Just Imagine

When I was younger, I didn't have any Legos, but my brother did. He also had Lincoln Logs, and we would spend hours building things together.

Since I have all girls, Legos haven't been a real big part of our family. Unlike families that have boys, that word has never appeared on any Christmas list my girls have written.

Barbies: Check

Baby Dolls: Check

Kitchen: Check

American Girl Doll: Check

Legos: Ummm.....No

However, my youngest daughter has now taken a liking to them. Living in a small town, we don't have a Lego store. Sure, you can buy them at Wally World, but it isn't quite as fun.

So, while we were in Chicago, we decided to visit a real Lego store.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! THIS is what greeted us at the entrance of the store.

Impressive, eh? This is made entirely out of.....you guessed it....Legos! I can't even imagine how many hours it took them to put this together.

The Chicago skyline was in one window, and this Lego man was in the other. To be honest, this one rather surprised me. I was kind of shocked that in this day and age, they would actually make a Lego man smoking a pipe. They are not allowed to post cigarette ads on billboards anymore, or have commercials on television, or even advertise for them in a magazine. So, isn't it rather odd that a store that sells toys for children, would in a round about way, be advertising smoking? What do you think?

This gigantic dragon could be seen throughout the store. His head was at the back of the store, but his body appeared to be "coming through" the ceiling every so often all around the store.

Here is a close up of his mouth


This black cat with a white patch resembles my mother-in-law's cat, Cozy.


My oldest daughter said this reminded her of Hubs and I. Awww ♥


The best part of being at the Lego store? Playing with the all the Legos!



Here is our favorite cowboy, Woody, from Toy Story. I think they should have put Jessie next to him. That would have been cute!

This is Hubs, my oldest daughter, and my brother-in-law standing next to him. He was very tall!

Being at the Lego store made me remember just how much fun Legos can be. Hmmm....maybe I will put them on my Christmas list this year.

You never know, Santa just may decide to put some in my stocking.

I have been a very good girl this year....

American Girl

Before I had children, I had never heard of "American Girl". One of my friends, who had a daughter, mentioned it when my oldest was just a baby, and then she said, "just wait".

Wait? Wait for what?

Then, when my daughter was about five....it started.

The catalogs mysteriously appeared.

And they kept coming.

And coming. And coming. And coming.

With the catalogs, came the nagging.

"I want this!"

"I want that!"

"Look, it's on sale!"

And so, I found out what my friend meant when she told me to "just wait".

*Sigh*

So...."Santa" was asked to bring two little girls a much desired American Girl doll.

Santa went above and beyond, and he made them wooden beds, and Mrs. Clause made them bedding to go with it, and stenciled on the beds to make them extra special.

That Christmas morning, there were two very excited little girls, who were overjoyed with what they found wrapped under the tree....two dolls by the name of Samantha

and Kit



Complete with the story book about their lives.

Fast forward to the littlest sister, and of course, she also wanted an American Girl doll, just like her sisters had. Santa felt that she was not old enough to take care of an expensive doll like that quite yet, so she received a Bitty Baby. (I talked about how to clean the dolls on this post).
When the youngest was six, she received her very own "Just like you" American Girl doll. She named her Jenny.

And the catalogs kept coming.

My youngest daughter wanted to take a trip to the American Girl store. The nearest one to us is in Chicago.

So, when we planned on taking a trip to Chicago, the first place on the list was the American Girl Place.



Here is the glass elevator at the The Water Tower shopping mall where the American Girl Place is located.


It made me a little bit sad that we had never gone when my oldest girls were younger. It is a little girl's dream come true. But, a fifteen year old? Not so much.

My middle daughter still enjoyed it some what, and my youngest of course, never wanted to leave.

She really wanted to get Jenny's ears pierced, and so we got the camera all ready to document the experience.

When we arrived, it was rather anticlimactic, as we were told that they did not do it in front of you, but rather, took the doll to the back, and the machine "pierced" them back there.

So, we sat Jenny in the chair, and the lady brushed her hair, and we took pictures of that.





By the way, we went to the AG store on a Wednesday, and there was NO wait! Definitely better to go during the week, than on a weekend. See? No line! I can't imagine what this place looks like on a weekend...




For $14, the AG store pierced Jenny's ears, and that included a card with six pairs of earrings.

Hubs mentioned he could have just taken her into the garage, and "pierced" them for free, but that wouldn't have been quite as much fun.

And it wouldn't have included earrings.

For those of you who have all boys, or live under a rock, American Girl is HUGE!

Not only can you buy the dolls, but there are literally thousands of accessories that you can buy to go with them.

See the little white dog next to the doll? That is Coconut. She is probably the most popular little "pet" that you can buy for your doll. They also have horses, that cost almost as much as a REAL horse.

FYI....we own Coconut.

We purchased Coconut from a garage sale.

For a quarter :)

My youngest daughter standing in front of the "Just like you" doll case.
With these dolls, you can purchase one that....well....looks just like you! They have all different colors of skin, hair, and eyes, so they can be your "twin".

As you can see, they had already started decorating for the Christmas season. Not a fan of the saying, "Happy Holidays". What holiday are we celebrating?

It is CHRISTmas, people!

Just in case YOU have a little girl who has something from American Girl on her Christmas list, be aware that not only is there "Black Friday", but there is something called "Cyber Monday". This is the Monday AFTER Black Friday.

I was able to get the outfit that "Jenny" is dressed in, for 50% off, on Cyber Monday last year. When a single outfit for the doll can cost $25, that is a good deal!

So....be looking for sales on that day!

I know I will....

Pick Up And Go Hodgepodge

I'm doing Hodgepodge a day early...


1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?

I guess I would have to say my Ninja.



As usual, once I bought one, they made a "new and improved" one though. It always seems like they wait until I buy one (whatever it is) and THEN they go and improve it. Ha! Anyway, I really love the small Ninja that came with the big one. I use it like a mini food processor. It is perfect for chopping nuts, or making a small batch of salsa.


2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?

When your health is concerned. I'm a firm believer in not waiting until things are bad before you get help. More on that at a later time....


3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?

We have a very large family room, so we have a gas insert fireplace in there. It heats up the room so much, that we can't keep it on all the time, or we would all die from heat stroke! It doesn't do a whole lot for the rest of the house, though it does help out a little.

We keep the heat at about 68 during the day, and 66 at night. Our home is well insulated, and retains heat fairly well. We have a large bay window in the front of our house, and when the sun is shining, it really helps heat up the living room.


4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?

I have/had a close relationship with my one set of Grandparents. My Gram passed away, and I miss her every day. My Grandpa is still alive, and I talk to him on a regular basis.

My other set, I have a pretty close relationship with my Grandpa, but my Grandma (who has passed away) I wasn't real close to.


5. When did you last have a family portrait taken?

We try to take one at Christmas time for our Christmas card. This past year, we just had the girls (and Benji) in it.





6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?

To me, it means that you are proud of your country, and you do your best to honor and respect it.


7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game?

Not really. Every once in a while, I will pay solitaire. As a kid, I would play cards quite a bit, but not so much as an adult.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Lately, I feel like I have so much to say, but not much time to say it! I still haven't posted pics from our church's Trunk or Treat we had on Halloween night.

Hubs' family is coming to visit us from Maine, so we are off to Chicago to see the sights, go to museums, and do some shopping.



I'm sure I will have lots of pics to share when I come back.

I love homeschooling. We can just pick up....and go! No catch up work when we get back and I don't have to ask permission or let anyone know my girls will be absent. It doesn't matter that it is in the middle of the week. It's a convenient time for us to go, so we go. The girls can miss this whole week of school, and spend time with their family.

Until next time....