The worst idea Santa ever had

I agonized for weeks and weeks over what Avery's "big" Christmas gift should be this year. My initial idea was to get her a nice, big (Barbie-sized), wooden dollhouse. She's really getting into Barbies and other dolls and the creative play that goes along with them.

But, after looking and looking and LOOKING at big, huge, wooden dollhouses and confusing myself more and more as the weeks went on, I finally decided to forget that idea. Big wooden dollhouses aren't cheap... and Avery would probably just take a big, black Sharpie marker to it and then I would cry big crocodile tears.

And about the time I abandoned the dollhouse idea, Amazon answered my prayers and marked the Rose Petal Cottage wayyyyyy down in price. So, YAY, another idea was born. It's kinda like a dollhouse, just on a bigger, Avery-size scale... she'll LOVE it!! (Plus, it was marked wayyyyy down, which thrilled me to no end!)

Now, less than a week after Christmas, I've decided that the purchase of a Rose Petal Cottage (and the Cherry Blossom Market that goes along with it, also marked wayyyy down) was quite possibly the WORST idea I've ever had.

I detest the Rose Petal Cottage.

I detest the fact that this thing is enormous... and absolutely does not fit anywhere in my cozy, little house.

I detest the fact that my daughter is obsessed with trying to contain our dogs in her Rose Petal Cottage... that's just a disaster waiting to happen. Now, mind you, Avery also got the cutest-ever little 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kid preemie for Christmas, to go IN her Rose Petal Cottage with the cute little nursery set. But Avery could care less about the CPK, who fits perfectly in the Cottage. No, Avery is determined that Comet the Moose should live in her Cottage instead.

This afternoon when Damon's friends were here playing, I found them all crammed in Avery's room... with the Rose Petal Cottage flipped over on its side, every which way it was NOT supposed to be. And God only knows what kind of Star Wars game they were playing... but Avery was whimpering in the corner of the Cottage, no doubt a "prisoner" of some kind. This is totally not what I envisioned when I was so stinkin' excited about my little girl finding a Rose Petal Cottage waiting for her on Christmas morning.

I'm thisclose to packing up the Rose Petal Cottage and taking it to my local Goodwill store... so that it can go home and terrorize some other unsuspecting mother.

Next year, Avery's getting a whole slew of those microscopic Polly Pocket thingamabobs instead. Then, she can feed them to Comet and everyone will be happy!