Why the hell didn't I think of that???

There are a few items that I have found in my life, that the minute I see it I think...."why the hell didn't I think of that?" Such a simple thing...yet once discovered, something I can't live without.

When my daughter turned 10 she asked for an American Girl Doll. Now if you have never heard of these dolls, then you are not alone...but you are in the dark. I had heard about them but assumed they were your typical, run of the mill doll. NOT. These are beautiful, expensive, popular, expensive...did I already say expensive...dolls. And they are such a money maker that it's one of those...Why couldn't I have thought of that...ideas! Is there a Canadian Girls Doll out there? Hmmmm.......

Brooklyn designed hers to look just like her from the skin color, to the brown eyes to the shade and length of her hair. She cost a whopping $100 and I thought...how ridiculous to pay that amount of money for a doll for a 10 year old to play with for a few months until the novelty wears off. But the more I thought about it.....I decided if she wanted to still play with dolls then I would get it for her because before I know it my 10 year old will be 16 years old and wanting to play with boys. If she is still playing with the doll at 16...I'll start to get concerned then!

So her American Girl doll came and she named her Alyssa. Along with the doll came a magazine. Now the AG magazine for a 10 year old is equivalent to the Sunday Target ads for me!! She locks herself in her room, sprawls across her bed and starts scrolling through and circling everything that she wants. You seriously can get ANYTHING your little heart desires for your doll. One look at some of the prices of the items she circled and I almost had a mini stroke. The only thing I could possible afford for her was a hair brush! But Sucker that I am (and Sucker with a capital S) I caved and bought her an outfit for Alyssa that cost almost as much as my wedding dress. The only good thing is that whenever her aunt or Godmother asks what they can get her for a gift...I always have a list of clothes, accessories and pets that Brooklyn has complied in hopes of furnishing her American girl, Alyssa's, rockstar lifestyle!

This week for Spring Break we flew to Chesterton, Indianna to visit with Tracy, Scott and the other Webb kiddies. Saturday we decided to leave the boys with Scott and take the girls...Brooklyn and Sydney...into Chicago to the American Girl Store on the Miracle Mile in downtown Chicago.

She was sooooo excited. I lost track of the number of times she told me "Thank You mommy for taking me here." Then she looked at me and said..."I never thought this day would ever happen!" We strolled through the store looking at all the Historical Girls and all the Girls of the Year. There are sections dedicated to each girl with all the clothes, furniture and activities pertaining to each girls specific year. It was all overwhelming! There was a photo studio where you could have a studio session with your doll and get a photo package. There was a whole library of all the AG books and movies for you to purchase. There was a hair salon...for the dolls. You could choose your style and then have a stylist create the updo.

There was also a doll hospital. We checked it out, because if you recall from facebook posts awhile back.....little brother Madden decided to use Alyssa's bum as his canvas to reveal his hidden artistic abilities!!!

Upstairs...yes, I said upstairs meaning that there are 2 whole floors dedicated to the dolls...was where you could purchase all the outfits and accessories for your custom created doll. I forwarned Brooklyn that I wasn't going to spend a months salary in here and that she could pick out one thing. She already had decided earlier on what she wanted. Matching pajamas. For Christmas she got the Sweet Treats doll pajamas and I guess wanted something for herself!

I bought them a size larger than what I normally would for her because for the price I paid for them... they are going to fit her until she leaves for University. I don't own anything, even from Victoria's Secret, that came close to what I paid for these pink p.j's!!

The night before, Tracy and I had checked the availability of lunch spots at the AG Cafe, but unfortunately (or fortunately for our wallets) there were no open spots left. When we got there, Tracy sneakily wrote our names on the waiting list for the 11am brunch. At 10:50am I get a call from her (since we were seperated in the store) that there was a no-show and we were going to eat there. Brooklyn near peed her pants on the spot she was so excited. So we plowed through everyone and made our way upstairs. Adorable isn't even a good word to use to describe our eating experience. The AG dolls had there own hairchair attached to the table. We got to choose from a varity of items on the menu, plus a drink and a super cute dessert plate. Sydney and Brooklyn had the best lunch ever and well Tracy and I really enjoyed ourselves too.

So I can honestly say Brooklyn's first...and probably ONLY...American Girl Store experience was surely a memorable one. The girls played the whole rest of the week with their dolls!

I won't write another blog about it, but let me tell you about this place called Build-A-Bear........

All 3 kiddies now have a Build-A-Bear. Brooklyn named her Bear....Coco. Dallas named his Polar Bear....Pokey and Madden just got his first Monkey and named him Bananas.

That about sums it up and should be my nick name when it comes to pleasing my kids with these money making ideas.... Bananas.

Bananas Sucker Webb!!!