No, I mean a LOT of clothes

I have a small clothing problem.  And by small I mean massive and overwhelming.

You see, I struggle with just a wee bit of a tendency to hoard.  I mean, I'm not like one of those crazy, keep-my-poop-in-a-bag people on Hoarders but I do have a hard time getting rid of certain things.  My biggest struggle is with clothes.  Specifically clothes that the kids have outgrown.  I'm a little ashamed to admit that I have saved nearly everything the kids have ever worn.

Every so often I'll go through the boxes and boxes (and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes) of stuff and thin it out a little bit but getting rid of a half dozen things here and there doesn't really have much impact when you're starting out with such a huge amount.

When I look through I think "Oh, I remember when Joseph wore this!  He was so cute in this outfit!" and "I loved this dress on Elle and it's nearly new!  I hate to get rid of something she only wore a few times."  I hate the idea of getting rid of this stuff.

What I hate more though is having it all here, hanging over my head.  Every time I have to go in to the storage room I one whole side of the room filled with boxes and totes of kids clothes and I cringe.  I actually feel guilty that it's all just sitting there waiting to be dealt with.

Today I started pulling all the boxes out of storage and going through them.  It's time to lighten the load.  I need to get rid of this stuff once and for all.  I'm not having any more kids (*sad*) and there's no reason to keep hanging on to all of it.  Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with it all.  I figure I have a few options.

1. Ebay - I'm almost certainly NOT going this route.  It just seems like such a pain to list all that stuff even if I did do it in big groups.

2. Donate - I could just take it all here and be done with it.  I've donated to them many times in the past and I know they are always in need of children's clothing.  I know what I've got could clothe a lot of kids.

3. Once Upon A Child - I take it all in and give whatever they offer me even though I know I won't get anywhere near what I could if I sold it myself. I certainly like the ease of this option but I kind of hate the idea of someone buying something from me for twenty five cents and then selling if for $3. 

4. Craigslist - Just sort things in to big groups and then put what I think is a fair price on it and see if there are any takers.  I would probably put any money I made towards more photography equipment* so I'm somewhat motivated to at least try this way out.

Right now I'm leaning towards a combination of 2 and 4.  I like the idea of donating but I also like the idea of a new lens.  But maybe I'm missing something.  Maybe there's a better option that I'm just not seeing?  What would you do?  Other than "not start the hoard in the first place crazy lady" that is.

*This year four families will be sending out Christmas cards made of pictures that I took.  Yes, they are all family members of mine and no, I won't be getting paid for any of them but still, it's a start right? 

Fun at the baby's expense

I am so getting this shirt:
http://www.glarkware.com/securestore/c237522p16493759.2.html

While you're checking that out consider donating to the site's fundraiser to raise money to purchase school supplies for children affected by Hurricane Katrina. It's run by good people, they donated to our Relay for Life team and they do a lot of other charity stuff so it's legit. Click to check it out:
http://www.glarkware.com/securestore/c188252p16713448.2.html

Rah Rah Rah

Yesterday I bought the baby the cutest little Viking's cheerleader outfit. I figured we can put her in it and put Joseph in his jersey and have their pictures taken together. We'll have to get Joseph a new jersey though since his old one is a Randy Moss one. Yuck. Anyway, the baby's outfit is the cutest little thing that you ever did see and I thought it was rather appropriate given that she's already begun practicing those high kicks and flips.

The belly, it is expanding

I can't button my pants at all now. I have to use a rubber band to hook the button to the button hole. It's time to admit that I need new pants. Sigh.

I look in the mirror every time I go to the bathroom and try to figure out if I look pregnant yet. Mostly I just think I look fat. I'm betting I gained back all that weight I lost from the morning sickness. Ugh. I feel huge.

Yipee!

I am exactly 12 weeks along today. (Next week I'll be starting the secnd trimester!) At 12 weeks the baby stops using it's yolk sac and starts getting what it needs from the placenta. The baby is about 2 1/2 inches long and weighs about 1/2 ounce. The arms and legs start move but you can't feel it until 16-20 weeks. Finger and toe nails are starting to grow. The heart is complete and functioning and the stomach is formed and linked to the mouth and intestines. The sexual organs are beginning to form but can't yet be seen on an ultra sound. I am endlessly fascinated by all this stuff. I llok forward to each new week because I can read up on how the baby is developing and see pictures of how it looks in my baby books.

I found out that I won't have to get blood drawn today because they did it when I was at the hospital and my doctor just checked those and my blood sugar is normal. Glad for that!

My pants have stopped fitting. I have to loop a rubber band through the button hole and around the button or else they're just a little too tight. I have already given in and bought a couple of maternity shirts but I'm holding off on buying pants for as long as I can. (Oh, I did buy one pair but they're actually a bit too big for me right now. ....... although, maybe not. I haven't tried them on since I bought them and I have grown since then.) Anyway, I don't like most maternity pants, they look dopey to me.

Speaking of dopey clothes, if anyone at any point in my pregnancy sees me wearing a shirt that says something like "Baby on board!" or "Guess what's cooking!" or anything with an arrow pointing to the tummy and a "cute" saying on it go ahead and assume I've lost my mind and need to be medicated.

The shopping news

I went shopping with Becky tonight and got a couple of shirts and a cute pair of capri pants. I have to start buying new clothes now because all of the sudden my body just changed shape. Nothing fits me now, not even my big t-shirts. My pants keep trying to fall off too. All of the sudden my tummy is starting to stick out and it's not just my regular ample belly. Anway, the stuff I got was cute and the pants were half off so you can't argue with that. Pretty soon I'll have to buy some huge underwear too. Weeeeee!