Little Miss Grown Up

Right before Christmas, we got rid of a lot of toys that the kids don't play with. We gave them to Goodwill. I have not regretted it for one minute and the kids haven't missed them one bit. Among the things we gave away, was an old kid's grocery cart that constantly fell apart. Well, after Christmas, Rachel decided that she wanted to use some of her piggy bank money to buy a new one. So, we looked at a couple of stores and NO ONE had one that was sturdy and under $20. Rachel was such a good sport about not being able to find one and was so agreeable when I told her we would have to wait a few weeks for the stores to restock their toys. (I was so impressed with her patience and acceptance of waiting to get a toy!) Anyway, we didn't really talk about it for a few weeks and one day we went to a special toy store, Learning Express, that has alot of things that the average toy store doesn't carry. We were just looking around and Bradley was playing with a train table and Rachel was playing with a doll house. They didn't have any grocery carts either, so I asked Rachel if she wanted to spend her money on something else. She got really excited and said, "YES!" So, we looked around and she immediately went up to a Hello Kitty alarm clock that was $18. She wanted to buy that and thought it was the greatest thing she had ever seen. I was surprised that she wanted to buy an alarm clock and showed her all the other really cool things in the store she could get with her money. But, she insisted that she wanted the alarm clock. So, she bought it. We got home, put batteries in it and it has been a huge hit! She has read the numbers to me continually; "mom, it says: 1-2-3, what does that mean?" Me: "it's 1:23, hun." Rachel: "mom, it says, 1-2-4, what does that mean?" Me: "it's 1:24 now, Rachel." She just loves this clock. She insists that Nick or I set the alarm at night when she goes to bed. We always set it for 8am, so that she'll still wake up on her own and not too early with an alarm, since she's always up between 7 and 7:30. But, I can't tell you how much she has enjoyed this clock. I would have never thought that it would be so much fun. We've even taken it in the car and she'll read the numbers EVERY time the minute changes and ask what time it is. I think it's a little aggravating, but really cute that she's so interested in the time. Now she thinks it's really cool to spend her own money on something that she picks out. (I thought it was pretty cool, too!!)