Seasons come, and seasons go...

As usual in Southeastern Pennsylvania, the seasons have changed.  We went from winter to pollen to summer in a matter of a few weeks.  The changing of seasons means changing the wardrobe of my girls.  It's a time of emptying out the drawers, refolding much of what got pushed around in the search for the perfect outfit, getting things organized, and packing it into bins for storage in the attic.

As I pack the bins I try to be aware of the clothes I'm putting away for whoever might use it next.  Is it too stained to be used again?  Was it too cumbersome to get on and off?  Was it ever worn at all and why?  The changing of the seasons is a great time to purge the stuff that I know won't ever be worn again for whatever reason.  I find myself being even more aware of what I'm packing away with Evelyn's clothes now that I know that there is definitely the potential for future wear.  Luckily for Vivian, her big sister is a sloppy eater and her favorite condiment is ketchup, which stains so badly there are many shirts that have meet their untimely end one chicken nugget or French fry at a time. 

Then, I make Steve pull down the bins of Evelyn's old clothes from the attic and start the process of unpacking them.  I remember thinking that it would be so easy having a second girl.  We don't need ANYTHING I foolishly thought.  I did not factor in that they were born in completely different seasons.  So as I begin to unpack those bins I find myself one season behind.  We are entering summer, and Vivian is just entering the 6 month size.  Evelyn's 6 month clothes are winter/spring.  I suddenly understand why Carter's sells almost everything for infants in 3 piece sets... long sleeve, short sleeve, and pants.  It basically works year round.  So if I want my baby to wear nothing but a onesie for the next few months, I'm all set.  But she's a baby girl, and baby girls need to wear cute clothes!  And there is so much to choose from!  Little sundresses and rompers and things with frills!

So we get new stuff.  And with the new stuff comes the unholy chore of cutting off all of the tags.  For those of you who haven't done it in a while or who have never had the experience, here I document for you in pictures the task of cutting off the tags from new kids' clothing...



First you spend an absurdly long time in Carter's picking clothes out.  Do you want the jammies with kitties or birdies?  Long pants or shorts?  When you get home you find that you have completely by accident (I swear!) picked out things for your daughters that fall in the same theme.   

Next you start cutting tags.  And everything has a tag, and sometimes a tag and a sticker.  And the hats have little cardboard inserts to make sure they keep their shape. 

And when the clothing is for infants everything has a little plastic hook connecting it to the hanger.  Every. Single. Thing. And the little plastic hooks are also connecting every piece of clothing to the other pieces of clothing.  So a two piece set has at least two plastic hooks, a three piece set has at least three hooks, and don't even get me started on a six piece onesie set. 

 

So when you're finally finished you have a pile that looks like this.  And when you go to throw it out inevitably you drop one of those little plastic pieces on the floor.  And when they are little, you worry about your kids finding one of those pieces and putting it in her mouth.  So you get out the vacuum. 

 

Amid the pile of trash are warnings like this.  Oh great, because now on the off chance that my house catches on fire I need to be really worried about how snugly my child's jammies fit. 

 

And finally, there is the pile of new clothes.  That has now turned into a pile of clothes that need to go in the laundry.  Because that sensitive skin can't possibly wear an article of clothing that hasn't been properly washed and dried in fragrant free, sensitive skin appropriate detergent and dryer sheets.