Really? REALLY?

So this morning I ventured out with future Aunt Jennie and Sally O'Malley to see the movie The House Bunny. It was funny...the last 10 minutes they handed over the script writing duties to a kindergartener, but it didn't ruin the entire movie for any of us. It was the typical, hey this girl is a homely misfit with glasses and a ponytail, and we take off those glasses and lose the ponytail and suddenly she's America's Next Top Model. Not Another Teen Movie makes light of that very same thing for a reason...it happens in every movie it seems like.

Following the movie we stopped for a delicious Starbucks and then went hunting for a few minutes for shoes for FAJ's wedding to Uncle Eric in October. We were walking past Pottery Barn Kids and I wanted to duck in to see if they had the elephant teething blanket that Jackson got from a friend of ours so I could consider purchasing it for the baby of the week, Gavin Pierce Swanson, son of Deric and Heather, born Friday morning at 12:03 am.

The three of us were strolling through the store and I basically stuck to the boys side of the store because hey, that's what I have and that's what I was shopping for. Sally and FAJ were lagging behind, and I would soon learn why. I decided to walk back out of the store down the the girls side of the store, and I'll be honest...I was completely disgusted by what I saw.

Boy toys: Trucks, tools, sports stuff. Girls toys: stoves, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers. Seriously. And then 50's retro versions of same. Cause yeah, we should tip our hat to that era of existence since clearly Pottery Barn Kids is still pulling their product development from that time. I mean really? Okay I can get on board for an EZ Bake Oven. I desperately wanted one as a child, and my parents decided to forego the 10% cooked cupcakes baked by a Lite Brite sized light bulb. But really, the ENTIRE Sally Homemaker set? I'm sorry if you happily purchased this for your female child and are offended by this little diatribe, but I find it completely insulting that this is what we position as the top products we should want our little girls to play with. Like we're prepping them for a lifetime of domestication.

I was reviewing my baby photo album from my parents recently, and I noticed something. Nary a doll, stove or washing machine in the lot. Is there a mini-basketball hoop? Heck yes. I don't know who was responsible for that purchase...if they sensed that I wasn't going to be into that Peggy Sue stuff or if sports was what they had hoped I would be into, but thank goodness that was the route they took no matter how they chose it. I can cook (no, really), I can clean (though I'll be honest, Jason is better and more interested in cleaning than I am), I can't sew much, and we both do laundry. And somehow, I still got married to an outstanding guy and produced an amazing child and have a career and a home and a wonderful life....and my favorite toy as a little girl was a basketball hoop. Funny how that still worked out.