Patience Pays Off

[Hound dog]

Growing up my girls had the Little Tykes doll house that was large enough for barbie dolls. I moved heaven and earth to buy it for easy child once xmas. It was a very cherish well loved toy that was well used through the years. When easy child outgrew it, it became Nichole's. When Nichole outgrew it..........well we were in the tiny house before this one and to be frank it was just in the way. I didn't really want to part with it, they are cheap by a long shot and hers still looked like new. But stupid me sold it in a yard sale. I've been kicking myself every since.

I have been searching for one used at a reasonable price since the day Aubrey was born. (I just can't bring myself to pay full price for it twice lol ) I'd find them in great condition and at a wonderful price..........halfway across country and no one would ship because the cost would be horrible. I did my utter best to locate one locally for Kayla 2 yrs ago, but failed miserably.

Still, I did not stop searching.

Aubrey is 6 yrs old this year. This is a "big" year for her because it means she is finally old enough to have a barbie. Nichole is carrying on my belief that children should be certain ages before they're allowed to have certain things 1. to make sure the thing is cared for properly and 2. to make it more special ........not to mention giving the child something to look forward to as they age up. Aubrey is all excited.

Well, as I said, Nana has never given up looking. I was watching our local "yard sale" facebook page when I spotted the house in a posting. I nearly fell out of my chair. When I saw that she was only asking 50 bucks for it when it had been an xmas present last year (so basically new) and that no one had inquired I jumped on it like a wolf on steak. Travis and I went and picked it up this afternoon.

Nichole is so excited she can't stand it. Nana is just and "elf" on this one. There is no way I could give Aubrey such a large gift here, for one thing getting it home would be a no go. So it will be a Santa gift. Nichole will give me back the 50 bucks I paid and it will be waiting under the tree for Aubrey xmas morning. Nichole had been searching for the same for a very long time, running into the same problems I had. It upset her because she'd hoped to find Aubrey one to be from santa this year. Well, now she has one. And Travis is searching ebay for the furniture they used to sell with it which was the most durable things in the world. (kicking myself for getting rid of those too) I told him to watch the price, he tends to really spoil Aubrey awful. lol

Aubrey is also just dying to have her very own American Girl doll. Nichole found her a few of the books at the 2nd hand book store and she reads her a chapter a night before bed. Aubrey told her the other night that she just didn't understand why she has to wait until she is 8 or 9 for an American Girl doll when her friend at school already has one. Nichole explained to her that it is because it is such a special doll, meant to be played with and loved but then later passed on to be loved by that child's daughter or granddaughter. (not since mattel bought them out, but this was the original concept behind the dolls)

What Aubrey doesn't know is that her Mommy came down a while back and removed her American Girl doll from storage. She took it home with her to clean up the doll (she has Josephina) and to wash the clothes and such to make it look really nice. Then she is going to wrap it up and give it to Aubrey as a special gift from Mommy. At first she will only be allowed to play with her under supervision, but as long as Nichole sees she's taking care of her......well, she'll not worry about the 8 or 9 limit. Aubrey treasures her dolls and she usually "gets" the meaning behind something like that.

Gonna be a big xmas for this little girl. Just because of patience. Meanwhile, Nana feels like she just scored the major touch down in the game.

 

[Mattsmom277]

How awesome Hound That will be one happy girly on Christmas morning. That darn Santa is going to have major leverage next year lol

 

[Star*]

That is just awesome.........MAN.......I love a good story with a happy ending. ANd a cool house.

 

[Tiapet]

Awww! I'm a svker for a happy ending myself as well. Sound like it's going to be very nice Christmas. I too make my kids wait for certain age for certain things.

 

[Calamity Jane]

You're the best!

 

[susiestar]

You are TOTALLY the best!!

There is a special kind of joy when you give a child a gift you have searched for high and low, and all over the country. It truly is a wonderful thing for both of you. It is also super special to pass on something that you treasured and kept and saved for years to your own child or grandchild. I was the kind of kid who treasured books, my entire family is that way. One of my mom's friends often gave me my favorite Christmas gifts. She gave books. One year it was a treasury of children's stories. The next was a fairy tale treasury with beautiful illustrations. Then disney stories. By then I was maybe eleven and she gave bro and I the set of Narnia books and I also got a set of Judy Blume books. Years later i was visiting her and learned she was always hesitant about those because she was not a big reader. Wiz was a year old then, and she was shocked to learn I still had the story treasury books and that bro and I read the anrnia books until they fell apart, quite literally fell apart. Even bro, who loved the story treasury we first got from her, was amazed the year I gave that to his daughter.

The gifts Aubrey gets this year will be things she remembers, treasures, enjoys, and will wish that she had once she has her own children. That, in my opinion, is a very very special thing.

It is awesome that Aubrey 'gets' the love and care put into gifts like that. Truly wonderful. I hope someday Kayla can escape her parents and brothers and have nice things for herself.

 

[DammitJanet]

Lisa,

 

[Hound dog]

I wish we did, Janet. I'd send them to you in a heartbeat. But Nichole sold the dollhouse I believe once Aubrey outgrew it and got the larger version. If you have any 2nd hand shops in the area drop in often and see if they show up. Often they will, and usually not with the house.

I'm telling you guys with smaller kids............anything of any real quality or a very loved toy of your child, do not get rid of. Find somewhere to store it safely. I have kicked myself over every single thing of the kids that was little tykes or well loved that stupid me tossed or sold for one good reason or another over the years. Why? Because I have found myself replacing every darn single one of them as my grandchildren came along. I'd have saved myself a fortune. geez!

Nichole spotted an original Simba stuffed animal a couple of months back. I can't remember now exactly where it was, might have been GW. Perfect condition, seriously.....looked as if it just came out of the store. The thing with the original baby Simba is.......you can find them, but they were so well loved by the kids that had them they are not in the best of shape, but they still resale with a very high price tag IF you can manage to find one. Nichole paid under 5 bucks. Now she still has the one she slept with since age 3 when she first got him. But no way was she passing that up. And Aubrey was thrilled to death to have her very own baby Simba (she loves the movie as much as her mommy did) to sleep with.

easy child has sold so many toys that she is later (and for some already does) going to regret. Nichole has stopped doing that once she realized she's now buying many of the much loved toys of her own childhood for Aubrey. She swears she's not going to have to go back out and buy them again for grandkids. lol

And they now sell paint that works miracles on little tyke toys. Makes them look like new again.

 

[Mattsmom277]

Oh my,... the baby simba brings me back! Do you mean the one you could squeeze and Simba would purr quietly? Matt had that one and it was his safety net. We dragged it to the US with us when we moved to CT. I had taken him a few cities away to hunt for a new bike. Well he put it down somewhere while testing his bike. We noticed just as we got back home, a good hour away. Tons of calls, an hour drive back and hours and hours scouring isles in several stores, and we never found it. He cried his wee heart out. My ex's brother thankfully gifted Matt HIS childhood toy that he had named "kitty". Matt got that it was special, and it soothed him a bit over his cherished Simba. Matt still has "kitty". When Matt was 16, I found a brand new in the box Simba and gave it to him for his birthday. You wouldn't think a teen boy/young man would get excited but his face lit into a massive grin and he shouted SIMBA!!!!! Of course he takes a ton of ribbing about that even still. But he still has Simba and Kitty. And a fox puppet I named Sherman when he was born. Sherman tucked in Matt from infancy, in toddlerhood would do a tickle attack each night. Thing is hanging by threads and has at least 7-8 massive holes. Three quarters of the neck seams are done in. He won't allow me to sew it, he claims it "adds character" lol.

When we give these gifts to our kids, they aren't about toys, they are about the memories of childhood and something that was special for just them. You are a wonderful nana, I wish I could clone you. My kids haven't had that experience.

 

[DammitJanet]

Im trying to figure out how Im gonna save a swing set for generations...lol.

 

[Hound dog]

Meant to add, Janet................ I will keep an eagle eye out around here for those doll house people for you. Maybe I'll stumble across them.

This is the very plush baby Simba. He never purred, but was the one that really really looked like the baby Simba from the movie. The other ones sort of did, but not like this one. It's why it was super popular. They came out with the purring one and the kissing simba and nala right after. Nichole had both and was not in the least impressed......they sat on her dresser. They didn't make very many of the super plush ones, and although the public asked, they didn't ever release him again. Nichole held hers as she watched the movie the first time on her 3rd birthday...........all huge eyed because it was also her first movie in a theater. lol He *might* have been made as a release promotion mainly, I dunno. I know this version sold out almost immediately and never restocked. (I worked in toys at the time)

 

[trinityroyal]

Lisa, I agree with your grandkids. You really ARE one of Santa's elves. Aubrey will have such a lovely Christmas with such treasured obects.

And it's true, sometimes the items passed down through the generations are the best ones. easy child still has my Nicholas Bear. Santa brought him for me when I was a little girl. He was my confidant and best friend. I told him everything. Nicholas Bear even went to university with me, and stayed in my dorm room.

easy child is the family historian. He really seems to appreciate the things that are passed down to him. He has my Hardy Boys books, husband's Little Golden Books, and difficult child's Bearenstain Bears books. This year, he's getting Nana's collection of Snowman Christmas ornaments, that she left to him in her will. He has always collected snowman items, and often looked out for new snowmen for his Nana, so she wanted him to have the full set. He will be so excited.