the items no longer needed cleared out of our home, but before I know it the week of the garage sale is upon me and I never get the chance to really deep clean all the rooms in our home like I had hoped. After our garage sale I find many more items that I wish I would have put in the sale. This year our garage sale is a fundraiser for our adoption and all of the proceeds will be going into our adoption account. I am extra motivated to go through each room and part with all of the toys, clothing, movies, and home items that we no longer need.

To help motivate myself and stay on task, I have joined in the spring cleaning challenge over at Motherload: The MomAdvice.com Blog. Each week one room of the house is chosen and tasks are divided into one hour cleaning jobs for each day of the week. Checklists are given for each day of the week concentrating on the room of-the-week.

This week, the focus room is the bathroom. On Sunday evening, I printed off the task sheets. Wes woke up Monday morning for work and was so excited to see the checklist sheets sitting by the computer. He admitted later in the day that he was hoping to come home to a sparkling bathroom.

Luckily Monday was a rainy day, so I had no problems motivating myself to get started. I started by pulling out everything out of the drawers and cabinets. I threw away everything that was expired or that I hadn't used since we moved in to the house almost 3 years ago. I didn't think our cabinets were too horribly cluttered but I still managed to fill a 13 gallon trash bag full.

I completed all of the 1 hour tasks within two days. Once I get started on a job, it is hard for me to stop. Tuesday was another rainy day and Wes was off work so he helped entertain the girls so I could finish. Ta-Da! Here are pictures of the sparkling clean bathroom. To treat myself for completing the task, I bought the organizers for the bathroom cabinets and new bath mats.

If you need any spring cleaning motivation, head on over and check out Amy's blog.

Tis The Season

2007-11-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

Tis the Season!! It is defintely starting to look like Christmas in our house. Yes, I know it is really early, but I like to fully enjoy the holidays and it is so nice to have the decorations already up before December. Last night Wes, the girls and I put up the Christmas tree. Jaidyn loved every minute of it. She enjoyed me telling her about each of her ornaments and then hanging them on the tree. She put most of them on the lower center front of the tree, so when she wasn't looking I had to spread them out and rearrange some. Addy had her own way of helping. While Jaidyn put ornaments on the tree, Addy would follow her and take them off. That definitely didn't go over well with Jaidyn. :)

I have finished putting up about half of the decorations today and hope to finish the rest either late tonight or tomorrow.

My Two Ebay Helpers

2007-11-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

I have been working so hard trying to catch up on business with my Ebay store. Since volleyball season is over, I have much more time to catch up on my listings. I have been trying to list the laundry basket full of items that have been sitting in my closet all through September & October. It has become almost like doing laundry, as it seems never ending. Just when I about get caught up, I purchase more items and fill the basket. I did get all of my newly purchased Halloween costumes listed last week and have been working to empty the basket this week. Christmas sales are right around the corner and I want to get everything else completely caught-up so I can focus completely on holiday toy sales. Thank goodness I have two great helpers at home with me everyday to help me efficiently complete everything on my to-do list. :)

Here are some pictures of my Ebay helpers at work.

Jaidyn is like a mini-me. She is always climbing on my lap while I am on the computer and wanting to help tape up the packages that I am shipping out.

Addy likes to sit on my photo background. Just when I get it laid out straight, here she comes running to sit down right in the middle of it. She likes to pose on the background and see her picture afterwards on the digital camera.

She knows that I am completely annoyed at her for not wanting to get off the backdrop, yet continues to sit there and give me this look.

Final Four! Vote For Haley!

2007-11-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law, Haley won the semi-final round of the week 4 contestants and is now part of the final four. I am so excited for her. Please help her win this contest and send some votes her way. This is her recent email.

~Thank you for you votes, I am in the final round!!! Please vote all you can until Nov 12 th at 5pm so I can win the Grand prize! Thank you so much! I could not do this without you!

Vote for Haley #188 at: www.abcrn.com/accsuperstar/videos.php
If the above web address does not work go to: www.acctop40.com
Click on "American Country Countdown Superstar"
Click watch video/vote

Make sure you select me by clicking the white dot before clicking vote or your vote will not count. You may vote as much as you like. Please keep passing this on to everyone you know.~

Haley, Best of Luck! We will be sending votes your way.

Trick-Or-Treat

2007-10-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well I guess this wraps up the Halloween posts for the year. It is time to follow the yellow brick road in to November. Jaidyn has been so excited all week to wear her Dorothy costume. Nana gave her a copy of the Wizard of Oz movie and she has watched it several times this week so she would be in full character. Even though it was fantastic Halloween weather, we decided to have Addy wear the lion costume because it is warmer than her witch costume. The poor girl had her 18 month shots today so she started out the evening as the "Crabby" Lion instead of the Cowardly Lion. Nana came over to be a part of the festivities. While Wes, Jaidyn, Addy and I circled the neighborhood she gave out treats at our home.

Papa has been on a hunting trip all week, so he missed out on the festivities. I have an adorable purple and pink butterfly costume that I was telling Jaidyn that she could wear next year, but she has already decided that Papa can be the butterly next year since he missed out this year. So Papa, start looking for some purple tights to go with your costume. It is a beautiful costume, but on Papa it would probably turn out to be pretty SCARY. :)

Spooktacular Trail Evening at the Park

2007-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

In Richland, the night before Halloween the park hosts a "Spooktacular Trail" evening at the park. It is a pumpkin carving contest and the carved Jack-O-Lanterns line the trail of the park. Wes and I had friends over for the evening for dinner and since the park is right out our backyard, we thought we would walk over with our kids and join in on the pumpkin carving festivities. Well, I should have looked into the details of the event a little more. After dinner we walked over to the park with our uncarved pumpkins as we assumed that we would carve them at the park. Wes noticed on the sign advertising the event that it said to bring your "carved" pumpkins for the contest. We could see in the pavillion that no one was carving pumpkins. So needless to say we quickly turned around and walked back to our yard carrying our pumpkins. Wes and Rick carved our pumpkins in about 5 minutes with their pocket knives. Okay, so maybe we didn't win the contest, but considering that pocket knives were used for our carvings, they turned out pretty good. Regardless of the pumpkin carving outcome, we had a great evening of nice weather and good company.

Wes and Rick carving the pumpkins

Rick, Cheryl, Emily & Cole with their Jack-O-Lantern
Wes, Jenny, Jaidyn, & Addy with their Jack-O-Lantern

The Kiddo Crew

Ebay Stores To Go

2007-10-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Ebay Stores to Go is a new feature that Ebay is using to promote Ebay items for sale. It allows me to showcase my eBay Store on websites, social networking sites and my blog. I am really not sure exactly how everything works for sure, but thought that I would try the promotional tools out. These widgets help showcase all of items that I have for sale.

Vote For Haley!!!

2007-10-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

I just received this email from my sister-in-law Haley. She has a fantastic voice and besides that is a fantastic person. She deserves this opportunity. You have until November 1st to vote. Please send some votes her way! Thanks!

~ Hey Everyone!
I am so excited! As most of you know I have pursued a music career off and on over the past 4 years. I have met some great people and songwriters who have helped me get a start on some of my own original music that I would love to make a professional recording of someday. Of course that takes money. More money than I have.

Long story - short, my friend Chrissy and my mom sent me this website where I could enter to win and trip to Nashville a free recording session and a lot more. Well I sent in my video and they chose it to put onto their website for you to vote for! So now it is up to you all.

Please help me out and email this to everyone you know and ask them to do the same and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!

http://www.abcradionetworks.com/default.asp Click on Meet Kix Brooks contest to vote
Look for Haley singing, "Walkin After Midnight"

Thank you so much!
Love and blessings,
Haley Hawkins-Toombs ~

Halloween Party

2007-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Wes and I took some time off from our hectic schedules to have our 2nd annual Halloween costume party. My sister graciously took the girls for the weekend so that we could clean and prepare for our party. It was so nice to be able to clean the house and 10 minutes later still have what I just cleaned up in place. Jaidyn and Addy were spoiled rotten by their Aunt Jill, so I am sure they didn't miss us anyways.

We had a great time at our party. This is a picture of Wes and I. This is Wes's attempt to be Johnny Dep from Pirate's of the Caribbean movie and I was a Rhinestone cowgirl which was the costume that I picked out from Halloweenmart.com after winning a $100 gift certificate.

Don't you just love the eyeliner? He does have pretty eyes! Ha!

Some other guests attending the party included a Blood Sucking Attorney At Law, Chick Magnet, Billy Ray Cirus and his Girlfriend, Pimp and his Ho, Mr. & Mrs. Dracula, Cruella Deville, Lumber Jack, the Headless Horseman,a Witch, Data Don, Black Kitty, Redneck Dope Dealer and School girl Brittney Spears. Lots of costume creativity!

Here are some pictures of Jaidyn and Addy when they stayed with Aunt Jill. They visited two Pumpkin Patches and got to go to Chucky Cheese. Jared and Carrie and Cheryl all joined them at the pumpkin patches. They especially loved bathtime with their bath markers. I thought the whole idea of taking a bath was to become clean.

Halloween Contest Winner

2007-10-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I logged on to twomomsinablog.com blog site as was so thrilled to see this.

"We’re only a few weeks away from Halloween now, and our $100 Halloween Contest has come to a close:) A HUGE thank you goes to our sponsor, Halloween Mart, for offering the $100 gift certificate for our winner.

AND the winner is…..

JENNY of Days of My Life as a WAHM.

Thanks to everyone who participated! We have some more amazing contests and giveaways in the works, so keep your eyes peeled:) If you want to receive an email when new contests are posted, subscribe to our contest list at twomomscontests-subscribe@yahoogroups.com"

I am so excited to have won! I am supposed to receive my online code today to use. I can't wait to pick out our costumes. We are having our Halloween costume party this Saturday, so I am a little bummed that I may not be able to get our costumes in before then, but there is also next year.

Adoption Fundraising

2007-09-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first post to my blog about our journey in the adoption process. We are currently in the process of adopting internationally from the Philippines. The overall process from time of application to time of travel to meet our child is approximately 28 months. We started our application process at the beginning of May 2007. We have completed our Homestudy and sent off our Dossier paperwork several weeks ago. We are hoping to hear by the end of December that we are officially on the country list of approved applicants. We are okay with this long time frame (well I say this now, but may change my mind) for several reasons. We have two little girls under the age of 3. By the time we receive a referal and child assignment, our girls will be 5 and 3. Our child will most likely be between the age of 1-2. We wanted to have at least a year between the ages of our children. We also needed the extra time to save money for all of adoption fees. So this brings about the topic of my blog post, Adoption Fundraising. Over the last month, I have been on the internet searching for adoption fundraising ideas, adoption grants and loans. I have researched and found many interesting ideas, but now I need to come up with a plan and get busy implementing some of them.

I found a great Squidoo lens about the adoption financing. http://www.squidoo.com/adoptionfinancing/ The author of this lens has organized several lists and included links to Adoption Financing Websites, Grants & Loans, Families with Fundraising Webpages, and other general fundraising links.

I also came across http://www.chipin.com/overview. ChipIn is a free online site that allows you to easily collect money from others. ChipIn is used for a variety of fundraising themes. Your purpose of the ChipIn account could be to collect money for a certain adoption fee (homestudy, dossier, or country fee). You set a goal amount that you are trying to raise and a date to be accomplished. The ChipIn widget can be placed on your website or blog and then people are able to log in and donate to your cause. You could share the link with people from church, work or relatives.

I have also recently joined an Adoption Fundraising forum group on Cafemoms.com. The owner of the group, Miki aka Adoptionsong is very inviting. She is active in the group and responds quickly to any posts. She has a fantastic fundraiser going for her upcoming adoption. She has a website called http://www.adoptionsong.com/ where they sell downloads of her husband's adoption song called "Waiting" for $1.50. I think this is one of the most creative fundraising ideas that I have seen yet. The song will be a neat keepsake for their child. The group is fairly new so there aren't many members yet, but it would be a great place to join if you would like to talk about raising money for your adoption. Please visit the forum group at http://www.cafemom.com/group/11614

As for me, my biggest fundraising effort is my Ebay store, The Sugar Bean's Closet. I primarily sell both new and gently used baby and children's clothing and toys. I have been working very hard to stock my store full of items ready for purchase. This has helped us to fund some of our early fees such as the homestudy and dossier.

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sugar-Beans-Closet

Please feel free to comment! I would love to hear from others about their adoption fundraisers. There are so many children in the world who need a loving home and so many parents who long for a child. The expensive adoption fees sometimes stand in the way of making a family dream come true. Hopefully, some of these ideas will help inspire you to your journey of adoption.

PS - The Making Of A Mom blog is having an Adoption Blog Carnival. A carnival is a great way to meet fellow bloggers. The topic is Adoption. If you have an adoption blog post that you would like to share please enter it at this link http://makingofamom.blogspot.com/2007/09/adoption-blog-carnival.html. Please join in on the fun October 1st to find a list of some great adoption blogs.

Here is the compiled list of all participants in the Adoption Carnival. http://makingofamom.blogspot.com
There are some fantastic reads. Don't miss out!

Blog Rush - Drive Traffic to Your Blog

2007-09-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to have found BLOG RUSH. Blog Rush is a free online service that sends traffic to your blog. It is a new concept, but I think it will take off and become one of the hottest online traffic driving resources available for the blogging community. I just signed up today. Be sure to check out my Blogsphere Widget box on the left side of my blog. This box contains recent posts from other bloggers with the same overall topic (Work at Home) as my blog. You can also check it out by clicking on this link http://www.blogrush.com/r10287247. I have already been having fun searching through the links and finding blogs I would probably never have seen otherwise.

This is a letter that I just received from the founder of Blog Rush . It was sent out to members today. I think he is extremely dedicated to making his product succeed.
http://www.income.com/blog/2007/09/25/shocking-changes-at-blogrush/

Make Money Selling On Ebay

2007-09-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wanting to be able to stay at home while my two girls are young, I needed to find a way to help out financially. Ebay has allowed me to follow my dream of being able to achieve this. The At Home Auction Moms website has been an instrumental tool in allowing me to take my selling to the next level and achieve my Ebay selling goals. To find out more about this fantastic website forum group please click on the link below. If you have any questions about it, please let me know as I have been an active member for over a year.

At Home Auction Moms Website Info

Pumpkin Decorating

2007-09-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to receive my October edition of Parents magazine in the mail this past week and to have found a whole section on Halloween decor ideas and pictures. I just love the Halloween holiday. I traded in the traditional carving of the pumpkins for an All Dressed Up version. We picked out several different sized pumpkins this past weekend and decided to decorate our front door pumpkins with a variety of craft supplies and dress-up items. My oldest daughter and I spent the evening dressing our pumpkins. We had such a great time. She was so proud of her cute pumpkins and easily posed for a picture beside them.

So tonight, I have been online browsing Halloween topic blogs. I found a Halloween Costume Giveaway contest on http://twomomsinablog.com/. "Twomomsinablog" has teamed up with Halloween Mart for the costume giveaway. Since I absolutely love the Halloween holiday, I just can't pass up this contest. Part of the contest requires me to pick my favorite costume from their site http://www.halloweenmart.com/. At first I thought this would be an easy task. I can't believe the selection of costumes and accessories they carry from infant/child -adult sizes. Now almost an hour later, I think I have finally narrowed it down to my favorite. Both of my daughters love Curious George and when I first saw this costume I immediately thought of them. My favorite is the MONKEY SEE TODDLER costume. Absolutely Adorable! http://www.halloweenmart.com/wecs.php?store=halloweenmar&action=display&target=CH00089

If I were to be the lucky contest winner chosen to win the $100 gift certificate I would use it towards purchasing my husband and I's Halloween costumes for our 2nd annual upcoming Halloween party in October. I am thinking we would make a great pirate couple! Ahoy, Mate!

Cool Contest -Win Free Prizes!

2007-09-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

"Twomomsinablog" have teamed up with their Birthday Parties sister site and are hosting a fun contest, with a chance to win some great prizes.

Prizes include:

* A fabulous make your own stuffed animal kit from FunOnTheArk.com valued at $20.00
*3 month gift subscription to Menu Planning Central $60 valueMenu Planing Central is the premier all inclusive Menu Planning Website Online.They also offer an excellent complimentary Menu Planning Basics Report free at http://www.menuplanningcentral.com/order/go.php?r=242
* A gorgeous leatherette photo book that you make from your digital birthday photos compliments of photomemoriesalive.com valued at $50.00
* 10 handmade thank you notes provided by FunEvents4Girls.com valued at $20.00
That’s over $150 worth of prizes! Eeeeek! Spread the word!
But here’s the best part! Everyone who officially enters the contest will receive a $5 coupon code toward a free animal from funontheark.com

Even if you don't enter the contest, it is a great site to visit. Who doesn't love birthday parties??
http://twomomsinablog.com/birthdays

Good luck!!!
Jenny
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sugar-Beans-Closet

Halloween Costume & Party Ideas

2007-08-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Have your family looking Spooktacular for Halloween this year!

I know it is only mid August, but the fall season including Halloween is already on my mind. I think I am trying to hurry along some cooler temperatures. Halloween was always one of my favorite childhood holidays. I have so many great memories of dressing-up. I can remember the excitement of deciding and planning what I wanted to be. Some of my favorite Halloween activities include carving pumpkins, roasting pumpkin seeds, making some delicious treats and listening to silly Halloween songs. Still wanting to partake fully in the holiday, my husband and I had an adult Halloween costume party at our home last October. I dressed up as a Flapper and my husband as a Gangster. Also attending our party was a Gypsy, 2 green M&M’s (one plain & one peanut), Witch, Redneck, Wet T-shirt Winner and several other interesting characters. Truly a fun evening! We already are already planning our 2nd annual party for this October.

This year, my 2 ½ year old daughter is going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I already have her costume accessorized and ready to go. I am still deciding whether my 1 year old daughter should stay with the theme and be a lion or a scarecrow. I want to be the Wicked Witch, but my daughter doesn’t want me to be the ugly witch, but the Good (pretty) Witch. I think I would make a better Wicked Witch. :)

Selling Halloween Costumes on Ebay
Because of my love for the Halloween holiday, I try to fill my Halloween Costume/Dress-Up Category in my Ebay store with many different costumes and accessories. I LOVE selling costumes. I sell both new and used infant, child and adult costumes all year round. Many of the different costumes that I have listed include pirates, princesses wizard, firefighter, dinosaurs, and various animals. I am constantly listing new costumes, so if you need a special outfit for Halloween, a school play or a party, please check out my costumes in my Ebay store. I have a great selection at great prices.

The Sugar Bean’s Closet
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sugar-Beans-Closet_Dress-Up-Halloween-Costumes_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ7QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Child Halloween Party Ideas
With my daughter being involved in Pre-School and other activities, I have been looking for party ideas. Here are some great websites that I have come across that give ideas for costumes, decorating, games, food treats, and activities.

HALLOWEEN PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS
http://entertaining.about.com/od/halloween/a/hallowkidgames.htm

“GONE BUGGY” PARTY
http://www.kids-party-paradise.com/kid-party-idea.html

HALLOWEEN RECIPES & GAMES
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/halloween/games1.htm

Child Halloween Costume Ideas

Since I am a stay-at-home mom and we primarily live off my husband’s income and what I can bring in through the sales of my Ebay store, I am always looking for ways to make things more affordable. I found these websites to have affordable costume ideas.

CLOWN COSTUME IDEAS
http://www.kids-party-paradise.com/clown-costume.html

FAST, EASY, CHEAP HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
http://homeparents.about.com/cs/halloween/a/homehalloween.htm

MAKE YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN COSTUME
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/halloweentheme/a/091399.htm

I hope you enjoy the wonder of the fall harvest season with these festive and fun ideas.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Encourage Child Development With Dress-Up Play

2007-07-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to sell on Ebay is children's dress-up clothes and Halloween costumes. I think the teacher in me comes out when I say that dress up clothes are a wonderful part of a child's social and emotional development. I try to fill my store with items that I am interested in and enjoy selling. I love being part of the process that allows children to role play their favorite movie character or super hero or take them off to an imaginative land of make believe fairytales.

To view my current costume listings in my Ebay store, please click on the link below.
Dress-Up/Halloween Costumes

The Power of Imagination with Dress-up Play
As a former teacher and a mother of two young girls, I am always intrigued by the role of dress-up play in child development. Ask a child what they want to be when they grow up and they will not only tell you occupations such as doctors, pirates, princesses, and bus drivers, but they will usually find that special dress, outfit or hat needed to illustrate their chosen identity.

What are children learning by Imaginative Role-Play?
Encouraging imaginative play is the first step that we can take to encourage role-play that prepares for learning and preparation for the rest of their lives. Childhood role-play allows for children to learn about cooperation, taking turns and it encourages confidence and socialization. Research shows that children who engage in imaginative play are more creative thinkers who mature to better problem solvers. It can also improve vocabulary skills.

What can I do to Support my child's dramatic play?
When using the imagination, there is no limit to where we can go or to what we can become.
* Find or buy several big stuffed animals. Pull out your child's baby clothes and let them dress their stuffed animals in their old clothes.
* Put together a dress-up box for both genders. Old dance costumes and dance shoes are the best for girls. Add some feather boas, tutus, animal ears, leotards, crowns, ties and costume jewelry. Find some play cowboy hats, tool belts with plastic tools, or play doctor items.
* Buy new or used Halloween costumes that can be adapted to various dress-up options.
* Go camping! Pitch a tent indoors or make one out of blankets. Share the fun by reading a book, or having a snack in the tent with your child.
* Collect various Mr. Potato Head parts and keep in a tub so that your child can create various faces and characters.
* Connect play to stories from your child's favorite books.

You can encourage your children to play, make suggestions or even join in, but it won't be long before their imaginations run wild, taking them on a life journey of fun learning.

Be sure to check out my Ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sugar-Beans-Closet for many fun dress-up items and costumes. I have many items for both boys and girls of all ages. Let the power of imagination begin!

Selling on Ebay ~ Getting Started With Little or No Money!

2007-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

When I first started selling on Ebay, I had very little start-up money. Going from 2 incomes to 1 was a tough adjustment financially. Luckily we had some money in savings to get us through the first few months until my Ebay business became profitable. For the first few months I was putting absolutely all my profits back into more inventory. I started my Ebay business by selling EUC (excellent used condition) items. I now sell both EUC items and new items, but I have to admit that going to garage sales and thrift stores are my favorite way of acquiring inventory. There are so many ways that you can start up your business with little or no money.

1. Sell items around your house that you no longer need.
Many sellers start their Ebay business with items around the house. Go through your clothing closets, children's toy chests, home decor, cooking utensils and the garage. I firmly believe in the phrase, "Someone's trash is someone else's treasure". There is a buyer for everything. I can still remember some of the first items from my home that I sold on Ebay...clinique make-up samples, Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic book, new crystal photo frame (a wedding gift that just wasn't my taste), a sport themed ball-cap, and a wooden home decor bird house. All of these were things that I had lying around the house or I was tired of dusting. I have done well with many of my children's clothing and toys. Surprisingly, my husband's clothing does well, especially his jeans. My husband was a minor league baseball umpire during the first few years of our marriage. When he changed to another profession, I sold a lot of his equipment and uniform items. I mentioned earlier that I have sold Clinique make-up samples. My aunt always gives me her unused make-up samples (Clinique, Estee Lauder, Bath & Body Works)that are not her color. I have done well with listing those in my store or at auction. Work on decluttering your home and you would be amazed at what you can find that would help you start up your business.

2. Shop Garage Sales
This is where I get the majority of my inventory, especially during the summer months. I love shopping for children's clothing and toys, but will pick up anything that I find interesting and think I can sell. I love the thrill of the hunt. Going to garage sales is time consuming and can be hard when you have kids. Thankfully, my parents are very supportive of my business and help me watch the girls on the weekends. The few times that I have had to lug them around really makes for a long morning. I also try and map out my route from the ads in the paper the night before so I don't spend anymore money than I have to on gas and I get to the ones that I think I will find the most items at first. Garage sale items can be a lot of work because of the time it takes to wash and iron many of the items. I even clean and test out all toy products to make sure they work before listing. For me, buying from garage sales has been most profitable.

If you are new to shopping gargage sales this book may be a helpful resource.
Secrets of Garage Sale Bargains
http://www.auction-moms.com/clickbank.garagesale.html?hop=bcy1972

3. Thrift Stores
I frequently shop thrift stores such as the Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other local charity thrift shop organizations. Many of these stores have sales or a day each week with a certain percentage off. I always try to make sure and hit them when they have a stuff-a-bag sale. My favorite local thrift store has all children's clothing priced .50 a piece. It doesn't matter what type of item it is or the brand. I search the rack for boutique or high-end clothing. Be sure to take time to check clothing items thoroughly before purchasing. I don't know how many times that I have gotten something home to find a small stain or hole. It seems that the lighting in thrift stores is never very good and I sometimes miss things. Some of my favorite items to search for at thrift stores besides clothing include vintage hot rollers, wilton cake pans, holiday themed scrub sets, Halloween costumes and character toys. Here is a link to my latest thrift store purchase Ebay sale. I bought this costume at a stuff-a-bag sale and each item averaged out to .26 each. Wish all sales were this nice!
http://tinyurl.com/2nns86

4. Nationwide Discount Stores
Many nationwide discount chain stores offer namebrand items at a fraction of retail price. TJMaxx, Marshalls, Stein Mart, and Big Lots are a few that I can think of. I shop these stores at the end of the season when they are clearancing out their items. I always try to only purchase new with tag items once they are 75-80% or more off of the retail price. You might have to hold onto some of these items for several months before they begin selling since they are off season, but I usually list all of my items immediately. You never know when someone is going on a cruise in the winter and needs a swimsuit. A child may even be in an end-of-the year school play and may needing a costume. I also sell internationally and other countries are in different seasons.

5. Coupons
I receive several different coupons in the mail for different stores or products. Some of these I use and some of them I do not need. I have put some of the coupons on Ebay and don't make a killing, but again it is free money since the coupons were free to me. I have personally purchased baby formula coupons on Ebay.

6. Craigslist/Local Newspaper
This is a great way to acquire inventory. Craigslist is a huge online classified ad. This is a free service. You can post items that you have for sale or items that you are interested in purchasing. For example, if you would like to get the word out that you are willing to buy children's clothing you could place a wanted to ad. Just be careful and be very descriptive about the brands and condition of the items, and price that you are willing to pay for each piece or outfit. It is also a great site to advertise your larger furniture. You can have buyers do a local pick-up so you don't have to worry about shipping it. I have sold several items on this site and they were great transactions. You can check this site out at www.craigslist.com

7. Offer your services
Do you have a special talent? Do you have a special interest in sewing, scrapbooking or writing articles? Do you have experience with html or web design? There are many people who use their talents to either sell on Ebay or build their own website. If you like to sew, make custom outfits or costumes. If you like to scrapbook, make special themed custom pages for albums. If you are experienced with HTML, make store logos or storefronts. There are many people like myself, who buy store logos and selling templates. I buy all of my daughter's hairbows from an online website www.bluemonsterbows.com. She makes beautiful custom made bows. If you don't have any HTML knowledge, there are many great website builders that you can subscribe to. One that I have heard great reviews about is www.merchantmoms.com. I have not personally used this site, but the guy who owns has great customer service and responds quickly to any questions. The sky is the limit when it comes to selling your own products or services.

Best of Luck starting up your Ebay Business! Please feel free to comment.

Jenny
My Ebay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sugar-Beans-Closet

Doing What You Want?

2007-07-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hey, stay-at-home moms: Is what you're doing now what you always wanted to do?

Many people ask me this and ask me if I actually like being at home. I had always known that I would stay home with my children. I just never really knew when I would find the courage to give up my teaching job of five years. Finances were also a big part of it. I never wanted to have the feeling that we were living paycheck to paycheck. Yes, money is tight, but we live within our budget. Luckily, my husband is very supportive with my decision and he gives up things because he knows that this is a priority for our family right now. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't think twice about staying with my job. I have learned that teaching jobs will always be around and that I can always go back to work, but my children won't be young forever. I hope that I will be able to continue to be at-home with my kids until they are school age. I wouldn't give up this opportunity up for any amount of money (or at least that is what I tell myself). I respect both moms who choose to be at home with their kids and moms who choose to go back to work. In the end, you have to choose what is right for your family. Is becoming a Stay-At Home Mom the right decsion? At the end of the day, I can say, Absolutely! Here are some links that I found interesting.

Ten Things Now To Stay At Home Later
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001506.cfm

Making The Transition from The Workplace to Home
http://homeparents.about.com/od/fromworktohome/

Is Becoming a Stay-At-Home Mom the Right Decision?
http://www.mommysavers.com/stay-at-home-moms/becoming-sahm-right-decision.shtml

The Sugar Bean's Closet

2007-07-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

I am a stay at home mom to two beautiful daughters, Jaidyn (AKA, The Sugar Bean) and Addison. They keep me busy and I am enjoying every minute of the time that I get to spend with them.

Because of my husband's job relocation, I left my teaching job. I have always hoped to be able to stay at home with my children. At this time Jaidyn was 5 months old and this was my opportunity. Wanting to be able to stay at home, yet still help out financially, I decided to give selling on Ebay a try. I first started Ebaying with things around the house just so I wouldn't have to move them and since then have become hooked. I decided to seriously devote time to selling on Ebay and opened my store, The Sugar Bean's Closet. I primarily sell new and gently used children's clothing, toys, and nursery items. I also love to sell Halloween costumes. However, I sell about anything that will help out my financial gain. A lot of time and effort has been put in to making my store successful. I am giving the link to my store because many of my blogging will relate to selling on Ebay. This is my store's second year anniversary. I am so proud of the gains I have made the past two years. I hope to continue to grow as an entreprenuer.

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sugar-Beans-Closet

Days Of My Life as a WAHM

2007-07-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

I started this blog so I could share with everyone the Days of My Life as a WAHM. I plan to journal about my successes, failures, and questions that I face as a seller in the world of Ebay. My hopes for this blog is that it is not just a place for me to gather and share my thoughts, but a place that others will share their comments. I have so many goals that I hope to accomplish with my at home business. I also hope to share and discuss things about everyday life...kids, fitness, home, and education. My blogs will also inlcude links to articles or quotes that I find interesting and that will relate to the topic I have chosen to blog about. Feel free to comment on my blog posts. :)