So Very Thankful

June 12th was a great day. I had fun with the kids as we prepared for Father's Day. We are making the TShirt with handprints (his last one has 2 handprints and we have 3 kids!! Time for a new TShirt for Daddy!) Then in the afternoon we headed to the Treehouse. When we arrived we had visitors in our store, a Mom and 2 young boys.

I said hi to the boys and asked their names. The older boys said "Aiden". WOW!! I said "that's Aidan too!!" pointing to my daughter. Then we realized they were both 6 years old!! It's quite amazing. I thought I picked such unique names. Then I asked what school Aiden goes to. Mom said he was homeschooled. "Cool!" I said. I wish I had the patience to homeschool! Then she explained that he was homeschooled because he has health issues that make going to a school full of children difficult.

At 8 months of age Aiden had a liver transplant. In his short 6 years of life Aiden has been through the health wringer. You wouldn't know it looking at them all! Mom had a big smile, Aiden was a beautiful boy full of lots of energy and little brother Mason was the cutest 2 year old.

As the kids played I had the pleasure of talking with Mom. She told me how blessed she was! With all the hospital trips (usually to different states!), with all the stress, with all the worry she felt blessed. Aiden is here.

Our conversation reminded me how I sometimes take it all for granted. When Jonah isn't focusing. When Madison unrolls the new roll of toilet paper. When Aidan wakes us up at 1am because of the bug in her room. It's easy to get so frustrated. But in the end we forget what kind of miracle it took for them to be created. The miracle of the birth of every child. And the miracles it takes for them to be alive every day.

BABY SALE Due April 19th

We are planning our very first sale! It will be a baby sale! Perfect for all the new Moms, new again Moms and soon to be Moms out there.

• 25% off infant clothing 0 - 12 months
• 25% off infant toys
• 25% off baby gear! Including strollers, swings, bouncy seats and more!
• Onesies HALF OFF!

It's going to be a great sale and a great time to stock up for baby! We have many many clothes, great child proofing items, blankets, bibs, bottle warmers, boppy pillows and so much more. If you have never been to Ollie's Treehouse before this is definitely the day to check it out. We have wonderful gift items too! The big sale is Saturday April 19th during regular business hours. 9 am - 4 pm. See you then!

Don't be afraid

Back when we were considering starting a children's shop I made trips to all the local stores to see what they did, how they did it, and to of course buy items for my 3 cuties. One of the shops was called Button Bottoms. The whole family went. The owner was there with her son and daughter and all of our kids played like they were old friends.

I only went that one time. They are pretty far from our home and we have been pretty busy building Ollie's Treehouse. Then last week Mom received a call. It was Button Bottoms saying that they decided to close and if we were interested in buying items. So I went out to meet with the owner. She is just the sweetest. We talked forever! And it was so great because she knew EXACTLY what I was going through and how I was feeling. Only she had the wisdom of time on her side and she was able to give wonderful advice.

And I wonder why I did not talk to her sooner. Our shops are on opposite sides of town. And even if we were closer maybe we could have helped each other? Maybe we could have put both our ideas together to make even better stores. I should have stopped in a long time ago.

I guess it just goes to show that you should never be afraid to stop in and say "hi" to local business and even other local stores. Worst that can happen is they say they are not interested. And you shouldn't be afraid to stop in our store and say hi!

No matter who you are or where you are from you are always welcome at Ollie's Treehouse!

Ollie is in the HOUSE!

Oliver, one of the namesakes of Ollie's Treehouse, is HERE!!! Oliver lives in Wisconsin and today he flew on a plane with his Mom and Dad (my brother, Sandi's son). We are so very happy they are here. Oliver is SO BIG! I haven't seen him since November and when they are so young they change so much. He is a sweetheart! He had lots of smiles for his Auntie Trish. Unfortunately my Madison screamed when she saw Uncle PJ. But she was tired. She will have lots of smiles for him tomorrow.

And tomorrow is Oliver's very FIRST Birthday!! What a treat that he is spending this very special day with us.

I must have seen 3 butterflies today. I heard once that if you see a butterfly that means you are on the right path. I couldn't feel more blessed.

There was a line!!

I just had to write about our Saturday. It was great! We had a line! It was our best day since our Grand Opening. My Mom had to get home to get ready for my brother PJ, his wife Kelly, and sweet little Oliver to visit. And when she left there were people waiting in line!! She couldn't believe it! I also had the pleasure of telling her we had another line at the end of the day.

People are starting to return to our store and it is such a pleasure. Mom and I have worked so hard over the past 3 months. We took a huge leap of faith. We love our store, but to have people come in and love it as much as we do...it's just reassuring that we are following a path we are meant to be on.

PJ arrives tomorrow. We can't wait for him to see the store! He and Kelly have been such HUGE supporters and we can't wait to share all of this with them.

So it's another great start to a great week at the Treehouse.

My First Blog!

Welcome to the Ollie's Treehouse "Adventures in Resale" blog. Ollie's Treehouse is a children's resale shoppe in Saint Petersburg, Florida. We opened our doors Saturday February 16th, 2008. We are coming up on our 1 month anniversary!! I can hardly believe it.

So here's the background. Ollie's Treehouse was started by my Mom Sandi and myself. My name is Tricia. Mom found herself in a situation where she needed to find a new job. She definitely has the entrepreneurial spirit! She had a business back in the 90s and she thought if she needed to change jobs she may as well change careers also. So she suggested we start a children's resale shoppe.

Being a Mom of 3 I loved the idea! Before having kids of my own I worked in Child Care. So my life has always revolved around children. The idea of the children's resale shoppe seemed like a dream. I also had been selling children's items on Ebay since my son was very little (he is now almost 10!) So a resale shoppe seemed to be a natural extension of what I love to do. The store is also great for my Mom because she is such a wonderful Grammy, and now she gets to spoil more than just her grandkids!

Mom and I had a similar vision. A store that felt more like a boutique then a consignment shop. We wanted to offer high quality, but we wanted affordable prices. We wanted a store where people come to us knowing that they are getting a like new item. A place where everyone feels welcome! I think we certainly have accomplished that so far!

We have been open almost a month! Hard to believe. It's like having a baby! You think you will never go into labor. Right before the baby comes everything is super intense. Then the baby is born and you blink and your baby is a month old! Every day gets better and better. More and more people come to the store and we are already seeing repeat customers. I love meeting the kids. It always amazes me that every single child you meet can be so cute! So different! So sweet! And so much fun!

So that's it! Ollie's Treehouse first post. I look forward to posting about our adventure! I hope you enjoy reading!