Reuse, Renew, Repurpose

Our daughter was thrilled with her birthday party and all the nice gifts she received.  She keep saying, "I can't believe I'm actually 8 years old."  As the youngest in her class at school and on her basketball team, she seems more eager for birthdays than the average kid.

I don't think she was too surprised that she did not receive two items on her birthday wish list, however.  As much as I would like to buy a horse for myself her, I simply cannot justify the boarding fees ($550+/month) for such an investment that we would only have time to enjoy a few hours each month.  She did receive a nice American Girl doll sized horse from Nana and Pops and two stuffed horses that sleep beside her and her horse pillow-pet each night as she dreams of living on a horse farm.

Fun at the farm while the girl takes horseback riding lessons

I already knew we both shared a passion for horses, but when she named these stuffed horses, there was no longer any doubt that my genes run strong in her.

Introducing:

Chocolate, Brownie, and S'mores

 Those who know my unhealthy fondness for chocolate would say that she is indeed my mini-me!

Now, she gets to enjoy my old collection of horse figurines and the horse stable my dad made for me as a Christmas present when I was her age.

  

We did not pre-order an iPad3 (also on her list) for her either. So, she used some cardboard and duct tape to make her own version.

Introducing the S-Pad:

She later sold a smaller version of this S-pad to her brother for $5.

I discovered early in my parenting journey that the answer "no" is the mother of reinvention. Facebook screen shots, laptops, guitars, drums, walkie talkies, doll clothes, ping pong sets, cash registers, treadmills, and credit card readers are just a few of her reinventions.

At age 7, she used a game box, hollow golf ball, and cardboard to make a ping pong set.

At age 4, she wanted the Lilly's Kids McDonald's set pictured at top left.  She got creative with what she had instead.