I never set out to raise a girly girl. I'm a child of the 80s and never owned a Cabbage Patch doll. People gave me Barbies as gifts but I kept them in a zip up case and brought them out upon request when friends came over. I did like My Little Ponies and Rainbow Bright and I remember having bedding with those characters. So when I became a mom of a girl I just assumed she'd be like me - kind of middle of the road on the girliness factor. We both love nature and I'm not afraid of touching worms, frogs or lizards so I'm pretty sure her love of animals and general curiosity is from me.
Sure, I love fashion and even considered majoring in Fashion Design in college. But her love of princesses and Barbie is so foreign to me. It seems her obsession with the over the top girly stuff began when we took her to a live Nick Jr show that included a scene with Dora becoming a princess. After that it was princess mania which evolved once she discovered the Disney characters. I'm not even sure how Barbie permeated my protective force field. In the last 6 months she's acquired enough Barbie dolls and accessories to require a case on wheels to house them. And those minuscule accessories! For her birthday she only wanted one gift: the Barbie Jet. This thing came with "ice cubes" that are almost microscopic!
Anyway... most of her dolls are usually nude because she is constantly switching their clothing. She was out of school for Winter Break this week so when I get home she is so excited to see me. She greets me at the door with "Mommy, will you play with me?" So I had to think of an activity we could do together. I was simultaneously trying to prepare dinner and noticed some colorful tissue paper leftover from her recent birthday."Why don't we make dresses for your Barbies with these?" I said holding them up. Her eyes lit up so I know I had a winning idea! "YES!" And she went to work. I let her use the tape dispenser which is usually out of her reach and she felt so grown up. We made "shoes" out of strips of paper wrapped around their feet in mummy style bandages. She corrected me and said they were socks, not shoes. I loved finding ways to re-use things we normally throw away - like crumpled tissue paper from a gift. I think we did an awesome job. How about you?
Sure, I love fashion and even considered majoring in Fashion Design in college. But her love of princesses and Barbie is so foreign to me. It seems her obsession with the over the top girly stuff began when we took her to a live Nick Jr show that included a scene with Dora becoming a princess. After that it was princess mania which evolved once she discovered the Disney characters. I'm not even sure how Barbie permeated my protective force field. In the last 6 months she's acquired enough Barbie dolls and accessories to require a case on wheels to house them. And those minuscule accessories! For her birthday she only wanted one gift: the Barbie Jet. This thing came with "ice cubes" that are almost microscopic!
Anyway... most of her dolls are usually nude because she is constantly switching their clothing. She was out of school for Winter Break this week so when I get home she is so excited to see me. She greets me at the door with "Mommy, will you play with me?" So I had to think of an activity we could do together. I was simultaneously trying to prepare dinner and noticed some colorful tissue paper leftover from her recent birthday."Why don't we make dresses for your Barbies with these?" I said holding them up. Her eyes lit up so I know I had a winning idea! "YES!" And she went to work. I let her use the tape dispenser which is usually out of her reach and she felt so grown up. We made "shoes" out of strips of paper wrapped around their feet in mummy style bandages. She corrected me and said they were socks, not shoes. I loved finding ways to re-use things we normally throw away - like crumpled tissue paper from a gift. I think we did an awesome job. How about you?
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