Jinjer 41: Felicity Nicole 8 lb 3 oz

[Georgiana]

1 hour ago, nausicaa said:

I was so obsessed with American Girl dolls from ages 9 to 12 and they were so expensive, it's actually how I learned to budget. I'd get some Christmas/birthday money from my grandparents along with my allowance money and open up the catalog salivating over all the stuff I thought I could buy. And quickly learn I couldn't get all that much... So I had to learn how to prioritize which things I wanted most of all, make savings timelines, and pick up extra chores for money because obviously I was going to die if I didn't have Kirsten's lunch set in time for the new school year.

Also, does anyone remember they briefly had a "Historical Society" program where you completed certain historical projects (signed off by a parent) and then sent in for sticker badges and eventually charms on a bracelet? They came out with that when I was ten and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 

I am also still friends with the girl I was set up with through their pen pal program.

Like I said, I was really obsessed with American Girl. 

 

I LOVED THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY!  I’m pretty sure I still have all my stuff from it!

[onekidanddone]

My childhood doll trauma happened when my sister cut the hair off one of them and tried to tell me it would grow back. 

[Lisafer]

4 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

I renovated some Barbies and used fabric conditioner on the hair. Worked pretty well.

I use Downy in water to wash out my troll dolls' hair when I buy one that's in rough shape. I soak it and then gently blow dry/comb it out. It really softens up the tangles. 

Never had an American Girl doll.  I had a few books, but the dolls were far too expensive. I did have a Cabbage Patch, since my parents weren't Gothardites!

[Audrey2]

I'm too old for the American Girls dolls, but my siblings and I had the Fisher Price My Friends dolls. I had Jenny, the brunette, my sister had Mandy, the blond, and my brother had Mikey. My jenny had the yellow dress, white hat, and white shoes, instead of the brown. They had the rubbery plastic arms and legs, but cloth bodies. You could also get patterns and make more clothes for them, as well as buy clothes. I wonder if anyone else remembers them

Spoiler

 

[spatulahandeddancer]

1 hour ago, onekidanddone said:

My childhood doll trauma happened when my sister cut the hair off one of them and tried to tell me it would grow back. 

I only got my American Girl doll after promising my parents that I wouldn't cut her hair, because I did just that with my barbies.  I was OBSESSED with AG, especially after the first store opened in Chicago and I went to the play they did (I've always done ballet and modern dance but I *begged* my parents to let me take tap so that I could audition to play Molly, never got to though...).  Molly and Samantha were my favorites in terms of the books for sure, but I had a Josefina doll (and many years later my grandparents bought me Kit and I inherited my cousin's old Felicity doll).  When my dad sold our house, I sold/gave away Felicity and Kit, but I kept Josefina and a few of my favorite outfits to give to my future kids.

[Cheetah]

Y'all are making me feel really old.  And like a bad mom.  My daughter had a bunch of the AG books when she was 6 or 7 years old, but I put off buying her a doll until she was a bit older and really wanted one... and then she never really wanted one.  So I guess that doesn't actually make me a bad mom, but still... LOL.  She just wasn't much of a doll kid, and once she started up with Harry Potter all of the AG interest vanished. 

[jqlgoblue]

6 hours ago, Runningfromreality said:

I had a Molly that I loved so much that we had to send her to the American Girl Doll hospital (I think her leg or arm was detached, and they sent her back in a hospital gown with a cast). I also undid my Molly's braids and her hair isn't even brushable anymore  My sister had a Kirsten and we shared a Samantha that wasn't destroyed the same way Molly was, but Molly was and is by far my favorite and I'm sad she's not in great condition now. 

I had Samantha and I brushed her hair so much her head had to be replaced, twice. The first time she went to the hospital it was free and I thought it was so cool (even though maybe not given the head replacement?). The second time it was not free and I think there was no hospital ... anyway my mom was not pleased and I might have paid for it myself... not totally sure. Regardless,  whatever happened (and the fact I was much older) I barely touched her hair after that. Hair still looks great almost 30 years later... 

[CorruptionInc.]

5 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I’ve got my fingers crossed my daughter never gets into those dolls. I love the historical aspects and that many of them seem to be strong characters, so I’d have no issue with her enjoying the books... but the dolls and accessories are so fucking expensive. I went to the store in Manhattan once with a friend so she could get a gift for her much younger cousin and my jaw almost hit the floor because of how pricey everything was. 

(So far Velocitoddler has two dolls - a Raggedy Ann my grandparents gave her and a Cabbage Patch doll I bought her for Christmas or her birthday. I’m really hoping she stays content with that stuff and similar items since they were pretty inexpensive.)

Living in both South Africa and Australia I have never heard of American Girl Dolls.

I agree though, dolls can be so expensive. I also remember vividly I never had a Cabbage Patch kid because my mum didn't like them... they were all the rage in the 80's. 

Off to google the things I have heard of today!

I also was wondering when little Vuolo was coming, she's very cute. The head band... It seemed like Jinger was pregnant for a long time?

[Ivycoveredtower]

8 minutes ago, CorruptionInc. said:

Living in both South Africa and Australia I have never heard of American Girl Dolls.

I agree though, dolls can be so expensive. I also remember vividly I never had a Cabbage Patch kid because my mum didn't like them... they were all the rage in the 80's. 

Off to google the things I have heard of today!

I also was wondering when little Vuolo was coming, she's very cute. The head band... It seemed like Jinger was pregnant for a long time?

it seems like she was pregnant forever because of how early she announced she announced Jan 3 which means she was only about 8 weeks when she announced. 

[apandaaries]

50 minutes ago, Cheetah said:

Y'all are making me feel really old.  And like a bad mom.  My daughter had a bunch of the AG books when she was 6 or 7 years old, but I put off buying her a doll until she was a bit older and really wanted one... and then she never really wanted one.  So I guess that doesn't actually make me a bad mom, but still... LOL.  She just wasn't much of a doll kid, and once she started up with Harry Potter all of the AG interest vanished. 

Totally fine, and they are not really worth the huge financial investment unless a kid is REALLY invested.  One who easily moves onto Harry Potter (excellent choice, might I add) doesn't need one or two years with an expensive AG doll. 

[VelociRapture]

5 hours ago, Ivycoveredtower said:

it seems like she was pregnant forever because of how early she announced she announced Jan 3 which means she was only about 8 weeks when she announced. 

No. She was 38w4d on July 10th, meaning she was due right around the time she gave birth on July 19th. That puts her at 12 weeks when they announced in early January.

ETA: I’d guess it felt like forever because of how much it was discussed here. Jeremy and Jinger gave updates, but it wasn’t too often and we haven’t seen her pregnant in the show yet. The same thing happened with Jill, Jessa, and Joy. Kendra is the only one where people didn’t say that and that was because she didn’t have any social media presence, making it harder to speculate.

[bekkah]

13 hours ago, Georgiana said:

I was really into American Girl Dolls growing up. Like, REALLY into them. I have Felicity, Addy, Samantha, and Josefina. I also have almost all of the original Samantha accessories, outfits, and furniture, most (very possibly all) of the outfits for the other girls and some of their accessories. The furniture got redundant since all the dolls fit in it.  The original Pleasant Company stuff was good enough quality that it’s all saved for any daughters I might have.

I, um, also had two matching outfits for myself. I had Addy’s school dress and Felicity’s birthday dress. I still have Felicity’s summer hat! I should use it for gardening.

To be fair, I did have to buy a lot of it myself. ALL my money went to AG for several years. If I had to do it with my daughter, I’d make her buy them herself too. As soon as I had to save up, I really started treating them a lot better.   But it was my first effort at “collecting” and the main thing I was into for a REALLY long time, so I amassed a small fortune of doll things. 

I was a weird kid. 

Umm, I was weird too. I have 40 around the world Barbie dolls from when I was a kid and they are all still in their boxes. I collected them, I pretty much got one for losing a tooth to xmas to birthdays or just one would randomly show up. I think my mom watched for them when they went on sale and kept them till she could give them. 

[fluffernutter]

My girls were obsessed with AG. They all had one- My oldest had Kit Kitterage, the younger two had dolls that looked like them? AG For Me or something? And would always ask for furniture and clothes/accessories for their bdays and christmas. We sent the dolls "to the hospital" twice- once our puppy chewed an arm off- that was very traumatic for my daughter, and the other time I forget. When AG movies came out, they would go to the movies with their dolls. They loved those dolls so much. 

[justoneoftwo]

12 hours ago, Audrey2 said:

I'm too old for the American Girls dolls, but my siblings and I had the Fisher Price My Friends dolls. I had Jenny, the brunette, my sister had Mandy, the blond, and my brother had Mikey. My jenny had the yellow dress, white hat, and white shoes, instead of the brown. They had the rubbery plastic arms and legs, but cloth bodies. You could also get patterns and make more clothes for them, as well as buy clothes. I wonder if anyone else remembers them

  Hide contents

 

My sister and I had these!  They were great and my mom made fancy historical cloths for them to try to get us to not be as interested in the American Girls.  It didn't work.  My sister never got one (she is 6 years older and was rather old for dolls when they came out apparently) but a few years later I asked for one and my parents assistants told them they had to get her for me (it was a weird conversation).  

In the end the my friend dolls played with Felicity, and it worked out well.  

 

[just_ordinary]

Ok... I just had a look at the prices and holy moly. My parents would have never paid so much money on one toy. Stuff in that price range came way later when I was a teenager and asked several people to pay for it together. And we were far from poor or overly frugal.

[NanisBlessing]

As usual I am late to the name game..... I love my first name (Tatjana), because I was the only one with that name until I left school, I also like my middle name (Stephanie) , which was supposed to be my first name until my mother read a russian novel

I have 3 boys... Nick, who was named for a phrase in a movie  (Nick's your buddy, Nick's your friend)

Sammy, named for Sammy Hagar ..... and Daniel, named after my Ex husbands sister ( Danielle )..... 

 

[BlondeIdol]

You know, I REALLY wanted an AG doll when I was a child. We'd get a magazine of them in mail and I'd ask for Christmas. I always assumed I never got one because my parents really discouraged from playing with dolls. I wasn't allowed to play with Barbies ect... but like @just_ordinaryI took a look at the prices and I'm sure price point had something to do with it. My parents would not want to spend that kind of money on a toy, which is understandable. Eventually I forgot all about American Girl dolls and moved on to something else anyway. 

I totally feel like I missed out on dolls in general though.

[Alisamer]

I grew up during the heyday of Cabbage Patch Kids, and ended up with three of those. The first one was when they first came out and my grandma had to fight for it literally, as some woman was trying to grab it out of her hands!

Many of my friends are still very into American Girl, one even works at the local AG store currently. I don't care about the dolls, but the FURNITURE! And accessories! I desperately NEED that typewriter. I especially keep my eyes open for older Pleasant Company furniture secondhand, as it is amazing quality.

My younger cousin had a Bitty Baby, and they wore matching outfits every Easter for years and years. She later had several American Girl dolls, but sold them when she became an emo teenager. 

I have to say, for play dolls, the prices are a bit high - but if the dolls are half the quality of their STUFF, they may be worth it. However, as a BJD collector, my view on doll prices is likely skewed a bit... One of mine was $800. Limited edition with his original facepaint and fullset outfit! So I paid less than he cost originally! But still, $800. 

[tabitha2]

@BlondeIdol What was wrong with Dolls? Even stuffed animals?  But You can indulge now  Nothing wrong with adults collecting dolls or toys in general as a hobby and they can be a good investment too boot.

 

I really wasn’t that into soft toys except Pound Puppies and Kitties. I still have the the Pound Kitty I got 30 years ago for Christmas. I had every She Ra doll and every single accessory as well and a huge number of the original My Little pony  as well as a huge amount of Rainbow Bright and Strawberry Short Cake loot. And I loved Popples if any knows what they are. I wish I had all that stuff now actually   

 

[FeministShrew]

@Audrey2 I had my childhood Mandy until she got lost in my move three years ago.
 

[Mabel]

17 hours ago, nausicaa said:

I was so obsessed with American Girl dolls from ages 9 to 12 and they were so expensive, it's actually how I learned to budget. I'd get some Christmas/birthday money from my grandparents along with my allowance money and open up the catalog salivating over all the stuff I thought I could buy. And quickly learn I couldn't get all that much... So I had to learn how to prioritize which things I wanted most of all, make savings timelines, and pick up extra chores for money because obviously I was going to die if I didn't have Kirsten's lunch set in time for the new school year.

 Also, does anyone remember they briefly had a "Historical Society" program where you completed certain historical projects (signed off by a parent) and then sent in for sticker badges and eventually charms on a bracelet? They came out with that when I was ten and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 

I am also still friends with the girl I was set up with through their pen pal program.

Like I said, I was really obsessed with American Girl. 

 

I was the exact same way! I still have all my dolls, and books, and I can't wait to hopefully one day pass them down to my future daughter. As cheesy as it sounds, I have AG dolls to think for so much of my childhood. The historical dolls are what really got me into history which has stuck around with me to this day. I remember being like 9 and pretending to be a pioneer in my backyard or I would go type up my own news articles to be like Kit lol. 

[louisa05]

I had Mandy. 

To totally date myself, I had this doll: 

http://crissyandbeth.com/babycrissy.html

She'd probably be worth something had I not at some point broke off one of her fingers. 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Alisamer said:

I grew up during the heyday of Cabbage Patch Kids, and ended up with three of those. The first one was when they first came out and my grandma had to fight for it literally, as some woman was trying to grab it out of her hands!

 

I was working retail when they were popular. We would get a shipment in and employees perused it first. Even then, it was slim pickings as the warehouse got to them first. I own 3. 

[MiddleAgedLady]

Does anyone listen to the podcast This American Life? Last week was a really interesting show. They were explaining about church plants. Made me think of Jeremy and how he must have someone who sponsors him with deep pockets. 

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/651/if-you-build-it-will-they-come 

[Mama Mia]

45 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

I had Mandy. 

To totally date myself, I had this doll: 

http://crissyandbeth.com/babycrissy.html

She'd probably be worth something had I not at some point broke off one of her fingers. 

To really date myself, I had the original Crissy, who was like a teen ? Young girl ? Version of baby Crissy. I also had the original Francie doll ( Barbies hipper - in my view - cousin ) AND the rare and prized Growing Up Skipper with her magical puberty powers !