Darrin Doll

The last time we visited The States my daughter discovered that the Chelsea Barbie doll had accessories just for her, like a club house & play ground.  And beyond the accessories there were also other little dolls to collect.  Being that she is 5 yrs old the Chelsea & Chelsea friends are right down her alley.  She already had one of the friends, Kira, and a couple Chelsea's, so we bought the swing set and packed it in our suitcase.  The club house was too big so my Mom was sure to buy it for Sophia's 5th birthday and ship it over.  (Thanks Mom!)
 

Of course on the packaging they advertise the other dolls, dolls they just weren't selling here in The Netherlands.  I could find Chelsea but none of the friends, and my daughter really wanted the little boy, Darrin.  I asked my family in The States to start looking around but no one could find it in the stores.  Strange.  We started checking online and saw it for really overpriced amounts compared to the Chelsea doll, even stranger.  Not wanting my family to spend over $30 for a little Barbie doll, I took it into my own hands to find one before her 5th birthday.  And surprisingly enough, I found it on Amazon in Germany.  Now, I don't speak German, but I do use Amazon a lot and Dutch isn't so far off, so with the combo I was able to order her one in time and didn't overpay (too much).


After that curiosity took hold and I started looking around for the Darrin doll again (not to buy but to double check the prices), and shortly after I ordered it via Germany I saw the price went up on Amazon in Germany.  I checked The States again and saw some online shops are now asking over $50 for the little doll, what?  Amazon in the UK wants double that!  Why in the world is this doll so expensive?  Was it a limited edition?  Did they stop producing them?  Anyway, I'm glad I found one in time!  Now I just have to find the Tamika & Madison dolls before she loses interests in the little ones and moves on to playing with Skipper & Stacey more often!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste! Salut!

:) Danica

Follow Up #1

It's about time to follow up on two old posts :

Back in March 2013 I wrote a post about how much my husband & I enjoyed listening to the audio book of Ender's Game.  Well, the movie is finally out and it's not going to let you down.  I must admit, I watched the entire movie completely fascinated with how they portrayed Ender's character.  He seemed more intelligent and stronger than ever, and they did a great job bringing the book to life.  I must admit when we listened to the book years ago I envisioned Atari Space Invaders, but with this was obviously way better. For any of you sci-fi fans out there, don't miss this movie!

And speaking of children, this brings us to the follow up of a post from last October.  Barbie Dream House has been one of my most viewed posts yet.  I wish I could say its because the post is so captivating, but most likely it's because of the title and when people search for info on the house, coincidentally my blog pops up.  Anyway, my grandma did me a favor, dug around in her vast collection of photos, and mailed me a pic from when I was kid and had my own Barbie house.  My daughter was thrilled to see I had one also, and it looked just like the pictures of the 70's Dream House we had found together online.  And just so you know, my 4yr old loves her Barbie house and I recommend one to all little girls who love playing dolls.  The only problem now is she is determined to collect all the dolls from the tv show, she is well on her way and even saved up for one and bought it herself.

Well, that's it for today, think my next follow up should be in a couple weeks and it will have to do with the Jazz Dance class I participated in and maybe I'll find a 2nd one to throw in also.

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Missing Market

Do you know what the kids toy market is missing... a grandma & grandpa Barbie!  When we decided to buy our daughter the Barbie Dream House my head started swirling with memories of my childhood.  I had every type of Barbie you could imagine, I think by the time I sold the dolls I easily had 40 in my personal play collection and I still have around 15 collectibles (in the box) stored back in Florida.  Part of my vast collection was a grandma & grandpa doll, I thought they were Barbie but when I started searching online I found out they were actually part of the Heart Family (also Mattel).  No matter what, they looked just like a Barbie and as I kid I could have cared less.  My daughter loves to act out her life through her dolls and grandparents (she has 6) are a big part of her life.  Since multiple members of my family are already hitting me up for Christmas ideas (I will not mention names) these dolls popped in mind.  I wasn't having any luck here in The Netherlands so I asked for assistance from a family member in The States. 

And we both ended up with the same result... Heart Family dolls no longer exist and yes, they made a grandma & grandpa Barbie once... you can buy them on Ebay for $199.99!!!  Yes, you read this correct, $199.99!!!  Needless to say, my daughter will not be getting grandparent dolls.  That's unless someone from Mattel happens to read my post, and thinks you know what, we should put those dolls back on the market.  Why?  How many different Barbie Fashionistas does the market need?  Some kids actually play with Barbie's because of the role playing, because of their vast imaginations, and not because they have on a glittery dress and ridiculous heels.  Do you hear me Mattel, the market is missing some wholesome Barbie Families!
 

As usual, I've included pictures... as you can see the Heart Family is definitely outdated and the grandma/grandpa Barbie blends into this time period, but they're not worth the Ebay price!

Barbie Dream House

Growing up I was a huge Barbie fan, and of course I have done my best to get my daughter also interested in Barbie's.  She started collecting dolls last year, and since she has taken fairly good care of them we decided to take her collection a step further.  We invested (it's a small fortune here) in a Barbie Malibu Dream House!  There were a few options online, all different style and size Barbie houses, but I wanted the one closest to the first house I ever had.  It took a while to assemble (so many stickers).  I should have thought back to my childhood Barbie houses and assembled it while she was sleeping instead while she watched on, attempting to play every time I stuck the next piece on.  In the end, I managed to get it put together without breaking anything or losing any pieces.  (Well, one piece of the Barbie laptop is missing so I told her it was a tablet.)  Everyday, she goes in her room and acts out things that have happened in her life or things she wants to happen, role playing is a great form of expression.  The only issue is that her room is carpeted, so I might go out and buy a wood plank to put underneath it.  It's already hard enough for her not to knock all of the furniture over, the house doesn't need to move with!
 

Were any of you Barbie fans growing up?  What toys from your past are you steering your kids toward?
 

Thought I'd throw in a pic of what my first Dream House looked like, not too much has changed in the overall look in the past 30 some odd years. 

Did you know there is also a fun new series for kids, called Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse

Disappointed Parent

Multiple times this weekend I have found myself bringing up an event that just didn't sit right with me, and here I am telling you all about it.  I felt this past week a school and fellow parents let me down.  How you ask?  I was able to leave a school yard with two kids I didn't know and no one stopped me or even questioned my actions.

I guess I'll have to start from the beginning for you to understand (and I want to be clear on one thing, in no way do I blame my friends).  Some close friends of ours were hosting a birthday party for their son after school and I offered to help out, especially since my daughter was already attending the party.  Here in The Netherlands once a kid turns 5 yrs old they start hosting b-day parties just for kids, this means the parents of the birthday boy or girl get 5-10 kids handed over to them and they're responsible for their well being for 2-4 hrs.  To me that's not so unusual except in the fact half the time the parents aren't even asked to drop or pick the kids up, it's left up to the host.  Different culture, different ways, or maybe I'm just clueless to how elementary aged kid b-day parties work, since mine is still a toddler.  Our good friends said they could use help transporting the kids from the school to the playground where the party would be held.  I was happy to help, even though part me assumed I would end up with one of their kids and maybe a friend in my car.  Since I'm unfamiliar with the school I ended up parking around the corner from where the other party cars were parked.  So once all 9 kids were rounded up (I think I saw 3 parents hand their kids over) they were divided and sent to 3 different cars.  I ended up with two little boys who I had never seen before.  Trusting our friends, these kids followed me & my daughter to our car and hopped in.  Then they rode to the party 15 minutes away in another town with us, all the while telling me everything about their personal lives (they're 5-6yrs old). 

This event sent up so many red flags to me, maybe I'm over reacting but I am really disappointed in these kids parents, the school, and any onlooker at the school.  Why? 

An unfamiliar women at the school (my kid does not attend there) led 3 children off to her car and not one teacher or parent stopped to ask any questions!  They were purely handed over by their parent or teacher to a b-day party and never asked for any more details.

Am I overreacting?  All I can think about is my kids future and the many parties she'll be invited to, I would never want my kid to end up in a vehicle with someone I had never met, I would never just assume she would be o.k. and get dropped off at home hours later. 

I expressed this to our good friends and they agreed with me, they too were shocked at how blasé the parents were.  Our friends are good parents and very trustworthy, maybe that's why the kids were handed over so easily, but even so I am disappointed in the way parents handle their kids these days.  Just because something is considered the norm doesn't make it right.  I plan on attending b-day parties with my daughter until she's older, and even then I will be the one dropping her off and picking her up.  Again, am I blowing this out of proportion?