I woke up really early this morning. That is a big no-no on Saturday mornings. However, it was for a good cause. Yes, that's right...I woke up early so that I could go SHOPPING and spend lots of money! Oh, but the excitement of it all was totally worth it! Thank you, Gina, for totally making my day by telling me about TotTrade.

I found out not too long ago that you could go earlier to the sale by volunteering. My goal, really, was just to find a double stroller and matching carrier. Sadly, that's the only thing I didn't find! However, I found oh so much more! I spent $279, and got millions of dollars worth of stuff! TJ has been happy all day with his new toys, I with my new maternity clothes, and Taryn with the dreams of all of the new things she will be getting when she comes to visit our world. Check out what I got:

a crib mattress
a swing (traveling kind)
a traveling high chair
an exersaucer (which can be turned into a track for TJ, and he loves it!)
LOTS of socks, for both children
LOTS of shoes, mainly for Taryn, but some for TJ
a few really cool outfits for Taryn
some cool hats for TJ
a few needed clothing items for TJ
his Easter sweater and undershirt
one of those little light thingys for the crib w/fish in it
cool ducky pics for the bathroom
a multi-picture frame
a picture book for Taryn's pics
a tape player for TJ to carry around w/9 tapes (it did not stop playing ALL day!)
a hammer set for TJ
some videos for TJ (including the Grinch)
a hokey-pokey Elmo for TJ
an Elmo driver toy for TJ to play w/in the car
a cool flashlight and binoculars for TJ (he totally doesn't get the binoculars, though)
church maternity clothes for me
fun maternity clothes for me
work maternity clothes for me

I think that's it. Everything was in excellent condition (or I wouldn't have bought it), and so cheap! One AWESOME outfit (that I actually registered for) still had the tags on it, and was nothing! Here's what made it even better...All of my big stuff sold. So, I know already that I'm going to be getting about $70 or so (I just had a stroller and a changing table) back (assuming none of my clothes sold, which I didn't check). Plus, we got a $100 credit card from Rent.com when we moved here, and I used it to pay for some of the stuff. So, in essence, I really only spent about $100 on all of that stuff! Excellent! It was really cool to see my stuff was sold, too. Made me feel good. Tomorrow is restock day, and I'm about to bust to find stuff to take and try to sell. I think I might try to raid TJ's toy box when we get home from church tomorrow. There's bound to be tons of stuff that we don't need and that doesn't get played with. I really can't wait for next year. Just imagine all the stuff I'll be able to sell once Taryn's all done with it. And then the next year....Oh, I'm getting all worked up just thinking about it! It really was fun. What was really cool was to see the ingenuity of the women in finding ways to carry all of their stuff, and the absolute fury at which they attacked the whole bargain shopping experience. I took a wagon. Of course, I was just reading the website, and it said not to, but I didn't see that before. I was wondering why no one else had thought of that? Oh well. No one said anything to me...On Wednesday I'm volunteering, and I have to be there at 5. However, it's the 60% off day, so I may have to go at 4 to try to find some deals before I have to work....Ahhh, isn't saving money great! Now if I could just find a way to get my stroller for cheap or free....

Oh, I have to tell you TJ's funny stuff for the day. I felt like Julia must have the other day when she was short w/Alison. I was so tired from sheer lack of sleep, and all I wanted was for TJ to take a nap so I could, too. Would he? Hell no! Nevertheless, no matter how snappy Mommy was with him, he was still so funny and witty. I love that kid! Anyway, his new thing is to say that everything is a "bye-bye". (???) We were singing songs tonight before he went to bed, and he would substitute all kinds of words in them w/"bye-bye!" So, instead of, "Mary had a little lamb," it was, "Mary had a little bye-byeee!" He did this w/about every song he knows. It was hilarious. What was more funny was the big goofy smile he would get on his face when he said it! I tell you, that's the funniest kid in the world, hands down. Now, if he can just go out there and make a million dollars using his humor, and buy me a big house and take care of me...We can all dream, right?

Alrighty, I'll talk to you later. Have a wonderful and meaningful day! Bye!