My Friend Craig + Other Random Musings

Let me preface this blog by saying that I am not a huge fan of children's toys.  I'm not sure if it is because most of the time they are pretty obnoxious looking {and sometimes sounding} or because of the inevitable mess they will make all over our house.  Or, it could be because their life span in terms of excitement to Olivia can be all of five minutes or the fact that she has just as much fun with a sack of pinto beans as she does a $40 toy.  At any rate, I haven't bought Olivia any toys in ages.  I won't bat an eye when it comes to spending $15-20 on a new outfit, but that much on a toy?  Not doin' it.  Olivia's bookshelves are full of books and I'll still get her new ones because I know that books last a lifetime, and while the toys will probably also last a lifetime, it just won't be in our home.  Get to the point, Amanda.  Well, after watching Olivia have a ball playing with the little Fisher-Price house and figurines at Cafe Andreini, I decided she needed one of her very own.  Until, that is, I discovered how much those little suckers go for!  They are not cheap - even the used ones at the local consignment shop were going for $25.  So, I scoured craigslist and found a F-P Busy Day House along with some random figurines and animals for $15.  Now, that's my kind of bargain.

I went up this morning to pick it up and couldn't wait for Olivia's nap to get it all cleaned up.  I was amazed at what all was included in the goods.  I hadn't really done any research on the Busy Day House - I basically thought I was getting a regular plastic doll house, but this one is amazing!  The doorbell rings, the toilet flushes, the phone rings, the animals in the yard make noises and when you slide the window of the bedroom it either plays a lullaby or a rooster crows.  And, it all works!  I immediately looked it up on Amazon and found out it was priced at $75!  So crazy.  I also got a ton of other stuff as well - 16 animals, 4 vehicles, 11 figurines {including Noah (from the Ark), a baby and 3 old school Little People}, beds, chairs and baby furniture.  It's in perfect condition and only needed a little bit of cleaning up and sanitizing.  And, I'm pretty sure I just scored the Fisher-Price Circus for $3.  I love Craigslist.  {But, I am going to hate this mess!}

The best part about it is that Olivia LOVES it!  She spent most of the evening playing with it and giggled like a school girl at the doorbell ringing. {She loves doorbells!}  She saw the little baby, called him Baby Jesus and cradled him in her arms.  It was beyond adorable.

Such concentration.

Just what every house needs - a rhinoceros!

Olivia kept asking for the hat and then put the baby's bassinet on Maggie's head.

{Yes, I've learned their names.}

Look at Baby Jesus in the high chair!

I can't let this entire post be about the toys I scored off of Craigslist, so let me fill you in on a few other random things.

-- David made us a ham on Sunday night, so I'm back to figuring out what to do with 6 pounds of leftover ham.  I've already made one egg casserole and will be making a quiche or two tomorrow.  I'm guessing David will be filling every spare tupperware container with his dad's bean soup.

-- Olivia got to Skype with her Grandma and Grandpa Michelson for the first time tonight.  It's so wonderful that Olivia is able to spend time with her grandparents since they are so far away.

-- Last night was one of the best night's sleep I have had in a while -- despite being woken up at 3am by yipping coyotes who were apparently on the hillside behind our neighbors' house {across the street}.  I needed that sleep since I was up with Olivia on Sunday night until almost 4:30 in the morning.  And, you remember how my Saturday night was.  

-- It seems I am not the only one who LOVES Olive Garden salad dressing.  Olivia can't seem to get enough salad these days {and she never ate it before}.

-- Olivia got dressed up in her tutu dress this morning and we sent a gazillion picture messages to my friend Michele who is currently braving the Snowpocalypse in Chicago.  I feel bad for my midwest friends, many of whom have lost power, and vow not to complain when it takes until 10 or so for it to warm up here.  To be honest though, I am a little jealous of them right now.  I miss snuggling up in front of the fireplace, watching it snow and making soups and grilled cheese sandwiches to warm up.  

-- I went through a box of my school supplies tonight and found several apology notes from some of my kids for their bad behavior.  My favorite was from a 6th grade student who had stolen my cellphone out of my desk and blamed it on a girl saying she had him "in check" and was getting her "3rd grade revenge."  Ahhh, the things I put up with as a teacher.

-- Olivia "bonked" her head this morning and came over for me to kiss it.  She must have hurt it pretty bad because she was really crying.  She reached into my robe and put her mouth right on my you know what.  She looked up at me after about ONE second and said, "Empty!"  Yup, pretty sure they are bone.dry.

--  This is my 301st blog posting.  It's only taken me about 2 hours to put this one together.  Imagine how many hours of my life I can't get back?  Ahhh, it's worth it though!

Happy February 1 from the Central Coast!