A few days ago I was at Toys R Us buying a birthday present when I came across the toys from the movie Brave. We took Annie to see Brave the day it came out, and she has been obsessed with it ever since…to the point where sometimes she declares that she, in fact, is Princess Merida, and will only answer to that name. So when I saw the toys, I knew getting her something would make her over-the-moon happy. Still, I went back and forth about it until I saw this box:
If you’re like me you saw that box and thought, “OH! That means we both get dolls!”
I held off giving her the box for three days. When she opened it she screamed like I’ve never heard, then said, “It’s awesome! I looooove it!” For the next two hours, we role played.
Annie, and I cannot say this strongly enough, LOVED THE DOLLS. The best part was how she just sort of understood that the Merida doll was hers, and the Queen Elinor doll was mine. Which was good, because I really wanted my Queen Elinor doll to stay all pretty and perfect. I also secretly hoped that she would keep Merida looking all pretty, but then Annie insisted we take the dolls with us when we ran errands.
Annie kept dragging Merida around by the hair, which made me cringe. Her hair was so pretty! I tried to explain this to Annie. She looked at me, nodded, and then said, “Yes mama. We should brush her hair.” Then I shrieked NOOOOOOO and snatched the doll out of Annie’s hand.
Things you should know about me: I’m not bothered by playroom clutter or disorganization. But sticky hands and faces, destroyed toys, and dolls with knotted hair make me batty. I have no idea why, but if you come at me with any of these things, I get all hand-flappy and upset. And of COURSE Annie’s favorite toys require hair brushing. I’ve really been working on not getting worked up about these things because they are stupid and par for the course with toddlers.
So after I snatched the doll out of Annie’s hand I took a deep breath, and then handed it back to her. I did manage to (calmly) encourage her to brush my hair instead of Merida’s (I really took one for the team). But I still felt bad, so I handed over my Elinor doll.
I watched Annie play with both of them, making the dolls interact. At one point she started speaking for the dolls. The Elinor doll said, “I love you Merida!” And the Merida doll said, “I love you too Mama!” And then I melted into a puddle of goo and swore to never care about her ruining the hair on her dolls again.
But just to be clear, I melted into a puddle of non-sticky goo, because sticky is icky.
Mommy says:
Sooooo jealous that you get to play dolls!!! All I get are dinosaurs and robots at my house.
Anyway, I found this on pinterest, maybe it will help fix any hairdo that Annie decides to give her new dolls:
http://cookieandclaire.blogspot.com/2011/11/rapunzel-rapunzel-let-down-yourgirl.html?m=1
You seem like such a fun mommy!! Your girls are so lucky! xoxo
lyzzette says:
I also saw this on pinterest might help!
http://www.housingaforest.com/happy-birthday-barbie/
Jenn says:
Maybe you should have bought 2 packages of the dolls than you both could have had your own set???? Just sayin’……..
Annalisa says:
I’d probably have to do this, I’ll admit. Thankfully the daughter is like me as a little tyke, and shows no interest in dolls (more for me!)
Heather says:
Last night I came down stairs to find my 8 year old ripping a brush through her very lovely porcelain ‘Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty’ doll and I cried out “WAIT! NO! YOU CAN”T DO THAT!”
She was so confused, just wanted to get the tangles out. It took every ounce of my own childlike (childish?) doll hair beauty love to take a big breath and explain she needed to be gentle or the doll will be bald in a few days.
Yeesh, Moms have it hard when it comes to letting go of our own toy ideas.
designhermomma says:
did she sit through the movie well? I take the big girls to movies often, but always leave Gage home. Maybe it’s time he goes to his first…
mel says:
I know exactly how you feel about the sticky (do not touch me with those hands!!!) and the hair brushing. That is a huge step. Good for you
TonyaM says:
I’m an all the way type A. As in I DO have my own dolls. Lol! I have a reborn doll that I splurged and bought myself during a very dark time, and my girls have always known that he’s MINE. Their friends always want to get their grubby little hands on him when they’re here playing, and I’m always amused at the way they look at me as if I’m a total whack job when I say, “No, honey. You may not play with my doll. Sorry. ”
My oldest always took pristine care of her dolls which made mama very happy. My youngest has taken markers to the faces of hers, stripped every Barbie who has ever entered the house, and CUT DOLLS’ HAIR. Omg…the horror. Just weeks ago she gave an American Girl Doll (her sister’s, haha) a snazzy little pixie cut. I was appalled.
So yeah, I agree with the above poster. Get your own set of dolls.
LexC says:
The 1/2 water 1/2 fabric softener in a spray bottle works wonders for the Rapunzel doll hair. I think most baby dolls should be hairless…makes us half type A people much happier!
Nellie says:
OMG, it must be a Mommy thing because I’m the same exact way! I don’t know which one bothers me more though, the sticky, gooey fingers/face or the brushing of lustrous doll hair! My daughter managed to completely deep fry a birthday doll we gave her last year – by deep fry I mean that the doll had gorgeous wavey locks but by the time my daughter was through “brushing” the doll’s hair, it looked like it was deep fried and then the finger stuck in an electrical socket for days! She still has the doll and every time I look at it, I cringe just looking at the hair. I’ve tried to deep condition it (no joke!) but nothin’! It’s fugly and I’m just tempted to shave it all off but then my daughter would be devastated so I leave it alone and try not to look at the doll’s hair whenever it’s in the room with me.
Annalisa says:
Do you have any baby hats that your kid has outgrown? Put a hat on the doll. Your daughter will probably be fascinated with the idea, and you can cover her hair so you don’t have to see it. Win win.
Meghan says:
I have three girls and countless dolls with messed up hair…the fabric softener/water works great, but you have to use a doll hair brush (or wig hair brush), not a regular brush. We have a little spray bottle with “magic doll hair spray” and now and again we go through them all and brush their hair. Want to see nightmare hair? Check out American Girl Kanani! Gorgeous for the first five seconds you have her….
Prudie says:
I am the same way! I bought my daughter a “Babysitter Barbie” who had the most beautiful ringlets and when she wants to brush her hair I try to distract her with something else.
Rebecca says:
She is just growing up so fast. Really, I think she’s growing up faster than the kids I actually see on a day to day basis in real life. I guess it’s because Annie lives in my computer that helps her grow faster? She is a doll and thanks for sharing her with all of us who live in internet land.
Shannon says:
Aww…how sweet though! I do remember seeing something online about how you could get doll hair back in tip top shape….I can’t remember what though!
lisa gleeson says:
You crack me up, trust me, some things get better with time
Pilotswife97 says:
A neurotic mom on a nickelodeon show says “wet and sticky is very icky, sticky and wet makes mommy upset”. Not saying you’re neurotic just sharing because it’s funny;)
Tauni says:
If the tangled doll hair drives you batty, make some Doll Hair Detangler. It is about 2 tbls fabric softener and the rest water in a travel size spray bottle. Works great at helping you brush the hair without it getting greasy and keeping it tangle free!
Janette says:
I want a little girl SO BAD! I grew up being girly and playing with Barbies, and now I have two boys, and my life is all cars, and dirt, and peeing outside. I can hang with the cars, but I can’t exactly swing peeing outside. And dirt is gross.
Also, my toddler pet peeve is when they have toys with lots of parts, and they don’t care about keeping them together, or whether or not they lose a part or 10. Drives me CRAY-ZAY.
Geri says:
I found your site at another site, and I was so ding danged impressed with your response to some criticism there, I decided to give your blog a read.
This is just a delightful story, love how you write “all hand flappy and upset”. I get a mental image of that, and it makes me smile.
Okay, now I’m heading back to catch up.
And I am sorry you lost your girl, Maddie.
Sarah says:
I was unsure if I should take my daughter to see Brave…it looked a little scary and she’s scared of everything! We saw the preview while watching another movie and the preview alone made her want to go home. But seeing as Annie is only 2 and LOVED it, I’m thinking I should just take my girl (she is 5) even though she is scared…should I push her through it?
Perhaps buying this set of dolls (same as you – I would love the mom doll!) and then maybe she would fall in love with Princess what’s-her-name and then we could go to the movie…ok maybe I just really want to go to the movie!
PS – I gave our Rapunzel Princess & Me doll a serious hair cut (I could not deal with that mess of a mop)
Heather says:
I don’t know…I think Annie might have been just a bit too young to be scared. We saw it with a four year old and six year old, and while they weren’t too scared, they definitely got a little nervous. But, maybe tell her in advance there is a scary part with a bear, and see what she says.
Becky says:
I am the same way! I can take accidental messes but I can’t take toys being runied from being careless. My wonderful niece is visiting and I told her we were going to play with my old Barbies. The dolls at her home have matted hair, dirty clothes, and marked faces. My dolls made it through my entire childhood in nearly pristine condition (and, trust me, I was not a Type-A child) and I watched her like a hawk to ensure that they would remain in the same condition.
I have to say, though, that Princess Merida’s hair looks more like it did in the movie after Annie played with her! : )
Zelda says:
Looks like you two have Merida and Elinor’s characters DOWN! 8D Are you sure you weren’t roleplaying when you were blogging this?
…Better watch what Annie feeds you until she gets hooked on a new movie.
Diana Horn says:
I am full on F-ing Type A. Not only am I undone by sticky hands and messy faces and ratty hair…I’ve been known to swiftly yank on a child’s hand to pull their finger out of their nose! And I am not talking about my own kid! She’s far too fussy to ever pick her nose. Ick. It’s my cryptonite. Poopy diapers…fine! Boogers or nose picky…watch out for the crazy lady shoving a tissue in your face and saying “daaaaahling…. we use a tissue for such things!” That’s right, I instantly become a RHONY! And I make no excuses….cause it is GA-ROSSSSSSSSS.
The end.
Michelle says:
I HATE messy doll hair, too!
One of the BEST tips someone gave me after we bought an American Girl doll was DON’T use those plastic brushes that come with the dolls!
They are usually the culprits for ruined doll hair.
Instead, go to Sally Beauty Supply and get a wire-bristled wig brush.
It is a miracle – my girls can work up a pretty good ‘rat’s nest’ in their dolls hair pretty quick, but with a few squirts of water and a once over with the wig brush – the hair still looks as good as new almost 5 years later. (just don’t use it on human hair, because the oils can ruin plastic doll hair.)