Happy 19th, Ro! We love you.

Mimi in the doghouse, as it were

In my defense, let me say that I’m very much a non-spoiling grandma. Ni does not go home with new toys every visit, she must follow her Mom’s rules of behavior and she’s not allowed to eat a lot of junk at our house. About the only indulgences she’s permitted are eating Parmesan cheese out of a bowl and ‘stinky snacks’ (Triscuits with butter, P. cheese and half an olive on top, slid under the broiler for a minute).

Since they live here and we see them all the time, it’s to our advantage not to turn her into a brat.

But since I’m so good most of the time, when I fall from grace, I do a really good job of it.

Witness: Poop-Scoopin' Barbie.

Which we bought yesterday, during a quick trip to the local Big Box for some groceries, after costume stop.

I was after a cheap Barbie myself for a costume model and had not planned to buy Nini anything, but she requested a new Mermaidia, since Mom had forbidden any more regular Barbies in the bath.
If there is Barbie-buying going on, she’s there.

We were inspecting the mermaids when she saw IT.

Cleverly disguised as “Barbie and Tanner”. Tanner is her Golden Lab, who comes with a leash, lots of toys and some other paraphernilia. Jake’s brother has a Golden Lab, so we can see the attraction of the dog. But unless you read the box fairly closely, you don’t realize that the ingested dog treats reappear out of a hole in the dog’s backside, when you press his tail a certain way. Barbie is supposed to collect these, using her magnetic poop-scooping wand.. Then , they can be re-used as dog treats.

Yes, as Sis pointed out to us later, with tears of indignant laughter running down her face, the dog eats poo.

When I realized that dog droppings were a bit part of the action, several aisles away from the toy section, it was too late for negotiation.

“But I want this one!”

“Ni, Mommy is going to be really upset if we buy this.”

“We can leave the poop at your house!” Yeah, that’s not a phrase I ever thought I’d hear about a toy.

So we bought it. Because I’m a weak character, I’d had a long day and poo aside, it wasn’t otherwise objectionable. But let’s be honest - a toy that centers around dog poop? What were they thinking?

Good job, Mattel.

The Bubs Report

Bubs, genius baby that he is, is cutting a tooth and almost rolling over. At barely three months. The tooth is not unusual - they've all been early teethers. And pitiful it is, too, to watch someone with not much muscle control try to eat their fist to soothe their tingly gums.

I'm sorry to report that we'll watch him trying to roll over and getting increasingly frustrated for minutes at a time. All that tiny flailing and determination cracks us up. We do rescue him before he completely loses it - we're not that mean. Besides, it build character.