I Like Big.....

Bookcases!

Or rather, I had better like big ones, because my dad just made us the behemoth of bookcases!

The story goes like this....

As any parent knows, once you have kids, your supply of books is never ending.  Between gifts and book orders, they just keep accumulating.  I mean, I have been collecting children's books BEFORE I even had children!

We started out with a cheap-o 2 shelf bookcase and then finally this year, found another cheap-o bookcase but with 4 shelves.  We snagged it up and put it in Hayden's room.

Right away, I loaded up all of our books and it looked great.  We did really well at making sure books got put back after we read them each night.

But eventually, some books got left out in the living room and a small pile built up.  On a rare day, it was just Brian and I at home and we were tidying up.  I went to put these books back on the shelves and BAM, the whole top shelf collapsed and took out each consecutive shelf below it.

Brian came running to see if I was OK and it allowed me to prove my point that cleaning up IS hazardous to your health, considering that putting those books away nearly KILLED me!

At a loss with what to do, we rigged up the bookcase between Hayden's dresser and the wall.

That solution worked perfect for months, until this past weekend.  I was in Hayden's room, putting away some laundry, when BAM, the same shelf scenario happened once more.

Conveniently, about 10 minutes later, while I was loading my shopping bins with books, Dad came in and I told him I now needed a strong and sturdy bookcase.

I came home from work on Monday to this monstrous bookcase in my garage. It is about 4 feet long and about the same height.  With 4 super sturdy looking shelves, it was perfect.  Other than  I was expecting it to  be about half the width, I could picture it being jam packed with stories.

We hefted it down to the playroom, which is in a deep case of overhaul and organizing. Tonight, I finally got around to loading the books on the shelves and there was so much space left over that it held a number of our toys as well.

 The bookcase - Pre-Books

 The bookcase - Post Books and Toys

Now, see those 4 dolls on the top shelf between Micky and Minnie?  Those have such special meaning to me.

My gramma made this dolls and I can clearly remember her knitting them.  They sat in a chair in her living room.  She passed away almost 9 years ago now and they never moved in the house.  When my grampa got sick, his house needed a  BIG clean up before he could come home.  These 4 dolls made it to the garbage pile in the garage.  I was looking after the cats at this point and for about a week, I walked past these discarded dolls and felt sick at the thought of them just going to the landfill.  Finally, with much debate, I scooped them up and put them in a plastic bag I had in the trunk.

These dolls STUNK like cat and were so dirty.  I didnt' know if they were salvageable, but I had to try.

I put them in the washer and dryer and then did it about 6 more times, but they still didn't smell too fresh.  I put them out in the sun porch for the summer and the mix of sunshine and fresh air FINALLY did the trick.

Abby loves these dolls and totes them around a fair bit.  I am sure my gramma would be so pleased to see them being loved!