Aha! After years of searching, I think I found my life’s true calling today, and it’s not writing or even parenting, but, rather a strange combination of the two. For lack of a better word, I call it Barbie Scenario Building, and this is how it works. I play one round of very descriptive, narrative-heavy Barbies with Greta — every story has a villain, a nice arc for the male and female leads, and several colorful co-stars to keep things light and fun — and then I’m out. And if I did my work well and gave her a great story to play off of, she’ll start from the beginning and play it all over again by herself so I can, you know, do the dishes and go to the bathroom and stuff.
When it works, it’s awesome. She’s happy, I’m happy, the Barbies are happy. But, when my scenario building fails (hey, they can’t all be winners) well, then you actually have to sit down and play Barbies for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I am totally down with playing Barbies with Greta — in fact, if I could get paid for doing that all day, well, hell, we might just be able to buy that new Paul Frank Barbie bedroom set we’ve had our eyes on — but, sometimes, even Daddy needs a break.
So, that’s where Barbie Scenario Building comes in handy. Think up some cool, exciting situations, lay out a compelling, funny narrative and you’re good to go. Oh, I should add here that Greta already cooks up some rocking Barbie scenarios on her own. I’m not kidding, her imagination knows no bounds. Everything is always extremely descriptive and she’s already a pro at making up different voices too! Her Ken is hilarious, and her Robot Ken (a new addition to our troupe) is even better!
But when she’s tired, or sad, or simply finds that her Barbie play needs a little injection of juicy, high-octane, Hollywood drama, well, let’s just say she knows who to come to…
Stay-at-home-Yeti 
Ha ha! That’s an awesome way of playing Barbies! Rugrat rarely asks anyone to play Barbie with her, but when she does, my mind wanders off and says, “Uhm, what all will I say? What should we enact? What do I do?” I’ll have to give your idea a shot, but darn it, that means I need to come up with a scenario first. Maybe I could use it as a way to help her cope with my divorce, but then, I honestly don’t know what the right thing is to have happen so that it becomes a positive learning experience rather than an emotional roller coaster. Ugh! Anyway, this is a great idea — thanks!
Yeah, I’d definitely steer clear of the D-I-V-O-R-C-E discussion in your scenarios! Our last barn burner involved Ken being turned into a poodle by the Wicked Witch from “Snow White”. Barbie Swan Lake (Greta’s name for her, not mine) and Belle had to then drive to the living room in the Barbie Corvette, find the Lego birthday cake and bring it home for Ken to eat before the spell became permanent! Good times! 🙂
Oh, and, just for the record, Recluse. Divorce isn’t totally frowned upon in our Barbie town, in fact, Christie (the posh African-American Barbie) was married at least once before her current union with Robot Ken. So, ain’t no shame in your game!
Ha ha! What kind of life would Barbie (dolls) have if there wasn’t some type of drama over the Ken (dolls) in their lives?! LoL And uh, “robot” Ken?! Never seen/heard of that. Sounds like a potential Wordless Wednesday pic/blog post. 😉
Ha! Robot Ken is actually an older Ken doll that we dug out of the closet the other day. His hair is so crazy that the only explanation for it is that he must be a robot! So, we dubbed him Robot Ken and he talks in a cool robot voice too! I’ll have to record it and post it on here sometime! 🙂
Ahhh – the creative muscles we flex as parents. I have to do the same work with my three-year-old, except her world revolves around Squinkies right now.
Oh, good Lord…I feel for ya! I’ve tried to avoid going down the Squinkies aisle at Target, but, I think she’s catching on, so, I’m probably doomed to a life of stepping on Squinkies too someday. I just hope they’re as soft as they look, because, lemme tell ya, non of Barbie’s little bitty accessories, which I step on daily, are soft! Urgh…
Squinkies wouldn’t survive in my household… I’ve got 2 cats & 1 ADD dog, all 3 like to chew or shred stuff!
They often “steal” stuffed animals and anything small, even Barbie shoes that magically appear throughout the house… So Squinkies are definitely out of the question, as are leaving bedroom doors open! It IS kinda cute though when I see our cat carrying a little furball-on-a-keychain in its mouth as it walks past me, like I’d just let them keep it or something. 😀