9 to 5 Barre: The Tamagotchi: Can that possibly be the most memorable gift?

A while back my friend Pamela was on a hunt for the Mariposa Barbie, it had just come out, an Easter release. Presents are the new Easter basket. Anyways, everywhere she went the thing was sold out, so Kevin and I got in on the fun.

Kevin was so adorable as he made me stop store after store proclaiming "I didn't even know what a Mariposa was before today but I simply must have it." He will be a good/spoiling dad someday.

After two days of searching we found the Barbie. I drove to a mall in a mostly African American area and bought the sparkliest one. Perhaps African American little girls don't care for Barbie in the same way, there were many black and many white versions of the doll still available.

I saw the doll last weekend, in pieces at Pamela's house. As appealing as the sparkly doll is, apparently her large wings were not as fun and seem to fall off easily, proving more of a bother to Emma than a thrill.

It all makes me wonder what lengths my parents went to in order to buy me the perfect gift and whether I appreciated the toy as much as their efforts (mostly mom's efforts) would have deserved. There are a few that I still appreciate to this day, some of them Barbie related.

The Barbie Ice Cream Shoppe, which made real ice cream (maybe twice), and Peaches and Cream Barbie are two specific Barbie ones. I loved that peach dress and her soft curls, and after watching that terrible commercial, I wish she was here to play with right now. There are many other great things I was given through the years, but the Tamagotchi is possibly the strangest of all.

The Tamagotchi - I wanted this stupid digital pet so bad. It was shaped like an egg and had a couple of buttons that could be used to "feed" and "play" with the pet. I remember sitting in the kitchen on Nelson, talking about this toy and then out of nowhere she bought it for me simply for wanting it. It really was a stupid toy and I was a little old to be wanting it, but I still remember how awesome it was at the time and how surprised and happy I was to get it. Makes me smile just thinking about it.