There Will Be No Eyeball Sucking

For a long time I've resisted the temptation to take the girls to a Build-a-Bear Workshop. This place seemed like the ultimate fleece the parent attraction. I knew if we wandered into a location we wouldn't just build a bear but by the time we left we'd have a $2,000 Bear of the Month subscription and a time share at Camp Build-a-Bear on Lake Havasu.

So when the girls and I saw one of these store's today I tried to scoot them past it. No luck. They both screamed and made tiny grunting sounds. I didn't want anyone having a grand mal episode so we went in. What the heck; our only mission today was to kill some time and buy some groceries so I thought I'd see just how expensive these stuffed animals actually were.

Turns out we won't be packing our bags for an Arizona time share after all. The place does a fine job of collecting your information and upselling you shoes, outfits and sound packs to go with your bear. However, it was a much more low-key experience than I thought it would be.

I could take a lot of time describing the process. It's a little more involved than you might think, including a little ceremony where you install a heart in your bear and bring it to life. After something like that, most of you who know me would guess that I'll be lying awake at night wondering when the bears will come to suck out my eyeballs. I'm not worried. It was all too cute for words.

One of the biggest surprises was the fact that Julia's bear was only $10. Of course, the T-shirt she chose for it was $6 but I didn't think we'd find her a stuffed buddy for less than $30.

Allie named both bears. Her bear is Samantha and Julia's was Carol. Julia later changed her bear's name to Jane. They were thrilled with the bears and the experience of buying them. As jaded as kids sometimes seem to be these days, it was very satisfying to see them get excited over something as traditional as a teddy bear.

At this moment, both girls are sleeping with their bears beside them.

I would have paid the $30 without blinking.

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P.S. Deb ran over and thoroughly squished a chipmunk this weekend. For those of you keeping score:

Lee Family - 2
Chipmunks - 0