When my daughter turned four, my friend Tessa purchased and decorated an old trunk, then went around to all the area thrift stores and purchased small dresses and skirts, hats and shoes, and other dress up items. The result? A beautiful and well stocked dress up trunk that has served us well for the past two years.
Her thoughtfulness has lasted, not only because the items in the trunk have given us hours upon hours of fun and entertainment, but also because she taught us a precious lesson.
Do not spend twenty dollars on a Disney approved mock up dress for your child, spend twenty dollars on five size two prom dresses, and stick them in a decorative hat box or trunk.
I was reminded of this lesson today when my father ran me by the Salvation Army to look at book shelves. All of their clothes were on sale for .99 cents, and before I could blink, I found myself perusing the dress area for small gowns for Monkey to parade around in.
Soon, she will have a small, yet fun dress up trunk here at Nama’s, to play in with friends and cousins whenever we come to town. We will no longer face the travel boredom that comes with leaving all our toys behind. Instead, she will be excited to come and play in the trunk she can’t play in when she is home, as will her friends.
Thank you Tessa, for giving us a gift that has truly kept on giving.
Monthly Archives: August 2007
Vacation…?
Right. So going somewhere to hang out for a few weeks used to be the way to refresh and relax. Used to be, as in, before I had two young people to care for during the weeks of “vacation”.
The time change coupled with the break in routine completely borks my children’s circadian rhythms, they don’t ever want to go to sleep, are so tired they fight sleep like crazy, and are generally sleep deprived. (This of course leads to a generally insane behavior, at least on the part of my 6 year old, though the baby can be nuts too.)
So instead of relaxing and lazing the day away, I am eternally engaged in the struggle for master of fate with my daughter, while trying to calm a really cranky boy. The struggle with my daughter looks a lot like boundary pushing, arguing, rule flouting, whining, and losing the ability to say please and thank you. For the baby, it just means being unwilling to sleep during the day, ever, and therefore being too tired to be happy with anything, resulting in lots of crying fits.
Ack!! Headache central here I come!
I love seeing everyone, and have been pretty good at limiting the social events to a minimum, but I still have the desire to lock myself in a room and be alone for a few hours. I spend a lot of time alone at home, so it is strange to be surrounded by so many people now. Wonderful, as I get to fill my days talking to people I rarely get to see, but strange.
I think I am going to have to hide in a closet for a few days when I get back to Jersey!
Out the mouths of sassy babes….
Monkey and her Uncle monkey played three games of tic tac toe today. She won two and they tied the last. They had the following exchange after the final game;
Monkey: I don’t want to play anymore.
Uncle Monkey: Well at least you beat me twice.
Monkey: Oh, I have won more than twice.
Uncle Monkey: Really? How many games have you won?
Monkey: About ten thousand…. Now it’s ten thousand and two.
Oooohhh the sass on my girl!!
SavvySpoons 