Sep 28, 2011

Office Progress and Shopping Spree! Yipee!

So, we're shooting for mid-October to open Doug's practice.

The paint is on the walls and the new carpet is on the floor.  The equipment is arriving and being installed and the security system is secure.

The couch and chairs are on the way and should be here late next week.  And although I've gotten some art, I need to order a few more things and put things on walls.  (I want the couches and all equipment in before we hang anything.)

We've hired an office manager and are (just now) looking for two dental assistants.

Oh, and I've subscribed to a bunch of magazines using YOUR suggestions;

Highlights for Children
The Children's Friend
Family Fun
National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic (not for kids)  (Doug picked the N.G.'s!)
Newsweek (for me)
People
Entertainment Weekly
and maybe a few more I can't remember.
Vegetarian Weekly perhaps?  No, probably not.

(And now I see I need to add Reader's Digest to this list.  Yes, it may be a tiny bit nerdy, but I love it and I've loved it since reading it at Kristen Atkins house in high school!)

Yesterday, we had a meeting with our super hip web designer about Marketing.  (He tells me we don't say "hip" any more.  That's how hip he is.  He knows stuff like that.)  We're going to put new (awesome) signs on the building.  Possibly do a one-time mailer announcing our "Grand Opening", plan some contests and campaigns, and give away some cool stuff.  (Like a Wii or something.)

Things are coming together and it's getting exciting!  Hopefully, it wont be too long before Doug has a full schedule and enough income to pay the lease!  (Without accruing more debt.  Which seems to be a specialty of ours.  Dave Ramsey not withstanding.)

So anyway, today I realized:  We've ordered a bunch of different stuff.  But we haven't purchased a single  TOY for the kid waiting room!  So I went on a little shopping spree.

Since we have a vintage/retro theme going, the first thing I thought of was the old school Fisher-Price toys they've re-released at Target.  Target doesn't seem to have any currently so I checked Amazon.  Unfortunately, when I started reading reviews, it seems that the new versions have replaced wood with plastic, now require batteries, and are basically junk.
So I went to e-bay and bought this:

A vintage (used) Fisher-Price record player and a vintage (used) Fisher-Price "Let's Go Fly a Kite" music radio. (The exact one I had as a kid.)
And, it's possible that I have a bid in for the Fisher-Price Music Box T.V.

Yes, my nostalgia got the better of me, but I'm pretty sure the little kiddies will like them as much as I did.  (I would have gotten the F.P. Tick-Tock Music Box Clock, but didn't want the Office Manager to hate me.)

Of course, I bought some new stuff too.  (Mostly from Amazon.)
2 different Schylling retro style wind up robots:
and wooden nesting blocks from Educo.  (I like that they're not cardboard (slobber resistant) and not plastic (more vintage feel):

I WANTED to buy the Embossed wooden blocks;
 and the Radio Flyer push wagon but didn't buy them.
I think the blocks would just be dumped out and left out and the wagon is $99 so I have to run it by Doug.

I'd ALSO like some wooden animals with wheels (I've found some on Etsy) but they're expensive and I haven't seen any I LOVE yet so I need to keep looking.

Now for the older kids, I think it would be super cool to get an old school Pac-Man arcade game.  And maybe we will when we're rolling in dough.  But for now, we're getting two Play Station 2's and some games.
(There will also be a T.V. playing Phineas and Ferb in the kid area.)

So now please tell me--what do we still NEED??!?  
What am I missing?
What should I send back?
And is it an unwritten LAW that all dental offices have a wire/bead/maze thingy?  Should I buy one immediately???


7 comments:

Melissa Abby said...

So fun! I love reader's digest, my doctor's office has it and I always get excited to read it when I go in there :) I think some kind of wall shelf for the magazines would be a good idea so they don't all just get thrown in a pile.

Linz said...

Sounds great so far!! How about a flat screen that plays a continuous stream of movies in the waiting room? Too much? ;)

Grandma Honey said...

All you are missing is an old typewriter. My sons' dentist had one and the kids all loved it. It was very old and heavy so there was no fear of it falling...and it would add to your vintage look. Maybe you will run in one some day at a garage sale or antique store. Just a thought.

Love the vintage FP toys!

Sandra said...

I second the typewriter and raise you an adding machine. There was a boutique down the street from our last house that had one and it was pretty much indestructible and the kids adored it.

And you probably need one of those old fisher-price rotary phones and a push-toy popper. Just sayin...

Beeswax said...

Just don't toys that will fit in pockets cuz the toddlers will take them home!

Claudia said...

If it was me I would take the vintage toys and put them on high shelves and decorate with them and then have cheap but fun toys so...who cares if they get broken, lost, or simply disappear.

Ready1 said...

Perhaps some vintage "Golden Books" would round out the waiting room.