Good times with good friends

Tonight Jeff and I were blessed to have dinner with some "old" friends of ours from seminary days. They live and minister in a town just ten minutes away and, sadly, we have seen them only a few times since moving here more than four years ago.

We first met Mike and Lisa in the bookstore line as we were buying books for Jeff's first semester of seminary. We started talking, and our friendship grew from there. We spent many happy times with them--playing cards, watching movies, laughing, and making some wonderful memories. Even though they seemed very hard while we were living them, those were wonderful days in seminary!

It was nice to be able to sit down and chat with people who have known us for a long time, people who knew us "back then". We chatted about our churches and our kids and caught up on other friends from seminary whom we haven't seen in a long while. As we sat there talking, it occurred to me how truly blessed we are to have such good friends and to enjoy friendships that have stood the test of time and distance.

God is good!

License to......scratch?

We got the letter that every parent dreads today. Actually it's the second one we've gotten this year. To me, it's just about the worst school letter there is; it's the one that starts out by saying "A student in your child's class has head lice."

And so after I took some Benadryl for my hives, we went through my usual inquisition upon receiving letters of this type, which thankfully we don't receive very often. I hauled everyone into the kitchen (since the paper was on the kitchen floor and no one remembered actually putting it into their backpack!), lined them all up, and asked my questions, all the while trying NOT to be too obvious about staring at their adorable heads of hair, scanning rapidly for any signs of "lice life" and trying not to jump if one of them reached up to scratch anything above the shoulders.

After my rapid-fire questions, it was apparent that no one had anyone missing from school today and the nurse didn't come in and go through all their hair, which is the typical procedure. So, I'm not at all sure what is going on, but I do know I don't want lice at the VeStrands. I finished up with my "don't share a hat, don't share a comb, don't hug anyone at school" speech and sent them on their way.

At dinner, we were sharing with Jeff about our day and the infamous "lice letter" came up in the conversation. We were all talking about lice and how gross they were and how we didn't want lice and speculating once again about who exactly may actually have lice, when Sawyer decided to join in our discussion. Innocent as anything, he says "Mom, I thought lice were good. Doesn't everybody want to get their lice-ense?"

Oh to be seven again!

Quote of the Day

Jeff and Sawyer were chatting today after school and Jeff asked Sawyer if he had learned anything new in school today?

With a deep sigh, Sawyer replied "No, dad, I only learn new things on Tuesdays and Fridays. School is boring the rest of the time."

Gotta love 'em! We are investigating what is so special about Tuesdays and Fridays.

A Dream Come True

Thanks to the gift of a generous friend, Jeff was able to experience one of his lifelong dreams yesterday. He actually took the day off and went to Dover, Delaware, to enjoy the Dover 400 with two good friends. Thankfully, in spite of a dismal forecast, the rain held off, and they had a great time.

Below are some pictures from the world of Nascar. Sadly, these will only serve to confirm rather than dispel the "redneck myth" that hangs like a black cloud over the sport. But we know the truth: only true intellectuals can understand and enjoy the fine art of car racing.

Happy Birthday Sawyer! (and daddy!)

It's hard to believe, but our "baby" is 7 today! Where has the time gone? Today is extra special because Sawyer shares his birthday with my dad, but we won't say how old HE is today!!

We celebrated Sawyer's birthday on Friday because Jeff was gone today. His friend, Aaron, came over after school and had dinner and cake with us. Below are some pictures from our celebration!

(Word to the wise: whatever you do, DON'T "cave" the way I did and actually buy Moon Sand! It's a mess! At this point, I am letting him play with it, since he keeps spilling it, and that way, I can keep vacuuming it up and get rid of it faster!)




When we woke up this morning, there was a beautiful rainbow outside. We told Sawyer that God had sent a very special birthday present just for him!

"Home"school

I'm not sure what we did wrong. Maybe it's because Brooke is a freshman in high school and Sydney is in her first year of middle school. Uncharted waters for all of us. Or maybe it's because I have started working, even though it's very part-time. Or maybe it's because we seem to have trouble uttering the little word "No" and so we are racing from football to baseball to piano to youth group.

Whatever it is, the homework gods are not smiling on us this year. Brooke and Sydney have been particularly inundated, especially Sydney, who breezed through fifth grade with nary a care. Now we are spending our evenings memorizing Bible verses, studying catechisms and algebraic equations, and writing paragraphs about how language affects our culture and why the "pastoralists" needed good grass for their livestock (for that infamous sixth grade "history" class).

Not to mention making crepes for French II, collecting bugs, dead and alive, for Payton's science class, and listening to Sawyer count to 1000 and tell us how many times each day his teacher says "Now friends" in her sweet southern drawl (a habit she is known and loved for at school!). Toss in making a collage of Sydney's interests and hobbies for reading class and constructing a waterbug out of a paper towel tube for the aforementioned science class, and you have the perfect recipe for organized chaos Vestrand-style.

The fun never ends. For some reason, I thought we paid these schools big bucks to teach our precious offspring. Why is it then that we are so busy teaching them ourselves every night? A friend recently told me that she homeschools her kids so that she's NOT so busy. I didn't understand at first, but now I'm beginning to realize what she meant!

The picture below shows Jeff and Brooke working hard to prepare for Brooke's first algebra test tomorrow. I took the picture for you daddy! I'm sure you remember the many nights you and I spent at the kitchen table studying for algebra tests. Although, I'm also fairly sure that, like me, you'd prefer to forget them. All I have to say is, I hope that Brooke's algebra experience is seriously better than mine was!

Back to the books..........

Enough Already!!

It snowed at our house today. Really. I subscribe to just two magazines and one of them arrived in the mail today. After I used my pearly whites to free the actual magazine from its "protective cover", which rivaled Fort Knox, and sifted through all the snazzy home decorating and cooking advertisements that accompany the actual magazine, I eagerly thumbed through it to see what reading delicacies lay ahead. That's when the snowstorm began. As I was thumbing, a veritable blizzard of "magazine inserts" floated gently to my kitchen floor. I counted no less than 32 inserts. ENOUGH ALREADY!!

Why are these people annoying me with inserts asking me to subscribe to a magazine, which just a few hours ago landed in my mailbox because I actually DO subscribe to it? Why in heaven's name would I ever want to spend money on a "Thomas Kinkade Faith Mountain" for just "four easy installments of just $33.75"? (My apologies to all you 'Painter of Light' fans out there.) Nor do I need or want a "Sculptural Shoe that inspires hope, featuring sparkling faux gems and delicate pearl accents."

I don't want to join the Doubleday book club. I don't need a patch for ADD, a pill for acid reflux, or a sample of medicine for "ED". (I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. Need a hint? Think Bob Dole. Still stumped? Have you been living under a rock? Check here http://www.findarticles.com/
p/articles/mi_m0815/is_1999_March/ai_54753537 )

Really, does anyone actually buy the "genuine pavé diamond hugs & kisses birthstone bracelet"? What the heck is a pavé diamond anyway??? However, I might be tempted by this one: "the world's most comfortable bra that eliminates bra bulge and makes you look 10 pounds thinner!" Who ever heard of "bra bulge"? Although it definitely sounds like something I want to avoid! And did you know that "If your face says 'you're 30' but your hands scream 'you're 50', there's a new breed of anti-aging hand treatments to the rescue"? Who cares? I'm still wondering why any marketing executive in his right mind would use the word "breed" in an ad for anti-aging cream???

All I want to do is pick up the magazine and read it without having to protect myself against paper cuts and glossy assaults on my intelligence. I mean by the time I pull out all the "inserts", I have a bigger recycle pile than I have magazine!

I've got it!! We can storm the halls of Congress and demand they do something about this. We can call it the "Freedom FROM Information Act".

To market, to market....

Just completed one of my least favorite jobs these days--going to the grocery store. There was a time in my life when grocery shopping was the highlight of my week. Sad, but true. As a girl, I LOVED to grocery shop with my mom. I would walk around the store with my own cart, begging mom to let me get some things for her. Of course, that was pretty much impossible because my mom was the "coupon queen" (she actually had a box special made for all her coupons), and my mom took grocery shopping seriously. We went to no less than three stores every single week to make sure that we hit all the sales at each store.

My mom knew exactly what things cost where and which store would have any particular item for the cheapest price. When I was little, it was pure joy to go to the store with mom, stay up late, and get home to find daddy asleep on the couch while Johnny Carson joked in the background. Occasionally, if we were really good, mom would treat us to an ice cream cone from King's!

Even as a newlywed, I loved to grocery shop. We were so poor that I was thrilled to be able to spend money on things we really did "need". I drove to the store with my forty dollars of grocery money burning a hole in my pocket. Each week, I bought five apples (for Jeff's bag lunches), two cans of the cheapest tuna they had (I swear I ate a few bones), one box of blueberry pop-tarts (for Jeff's breakfast), a bag of Mike Sell's potato chips (those were our favorite and a definite treat on our budget), a half-pound of turkey ham lunchmeat (the cheapest), and whatever else they had on sale that we "needed". I remember several times when I got to the check-out and had to put things back because $40 was my limit. I had forty dollars cash and not a dime extra.

But those days are gone. Oh, I still have a budget, but I rarely stick to it. And rather than enjoying grocery shopping, I dread it because it's another thing I have to do in between homework, baseball, football, piano lessons, church responsibilities, laundry.........you get the idea. One box of pop-tarts doesn't cut it anymore--how could it when each kid likes a different flavor, that is if you call strawberry milkshake a pop-tart "flavor"? And Sun Chips have replaced Mike Sell's as we get older and try to eat better. Not to mention, now we "need" things like Gogurt, Little Debbie swiss cake rolls, Gushers, and corn dogs!?!?!?

Try as I might, I have not achieved my mom's "Coupon Queen" status. I definitely use coupons--but I have only barely hit the "coupon princess" level, and I can't be bothered to race around to the four grocery stores in our tiny little town and try to figure out which store has fruit roll-ups for 2 cents cheaper than its competitors. My time (and gasoline!) are much more valuable these days. How things change!

I'm sure that pesky "Proverbs 31 woman", who haunts me continually, would probably "comparison shop" (heck, she probably grew her own yeast and canned everything from her four-acre garden in jars that she blew in her glass-making shop!). And I'm certain she would stay within her budget--all with an angelic smile on her face and an attitude that would rival Mother Teresa's. But I'm human. I guess I'll have to settle for Proverbs 30 1/2! :-)

$$$$$$$$$$$$

Well, in spite of spritzy rain and drizzle for the entire day, our garage sale was a big success! And, after counting all the change and a sale late last night (to a family in our home group!), we made almost $400!

My sister and I were up at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, setting up all the stuff and getting organized. Although the ad in the paper said we would open at 8:00, we had our first shopper at 7:10! And he bought a couple things, so that was fine!

We battled rain and cold all morning but the cookies and lemonade were a hit (mostly thanks to Taylor's expert salesmanship!), and fun was had by all! In the pictures below, you can see Taylor and Sydney working hard on the cookies on Friday night and then all the neighborhood kids "manning" the stand during the sale.




However, even though we did great, we still have LOTS of "junque" out there! So we left it all set up in the garage and will give it one more try this Saturday. The local Jaycees club is having a community yard sale at the fairgrounds, which are about a quarter mile down the road, so we will use some strategically placed signs and hope that "if you organize it, they will come"!

Where in the world?

First, a disclaimer: In my small christian school, geography was not a priority (unless you count getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time). So, sadly, I never learned much about our world, and my ignorance in that department continues to this day. Although Jeff, who is a fine product of the New York state public school system, knows his geography very well, and while I have learned a lot from him, today I found out that I haven't learned nearly enough.

Last evening at "Back to School Night", I discovered that Sydney's sixth grade "history" class was misnamed: it's pretty much a geography class. "Good" I thought "My kids will learn all the things that I never learned about our world." However, as of tonight, I have changed my mind. My new attitude, after poring over a "history" class test review sheet, is "Who cares? She can use Mapquest or Google earth for the rest of her life!!" Of course, being the good mother that I am, I didn't voice this to Sydney but, really, what's the point???

I mean when will some gas station attendant ever say to Sydney "Oh, you're looking for the mall? Yes, the coordinates for the mall are 45 degrees NE and 120 degrees SW. Happy shopping!" Or when will a travel agent call to say "I have your travel packet all ready for your trip to Timbuktu. I've enclosed your Mercator projection map, your Robinson projection map, and that all-important Sinusoidal projection map. Don't leave home without 'em!" And until tonight, I thought a "gazetteer" was the man who published our local paper, the Gazette, and "meridian" was a local bank! Oh, and did you know that "cardinals" aren't just birds?? Lo and behold, they are directions (north, south, east, west) too! Whooda thunk it??

I'm trying to have an open mind (and a closed mouth!) about all this, but I really am wondering, in this age of portable GPS systems and blackberries, if Sydney will ever actually use this information. Her first car will probably have a talking PC built into the steering wheel, and I'd be willing to bet that sixth grade "history" will be long forgotten. Heck, everyone will probably have tracking devices surgically implanted, and she will be able to locate people and places with her cell phone, which will be the size of a stick of gum--Trident gum!

And don't bother adding comments about how she really WILL use this information. I can honestly say I have never--not even once--used anything I learned in physics or geology!

Oh well! Off to figure out the elevation of Mozambique! How will I survive the excitement??

9.11.01

9.11

The planes crashed
The buildings fell
Firefighters rushed to save
But even though we lost some lives that day
Our country still stands tall
Our flag still flies

God has seen it all
It happened for a reason
And even in the biggest troubles
God still stands by.
God bless America!

Our daughter, Brooke, wrote this on the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. She was ten at the time.

Remembering..

It's hard to believe that it has been five years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. We were living in Grand Rapids at the time, and I remember the day like it was yesterday. Jeff had left for work, the girls were off to school, the boys were playing; I was folding laundry in our bedroom watching the "Today" show when they cut in with the news that a plane had hit the WTC. Like most people, I assumed there had been pilot error or something like that. I kept watching and remember yelling "There's another one!" as I watched the second plane hit the other tower. As it became obvious we were being attacked, I sat on our bed with tears rolling down my face, realizing that life would never be the same.

The morning seemed to last forever that day. I talked to my mom many times. My younger brother was on a flight out of Reagan International airport that morning, and we couldn't reach him. As his wife and my parents tried to call his office and his cell phone, to no avail, we all waited anxiously, hoping and praying that he was okay. Thankfully, he got off the plane and out of the airport just as the plane hit the Pentagon. He was able to grab a taxi and get out of DC before they closed off all the main highways, etc. He was safe, but those were very tense hours.

My sister, Becky, called me at home that morning, telling me to go pick up the girls from school. I didn't. I figured they were safe with their teachers, and I didn't want them to see what was going on on the television. I didn't want to scare them by changing their routine and letting them see my sadness.

The boys had haircuts that morning. I remember driving to their appointments, which were at a friend's house, constantly glancing up at the sky, watching for airplanes, even though I knew all flights had been grounded and I figured that Grand Rapids probably wasn't high on the terrorists' target list. It was a beautiful, clear day in Michigan that day too. It was eerily quiet and serene. While the boys got their hair cut, we were glued to the television, watching minute-by-minute coverage on Fox news.

The following spring, we moved east. Here, many people were affected directly by 9/11. Two men who lived in our town were killed at the Pentagon. Each year, the town holds a ceremony at the memorial garden, which was planted to honor these two men. One of these men had a young boy and a baby girl on the way. His family goes to our local pool, and each time I see his wife and children, I wonder how they are doing. And as I wonder, I hope that their family and all the others who lost loved ones on 9/11 know that we do remember and we will never forget.

Play Ball!!!

The fall sports season has begun for the VeStrand boys. Yesterday was Sawyer's first baseball game. He was 3/3! Then, Payton's first flag football game was today. He scored 4 touchdowns and had tons of tackles!! And, of course, he had fun, which is the most important part.

Enjoy the photos!

Sawyer makes a catch! (You can barely see the ball in his glove!)

The first of three infield grounders!

Sawyer diggin' it out to third base!

Sawyer waiting to score a run!

Payton making a catch!

Payton playing quarterback! (hey, isn't there another famous Peyton who's a quarterback?)

Payton and Jonah tired and happy after a hard-earned win!

A Recess Game??

Didn't tag used to be something you played in person on the playground? Well, just my luck, I've been tagged again, so here goes!

Three things that scare me

1. Being unexpectedly pregnant
2. Another "President" Clinton
3. Disorganization


Three people who make me laugh

1. Kevin James aka Doug Hefernan
2. Pastor Mark Driscoll
3. My son, Sawyer (he really is funny!)

Three things I hate

1. Tardiness
2. Packing lunches
3. Bickering children
Sadly, I deal regularly with all of these!

Three things I don’t understand

1. Disorganization
2. People who don't worry or don't care
3. Tennis
Are you noticing a pattern here??

Three things I am doing right now

1. Watching football
2. Answering this survey!
3. Worrying about my class on Sunday

Three things I want to do before I die

1. Make a CD with Jeff
2. Go back to Australia with Jeff
3. See my kids grown, happy, and healthy

Three things I can do

1. Sing
2. Write
3. Organize

Three ways to describe my personality

1. Type AA
2. Sarcastic
3. Fretful

Three things I can’t do

1. Dance
2. Any math above sixth grade level!
3. Ride facing backward

Three things I think you should listen to

1.My daughter, Brooke, sing
2. My husband, Jeff, sing
3. Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, Seattle

Three favorite foods

1. PA Hoagies
2. Filet mignon
3. Hershey's chocolate nuggets

Three beverages I drink

1. Iced tea (only my own!)
2. Water
3. Sprite Zero

Three shows I watched as a kid

1. Little House on the Prairie
2. The Waltons
3. Game shows galore!

Three people I tag

1. Becky B.
2. Melanie
3. Ginger

Multi-tasking...............

Brooke has apparently discovered that the way to a man's (or at least a ninth grade boy's) heart is through his stomach. She has taken to doing quite a bit of baking for her English class at school. We are considering a second mortgage to cover costs like chocolate chips, brownie mixes, and decorative sprinkles.

Now we know that Brooke is talented but we never imagined the extent of her multi-tasking abilities. In this picture, taken last night, she is baking cookies, talking on the phone, and listening to her iPod at the same time. We are soo proud!

A dangerous precedent??

I'm not slacking, we're just busy!!! Please don't make me join the "Slacker Bloggers" club!! I fear I have set a dangerous precedent with the blog, and just so I can clear up any confusion, I probably won't be posting every day now!

Unless you'd like to hear about the latest house that we are buying/selling at the office, or the latest homework projects for four different kids, or the home group leader training that Jeff is conducting on Saturday, things just aren't that exciting around here! Although tonight, I proofread a paragraph on how language affects our culture (written by Sydney) and searched the cobwebs of my brain to help Payton with a math question. (Don't laugh, fifth grade was a very long time ago for me!)

I am getting familiar with work and really enjoying it. I think in a few short months, I will have answers to most of your real estate questions. Today I got to edit an article that Steve is writing for a website. I was in heaven! It was fun! I am learning a lot and doing well. Thanks for your continued prayers!

We are getting adjusted at our house. So please bear with us and check back--whenever you get around to it!

First Daze????

We have successfully navigated the first days (daze?) of school for each child and all seem to be adjusting fine! Sydney started middle school today and quickly found out that things are much different in middle school. That and she really needs a lower locker, but we are working on that!

Enjoy the pictures!


Sawyer all ready for "the first day of first grade".


Payton heading off to fourth grade. (Please excuse the "glow". It was rainy and dark that morning and apparently Lands' End's claims about glow-in-the-dark backpacks are absolutely true!)


Sydney's first day of middle school. (Yes, the backpack probably weighed more than her!)


Our resident "cheese balls".

Working Girl

I know you are all waiting with bated breath so you'll be happy to hear that I survived my first "day", all three hours of it, back in the working world!

The day started a little rough: it POURED rain here all day and so we ran/swam to the car with all the backpacks, lunchboxes, and extra shopping bags to head to school. After a middle of the night upset stomach (Sydney), a lesson using a belt and fly on his school uniform shorts (Sawyer), and a few last minute nerves (Payton), we made it to school and got everyone settled! Sydney actually doesn't start until Thursday, so she is spending some quality time with daddy these two days!

I didn't have to be at the office until 11, so I spent some lovely, quiet time at an internet cafe working on my lesson for Sunday and enjoying the peace. The work time went quickly as Steve talked me through all the different parts of his businesses. It was definitely information overload but I know it will all make sense soon!

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us today! Please keep it up!

We love you all!

Sydney--the Contortionist????

We were blessed to celebrate the end of summer with some dear friends tonight. As we were enjoying delicious hamburgers, salad, and deviled eggs, the kids (11 between both families with 9 in attendance tonight!) were running around wrestling, swinging, shooting baskets, getting stuck in playhouse windows, chasing the dog, what a minute..........getting stuck in playhouse windows??? Yep, that's what I said!

I don't think we ever did figure out exactly HOW it happened, but all of the sudden, Isabella was at the screen door saying "Mommy, Sydney needs her mom!" We immediately assumed that Sydney was hurt and quickly asked "What's wrong, is she hurt?" "No," said Isabella, "She's stuck in the playhouse window!"

Laughing, we all ran outside--with the camera, of course---and sure enough, somehow, Sydney had gotten herself, or at least some parts of herself, stuck in the playhouse window! After a couple pictures, we freed her and she seemed no worse for the wear!

Never a dull moment at the VeStrands!

"Labor" Days...

We are taking this holiday seriously at our house! We have been "laboring" all weekend around here. I guess cleaning out for the garage sale has gotten to me. I've been on a tear getting ready for the end of summer and the start of school and my job, all of which will happen on Tuesday.

We have changed and washed all the sheets, cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed the entire house, and added even more "junque" to the aforementioned garage sale pile, which is really a small hill. I have sharpened pencils, thrown out stubby crayons, and even cleaned all the budding "science projects" out of the netherlands of the fridge. We also stashed the fans and swimsuits and beach towels as we said farewell to another pool season. We had hoped to visit the pool one last time this weekend, but the constant rain and chilly temps put a "damper" on those plans!

I can now proudly proclaim that we have enough Gatorade and Capri Suns to keep our entire cul-de-sac hydrated in the event of a catastrophe. We also have enough cereal and lunch snacks to last until Christmas--but of course, after about two weeks, the cereals and snacks they "had to have" will be declared obsolete with whines of "I'm tired of those!" or "Payton asked for those, not ME!" or "They taste funny!" (never mind she's been eating them for two weeks already!)

All the backpacks are poised and ready for takeoff, accompanied by one full shopping bag per child so that all the supplies can be hauled into the school. We even managed to get that all-important memory stick for Sydney's computer class. The school uniforms are hanging neatly in their respective closets and the lunchboxes are at the ready.

Every Labor Day since we've moved here our neighbors have had a huge picnic. The kids love to go and eat all the goodies, play kickball, and guzzle all the pop they can in the few hours that we are there! This year, our neighbors are in California celebrating their son's wedding, so we are on our own for fun (although we DO have their house key!). Can't say that I'm all that disappointed though. I'm happy to come home from church, lay on the couch, and relax and not be sociable to a bunch of people I barely know! I'm thrilled to have another day of relaxation before life starts a tailspin of school, work, piano, flag football, and baseball. Although I may try to squeeze in some shopping. Can't miss all those stores that are having "the greatest sale ever" (until next weekend anyway!).

We hope all of you are celebrating the end of summer in a great way--camping, picnicking with friends and family, swimming, or just hanging out! If you want to "labor" with us, feel free to drop in!

One person's "trash"...............

We are frantically getting ready for a garage sale at our house. And since it looks like we are going to need a canoe to get around in our part of the country this weekend, I figured it would be a good time to stay in and finish up the pricing, sorting, and cleaning that a garage sale requires. I have been collecting "garage sale items" in my trusty plastic containers for more than a year, and I am ready to get rid of the junk!! Err--not junk, really. Just lovely, clean, gently-used items at a great price! Of course, I'm hoping that my "junque" (looks better with the "fancy" spelling!) will be some poor soul's treasure, and he will take it away and live happily ever after!

However, the fact that the kids are still home hasn't really helped my pricing/sorting process. Each time I pull something out of a box--something that has not been thought about, looked at, or played with for more than a year, mind you---one child or another squeals "You can't sell that! THAT'S my favorite!" Hello?? Your favorite??? You forgot you even owned it!!!

To date, we have gone through more than one hundred Ziploc bags of various sizes, as I attempt to organize pieces and parts of various "favorite" toys so that some smart shopper will see the true value of my "junque". In some ways, it's sad to part with the Fisher Price farm and the Little Tikes guitar that Sawyer got when he was potty trained. But I have to admit I am truly NOT sorry to part with a gazillion beanie babies, which I raced all over Grand Rapids like a madwoman to buy, and more Veggie Tales video tapes that I care to count or ever hear again!! Those days, thankfully, are now behind me. We've moved on to more "mature" viewing choices, like SpongeBob Squarepants and Scooby-Doo.

As I clean, sort, and price, my feelings have vascillated between "Yeah we are going to make LOTS of money!" and "This is ridiculous, I'm just calling the Salvation Army!" I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment, that and I want to earn every cent I can out of those "favorite" toys and truly earn my reputation as "the meanest mom on earth" for making them get rid of anything in the first place!

Lastly, my cleaning tip for the day: those of you who have the misfortune of not yet being acquainted with the amazing cleaning qualities of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, need to go get one!!! Do not pass "Go"! Do not collect $200. Go now!! They can clean anything! They truly are MAGICAL!!

So, if you're in town on September 16, which is going to be a beautiful, cool, late-summer day, please stop in, look around, and make some of our "trash" your treasure.