<p>We have all their baby teeth. When they were very little, I bought this “tooth fairy kit” and part of the kit has a box with little sections for each tooth that is lost and a chart to record the date of each and what they got from the tooth fairy, etc. There was also a little velvet pouch with fairy dust and you put your lost tooth in it under your pillow for the tooth fairy (who then transfers the tooth to the box in the little sectionf for that tooth). My kids also would write a letter to the tooth fairy and the tooth fairy would write back. So, in the kit, we have many of the letters received from the tooth fairy, as well. </p>
<p>One of my girls just was never really into Barbie or dolls or American Girl. She may have had a Cabbage Patch doll one year. But instead, she had outfits for her teddy bears. The other one had Barbies but was not obsessed with them. However, when young, she had the entire American Girl stuff and that makes Barbie look like a huge bargain. I must say, the stuff is a whole lot nicer and is tied to books as well.</p>
<p>sooxie-
I have the same box! Blue box with dividers and little blue drawstring bag! I have both kids’ teeth in there! Double ewww. One year ds#2 woke up when the “tooth fairy” arrived, and wanted to know why he/she didnt carry large bills :D</p>
<p>But soozie, in my day, Barbie used to have beautiful clothes and other stuff you could buy separately. Now you have to buy a new doll to get the nice clothes. A real racket!</p>
<p>I had a doll named “Pitiful Pearl”. She was a rather unattractive doll (hence the name?) and not one of my favorites. I wish I had kept her though. </p>
<p>My mother would sew the most gorgeous Barbie clothes for me. Now I’m getting all nostalgic, I wish I’d kept a Barbie and those homemade clothes.</p>
<p>Got rid of my complete set of Nancy Drew hardcover books…only to have two girls later in life. When they became of reading age, they were incredulous that I did that.</p>
<p>No–there are still GI Joes. My son started with an Action Man in France, then started collecting GI Joes and because I have relatives in MN he has TWO Jesse Ventura–Man of Action dolls.</p>
<p>Now you hit on something we don’t have…GI Joes. I had two girls and while they were not super girly girly, we never had the GI Joes. </p>
<p>Jym…wow, I think you have the same tooth fairy kits! LOL I am now tempted to go up to their bedrooms and read all the past tooth fairy letters! </p>
<p>While Barbie indeed has nice clothing, Bethie…I’m not sure if you are aware of the American Girl dolls (since you have a boy). That whole pheonmenom started when my kids were in primary grades and has grown into a huge company with many more items…and two big retail stores in NYC and Chicago with live musical theater revues. Not only are the dolls expensive…the outfits cost close to what a human child’s clothing costs. The dolls are tied to historical periods and books. They have many many outfits and also accessories and fine furniture. Then, they had come out with a modern girl doll of “today” that could be bought to match your own features. She has an entirely different clothing line that is modern. All is high quailty but ain’t cheap. Barbie stuff costs way less. Then there was clothing for your real child to match. (I am sure they have come out with so much more stuff since then but I haven’t followed it). So, my D had clothes to match the doll. I even had an American Girl birthday party for her (only ONE of my kids was into it…the younger one…when she was in primary grades). My D dressed as Kristen like her doll and every girl came with her own American Girl dolls and we designed (with things from a craft store) straw hats for them with silk flowers and ribbons and other stuff with a glue gun) and made bead necklaces for the dolls. Most girls had the nightgowns to match their dolls for the sleepover…oh, and did I mention we had the matching sleeping bag too? Oy. I shudder to think what the cost of this collection adds up to. Far surpasses Barbie stuff, that I can assure you. However, Barbie has stood the test of time!</p>
<p>I was the director for an American Girl play at my son’s school. I think I get it. Or sort of. And my nieces had the American girl dolls. The violins were really expensive–is this doll going to play it? </p>
<p>But hey, soozie, we’re on the same page. Our kids are awesome!</p>
<p>I wish I had not cleaned out all my plaid skirts and cowl neck sweaters, not to mention skinny leg jeans and high waisted pants. </p>
<p>It drives me crazy that so many clothes that I have cleaned from my closet over the years are now the HOT styles!</p>
<p>Shame on the fashion industry!!! What is that old adage, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Well, you’d think I’d have learned by now.:)</p>
<p>WahDad, last time we moved we had thirty book boxes. I try to keep the books under control by getting rid of the completely trashy ones, not the good ones. I’m not talking about good books here… I’m talking junk paperbacks.</p>
<p>Books are something I could never get rid of. We never have enough bookshelves and our attic and garage are always full of boxes with books! I really should think about giving them away to a good cause.</p>
<p>Books in attics and garages rot. I sort out the stuff that I might want again and that the library or online sources won’t have–and the rest go off to Value Village or Half-Price books or Powells.</p>
<p>I have two shelves of dog training books and two shelves of knitting books, three shelves of marine biology… but very little “contemporary fiction.”</p>
<p>Our library has an always open book sale room. I would say that 99% of the books are from donations. Sadly, because we get so many books we don’t keep many books to sell that are over 10 years old and they end up going to either recyling or to another non-profit like Salvation army. We also use donated books to replace the books in our collection that are falling apart. For anyone that has classic books, you might want to ask if your local public and school libraries could use books and mention specific titles. </p>
<p>In our schools with required summer reading for middle and high school students, those books on the lists are heavily read and many are falling apart. With budget constraints and the constant push to get new books, it’s sometimes hard to come up with money for replacements.</p>