How I spent my Saturday

So, three events took place yesterday.

1. I experienced my first baby sale.

No, it's not a place they sell babies (sorry, Mar). It's a place you go to buy hand-me-downs from complete strangers. Sounds retarded when you can get hand-me-downs for free (which I do often - thanks, Stef!), so I've never wanted to go before. But my girlfriend convinced me to go with her this time.

A few things about this adventure I didn't like:

• We had to get there at 6:30 for the good deals. In the morning. On a Saturday.
• I did not think to bring my own shopping bag. Or, in this case, big plastic garbage bag for all the loot.
• It cost $5 just to get in. $5 before you even saw if you'd want to buy anything.

On the other hand, it was a great time. At first, I didn't know how to maneuver. Do you pay what they're asking? Do you bargain? And who do you pay? Who's running this thing anyway? I saw a pair of 2T shorts for $1 at the first table I came to and thought, "$1? Wow, what a deal!" But, I decided to hold off. Because if I bought one, I'd buy 30. I watched other experienced women. I saw a woman tell the seller, "I'll give you $3 for all of this." Oh, THAT'S how it's done.

Done and done.

And then I was on a mission. My dad has always said that everything's negotiable, and, boy, was he right. Every table, I loaded up, told the sellers I'd give $5 for all of this booty and they reluctantly agreed. One table, the woman looked at her husband before agreeing. Seriously, lady. It's either you sell all this to me for $2 or you're taking it back home with you. Your choice. I'll tell ya, haggling is fun. And as I became more acclimated to my surroundings, I shopped like I do normally... "Those people are crazy to sell that shirt for $4. I'll wait until it goes on sale."

So, now the boys have more play clothes. There's another one of these sales next week. You can betchersweetass I'm going!

2. A new swing set was installed in our backyard.

My in-laws bought the boys the greatest present ever: a new swing set. Our old one was, well, old and... kind of scary. And, since the boys and my nieces spend every day at our house, we wanted something nice and safe for them to play on this summer.

My husband has been pretty excited about this swing set. He prepared for the big installation all week, putting same-sized screws into baggies, organizing the pieces of the puzzle into their respective groupings. It's been entertaining to watch. At times, I thought he was more excited about this swing set than the boys were.

So, while I was getting great deals on used clothing, my brother and my husband's friend came to help my husband put together this monstrosity. The forecast called for rain all day, but, as usual, the weatherman was wrong (seriously, my cat can predict the weather better than any meteorologist). Yes, Mother Nature was on our side for once. The boys (men, whatever) were able to put the thing together all in one day.

It became a thing. My in-laws came over with pizza. We watched as pieces and parts morphed into ladders and rooftops, slides and rock walls. And then it was done. The boys took turns on the slide (and then finally let the kids play) until the rain made them all come inside.

The boys went out again this morning as soon as they were dressed. My 2-year-old is already an expert on the rock wall. My mother is not going to be happy.

3. I now have well over 2,000 songs on my iPod.

This was probably the most exciting thing for me yesterday. Last weekend, while visiting my BFF, she gave me all of her CDs to give to her sister. All of them. Man, I thought I liked music, you wouldn't believe the collection she has.

So, of course, before I gave the CDs away, I decided to import the ones I liked to my iPod. What are friends for, right?

My BFF is a big fan of soundtracks, which, let's face it, are where you find the good music these days. Songs-you-never-knew-existed-but-now-you-like all in one place? Fantastic. Throw in a couple greatest-hits-albums-you-wouldn't-buy-yourself-but-should-own-just-in-case, a few artists-never-heard-of-but-listened-to-for-a-sec-and-thought-eh-why-not and classical-music-so-you-look-well-rounded and you're good.

My next party is going to rock simply because of my playlist.

I currently have 2,403 2,411 2,453 songs, which will take me precisely 6.9 7.0 7.1 days to hear them all.

And that's how I spent my Saturday.