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.