I bought several Halloween costumes to sell this year. I didn't even look at the sizes, it didn't matter. It's more the subject matter or character that sells than the size. Even adult costumes sell well. And costumes for dogs. For some reason the dog costumes sell well all year long for me. I understand why kids costumes sell all year long. Kids like to play dress up, especially the 3-6 year olds. As far as I know, dogs do not like play dress up. But, for whatever reason, there are occasions for dogs to dress up as pigs, prisoners, or even hot dogs throughout the year. Here is one of the dog costumes I'm currently selling.

But back to the costumes I bought. It didn't occur to me to buy my little guy a costume there, partly because I hadn't really thought yet about what I want him to be for Halloween. I know I have a limited window before he's going to start choosing his own costumes so I really want to take advantage while I still can.

When I got home, I saw that the Yoda costume was my son's size. Clothing always looks better on a person or mannequin than a hanger so I figured he could be my model. But then I put him in it. Within 10 seconds I realized this costume was not going to be sold this year. Cutest. Thing. Ever. My little Yoda started wandering around his room totally unfazed by the long arms of the robe or the green 'ears' on his head. The clincher was watching him walk (or toddle) down the hall away from me happily chattering to himself all the way. All that was missing was the little nuggets of Yoda wisdom.

Luckily, to make up for not selling the Yoda costume I also found a super cute Gymboree Firefighter costume. Hopefully, that will sell and cover the cost of what I spent this year. Of course, that costume is a size 3-4 and I know a little someone who will be just that size next year...

When I tell people I sell on Ebay, the most common question I get is about how I got started. I started out selling casually. I sold a few of my own things. As I realized what people were willing to pay for things I was ready to throw away I became intrigued. I started going to tag sales, and then auctions. I bought things to resell. At this time I was teaching full time. Ebay was a hobby. It was extra money. And it was fun. I loved learning about things and finding out what sold well and what didn't. I was amazed that I could buy something for 50 cents and sell it for $25. The more I went treasure hunting and the more I sold, the more I learned. Four years later I was ready to take the plunge. I was getting married and we moved an hour and a half away from my job. I finished out the school year, and then, after 11 years of teaching I decided to 'retire' and start my new career as a full time Ebay seller.

I loved it. I couldn't ask for a better job. My hour and a half commute turned into two minutes ( four if I stopped off in the kitchen to make some coffee.) My schedule was flexible. If I needed or wanted to do something during the day I could work at night. I opened an Ebay store with 50 items in September of 2007. By December I had 500 items in my store. I was on a roll.

I became efficient. I became speedy. And then in March of 2009, I became a Mom. I was sleep deprived and exhausted. I took a 'maternity leave'. But I had an Ebay store, and the buyers kept buying. I didn't post another auction until almost June. But in that time I was still selling $100-$300 a week out of my store. It was great, but I knew I needed to get back to work. That's where the balancing came in.

I had very high expectations of how I would manage my time once I started working again. Looking back, I was out of my mind. Babies sleep. A lot. How could I NOT get a full days work in while the little guy napped? I had visions of the Pack-n-Play in my office where he would sleep peacefully while I worked. The reality? I was up every few hours to feed him at night. When he napped during the day, the LAST thing I wanted to do was work. I napped too. The idea of the Pack-n-Play in my office is laughable. If he was asleep, so was I. If he was awake, he wanted to be held. I tried using a baby carrier. Somehow he knew I didn't have all my attention on holding him and that was apparently just not acceptable. As he got a bit older and took naps in his crib I tried to work then. Some days it worked and sometimes by the time I got myself dressed and picked up the house a bit he was up. Nights became more productive. I finally figured out that the bulk of my work would have to be done then. I had to accept the fact that I just won't always be able to squeeze in some listings during the day. If I do, it's a bonus.

This is where I am now. My son is 18 months old. He's trying to transition down to one nap. His teeth, which didn't make their first appearance until 14 months have decided to all start joining the party. It's a cranky time. Many times in the last 18 months I've thought of starting a blog. About being a mom. How else would I ever remember everything? I barely have time to get dressed some days, surely I don't have time to record everything in the baby book.

And that is what was going back and forth in my head. How can I write about Ebay when this everchanging drama that is my child is so intertwined with it. I can't truly blog about Ebay without blogging about being a mom. I can't only blog about being a mom when the attempt to balance working and parenting is so prevalent every day. They're connected. Finally I realized that I don't have to choose in my life, so why should I choose in my blog? I sell on Ebay and I'm a stay-at-home mom. I don't really have to choose, I can write about both. About Ebay. And about being a mom.