Thursday, April 3, 2008

Like So Many Beautiful Things, It's INCREDIBLY Annoying

So, A (who is 5) worked all winter long with her dad in a business shoveling snow from the walkways of our neighbors and putting down salt and/or sand, depending on the clients' wishes. As of March 31, she was no longer contractually obligated to shovel and so it was payday for A. Wahoo. Her dad had the big discussion about tithing, savings and spending money, and A happily announced that she knew exactly what she wanted to spend her money on: A Mariposa Barbie. And not just ANY Mariposa Barbie...the only one that would do was one she'd seen at a specific store (Wal-Mart...the one by the Lowe's). So, J (being the good dad he is) took her yesterday to that specific store for her big purchase. She is thrilled. THRILLED. As for J and myself...well, we agree that Mariposa Barbie is indeed lovely and her wings are a sight to behold...but sakes alive! That thing is so annoying!

For those who don't know, Mariposa is a "Butterfly Fairy," and in the straight to DVD movie, she goes on some adventure which earns her beautiful pink wings and a flower crown (we know this particular plot because we rented the movie from Red Box, and I sat with the girls, fast forwarding the movie through all the "scary" parts for my wee ones, who truth be told, have a very low "scary" threshold, thus taking a 90 minute movie down to, seriously, about 11 minutes). Anyway, this particular Barbie has wings that you can literally fold and then hit a release button to reveal HUGE pink sparkling wings (see Barbie on the left). The wings are so big, in fact, that her arms must be raised above her head for the release button to even work. Furthermore, they also are "breakaway" so they come off (too) easily to allow Mariposa to be a semi-normal looking Barbie. I think if you breathe on the wings with any effort, they will in fact breakaway from Miss Mariposa.

Now, you may remember I have mentioned Mariposa in an earlier post. A's newly acquired doll is not like that lovely and appropriately winged Mariposa Barbie that was given as a gift last week (to the right), which we got at Aldi's for a SMOKIN' deal. No. It is sooooo beyond that in annoyance and cost factor that if A wasn't so enamored with it, I'd offer to pay her off and get her a different doll in exchange. Because, seriously, I prefer the smaller winged Mariposa and, after talking to A's friend's mom, the mom said that her daughter LOVED this particular doll and I didn't detect ANY animosity from her for giving a doll who's wings must be reattached every 5 minutes because they keep coming off.

But such is our lot...like so many, we are now enjoying the beautiful but HIGH maintenance Mariposa because a set of eyes fell prey to the packaging. This is, don't you agree Gentle Reader, a rather symbolic experience. Interesting, non?

Enjoy your day!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heya!

Gotta say I'm impressed. Your kids are learning entrepreneurship at a very early age. I still haven't got a clue. But it's awesome.

And one of the perks of having one's own money is that one gets to spend it. Woohoo!

I am sorry for your (wing) attachment issues. Of course, I, as an aunt, find them hilarious.

Nevertheless, I offer an e-hug *hug* in consolation.

:)

Ragan said...

Ahhh yes, we have that over-sized winged Barbie at our house too. Nana bought that one, but it IS hard to see how my children choose to spend their money sometimes. Tristen is currently just waiting for us to take him to the toy store in order to purchase a $100 lego set. Tim keeps reminding me that it is HIS money.