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The great thing about our daughter is how much she loves to really play with her American Girl dolls.  She doesn’t just dress them and put them on the shelf, she actually plays with them and gives them adventures all of their own.  So its always great when her friends come over and help to add to the fun.  So why not set up a proper little American Girl doll party?  We came across some party ideas on http://www.plan-an-elegant-tea-party.com/an-american-girls-tea-party.html

Have fun!

If it seems funny to you that we are posting about a way to organize the mounds of American Girl Doll stuff your daughters have acquired only one day after we posted about spoiling your children… don’t worry, the irony isn’t lost on us.  Here’s the problem. While we, as parents, have the best of intentions, they, as grandparents have the best of intentions too.  What kind of grandmother can resist the pleas of a poor, disadvantaged grandchild (who has horrible parents that don’t buy the child anything).  Truthfully, what kind of grandmother can resist the American Girl Catalog and the abundance of choice (and doll clothes on sale) from Emily Rose.

So - the question is, when your American Girl Doll stuff gets out of hand, what’s a parent to do?  Well, Wilyhacker on the instructables website has come up with a plan to create the fabulous American Girl Doll storage unit that you see above.  Granted - we didn’t actually try making this - so although it looks relatively simple - I can’t vouch for it.  Especially since I’m not handy at these kinds of things.  But we would love to see and hear from anyone who has given it a try.  And hey - if it all goes really badly you could always just give up and buy one of our doll trunks.

For more Wordless Wednesday please visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

One of the biggest fears that I have as a Parent is making a mistake in how I raise my American Girl.  I want to give her all the tools she will need to move out in to this increasingly confusing and competitive world.  I came across this article on MSN Lifestyle entitled the 10 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make.  Although I found the writer’s tone a little patronizing and at times even disdainful - I am in absolute agreement that each of these “mistakes” are the basic principles of good parenting.  My issue is this - are these really the 10 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make?  Have the general parenting skills in the US really degraded so far that these 10 parenting basics have to be so pointedly raised?

We have all had to deal with the occassional spoiled child.  We have all had to discipline other people’s children… once in a while.  But it is an epidemic?  And while we all experience the occasional slip and make an error of judgement… aren’t we basically good Parents? 

These 10 Mistakes were so obvious to me as parenting basics that I wonder am I missing something?  I’d love to hear from those of you who read this.  Did you learn something new?  Do you disagree with any of the points made?

We are very pleased to introduce you to a great website that we discovered that your girls will love!  The American Girl Fan website is written wonderfully by Liz.  Liz is a 14 year-old home-schooled girl who obviously LOVES American Girl Dolls as we do.  Liz blogs about all things American Girl.  Her most recent posts include a review of her trip to the American Girl Store in Chicago, her story of American Girl products that she is saving for, and some great photos of her American Girl Dolls, including the one above (which we borrowed) showing her dolls Mia and Julie on a picnic. 

Liz is doing a great job in creating a blog for American Girl Fans - if you have one in your house we suggest you check it out.

Another review from Emily:

Title: Double Act by Jacqueline Wilson

Storyline: Ruby and Garnet are 10-year old twins - identical.  They do everything together especially since their mother died three years ago.  But can the double act work for ever?  When so much around them is changing. 

Favorite Character: Garnet, the shy, quiet, calm, self-controlled, logical twin.  She is a real book worm like me!

What you most liked: When they threw their sponges at Rose and ran away.  Then they made up one of their plays.  When they go home, Rose, for once, is nice and doesn’t row them.

What you least liked: When Garnet has to go to boarding school without Ruby and Ruby cuts her hair and gets mad at Garnet and won’t talk to her.

Why you would recommend it to a friend: This book is great fun for ages 9-12.  Girls will love these funny twins above all of Jacqueline’s loved books.

The latest, greatest American Girl Nintendo DS game is out, and it is based on our favorite Kit doll called American Girl - Kit Mystery Challenge.  It is fun, spy game based on our intrpid reporter searching for news stories during the Great Depression.  Kit’s home gets boarders agian but each boarder seems to have  aproblem for Kit to fix.  Kit travels round the screen interviewing and picking up clues to solve the mysteries.  This is a fun game for all Nintendo gamers to try.

What is it about Cinderella?  I have never known a little girl who has not been madly in love with Cinderella.  Is it because she is the classic symbol for the oppressed  ”overcoming adversity”?  Is it because she is in the first Disney movie that everyone watches together with their daughter?  Or is it just that she is so pretty?  I tend to think it is the last - what little girl can resist a pretty princess?  Forgive me if you disagree - but I think Cinderella is the prettiest of them all.

My sister Michelle (our customer service and shipping manager extraordinaire) might like to have posted this herself - but she is off on a well-earned jersey shore vacation.  So I am taking over.  Here is my niece (oh alright I mean Michelle’s daughter,) Maggie on the left and her friend, Maggie, on the right cuddling with none other than, Cinderella.

Michelle took Maggie and Maggie to see a children’s production of the show and as a special treat gave both of them our Cinderella American Girl Doll Dress.  Our Maggie dressed up her Bitty Twin and Maggies dressed up her American Girl Doll.  Don’t they look cute?  You can get the Cinderella Doll dress with a matching dress for a girl as well.

Yes, we’re still in the throes of Summer and hopefully having fun.  Its been a great Summer so far with trips, travels and visitors…and nice weather to go along with it.  But if the Summer is seeming to get too long for you and the kids here are some great creative ideas.  Here are some ways to answer the age old cry: Mom, I’m bored….

It is a list of 100 (yes, one hundred!) fun things to do with your kids.  The list was produced by Ronit Baras at Family Matters.  It comes in 5 parts of 20 activities each.  There are so many here that some inevitably won’t fit but if you find a few that do then its a winner.

Well here’s something really yummy for your kids to make.  It’s not really Summer food  - more hearty and wholesome - but if you put some cream on top, who cares if it’s seasonal.   Its Dizzy Dee’s 5 Minute Chocolate Cake.  In 5 minutes it will bring back so many childhood memories of having your favorite food at home.  And it is so easy no one could mess up - all you need to do is mix all the ingredients into a mug and microwave - easy, fun and guess what?  It’s tastes yummy too!

We tried it at home and it was a great success.  We used an extra large mug to help little hands avoid spillage disaster during stirring.

Here’s what you need:

4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Spoon in one egg. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1,000 wat) Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug and into saucer and enjoy!