Thursday, April 23, 2009

Made in the USA


It was the night before Easter (no bunnies were stirring) and I realized that I had nothing to put in the kid's baskets (which have been the same baskets for the past 3 years) . I was totally willing to forgo the basket thing- I know bad Mom! My husband would not let that happen. This is one thing we do not agree on, this whole make believe thing. I don't want to lie to my kids, but he seems to think it would ruin their childhood if they knew the truth. So I pick my battles, and I play along. Although I never actually come out and say "the Easter Bunny is coming", or "Santa Clause is watching, you better be good!" I admit that I do lie about the tooth fairy...I think a fairy flying into you're room like Tinkerbell is much more believable than a huge bunny with a basket full of goodies, or a fat guy in a red suit with a sac of toys. Besides the tooth fairy stops coming after you lose all of your baby teeth.
So my husband says, just go get them a few little things...nothing big. And maybe a piece of chocolate. And oh, make sure it's stuff MADE IN THE USA. Yeah, okay. So I mosey over to Target- nothing. I waited too last minute! I refuse to go to Walmart, so I head over to Michaels, and then to Stop n Shop. So how many things do you think I got that were "MADE IN THE USA"?






TWO!!!!! I searched high and low, and the only things that I found MADE IN THE USA were the fake plastic grass (proudly displaying that fact on it's package), and silly putty!!!! The chocolate was made in Germany! I ended up getting each of them a movie, and some stickers to go along with their silly putty, and a chocolate bunny- which I should've made myself, but it was too late, and the girls would know it was from me because they know the molds I had for Easter. Which is fine because they got so much from their Grammy and Memere to more than make up for what the Easter Bunny didn't bring.
This searching high and low for the good ole' Made in the USA "stuff" has got me thinking that maybe we need a store that sells only things Made in the USA so that I don't have to go searching for hours on end. If that is not possible maybe stores could at least keep everything they sell that is Made in the USA in one aisle, and advertise MADE IN THE USA this aisle only! It would make my life much easier. Although come to think of it, I wouldn't want it to be plastic because that can't be good for the environment. Plastic factories are a big polluter, maybe they SHOULD stay in China.
A funny thing though to add. My seven year-old was asked by someone if the Easter Bunny came to visit, and she shrugged her shoulders, and got quiet looking at me for confirmation. Then she went on to explain that her Mom bought her the BOLT movie. oops