Friday Afternoon Bliss

Question: What is the best way to kill off a lazy Friday before a holiday weekend?
Answer: Grab some cash and go treasure hunting!

Isaac has been begging for a Buzz Lightyear. From Toy Story? Everyone with me? He found one yesterday, selling for an amount that I was not really in the mood to spend. My kids, as you well know, have a LOT of toys. We discussed it and decided that if Isaac wanted to spend the money that he has in his wallet he could spend it on Buzz and mommy and daddy would make up the rest. This is a very big deal for him because he has previously refused to spend that money. It is pretty cute. Isaac values the actual cash. He tells me that he does not want to spend it because, "...it is special, so and so gave me those dollars." Isn't he darling?

We came home yesterday and unfortunately, we cannot find his wallet anywhere. I suspect that it is buried in his room somewhere, in which case we will probably find it sometime in the year 2098.

Anyhoo, this morning we were bored and in need of something to do, so we grabbed some cash and headed out to see what the garage sale set might have to offer us. Garage sales are not normally my idea of fun, but the boys are really excited about them lately, I have no idea why. The boys are ONLY interested in stopping if a large amount of primary colored plastic is visible from the street. It being the Friday before Memorial Day, there was not a lot out there that interested my boys.

Not wanting to disappoint them, I swallowed hard and suggested that we visit a large store that is kind of like an indoor garage sale. Yes I AM referring to a thrift store. I am generally pretty lukewarm about the whole thrift store thing. I am not too proud to buy or use previously owned items, provided they are in good condition, I just do not like having to search through a bunch of junk until I find something that I actually want. I frequently try to talk myself out of this aversion. Every time a friend or family member tells me about what an awesome deal they found on such and such great item, I, being ultimately quite thrifty and up for a great deal anytime, start feeling envious and tell myself to get over it and join the, "Look at this great deal I found!" party. It pretty much never works. I walk into the nearest thrift store or drive by a garage sale, get hives, feel queasy and give up. Pathetic aren't I?

Where was I? Oh yes, we went to a thrift store instead of finding a garage sale. The boys each had $5 that they could spend on anything they wanted, as long as mommy deemed it in good condition AND as long as they did not already own that item. We arrived at the toy aisle and were immediately drawn to a large action figure of Zurg, Buzz Lightyear's arch enemy from Toy Story. This is the original Zurg that was released when Toy Story 2 came out. SCORE! Very excited, we plunked Zurg in our basket. We then spied a full size Woody, also from Toy Story, also the original released toy from when they movie first came out. SCORE 2! Very pleased with these finds, we poked around a bit more and were just getting ready to head out when an employee rounded the corner with a handful of toys to add to the shelves. Guess what she had in her arms? Not only did she have ANOTHER original, full size Zurg (very important to have 2 of the most popular toys when you have 2 boys, 18 months apart in age. Sometimes it is just NOT worth the battle to insist that they share.), she ALSO had THE original Buzz Lightyear. I have not even been able to find this guy on e-bay for a price that I am willing to pay. He is heavy, just the shipping alone is absurd.

I tried very hard to restrain myself from attacking her. Instead I asked pleasantly if those toys were ready for sale. Upon receiving an affirmative, I informed her that she need not place Zurg and Buzz on the shelf as we would be HAPPY to give them a good home.

Each of these items sold for $1.99.

Yes, I AM quite pleased with myself, in case you are wondering. This Buzz is much better than the knock off Buzz that they are selling now, the one Isaac has been begging for, and Zurg is a fabulous amount of fun. My boys are quite happy, Anna is napping and we are all settled in for a lazy Friday afternoon. Oh yes, we also found the castle you see there for $3. The boys LOVE to play castle/dungeon/knights/kings/dragons and the castles that they currently have do not accommodate all of their action figures. Again I say, SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)) Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend everyone!