We have a swing in our kitchen. A few years ago, I read about someone who had a swing in her kitchen (lex, over at totallysmittenmama.blogspot.com), and was immediately taken with the idea. It wasn’t until we moved in to our apartment here that we had the space to implement said stolen idea. Jonathan thought I was a little nuts. I thought, “I want to be able to swing in my kitchen, and if I can’t, the next best thing is having my kiddo swing in my kitchen!”.
So, we weren’t even really moved in yet, and I hauled Jonathan and Maren off to Kent. It was January. Baby swings are not that common in January. But, we found one! We have photos, but, unfortunately, they’re on the computer of death and no one is brave enough to risk extracting them. You’ll just have to take my word for it; the paint wasn’t even dry in the kitchen before we had that swing up and in use. It was great! I’m not sure who was more excited, me or Maren.
It continued to be great for quite a while. And I continued to wish that I could fit in the baby swing. And then, Maren was making her disdain for baby swings known at the playground. She only wanted to use the “big girl” swings. So, off I went to Kent, in January, again. If baby swings are uncommon in January, adult swings are, well, completely out of stock. We tried, unsuccessfully, Canadian Tire, Home Depot, and Toys R Us. Bummer. In April, I finally found one. I had to get the heavy-duty swing, because the normal blue playground swings are only rated to 110lbs. Let’s be realistic, if there’s a grown up swing in my kitchen, I’m going to swing on it, and I definitely weigh more than 110lbs.
I was pretty proud that I bought the correct hardware and managed to cobble together an installation on the hooks we had installed for the baby swing.
Most people end up with wider smiles than this, but, hey, I work with what I’ve got!
Most people think it’s sort of fun, and once they’re convinced it’s going to hold their weight, most people are pretty keen to sit on it. Children are completely delighted. I love it! I’m still not sure if some people think I’m a little fruity for having a swing in the kitchen. Ah well, it’s MY kitchen!
The only problem now is that Nate is big enough for the baby swing, and I know he would love it. Maren still fits in to the baby swing, so I should probably switch back, but then what would I do without my own daily swooshing session through the kitchen? We do have a few more doorways…
OK, I *LOVE* this… I will have a swing in my kitchen too, one day…