Ahoy! Me Bucko Olivia!
Caring for a sick child is never easy. They moan, groan, cry, squeal, kick, and sometimes they even ignore you when you ask them where it hurts. Like my Little Miss A does. I am always thinking the worst when she cries over not feeling well. It’s the hypochondriac in me. To go or not to go to the doctor. She’s always fine in the end, but in between, its sleepless nights and then I wind up moaning and groaning. And sometimes I feel like walking the plank.
On a day like today, the day after a sleepless night (and deciding not to walk the plank), and when the weather is perfect for play, you wish your child wasn’t sick. The hot summer days are drifting away, and the perfect temperature fall days are inviting you out. But we can’t play because we don’t feel good. Or can we?
Is it me, or do children sometimes exaggerate when they are sick? Do they try to milk it for all they can or are they really that sick? Is there an old trick in the book that a rookie mom like me doesn’t know about? Can I, a 34 year old mom, play that game and get as much attention? My intuition tells me that Little Miss A definitely has a cold. But those fake whines! Don’t get me wrong. I love my daughter and hate to see her suffer and I do my best to nurse her back to health with every tired bone in my body………..but those groans! Are they enough to mean no playtime?
No. Olivia’s 2-in-1 Transforming Playset came knocking at our door and gangway everyone! Play time was in full throttle! Me, was sunken by surprise when all of a sudden, Little Miss A didn’t show any signs of suffering. Well, at least for the moment. She smartly wanted me to open the packages. Oh, I forgot to say that Little Miss A got the Olivia Plush doll too! My little lass seized some real booty!!!
The Olivia 2-in-1 Transforming Playset is a house that transforms into a pirate ship. If you ever watch Olivia on Nick Jr., you know that Olivia uses her creative imagination and becomes a circus ring leader, a ballerina, an opera singer, or a restaurant owner or whatever else she can think up. She’s a smart young sassy lady, just like my little Miss A. The house has four rooms: Olivia’s bedroom, kitchen, living room, and play room (or what could be one of Olivia’s brothers’ rooms). You could use your imagination here too. Miss A had so much fun placing all of the furniture in its appropriate places and rearranging it in different rooms. The cool thing about this toy is that most of the furniture could be incorporated into the pirate ship. At least this is what Miss A did. Who knew a vanity mirror would go sweetly at the prow of the ship? She also had such delight to see the playset came with a sticker sheet; her favorite. She knew exactly where to stick “Perry” the dog and “Edwin” the cat.
One of the positive things about the pirate ship is that it doesn’t come with accessories like cannons or weapons. The assortment is non-offensive; like no scary skull or crossbones flags. A 3-year old can convert the playset from house to pirate ship or vice versa very easily. But the latches are very flimsy. Good luck securing the latches on this toy! When Miss A carried the house with all the contents inside of it, the playset opened up and all the tiny accessories fell out. This happened a few times. Also, there are no other hands on deck, besides the little cute parrot. Olivia has no friends to share in her pirate adventures or to play in the house. There are permanent pictures of her family members in the windows of the house though. Miss A asked at one point, “Where is Ian?” Or even Julian would’ve been nice to play with since it is her best friend.
Overall this toy is perfect because it is 2 in 1. It allows your child to use their imaginations with the pirate ship and also allows them to imitate what they see in their households.
The Olivia Plush doll is very sweet. She comes with a dress that is removable. If you take Olivia’s dress off, Olivia is wearing pajamas. It’s the perfect size to carry along and stick it in your purse when you go to the doctor, like I did. It’s the perfect companion for bed as well or if you want to prop her somewhere to sit. She won’t tip over. The plush doll could have come with a book or change of outfit. Maybe her lucky tights? In the show, Olivia’s mom reads to her every night. And in the show, Olivia uses her imagination and becomes someone else; wearing something else. It would have been a nice touch to the doll so you don’t have to buy accessories separately.
The Olivia in the playset is tiny and the plush doll is quite bigger. Miss A played with both as mommy Olivia and baby Olivia. She even tried to stick the plush doll into the play house. It reminded me of the Olivia episode where Olivia doesn’t want her little brother Ian to grow taller than her and Olivia grows like a giant
One last thought. You might have to learn pirate lingo in order to play with the 2 in 1 playset with your child because you know that you will wind up playing too. Your three or four year old may not be able to pronounce words like “rullock,” “salmagundi,” “binnacle,” or “drivelswigger.” She may not know where the orlop, poop deck, bilge, or forcastle is. And if you don’t know what these terms are, well, shiver me timbers!!!!
My friend Olivia helped me get through a day like today. When sometimes I feel like a sailor in the high seas on her first voyage, nothing anchors me down like watching Little Miss A play with something she enjoys. I love watching and listening to Miss A use her imagination and then I think to myself, I am a good captain.
By the way, I did wind up calling the doctor and made an appointment for the young sprog.Olivia products, such as the 2-in-1 playset are available from Amazon.
