Who is more excited, ME or Tzipi?

I know her birthday isn't for 8 months, but she's finally at the age where I can give her a big birthday party and with BARBIE! If you were at Zee's last birthday, you'd think I've been doing big birthdays for years, but Zee didn't get a real party until he turned 5. I went all out in Wyoming, but he was a baby and was quite overwhelmed. So we mainly had nice dinners and gave him 1 present. It was after he turned 5 that I started going with the traditional party. So Tzipi will turn 5 this year and I've been really excited about this party. 

 

I spent hours playing Barbie as an only child. I had the whole nine yards. But I can already tell it's going to be a bit more challenging than it was when I was little. Have you noticed that it's not about the clothes anymore? When you go to the store the clothes selection is relegated to a tiny portion and the rest is based on movies and toys for Barbie. You don't have different outfits to mix and match and if you do they are slutty clothes. Back in the 1950s they had real working zippers and tiny buttons! I had some of the outfits. I can tell already that I'm going to be sewing a lot of clothes in the next few years. I even went to Ebay and they don't have a great selection. I had an old Barbie catalog from an antique store and I used to sit and dream of what Barbie used to be. Ken had a rifle that was made from steel and wood! Not plastic. My mom spent her creativity making a very specific wardrobe for her dolls and hand made furniture. I loved her handmade stuff a lot more than the pink plastic stuff. Mainly because life isn't pink. Why does everything have to be pink? I am kind of realistic. I want a white fridge and stove, so my Barbie should have white too. Or heck, stainless steel! Tzipi probably won't care.

I loved playing 'a day in the life'... Sleeping, getting dressed, cooking, shopping, visiting friends. My friend Kelly and I even had a funeral for one of my dolls that got crushed during one of my many "rearrange the room and tell mom it's clean" expeditions. I had a bunch of chairs organized and we had a shoe box casket and eulogies! It was tons of sad fun. (I really was sad, because she was an integral part of my Barbie family system). I had an African American family, a Caucasian family and an older couple that had teenagers. The Disney Barbie set made Ken and Barbie look older. It was very much like a soap opera before I knew what soap operas were. I was very serious about my Barbie world. My mom was a grown up and enjoyed the quiet calm of dressing and styling her doll. I was much more into communication and role playing. I didn't understand how difficult it is to use your imagination when you are tired and want nothing more than quiet time with your daughter. Then your daughter says, You don't play Barbies right. Sorry Mom, I get it now. 

I'm looking forward to the party, but I'm looking forward to sitting down with Tzipi and dressing and combing and cooking and listening to her imagination. I'll probably play it wrong too. :-)

Happy Mother's Day. Thanks for being a great Mom and taking the time to play with me. I love you!