No Plastic Toys!

You know what is one of my pet peeves? Seeing brightly colored plastic toys strewn all over people's living rooms. Primary colored, hard-a**, easily breakable, unoriginal toys in every room in a house. I really hate that. The thought of my peaceful home-- which is just coming together and becoming the decluttered, feng shui space I have been dreaming of my whole life --suddenly being littered with the latest D!sney paraphernalia and battery operated toys that play the same song over and over again and other assorted plastic junk was not making me happy. 'Just wait until you have a child,' I've been told, 'You won't have a choice.'

Well, I beg to differ. To be fair, I thought they were right even though I hated to admit that. And before I realized a way out of this, I admit a lot of time was spent trying to think of a way to house them so I wouldn't have to see these eyesores on a daily basis. I researched wooden toy boxes, bins, hanging nets and baskets. I also spent hours trying to figure out which room would be best for a playroom where I could just shut the door and pretend they didn't exist.

But then it hit me! Just don't buy any! What a wonderful solution! I mean, seriously, I don't have to have toys in my house that are going to drive me crazy when there are so many that won't. I wouldn't mind a dollhouse and stuffed animals and musical instruments and wooden puzzles in my living room. That sounds charming actually. Kind of like the olden days. Downright quaint. I love it! And these types of toys, along with art supplies, sensory play activities, cooking, playing outside and reading lots and lots of books will help develop her creativity and imagination.

I suppose as she gets a little older and gets influenced by her friends and advertising she may ask for a specific toy she has seen on TV and that will be ok. I remember begging my parents for Barb!e dolls but my mom didn't think she was a good role model with her overly sexy body and clothes so Barb!e never appeared in my house. I got Raggedy Anne. Now don't get me wrong, I loved Raggedy Anne (renamed her Caroline) and I carried her everywhere but I do remember being disappointed at never receiving a Barb!e. I also remember playing at a friend's house when I was in the 5th or 6th grade and discovering she had about 20 Barb!ies (and the townhouse and sports car!) shoved in the corner of her bedroom. She clearly hadn't played with them in a while but I dying to play with them so we did and I was as happy as a clam.

I think my mom was on to something and I understand what she was trying to do... and she probably didn't want to see all the junk either! But I also know that gifts are to bring joy so I think the solution is you can ask for one thing you want. I can deal with one ugly plastic toy or one overly marketed D!isney toy in my house if that's what she really wants and I can supplement it with a bunch of other good quality, imaginative toys that will last years and years.

The other day I was at the thrift store and came across this!


$15. Looks brand new... even has the $85 price tag still attached. Not only would I not mind this in my living room but man, how cute would this look under the Xmas tree? She won't be home for Christmas this year (and I don't have a tree) so maybe I should save it for next year. What do you guys think about toys and marketing and excess? Am I being too controlling?

Car Seat!

OK, this feels weird! I have a car seat installed in the back of my car! Tami told me about a workshop where if we attended both sessions (one on child safety and one on car seat installation) we could get a free car seat. We both signed up and today was the car seat installation day! How nice is that? Free! They also gave away smoke detectors and fire extinguishers! Here are some pictures from the day:



getting instructions from the policeman



tightening the straps


Ouch! Car seat installation is hazardous! I got a booboo!

It's in! I look a little freaked out in this photo.

Wow, a car seat. I wonder how it's going to impact my cougar ways! LOL

Lilly Pulitzer

... for $3.75.
Yup.

Mom's Visit

I convinced my mom to come visit me so we could have some one on one time - a girls weekend! She arrived Saturday morning and stayed until Monday night. When I first picked her up from the airport, on a whim we drove to find the house where she spent her childhood summers and the house where her father used to visit as a child. We were able to find the streets though the houses were no longer there. It was great for her to be able to see those places as an adult and I enjoyed doing that with her. What else did we do? Well, we went to a huge flea market. It was blazing hot--about 94 degrees. We walked around but didn't buy anything except these amazing authentic tacos. My mom was such a trooper! What else? Oh, we got our nails done, ate out--a lot, saw Julie & Julia (loved it!), went to the National Cathedral for Sunday service and talked and laughed a lot. I also had a lot of fun taking her to the thrift stores and boy did she get into it! No surprise there really as she is the queen of consignment shops and sales-- must be where I got it from! She bought me so many nice things for my daughter!! So sweet! It was fun. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Thanks for coming to visit me, Mom! I enjoyed hosting you! Sure wished we lived closer!

Clothes Contest - update

Well, my first contest was fun! I got 7 comments and out of those seven no one guessed the exact number of dollars I spent on that huge pile of clothes. Maybe I wasn't being fair cause it was kind of a trick question... I spent $0 ~ someone gave them all to me for free! I went on Freecycle and asked if anyone had girl clothes up to size 2T and someone wrote me back saying she has twin girls and tons of clothes to give away. So I drove to her house and met her and her daughters; then she dragged this ginormous suitcase down the steps, unzipped it, and let me take whatever I wanted! It was amazing! I didn't pay a dime (well, except for the gas to get there) and she said we should keep in touch cause her twins will keep on growing! Since I don't have any nursery furniture yet, I hung up all the dresses in my closet and gosh if they don't look so darn cute hanging there.

Truth is, though, I need to stop buying clothes. I'm glad I've gotten some free stuff --or at least haven't paid too much money for clothes yet-- because I have no idea what age/size she will be at referral. For all I know I will get a referral of a toddler and most of these clothes will be too small! So, no more buying clothes for the rest of the summer. I am going to sit tight and wait to find out who she is first.

So Shawn, you didn't guess exactly correct but you were the closest to $0 with your guess of $10. If the blogging community doesn't mind, I will send her the gift or better yet meet her and bring it with me because she lives in my area. Congratulations to everyone for playing!

Clothes Contest

Look at all the great clothes I got for my baby girl!

5 dresses
2 pairs of shorts, 2 skirts

5 pairs of pants

3 pairs of overalls

5 outfits

3 pairs of shoes, a bathing suit, a hat

5 onsies/one piece outfits (including cute leotard/tutu combo!)

5 tops

7 jackets/sweaters

5 more dresses

and a snowsuit!


Now, guess how much I paid! First correct guess (of the exact amount) will get a surprise from me in the mail. It won't be big or expensive--I'm fundraising over here. This is just for fun! Just tell me if you want something crafty (I'm into scrapbooking so you know), something from my African travels or something baby/kid-related when you leave your comment. Don't forget your email address so I can contact you if you win. Contest ends at July 19, 2009 at 11:59pm.

Good luck!

Another Weekend

...which meant more shopping! My sister was in town and first thing Saturday morning we hit a church rummage sale to look for clothes. Success! Look at these cute items!

Here are some of the items I bought:

and here the things my sister bought for her soon-to-arrive niece. Thanks, Susan! :-)

This is only a fraction of my purchases! Here's the full list:

- a jacket
- a sweater
- a fleece
- 2 jumpers
- 4 shirts
- 1 onesie (onesy?)
- 4 pairs of pants
- a pair of tights
- a tennis dress (in size 4.. it was too cute to pass up and she will be taking tennis lessons!)
- 10 books . . . and . . .
- an easel!

Can I tell you how much I love this $3 easel?! Yeah, OK, I know. She can't stand and paint here for years but I can take it to my classroom in the interim or I can use it!


So guess how much I paid for my purchases??

$20.

Now that's a 'bahgain'!

Loads of Cuteness

Yesterday I went to meet the cast of the movie.
That was surreal.

I was reminded how I can't overeat like I did on my Friday night date. We went to Lauriol Plaza. It was packed! We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table so we drank sangria while we waited. After ordering we had to wait another 45 minutes for our food where I ate almost a whole basket of chips and salsa. I ordered this amazing salmon dish with shrimp in cream sauce. It also came with black beans, rice and a few decorative veggies. OMG, delicious. Well, let's just say I am over my points allowance for the week and I don't get weighed in until Tuesday! I am so nervous that I have gained weight! Not good. Especially when I have to be on camera on July 25th. Not to mention I am paying for Weight Watchers!!!
Not cute.

Anyhoo~after meeting the (very slim and very young) cast, I stopped to get some gas. Look what I saw at the gas station! So cute! I was glad I had my camera.

As I was heading home I passed a discount furniture store nearby so I went inside. I saw a great red couch! It was on sale. I got the measurements. I need a couch so I can have company. Right now all I have is a loveseat. The red couch does not a pull out but at least I can stretch out on it and give my parents my bed when they visit. I'm thinking about it..

On my way back to the car I noticed there was a thrift shop in that same strip mall. I decided to take a look inside. It was huge! And look what I found in there? Are these not the cutest????

What is this doing in my living room?














I've been waiting for months for the weather to warm up so I could hit some yard sales. I haven't bought much for the baby yet - so far only a T-shirt and some baby legs both ordered on line about a year ago and a dress and some twine animals when I was in Ethiopia last year... but that's it. I have quite a bit to get and I'm thinking with a referral possible in the coming months I better get started! But I figure, why buy everything new? Why pay $20 for an outfit you can get it for a dollar? I am all about saving money, especially when there are so many other things where you have no choice but pay to full price -- day care, diapers, food, etc.

So, I went to a garage sale this weekend specifically to look for baby items. Baby items! Me! It was weird, really. I've been in the process for so long doing all the boring stuff (home study, fingerprinting, blah, blah, blah) that it was kind of strange-- but quite fun-- to get some clothes and toys!

The first thing I got was the Exersaucer above. It looks brand new and what a deal. They retail for around 60 bucks and I got it for $20! I also got some sleep sacks. This really cute one was $5.





















The woman selling it said it was by some European company and quite expensive brand new. When I got home I googled it. It's made by The Gro Company in the UK and they retail for £24! Yikes! She wasn't kidding! I also bought some really cute clothes. Not knowing what size she'll be when I pick her up, I am buying a range from 6-18 months. If they are big she can grow into them and at these prices, why not? Here are a few of the things I purchased, most $1 or less.
It's starting to look like there's actually going to be a baby around here! (click to enlarge)