Merry Christmas... EARLY!

Last week I was oh, so lucky enough to find a play kitchen on Craigslist for Graycen for $20. Yes, I said $20. So, by me saying I paid $20 for a kitchen, you would probably think it's ugly, really old or broken, wouldn't you? I know I did! I am glad I decided to go scope it out because it was worth way more than $20!!

There are no dirty spots, scuffs or anything on it and it's 5 years old! I couldn't believe it. Everything still works like new (the sounds and talking) and heck, it still looks like new! We were trying to find a good deal on a kitchen for a Christmas present for Graycen. I just couldn't justify spending upwards of $100 (or more) on a big piece of plastic. Sure, it would hang around forever and it would be worth it in the long run, but in the short term of things, we just couldn't swing it this year. Cooking is something Graycen loves to do. She makes us food all the time and she is so proud when we tell her that her cooking is nummy! That's how we knew we had to get her a kitchen.

I brought it home the other night (after LOTS of shoving, pulling and pushing to get it into the backseat of our little Cobalt.) and had to let it sit in the dining room overnight since the kids were sleeping (I went after bedtime) I threw a blanket over it so it couldn't be seen. When Parker woke up, I snuck it into our bedroom. Until I could clear out a spot and put it into our second bathroom, I had to let it sit in our room. Later that evening, I was making dinner. I didn't know where Graycen was so I was looking for her. She was too quiet. I go into our bedroom and she is underneath the blanket playing with the kitchen and I just hear her little voice saying "It's Graycen's house? Yep! It's Graycen's house!" She was so cute and excited. So, I pulled the blanket off and she got even more excited. Jumping up and down and yelling "Yes!! Yes, yes, yes! It's Graycen's house!!!" I wish it could have made it to Christmas morning, but it's OK. She's been making us nummy food in the mean time.

Sometimes Craigslist is just a bust for me when I am trying to buy something, but I have found 2 things in the past week and a half that have been quite the steal. I got the kitchen for $20 - and only had to drive to Brooklyn Center for it. And I got a Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Aquarium Gym for only $5. I only had to drive 3 minutes away to get it, too. That was another awesome deal!