The War Room

Opening this weekend in theaters is an inspirational movie called "The War Room." It's a insightful look at the how the power of prayer can change lives, even in situations that seem far beyond hope. I was lucky enough to attend a pre-screening of the film a few months ago and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think that the target demographic for this film is primarily for people who would already claim faith in God and it sets out to light a fire under anyone who is lukewarm about their beliefs. However, this story had me both laughing and crying at different points - it definitely covers the whole spectrum of emotions! There were a few scenes that had the entire theater erupting in side-splitting laughter such as the delivery guy, and also the dinner scene at home with Tony (played by T.C. Stallings) and his wife Elizabeth, played by renowned women’s speaker and author Priscilla Shirer. Shirer makes her film debut playing the lead character who finds herself and her family in a less-than-desirable position without much hope to overcome it. Elizabeth then meets Miss Clara (played by Karen Abercrombie) who introduces her to what Miss Clara calls her “war room” and that begins to change Elizabeth’s life forever.

However the limelight for acting was completely stolen by the *outstanding* and adorable performance of Tony and Elizabeth’s 10 year old daughter, Danielle Jordan, played by Alena Pitts. The skill level of the kids’ jump-roping antics alone is really impressive and the filmmakers did a great job of clearly integrating real-life jump rope teams into the film. But Danielle and her friend Jennifer provide quite a bit of comedic relief to the story. The uber-famous Beth Moore, speaker, author and Bible study leader also makes her film debut here. However, I found Moore’s character to be a very minor one overall, especially in comparison to the rest of the story.

A few of Miss Clara’s insights that I picked up: “You’ve got to have the right strategies and resources, because victory don’t come by accident.” Also “You’ve got to plead with God to do what only He can do, and then get out of His way to let Him do it.”

Since I’m not one for spoilers, I’ll leave it at that and give you a short clip of Miss Clara and Elizabeth when they met for the first time. Enjoy!

You need a MOMS' NIGHT OUT!

I should have written this post ages ago, but today is my chance to finally tell you about a fantastic movie coming out this weekend, May 9, 2014, just in time for Mother's Day! Moms' Night Out is an absolutely hilarious comedy that some family members and I were privileged enough to get to see a sneak preview of back in March. The film synopsis from the official website says:

All Allyson and her friends want is a peaceful, grown-up evening of dinner and conversation . . . a long-needed moms' night out. But in order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation and food not served in a paper bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for three hours—what could go wrong? MOMS' NIGHT OUT is an endearing true-to-life family comedy that celebrates the beautiful mess called parenting.

The movie has a star-studded cast of recognizable faces: Sarah Drew from Gray's Anatomy plays the lead character Allyson, a germaphobe, clean freak and mommy blogger who is at her wit's end as the mother of three young children and an oft-traveling husband; Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond fame plays the pastor's wife who does her best to maintain a cool appearance despite her harried life of raising a teenage daughter; Sean Astin, best known for his roles as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (who doesn't love those cute hobbits?) and Mikey in Goonies plays Allyson's very likeable husband; and country music singer/recording artist and occasional actor Trace Adkins fills out the last main role as the very important biker tattoo artist. However many of the supporting actors are not no-name actors either. Harry Shum Jr. from FOX's Glee has a fairly significant role which is technically pivotal to the entire plot of the film. Fans of Christian-based films like Fireproof and Courageous will recognize the faces of Alex Kendrick and Robert Amaya. Though you WON'T recognize him, Jason Burkey of October Baby fame has a really funny part - I challenge you to figure out and tell me which character he plays. I even realized last week that Abbie Cobb, who plays Sean's younger sister in Moms' Night Out, also stars in a few films of Francis Chan's BASIC.video series.

I can't begin to describe how much roaring laughter took place in our very crowded theater during the screening. Despite the audience's verbal acclaim of the film, there was this little bubbling laughter within me throughout the first half of the movie that kept saying, "Yes! That does really happen!" and asking, "I'm not the only one that does that!?" The first of my favorite scenes was when Allyson was hiding in the closet - my husband turned and looked at me to laugh when that happened... not that I would ever do that... ever... especially not with candy... um. Another scene I could completely relate to is when Allyson attended a book club but states with her wry voice-over something along the lines of "Since I have kids, I don't actually have time to read books, but I aspire to read books some day. Coming to book club however makes me feel smart." I'm sure I butchered that quote, but nonetheless - my growing personal collection of to-read and started-but-never-finished books attests that I can completely relate to that statement.

I myself actually hate spoilers and tend to think that most movie trailers (including this one) give away far too many of the funny jokes (because I have an uncanny ability to either remember the trailer while watching the movie or use that to predict what's going to happen next). Therefore, I'm not going to embed the actual trailer here and will tell you to just trust me and go see it without watching the trailer first. However if you aren't the trusting type, I will share a few links with you below.

1. Clip of Patricia Heaton and Sarah Drew on ABC's The View talking about the film.
2. Fandango has a great article entailing 5 Reasons Moms Must See 'Moms' Night Out.'
3. The Moms' Night Out Facebook page has dozens of video clips.

And finally, hear from other moms who have also seen the film have to say about it:

Post by Moms' Night Out.

While the movie contains characters who are Christian, there is really nothing "preachy" about its message. The most touching scenes come from the least likely characters and will have you laughing or crying - if not both together. The film's main purpose is to inspire, encourage, and refresh stressed-out, overworked, and exhausted moms who just need a break [from the chicken nuggets and laundry] once in a while. Which is pretty much every mom.

My main takeaway on this film is that it is a hilarious, clean (no cursing), FAMILY-FRIENDLY film that your whole family can enjoy. Although taking young children along seems pretty antithetical to the title of the movie, it's rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action, and there's really nothing I can think of in it that I wouldn't let my kindergartener see. (I'm fairly strict on what she watches). However it's the MOMS that are going to get the biggest giggles from this film. In the vein of the classic Adventures in Babysitting, Moms' Night Out will not disappoint!

Our Crazy Night

Thank you to those of you who left messages of support on my Facebook page on Sunday night and Monday. For those who would like to hear the full story of our crazy night, here’s the complete picture of what happened:

On Sunday night, the kids and I were on our way home from a fun birthday party at a big park about 20 minutes away from home. Much akin to my iPhone’s battery, my car’s gas needle was pretty much on E, so I stopped at a gas station. Since I have an iPhone 5 with the new “lightning” connector, we don’t have a car adapter. However, even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because apparently a fuse is blown or something in our RAV4 and none of our AC adapters seem to be working. Another thing to add to the never ending fix-on-the-vehicles list!

It was nearly bedtime for the kids, so S. was already on edge wanting to eat since he had slept through dinner at the party. I went to pump gas and my credit card was rejected, twice. I found that odd, so I called my husband who said he had already purchased gas twice earlier that day, for both the car and the lawnmower. He told me to call the credit card company and ask them to reactivate the card to allow me to buy more gas, so I did. However, the representative on the phone said he couldn’t see the denied charges for my card at the gas station and asked me to try a different gas pump. While I was talking with him, R. had unbuckled from her car seat and was swinging back and forth between the two front seats by holding onto the vertical headrest bars. I asked her to stop, but like many 5 year olds, she of course didn’t … until she slipped and landed with her head underneath the back bench seat, bonking her head LOUDLY on the floor’s metal runner which the seats slide back and forth upon. Immediately she broke into tears, rubbing her head, and joining into the loud chorus of cries already coming from S. who was by then STARVING and was not going to let me forget it! I was still on the phone with the credit card guy, so I tried to console R. and asked her to buckle back into her car seat so that we could drive over to a different gas pump. She obeyed immediately this time and seemed to better understand why I had asked her to stop swinging between the seats in the first place. I tried my car 3 more times at the new gas pump, but the credit card guy still couldn’t see the attempted transactions, so he decided that it was a problem with the gas station itself. This left me with a predicament since I only had pocket change in cash on me leftover from the previous day’s yard sale shopping, and I didn’t want to chance driving home on fumes. However, I didn’t have much time to worry about this because as soon as I stepped back to the front of the car, R. cried out, “Mommy, I threw up all over my car seat!!!” Uh oh. I immediately asked the credit card guy who was still on the phone, “What does it mean when you hit your head and then throw up? Is that a concussion?” “Um, yeah, it could be,” he answered. “I gotta go! My phone battery’s almost dead!” I said and quickly hung up.

No gas. No working credit card or cash with which to get gas. 6% battery left on my iPhone. 12.5 miles from home. Two very upset kids in the backseat, one horrified that she has a puddle of vomit in her lap and dripping from her hands and the other screaming his lungs out because it’s nearly bedtime and I’m actually raising him on somewhat of a schedule.

I immediately dialed my husband to bring him up to speed on what was happening and it went to voicemail. Again. And again. And again. … He was vacuuming out his car in the garage and couldn’t hear the phone ringing. FINALLY he picked up the phone and I talked as fast as I could to give him the full scoop. We decided that I should call the $10-per-call after-hours hotline for our pediatrician’s office. Down to 5% battery now.

I quickly explained to the nurse hotline what was going on. She asked me how R. was feeling and to feel around R’s head for any large bumps. While we were on the phone though, R. threw up 2-3 more times. That sealed the deal... the nurse said she’d contact the on-call doc. right away and have them call me back.

In the meantime, I found a banana in my bag and started feeding it to S. still strapped into his carseat while we waited for our Knight-in-a-blue-Jetta to show up and rescue us from our penniless, gasless, dead-battery situation. 1% battery. Once my husband arrived about 9 pm, he handed me a $20 bill and sent me inside to pay for gas. While I finished pumping, he handed me his phone with the nurse/doctor calling us back (guess my phone had finally died) and he took R. over to the dark corner of the parking lot toward the pay vacuums. The doctor was asking me all of the same questions, how’s she feeling/acting, how many times did she throw up, etc. when I started laughing... my husband was spraying R. down with a garden hose attached to the back of the convenience store, clothes and all! It was rather hard to concentrate on the phone while watching them, as my daughter thought it was hilarious. She didn’t want to take off her dress for modesty reasons, so he had her hide behind a large towering stack of crates and then gave her his men’s size Large Adidas shirt which wore like another dress on her. (Thankfully she was wearing shorts under her dress that day!) By this point, the doctor was recommending that we go ahead and take her to the emergency room and we were debating over the pros and cons of the closest one vs. the area’s premier “children’s” ER. Despite the warm temperature outside, my hubby was now pulling all kinds of blankets out of the car for shivering R., huddled on a cement slab in the dark corner behind the gas station store.
 

By this time it was 9:45 pm, 90 minutes after the initial incident first happened. I convinced them to pile back in the car and off we headed to the far-away child-friendly ER for her own emotional security’s sake and also because they specialize in child-sized procedures and pediatric docs there. My husband had brought my iPhone charger and plugged it into the Jetta’s AC adapter during our garden hose escapades, but because VW outlets don’t stay on when the car is turned off, it didn’t charge at all. So we traded phones for him to keep the dead phone charging in his car, but it was SO dead that it wouldn’t even turn on again yet. So when he ripped out of the parking lot without waiting for me to follow, I wondered if he knew how to get there... apparently not as well as me, since I beat them there by a good 10 minutes. Luckily they did show up though and he carried wet R. in without her wearing any shoes. After putting our name on the list, we got another phone call as we were sitting down. I sent hubby back out to get her shoes and he brought them in saying, “But they are covered in vomit...” to which I replied, “Well obviously she can’t wear them then... take them back out.” Little did I know that that was the last we’d see of my husband for a good 30 minutes or so. We wondered if he could really be parking the car for that long, but since my iPhone was still dead, he couldn’t answer when I called. By this time, R. was completely back to her normal hyper self and at least 3 different times I had to ask her to stop climbing across chairs in the waiting room since that was what got us here in the first place!

R. watched the last 10 minutes of Toy Story 3 on a waiting room TV but soon a bunch of late-night Disney and Nick sitcoms came on. After all, it was 10 pm by this point! R. politely informed the check-in desk, “Excuse me. These are grown-up shows on the TVs and I don’t watch grown-up shows. Do you have any PBS Kids?” Ahh, I’ve trained her well to think that dumb tweenage sitcoms are not worth watching. ;-) They told her when she got to go back to a private room, she’d have her own TV to control there. I think that’s when she suddenly decided, this hospital stuff is pretty cool!

We convinced the check-in desk to at least find her a pair of kids gripper hospital socks when I cringed at having to go into the bathroom barefoot. Finally they called our name for the admissions desk and while we were filing the paperwork to get admitted, my hubby suddenly showed back up - with a Walmart bag containing dry underwear and new pants for R., a new plaid shirt for himself (since he had been wearing nothing but his undershirt this whole time), and of course a large 24 oz. Diet Coke for himself. :-) Apparently he just got in the car and drove until he found a Walmart (never too far away) and then shopped the Clearance rack.

Skip ahead, a few more hours of waiting, we saw the triage nurse, discovered a playroom without TVs full of books and toddler toys (much better!), and then FINALLY she got called back into her private room. By this point it was midnight though and there is NO kids television programming on Sunday nights after midnight!! haha, oh well. The Physician's Assistant checked her out, gave us some tips to watch for, and diagnosed her with a mild concussion. Luckily for her, us, and our wallet, they decided not to do a CT scan on her head because the radiation wasn’t worth it since she was no longer displaying any symptoms by this point. However the final criteria she had to pass was: eating a popsicle. Seriously! They gave her a purple popsicle to eat and if she kept it down, which she did, we were free to go. So I found a Charlie Chaplin silent movie on TV (seemed fairly safe) and R. decided to turn off all of the lights in her room while she finished her licking. My crazy kids were both still awake at this point, but I finally managed to feed S. and get him back to sleep in the carseat since he had only napped earlier at the gas station. It was 1:15 am in the morning when we finally were allowed to leave and start the 45 minute trip home.

So that pretty much sums up our crazy Sunday night adventure. I spent the following two afternoons dismantling and cleaning her carseat and then cleaning the car for 2 hours. Lessons learned: Carry cash. Charge your phone. Don’t drive until “E” on the gas needle. :)

October Baby... premiering in March

About a month and a half ago, my husband and I attended a pre-screening of a new movie called October Baby.  Despite the title, the movie has a limited release date of Friday, March 23, 2012 (today!) in around 300 theaters nationwide.  If you don't read anything else I write here, skip to the last paragraph below to read why the number of theaters is significant and what you need to do to help!

Being a media-focused individual, I have an uncanny knack for watching a movie trailer and figuring out plot details that I'd rather not know because they ruin the suspense or surprises in the film for me.  Therefore I allowed my busy schedule to prevail and I avoided taking the opportunity to read up on or watch much of anything about this film before our screening... and I was SO glad I did!  I knew the gist of the film was something to do with abortion, so honestly I expected that this would be a fairly cut-and-dry "choose life or not?" struggle for a young female in the plot line.  However, I couldn't have been more wrong!  This isn't another incarnation of the movie Bella but rather a completely unique storyline that I had not imagined before.  I will say that going into the screening without reading any reviews or seeing the trailer greatly impacted my enjoyment of the story for the better.  There were plenty of plot twists and turns that continued to surprise me which was nice that it wasn't as predictable as I had feared.  (So read into that as you may... if you want to be totally trusting of my review, don't watch the trailer and just go see the film this weekend!!)

The premise of October Baby is the story of 19-year-old Hannah who sets out on a Spring Break road trip with some friends to discover the missing keys about who she is and where she came from.  Her adorably sweet lifelong best-guy-friend (seriously, I want to find a guy this awesome for MY daughter!) and his girlfriend are among the humorous menagerie of college kids who pile into a classic Volkswagen Bus and head across the country.  

One of my favorite surprises as the credits flashed during the opening of the film was to see the name of Chris Sligh.  For those who aren't familiar with him, Chris was a contestant on Season 6 of American Idol (2007), finishing in 10th place but not before clashing during a few bold verbal exchanges with AI judge Simon Cowell.  That was the first year that we had ever watched AI. Chris was my husband's immediate favorite contestant and one of my top 2 (gotta love Melinda Doolittle as well!) so we followed him and his "self-deprecating humor" all the way to the Top 10.  I include this tidbit of information about him because Chris plays a very "humorous misfit chaperone" in October Baby and there is a comment that his character makes about reality TV shows which I found quite hilarious... but it requires knowing who Chris is for one to find it funny! The rest of the cast is dotted with well-known actors as well, including John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard, Smallville) who plays Hannah's father, and Jasmine Guy ("Whitney" on The Cosby Show spinoff, A Different World) who appears in a very pivotal scene of the movie.

We found the story to be gripping and emotional, yet filled with hilarious laugh-out-loud moments too.  I think this will be one of my favorite films of 2011 for sure as well as many years to come.  On a personal note, I must say that being specifically 24 weeks pregnant myself when I first saw it added a special touch of emotion for me.  The PG-13 rating stems from the maturity needed to process the senstive issues which are dealt with in the film, not from the more common reasons such as sex, drug use, bad language, etc.  Speaking as a parent, this is a film that doesn't contain anything bad for young children to see, but they just wouldn't "get it," or it might cause lots of questions that would be very hard to answer at a young age.

This weekend the most popular movie in the box office will most certainly be the Hunger Games.  As I mentioned before, October Baby has a limited release in about 300 theaters nationwide.  Hunger Games will open in more than 4,000 theaters (4,137 to be exact).  What is significant about this is that opening weekend for a movie is monumental to the box office... it's the make-it-or-break-it point as to how many more theaters want to pick it up for the following week and how many of the original theaters will continue to carry it for an additional week.  The way I see it, Hunger Games isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon... it will continue to run in theaters for many weeks or probably months.  An indie film like October Baby has a very short window of time in which to prove itself as worthy and this opening weekend is the start of that short window.  I encourage you to check the listing of theaters to see if October Baby is playing anywhere near your area this weekend, and if so, bypass the crowded theaters and head straight to support an amazing look at how Every Life is Beautiful.

http://www.octoberbabymovie.net

Meet the new Freddie Mercury...

Throughout the day yesterday, my Twitter and Facebook feed EXPLODED with links and posts about my buddy Marc Martel of the band Downhere who uploaded a video to YouTube a few days ago which went viral. And by viral, I mean more than 1.5 Million views in less than 3 days! The video he submitted is a recording of himself singing a cover of the Queen song Somebody to Love as part of the Queen Extravaganza competition. Queen drummer/songwriter/singer Roger Taylor launched the competition only a few days ago in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the band Queen and offers the opportunity for winners to tour in the Queen Extravaganza Live Tour in early 2012. Music fans worldwide have suddenly discovered what we downhere-fans have known for years: that Martel's Freddie Mercury impression and likeness are beyond stellar. However it's not just an impersonation - Marc's actual singing voice lends itself not only to Mercury, but in the early days of downhere, he was often compared to the likes of Bono of U2 and even former DC Talk member Kevin Max. (I really should dig up a copy of Downhere's cover for U2's Beautiful Day; my husband and I preferred it over the U2 version, but I know that's a bit sacrilegious to say out loud.) Marc has even ventured into singing opera in the past few years, which may seem a little farfetched for a rocker, but as one commenter stated, "This guy is the Swiss Army knife of singing!"

Though it may seem like videos go viral all the time, Marc stated in an interview with WGBL that the reporter he talked to from the Wall Street Journal on Friday said it truly isn't that common. Nonetheless, views today (Saturday) have grown to more than 1.8 Million total views, and strangely enough many fans including myself have noticed the YouTube counter seems to get "stuck" on the play count for several hours before jumping up again.

I have known the members of Downhere, Marc, Jason, Jeremy and Glenn, for about 10 years now, ever since a friend at Word Records introduced me to them and asked me to edit a promotional music video for their first album release. From the moment I first heard clips of their to-be-released debut until now, they have been my absolute favorite band. I've always told them that someday I expected them to get a big break like Christian rockers Switchfoot did in 2003 when their fourth studio album suddenly sold 2.6 Million copies after being marketed to the mainstream music industry. While this is certainly not the same story, Marc's new-found fame will certainly prove to enhance the awareness of Downhere. Over the years I have heard SO many new fans discover Downhere's music and say things such as "WHY aren't you all better known? This band has so much talent!" However, I also believe that God has used their journey to keep them grounded as the most down-to-earth set of performers that I have ever encountered. Not a concert goes by where they don't spend at least 30-45 minutes after the show in the lobby greeting every single fan who wants to meet and talk with them. This deep connection to their concert goers has established a grassroots fan base for them that has grown and sustained them as a band over a decade when many Christian performers have come and gone.

FINALLY an opportunity has arisen that will shine the spotlight on these guys who spent 9 of the past 10 years touring North America in a 15 passenger van. Media coverage by outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Huffington Post, and the CBC to name a few, has just started. Whether Marc gets a chance to perform with Queen in early 2012 or not is yet to be seen, but many fans feel it would be a travesty otherwise.

Marc's Original Audition video:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREKkAk628I)

Amazing "Mashup" video with Marc and Freddie Mercury singing simultaneously:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhkfk8EBsI

CBC interview:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV1-9TeMS4w&feature=share)

GREAT Radio Interview out of Chicago: http://twt.fm/491745

Celebrity Values article: http://celebrityvalues.com/marcmartel.html

CNN clip: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2011/09/23/ctw-han-viral-videos.cnn?hpt=hp_c2

Marc Martel Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marc-Martel/283556381655697

SOUL SURFER in Theaters Tomorrow

A few months ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to pre-screen a new movie that releases in theaters nationwide tomorrow (Friday, April 8, 2011) called "Soul Surfer." Made by Sony Pictures, it includes an all-star cast including Helen Hunt (whom I loved in Mad About You), Dennis Quaid, AnnaSophia Robb (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and American Idol's Carrie Underwood in her film debut. The movie depicts the true life story about a thirteen year old surfer from Hawaii named Bethany Hamilton who endured an unimaginable tragedy when she lost her left arm in a shark attack on Halloween day in 2003.

I remember when the event happened in real life, as Rick Bundschuh, one of the writers at interlinc (where I worked at the time), lives on the same island of Kauai. I wasn't sure how Sony would depict this story of a girl who was so well known after the tragedy for her strong Christian faith, but I have to say that I was not disappointed. The pre-screening was introduced by a marketing rep, Bob Gordon, who asked the audience before the show started, "What if Hollywood decided to make a film about a normal Christian family?... Well funny thing, Hollywood decided to make a film about a normal Christian family and this is that film."

What impressed me most about the film was that the production quality was by far the highest standard that I've ever seen in a movie that focuses so heavily on characters with a Christian faith. This was not made by a cast of all volunteers, but rather has the same production quality of any other movie playing in your local theater this weekend. However, all of that being said, while it's a film about Christian people, it does not get preachy or have any kind of underlying conversion message. It just shows how this family leans on their faith to hold them together and deals with a very tough situation. Bethany did not allow the loss of her arm to stop her in anything that she wanted to pursue in life, despite the great odds that were against her to achieve those dreams. Perhaps my favorite part of the movie was the end credits, which showed real life home movies shot by her video-enthusiastic brothers that directly paralleled with earlier scenes from the film.

Helen Hunt does a superb job as Bethany's mother, Cheri Hamilton, while Dennis Quaid played her very encouraging father, Tom Hamilton. Carrie Underwood makes her big screen debut as Bethany's youth pastor from church. I even recognized Kevin Sorbo (from the 90's show Xena, Princess Warrior) who starred as a very key family friend during this story. There is a lot more that I could say about how inspiring this film was to me, but I know it definitely will be to thousands of young girls who need a fabulous and inspiring role model to look up to in life. Read more about the real life Bethany Hamilton here on her website, and watch the trailer below. Check out http://www.soulsurferthemovie.com to read more about the movie and find it at your local theater this weekend!

 

2011 Spring/Summer Kids Consignment Sales (Raleigh-Durham area)

So it's been a while since I've compiled a list of all of the upcoming, local-to-Raleigh children's consignment sales. However many of you have been asking me about it, so I took a chance this past week to gather some updated sale dates and website links. I didn't get this blog post up in time for the big Kids Exchange sale at the NC State Fairgrounds as I had hoped; however I took plenty of photos this year to give you an idea of what will be there again next July 11-18, 2011.  Click on the photo below to see nearly 40 photos of the Kids Exchange.

If you haven't already read my previous posts on consignment sales, please do so to get the full scoop of how wonderful they can be for a parent's wallet! But first, before I get to the list of sales, I've got some photos from the Twice as Nice kids consignment sale that is going on THIS WEEKEND (public shopping starts Friday morning at 10 am; half-price shopping starts Sat. at 11 am). This is the sale where I sell all of my items, so I highly encourage you to go check it out! (Hint, hint!!)

Click on any of the photos above to see the full-size version or click here to see all 60 images from the Twice as Nice sale.

I have photos from many (most) other sales I've attended in the past, and if I can go back and find them all, I'd like to come back soon and edit this post to add a picture to each sale listing below to give you a better idea of what each sale looks like. In the meantime, here is the list of upcoming Raleigh-area 2011 Spring/Summer kids consignment sales. As always, if I've missed your sale, please add the details in the comments section below.

SALE NAME & DETAILS
Kids Exchange
January 19 - 23, 2011 (Public sale days: Fri-Sun)
Fall/Winter Sale: July 11-18, 2011 NC State Fairgrounds
Jim Graham Building & Expo Building
http://www.KidsExchange.net
Notes: With 2500+ consignors, this is the largest sale in the region, covering two buildings/123,000 sq. ft!
Twice as Nice Kids Consignment Sale
February 3-5, 2011 (Thu-Sat)
Hope Chapel
6175 Old Jenks Rd / Apex, NC 27523
http://www.twiceasnice4tots.com/
Notes: This is the sale where I sell all of my items. Come buy my stuff! ;-) {Happening this weekend!}
The Monkey Exchange
February 10-11 (Thu-Fri)
North Hills Club Ballroom
4824 Yadkin Drive / Raleigh, NC  27612
http://www.themonkeyexchange.com
Notes: upscale and boutique children's clothing and accessories. FREE babysitting across the hall on Thursday, Feb. 10 from 9am - 12noon
First UMC Cary Spring/Summer Sale
February 18-19, 2011 (Fri night/Sat morning) *Added 2nd day!
First United Methodist Church, Cary
117 S. Academy Street / Cary, NC 27511
http://www.consignwithfumc.com/
Kids Everywear
February 19-28, 2011
Morrisville Outlet Mall
1001 Airport Blvd / Morrisville, NC 27560-8935
http://www.kidseverywear.com
Notes: Voted Raleigh's Best Consignment Sale in 2010 by ConsignmentMommies.com. Also has early shopping days for Pregnant & New Moms (must pre-register). Has maternity, Juniors and Ladies clothing, as well as "Home" furnishings section as well.
The Friendship Closet Consignment Sale
February 25-26, 2011 (Fri-Sat)
Apex United Methodist Church
100 S. Hughes Street / Apex, NC 27502
http://www.friendshipcloset.com/dates-location
Notes: Accepts/sells maternity clothing. Digital barcode tagging for consignors
Just 4 Kids Consignment Sale
March 1-3, 2011 (Tue-Thurs)
Life Spring Community Church
501 Wake Chapel Road / Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526
http://www.just4kidsnc.com
Notes: Digital barcode tagging for consignors
WINGS Consignment Sale
March 5, 2011 (Sat)
Holland's United Methodist Church
9433 Ten-Ten Road / Raleigh, NC  27603
http://www.wingsconsignment.com
Chapel Hill/Durham Mothers of Multiples Sale
March 5, 2011 (Sat)
Yates Baptist Church (new location)
2519 Chapel Hill Road / Durham, NC  27707
http://consignmentmommies.com/CustomContentRetrieve.aspx?ID=2980069
Upscale Resale
March 10-12, 2011 (Thu-Sat)
Cary Masonic Lodge
1142 SE Maynard Road / Cary, NC
http://www.UpscaleResale4Kids.com
Note: Trunk Show, Boutique & higher-end consignment sale clothes up to tween sizes. Digital Barcode Tagging for Consignors.
Divine Consign Show - Raleigh
March 14-17, 2011 (Mon-Thurs)
Location: TBA
http://www.dcskids.com
Notes: Exclusive Trunk Show & Boutique Overstock and Consignment Sales; Also has a Grandparent Preview Show & New Mom Shopping (must pre-register)
Church Kidz Stuff
March 17-19, 2011 (Thu-Sat)
Hayes Barton Baptist Church
1800 Glenwood Avenue / Raleigh, NC 27608
http://www.hbbc.net/Ministries/ChildrensMinistry/ChildrensConsignmentSale/tabid/5922/language/en-US/Default.aspx
Notes: Digital Barcode Tagging for Consignors
KidCycle Sale
March 18-20, 2011 (Fri-Sun)
University Mall, Chapel Hill (former Kerr Drugs)
201 S. Estes Drive / Chapel Hill, NC 27514
http://www.kidcyclenc.com
Nearly New Clothing Exchange
Tentative: March 12-22, 2011  (Fri-Sun)
Location TBA
http://www.nearlynewclothingexchange.com
TMOTT Sale (Triangle Mothers of Twins & Triplets)
March 26, 2011 (Sat)
N.C. State Fairgrounds / Raleigh
Kerr Scott Building
http://www.tmott.org/sale.htm
Kidaround Kidsale
March 25-27, 2011 (Fri-Sun)
The Factory in Wake Forest (MVP Factory Sports indoor basketball court)
1839 US 1-A South Main St. / Wake Forest NC
http://www.kidaroundkidsale.com/
NEXT 2 NEW 4 KIDS
April 6 - April 10, 2011 (Wed-Sun)
Cleveland Gymnasium
8994 Cleveland Road / Clayton NC 27520
http://www.next2new4kids.com
Second Blessings Consignment Sale
TBA (Fri-Sat)
Greenwood Forest Baptist Church
110 SE Maynard Rd. / Cary, NC 27511
http://www.gfbccary.org/consignment/

***Chatham Kids Consignment (Chapel Hill/Pittsboro) asked me to let you know that they have closed up shop and will not be hosting a sale this year.

If you don't live in the Raleigh area, be sure to visit http://consignmentmommies.com for a VERY comprehensive listing of children's consignment sales all over the United States!