The Barn Collective

There is nothing more wonderful than a little boy with a toy barn full of animals! Unless, of course, he is playing with his daddy.

"Daddy, will you play with me?" he asked. And his daddy was more than happy to oblige, even though he hadn't yet showered and was still dressed in his jammies.

Father and son proceeded to pull the farm animals, people, fences, and equipment out of the bucket of toys and set up the barnyard. Austin sang "Old McDonald" while they worked. It's his favorite song much to the dismay of his maternal grandfather who is also named McDonald.

Austin was pretty sure the farmer lived inside the barn with the animals. His daddy tried to explain that the farmer and his family lived in a farm house, but the child remained skeptical.

They don't sell toys quite like these anymore...

Once upon a time there were children in my house every day. Now most days my house is empty and the toys are silent and still. Though I appreciate floors and carpets free of toys, I also have a love for seeing playthings strewn throughout the house. I'm sure I'll be finding small treasures underneath and inside of the furniture for weeks to come.
:0)

For more Barn Collective, visit Tom.

Baby Beans

I don't recall which one was the Year of Baby Beans, but I do recall the silly little bean filled dolls with smiling faces and bright colored pajamas. My sisters each found one under the Christmas tree that year, as did my five Plotzker cousins. Eight little girls and seven Baby Beans.

On our holiday visit to Aunt Barb's house, all eight of us girls lined the stairway to the upstairs bedrooms and the Baby Beans slid down the railing one after another while we handed them back up to the top fire brigade style, over and over again. It was a simple, yet wonderful, laughter-filled game.

When my sisters tore the wrapping paper off their Baby Beans gifts on Christmas Eve, it hadn't occurred to me that perhaps there should have been a similar package for me. I didn't feel left out until I found that every one of my cousins had also received one of the floppy little dolls. I was the only one without. Later Mom explained that they had ordered a doll for me too, a sleepy, yawning, orange clad baby, but the company had run out and mine never arrived. I think she felt bad, but needn't have. I managed okay and learned that I didn't have to have everything the others had in order to have fun.

I took it well as a child and only missed my nonexistent doll during our stairway game. As an adult I find myself looking him up on ebay after watching The Santa Claus 2 where Santa pulls all kinds of vintage gifts from his bag, and I smile at the memory of childhood games with my passel of girl cousins.

Playing Games

The morning dawned colder today than yesterday and the forecast called for snow. A piece of me wanted to stay home but a bigger piece wanted to get myself off of the couch and moving. I met my sister Rachel at her house and we went out for a walk together. Three miles (give or take) around the neighborhood, and I survived. After our "hike" we had ourselves a cup of tea and pulled out our coloring books. (Yes, we like to color.)

Back at home I'm playing a new game with some old dollhouse furniture. The room is a photo box from Hobby Lobby (they were on sale 50% off this week), scrapbooking paper on the wall, and a textured felt carpet on the floor. Everything has been hot glued in place and I'm brainstorming ideas for accessories and the walls. Did I ever tell you never grew up?

Tuesday's Treasures

Two blogs because two-day is twos-day.
:0)

I have some treasures at my house. I bring them out for small children. This afternoon my small grandson needed a playmate while his mommy was cooking dinner. I figure if she is going to cook dinner, the least I can do is play with Spencer. Down from upstairs came a Fisher Price school bus and a few Little People. Down from the high-up shelf came the old Fisher Price Ferris-wheel. And then we had some fun.

Do you have any treasures to share? Tom is collecting treasures here.

Vintage Toys and Little Boys

My grandsons came to play on Saturday morning. The Grandfather made us French toast for breakfast and Grammy was kind enough to bring the big box of Fisher Price toys down from upstairs.

Jake wasn't the only one to find the box of old playthings alluring. Spencer had a grand time playing "people" too.

One little truck especially caught his fancy. A little tow truck that belonged to one of my sisters over 40 years ago. Never mind that the hook is missing and the wheels are worn, Spencer thinks it's perfect.

While Spence took his nap, Aunt Sabrina took a little bit of time to sit and play with Jakie. Josh, a little skeptical of their farm, wanted to know what an elephant was doing in the wild west. Never mind the giraffe. He never questioned its   presence. Maybe he didn't even notice.

Toys on the Floor

My living room is often strewn with cars, blocks, and books, but the children aren't the only ones who get out toys and leave them on the floor. Once in a while Sofie decides to play too. She is especially interested in Beanie Babies.

She was probably hoping for a good game of "Fetch" but lost interest when I started taking photos.

She's overdue for a haircut, way overdue. Her hairdresser closed up shop due to lack of clientele. Sad because she was close, affordable, and did a great job. *sigh* I've either got to go back to butchering her hair myself, or finding her a new stylist.

Old Toys and Little Boys

This morning we had a couple of small visitors. They came to play with Grammy while little sister went to see the doctor. (She has croup...) I decided to get out the blocks and wooden train set. "I didn't know you had trains," one of them said. I probably have other things they don't know or have forgotten about, but today we stuck to the train set and a big box of building blocks.

Toy and Books

I've decided to begin in earnest the task of cleaning out, and I am starting with our bedroom closet, which has become an "attic" of sorts. It has become increasingly difficult to walk into the closet, and there is little to no space left where things can be stored. Our clothes are in there somewhere... I think... and even those need to be sorted.

It was my son's recent request for children's books that got me started on my recent quest to downsize my "stuff" collection. Some of his favorite childhood stories included Dr. Seuss, books by Bill Peet, and Uncle Remus. I gave it some serious thought and came to the conclusion that, although I love my Uncle Remus book, it brings nobody any enjoyment stowed away in a box on the shelf. I sent my boy a note offering him a huge box of Legos, and, along with a warning that some children actually morph into Brer Rabbit, offered him the treasured story book. Yes, Uncle Remus tends to be rare and collectible, but one of my own favorite childhood memories is snuggling up next to my dad and listening to him read Uncle Remus.

So, yesterday my daughter in law came over with her little ones for a short visit. We hugged small children, ate cookies, and sent them home with a big box of Legos and two story books; Uncle Remus and Richard Scarry's Mother Goose. I hope they make for many hours of fun and a lifetime of memories. I know they did for me.

The Duplos

The Duplos came out to play today, giant, bright, primary colored Legos, perfect for little hands. They were, Once Upon a Time, a birthday gift to my own little boy, probably from his grandparents. Some of the pieces may broken or lost, and the storage boxes cracked on the bottoms, but the dinosaur mamas and babies still smile. And little ones still smile when they come out to play.

We brought the boxes out mid morning and Alex was all smiles. It is good that Hannah enjoys Duplos too because I was soon called away to help my other daughter. Bethany, already drained of energy by prolonged morning sickness, had picked up a tummy bug complete with fever and body aches. She needed Tylenol, Gatorade, and someone who loved her to deliver them.

A half hour later I found my ailing daughter curled up under the covers of her bed, Cat at her feet. Josh, dressed and ready for the day, was playing with his Hess truck collection. Molly the Dog wagged a greeting and even Louis the Naughty Cat came along to say hello. I couldn't go home without at least helping my poor girl with her sink full of dishes. Josh came home with me for the afternoon, which both Alex and Emma found quite nice, and I am hoping Bethany had a very good sleep in her quiet house full of animal friends.

Stepping Backward

Frantically clawing to keep from falling in, I fight to escape the pit of holiday madness... There will be gifts to buy or make, presents to wrap and cookies to bake, and those favorite movies to watch.

I took a ride by myself Friday morning, but not necessarily Christmas shopping. There was no Black Friday rush where I went. I poked my way through Goodwill and took a leisurely walk through an antique shop. I bought little to nothing, at least in those two places. We won't talk about the grocery store...

In the antique store I found myself strangely drawn to old children's books and an intense desire to curl up in a corner and lose myself in a book. I resisted the urge to purchase this time... Do I really have time to abandon my house and family to read?

Upstairs I found myself smiling at vintage pull toys and wondering again how hard it would be to duplicate them. It's the old Fisher Price toys that always catch my eye. We never owned a chicken pull toy, in fact, I'm not sure I'd ever seen one before, yet they make me smile. (I truly am a hopeless case.)

Then there were the dishes. Lest you think I have suddenly matured, I will have to confess that almost every "little" girl loves a tea party and a fancy table. They are fun to look at and probably even more fun if the tea party actually becomes a reality.

I'm not certain what draws me to antique stores. They are expensive, smell musty, and are full of old things I don't need, yet I wander about taking in the sights and feeling comfortably nostalgic in the process. I like antiques. They take me back to safer childhood days, visits to grandma's house, and days spent on the farm, usually Uncle Joe's.  Hey, I've got a table almost just like that in my kitchen!

Looking Forward

I hope my mother comes with toys. She has a great little collection of Playmobil people and furniture that she shares on occasion. They are "play at the table" toys which helps to keep the pieces from getting scattered about the house. they are also one of Alicia's (Priscilla's youngest daughter) favorite things to look at while visiting Grandma.
Em had a great time one day when we visited Grandma's house back in the spring. I see some fun times ahead.

Hey, look, Rachel! Maybe we do have pictures of the china in the cabinet.

AADD and a Special Delivery.

There times when I seriously question my own sanity. I am pretty sure that I have something called Acquired Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD), or I would if there was such a thing. I think it comes from endless years of having my thoughts and conversations interrupted by children and everyday life. Anyway, after running a few errands with Hannah and Emma this morning, we stopped in Wegman's for a few grocery items; lettuce, sour cream, taco seasoning, sugar, and ice cream. (It's Mom's birthday...) Rather than take the ice cream all the way home just to drag it out again tonight, I decided to put it in Mom's freezer. When We arrived at Mom's house I found my purse missing! I knew exactly where it was... It was in the little grocery cart I had put in the cart return back in the grocery store parking lot. I raced back to the store just in time to see the boys bringing in a whole slew of carts none of which contained a purse. Next stop, Customer Service. "This is a bummer!" said Emma and I had to agree. I was blessed (and relieved) to find that someone had indeed returned my purse to the store. I suppose I have stumbled upon one very good reason for storing my car keys in my purse rather than my pants pocket. I won't be able to drive away without my purse.

Did I tell you that I was expecting? Well, yes it was a baby I was waiting for. She arrived in the mail today, naked, wrapped in newspaper, and sealed in a cardboard box. Emma was quite happy with her appearance and right away decided we should get out the big box of baby clothes and dress her up. The new baby, dressed in pink, will make a good friend for my other doll. I expect them to have many grand adventures together this year.

They Never Get Old

I was sure my parents never took any photos of us playing Fisher Price, but I was wrong. I found a few slides while looking through a box the other day. The looks on our faces tell the story. This was our all-time favorite game. We built houses with blocks, picked out furniture and families, and played for hours. In the summer we sometimes took our Little People out in the back yard, but the best time to play was during the colder months: Saturday mornings began by pulling the dishpan of toys from the closet and pushing the boxes of blocks out into the living room where we set up our towns. Each Christmas a few more packages of people and furniture would show up under the tree, and sometimes at birthdays a whole set would appear; a farm, a house, the houseboat or school, the castle, or maybe a school bus to replace the old one whose wheels were bent from play or melted after being placed on the heater.

When I had children of my own I was sure Fisher Price would be their very favorite too. We bought a second hand farm and house at a garage sale, a firehouse and circus train from Kiddie City, and gladly accepted any offerings from friends and neighbors. Sadly, my boys were just not all that into Little People and, regrettably, I sold much of our collection in a yard sale years ago. I figured I could always replace them. Not so... not unless I shop on ebay. Most of my present collection is still the toys my parents bought for us when we were little girls and they are still well loved. The little girls play with them every day.

Sliding Away

Rachel will like these....

....Priscilla will like the next bunch.

Boys and Their Cars

Cars are just downright disappointing!

Cold Weather and Josh Can Cook!

The wind was bitterly cold today. Normally I would choose to stay inside my toasty warm house, venturing out only to gather some firewood or perhaps to let Sofie relieve herself, but today was my day to go shopping so out into the cold wind I went. Ben and Hannah came along because, not only do they need socialization (ha ha), but they also enjoy my company. In spite of our dire economy, the parking lots were packed with cars and the stores with people. We made several stops ourselves, nearly every one requiring a long walk from the car to the relative safety of the store. Now, several hours later I am blessed with another case of chapped lips. Such is the joy of the winter wind and the reason I like to take photos from the doors or windows of my house. I would buy myself a ski mask but I don't think any of the banks or stores I frequent would take kindly to my wearing it.

Josh came to play tonight. His mommy and daddy went out shopping together. Josh wandered around the house, called Sofie a kitty, checked out the cupboard doors, and played with some cars. I decided to get the play dishes out of the toy cabinet and Josh and I cooked up a storm! It's never too early to teach a man to cook just in case he moves far away someday and finds himself in need of cullinary skills. Josh is off to a great start and enjoying every minute of it. Grandmanita, you would be proud!

Wanna Play?

Yesterday we took a drive to the Fisher Price Toy Museum in East Aurora, NY. The Little People were always my favorite toys when I was a little girl, so it was a fun place to look around.
Bethany went along with us and even Josh thought it was a pretty cool place, bright, colorful, and full of wonderful stuff. He especially like the playroom where he could crawl around and touch things.



There were cases and cases of unplayed with toys looking lonely locked behind cold glass. It's hard to believe that the rough looking bunch of toys I keep in a bucket in the corner of my living room once looked like that.
It was a fun day out. We didn't go home after visiting East Aurora, but headed north toward Buffalo and crossed the border into Fort Erie. More on that later...