Let the Mania Begin...

If you haven't heard of the American Girl dolls, you must not have a daughter/niece/granddaughter between the ages of 5-10. The American Girl phenomenon is based on a line of historical girl characters and is marketed through dolls, books, accessories, movies, and a magazine. I think most would agree that this is based upon a great idea; enlivening history and encouraging children to learn more about what it was like to be a 9-year old girl during revolutionary time periods such as the Colonial times, The Great Depression and World War II. I even showed one of their movies to my 5th graders when we studied the American Revolution.

However, as a parent (in a single-income household), I have dreaded the introduction of my daughter to the world of American Girl. Why? Because a single doll comes at the exorbitant price of $95. And if you want to get that doll a new outfit, it costs anywhere from $24-34. A doll bed will run you $85. Want the adorable dresser to hold your doll's sweet clothes? Be prepared to pay $350...mind you, that's more than the cost of my daughter's own dresser! So you can see why I dreaded yesterday...

We were invited to the American Girl Store in Los Angeles to celebrate the birthday of P, one of Olivia's closest friends. For true American Girl devotees, this place is called Heaven. All the party attendees brought their American Girl dolls, while Birthday Girl P lent Livy one of her own dolls, Kit. In the beginning, Livy wanted nothing to do with holding Kit. But as we wandered through the store and discovered all the different dolls and their neat accessories and adorable outfits, my girl became enamored.

After wandering the store, it was time for lunch at The Cafe. What a dream come true for little girls! The entire room was decorated in black, white and hot pink. The dolls had special table-side seats to join in the meal. The dolls had tiny teacups and saucers for tea time (hot chocolate) with the girls. The meal of doll-size hot dog and hamburger was a hit, as was the heart-shaped fruit and petite cinnamon rolls.

Dessert was an adorable array of pudding, cake and cookie and even us moms were "yumming" over it. From start to finish, this was all-out girlie fun for all ages and it blew all of us away. I was even finding myself enamored with American Girl!

It was time to part ways with American Girl, but not without some wistful sadness (Malia was determined to walk out with the restaurant's loaner baby no matter what).

The girls wished in the pond as we left The Grove shopping center and yes, my girl wished for her very own doll. Here's hoping it's a short-term wish and we won't be seeing any American Girl dolls on her Christmas wish list!

April in Southern California

We go from 80 degrees and gorgeous one day, to rainy and windy the next.

Today, you might be jumping through the sprinklers or feeding ducks (um, turtles and koi fish, mostly) at a gorgeous park in Santa Barbara...

...while tomorrow might find you splashing in puddles, sending "boats" along the river (yeah, yeah, so we glorify the gutter a bit) and making friends with plenty of snails.

No shortage of fun for the Mowad girlies!

All is Quiet, Part Deux

Knowing that a quiet Miss Livy does not necessarily mean a sleeping Miss Livy, it makes me wonder why I was surprised to find this after her rest time:

A village of homes for her animals.

(I assumed they were animals in cages at the zoo but I was promptly corrected.)

Please note that not only do these animals enjoy literary homes, but each was given a book, evidently for further literary pursuits.

"I'll Never..."

I believe the direct quote was "I'll never be caught dead driving a minivan!"

And I believe I uttered this same bold statement at least 50 times throughout my lifetime, most emphatically whenever Paul suggested how great a van would be to own. Funny what the reality of 3 kids under 5 does to a person's vanity regarding "mom mobiles".

It's amazing how many times I have said the phrase "I'll never..." when it comes to parenting. Even worse is how many times I've judged mothers, thinking in my oh-so-smug little head that I'd never stoop to her level, nor be so ridiculous as to give into such spoiled kids. And then you become a parent and you eat all those "I'll never's".

Here's just a few of my own personal favorites:

"I'll never nurse a child once he/she is old enough to ask for it."

"I'll never give into my kid's tantrums. I'll just leave the store and that'll teach 'em."

(And have to come back to do my errand again? Yeah, right!)

"I'll never walk/rock/nurse/bounce a child to sleep for hours on end. That's just crazy."

"I'll never be one of those obsessive moms that has a video monitor and spies on their baby."

"I'll never bribe my kids with lollipops or candy."

I know I cannot be the only one eating my words since I became a parent and gained an insider's perspective (and fell in love with my sweet baby girls).

What "I never's..." have you uttered that now seem absolutely absurd or just plain futile?

Primate of the Year

On a recent outing to the SB Zoo, we were treated to some very unique primate behaviors and learned much about this intelligent species and it's similarity to other primate species.

For example, as an older primate grabbed it's sibling for a photo opportunity (as requested by it's mother), the younger primate heavily resisted and soon after this photo, was observed attempting to bite the older primate as a means of escape. Intervention was necessary, therefore no photographic evidence exists of this exhange, but the older primate remained wary of the younger one for the next few hours.

In this next example, three members of a primate family exhibit their egotistical tendencies by repeatedly taking photographs of themselves with a camera. The mother primate seemed especially absorbed in working with the camera, while the youngest seemed very disinterested in such behavior and soon began howling in protest, much to the chagrin of nearby train riders. Further research into primate vanity and photographic behavior is necessary.

As a last example, our young primate poses with another similar primate, the gorilla. Neither primate seems exceptionally interested in the other, however it was noted that the mother of the young primate was considering adding her primate to the zoo collection. Threats by mother primate continued as young primate's behavior declined throughout the morning. Highly intriguing and bears further study.