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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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My daughter’s favorite doll lost its head. I’m sorry…lost her head. It popped right off during a routine wardrobe change. Very traumatic! You may have read about it in my wife’s blog two week’s ago.
We managed a temporary fix by reattaching her head with the help of an ACE bandage (see above). She was a pretty pathetic sight -- the doll, that is. My daughter’s tears finally dried up with the promise that her dear Holly would be fixed.
After some internet research, we discovered that this particular doll has had a history of decapitation. So, on to the manufacturer’s website where some exchanges with customer service determined that a repair would start at fifty bucks ($50!) (not including shipping)!!! We only paid $20 for her, so I could get three new ones for the price of getting the original fixed.
First…any parent who has seen Toy Story 3 knows that substitutions don’t cut it. And, second…we’re already invested too deeply into the current doll, as her ratty, matted factory hair has already been replaced at the doll hospital.
Well, there’s no way I’m paying fifty bucks to have a doll head reattached when I’ve got a perfectly good roll of duct tape in the basement. A good sticky wad of tape on the neck stump, then shove the doll head down on there, and we’re good to go. No, actually, that didn’t work too well.
Then it hit me – toggle bolts!! They’re little threaded bolts with screws that have spring-loaded arms on them. They look a little like this -- /l\ -- sort of. Anyway, one end shoved up in the doll’s head, the other down into the neck, a drop of hot glue to secure the top end of the bolt, a few turns of the head to tighten the bolt in the neck, and …Holly is fixed!! For two dollars and nine cents ($2.09). I’m an engineering, MacGyver-izing genius. OK, I had some consultation help from my niece who is an engineering major at KU, but we did it for 96% less than the greedy manufacturer of cheap things!
Do you have a headless doll that needs fixing? Send it my way!
Today is the 12th day of Christmas – the feast of the Epiphany. So I will give to one of my true loves all of the aforementioned drummers, pipers, lords, ladies, maids, swans, geese, rings, hens, birds, doves…and a doll that’s been repaired free (almost)!
I know this was a small victory compared to others. How far have you gone to make your children happy?
I'm so impressed! I adore work-arounds like that. Wish they were more successful for me, though. You get major dad points with this one!Dr. Frankenstein, you've outdone yourself. Neither of my kids have become that attached to a particular toy just yet. My husband, on the other hand, has put a LOT of love into a weed eater that he can't seem to let go.I was going to suggest that there are several toy stores around the area that might be able to fix it, but I have no idea what the cost would be. But your idea is great! I hope that she will be happy with her doll for a very long time!What a cool way to fix the doll! I hope your daughter is happy. I can't think of any ways I've personally done anything outrageous to fix one of my childrens' belongings, but kudos to you.I had a doll sent to the doll hospital once, thanks to my bratty brother yanking her arm off. When DD was little, she had a bear she carried around EVERYWHERE. Once I had to take her to Children's Mercy South, which is like half a day's drive (which is to say about an hour) from my house, and she left Bear-Bear there. Because she couldn't (wouldn't) sleep without Bear-Bear, I called to make sure the bear had been found, and yes, the security guard had him, and then I drove all the way down there at some stupid hour like 10 pm to pick Bear-Bear up and bring him home. The things we do for our generally unappreciative children!
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