Lucky

Pete has been working a lot lately. There was the whole Christmas season that started in August and then inventory this last week. That saw him at work by 3am and in bed by 6pm last week. Finally it is over and he had a three day weekend. Yesterday we took Hans and Olive over to the mall for the sole purpose of a ride on the Merry Go Round. We also went to the Flight Museum since Olive and I hadn't been, but Pete didn't feel well so we came home. For Pete, a day off is best spent at home, not going out. I on the other hand, am always home and can't wait to be out of the house with another adult. Siobhan decided she wanted to babysit with a friend so I dropped her off. Well, I had to stop at my thrift store, I am nothing if not persistent. What a month! I had been wanting this for Olive two Christmases ago. She was not a year old yet and I knew I couldn't spend that kind of money but boy did I want it. Mostly, it made me recall the hours my sisters and I spent with our play kitchen. I think a lot of times I am just trying to recreate how I felt as a child. Plastic just doesn't do it for me and this one is Pink! and Retro! and Wood! I started my thrift shop round(yes, I have an order) and there it was, new and in the box. Apparently these were marked out of stock from Costco and they had received 4 or 5. This was the last one and was missing some of the screws so they had marked it lower to $24.99. So, I brought it home and Pete set about working on it. Now, Pete gets really frustrated with these types of projects but I think he secretly may enjoy them. Olive is beyond excited. I know we don't have tons of room and these kids are definitely not hurting for things to play with but I was so happy I found this. I told Pete," Olive will pee her pants she will be so excited." And she did. Hans is also happy with it and they have been playing "family". Olive has a special mom voice and Hans has our old phone and he walks around the house inviting people over for dinner. As an added bonus, Olive uses the bottom freezer portion of the fridge as a doghouse. She loves to pretend she's a dog.

Today, we went to the zoo. It was so cold though that we mostly stayed in the aquarium and the petting zoo. Tommorrow, Hans will turn five. I am sure it will involve a lot of tears(mine) and a lot of coins at Chuck E Cheese. I refuse to eat there but I can handle some time playing skee- ball. Hans has been there several times to drop off Oscar for a birthday party and has been talking about this for months. Pat and I once took Siobhan, in San Jose, when she was little and when Chuck came out she started screaming "I'm afraid of the rat!" I can't wait to see what Olive does....