Grumpy Bear

Proud eighties baby right here! As a child my all time favorite characters were the Care Bears. Sure there was also Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, My Little Ponies, Pound Puppies, Snorks and the list goes on and on. Each one could arguably qualify for the best of the best when it comes to cult classic cartoons. But…Care Bears and their Care Bear Stare stole my heart.

When I was three years old I asked Santa for a Care Bear. I hadn’t owned one yet and it was all I really wanted for Christmas. While I don’t remember actually wanting one… I DO remember receiving one. Seeing my Care Bear is actually the very first childhood memory I can recall.

It was Christmas Eve, I was asleep in my bed and heard a few noises and loud laughing from somewhere in our house. My Dad happened to be tickling my mother to which her laughing woke me up. I didn’t quite realize she was laughing and thought I should check on her. So, I got out of bed, started walking down the hallway of our rancher home to find my parents on the couch and our beautiful glowing Christmas tree. Once I realized my Mom was okay I gazed at our tree eyeing it up from the very top all the way down to the bottom. And that’s when I saw him! I ran right over to the tree and picked him up and started hugging him immediately. Grumpy Bear had been waiting for me unwrapped under our tree. I don’t remember much else from that Christmas but these few moments are memorized deep in my heart.

{Honestly, I am getting a bit emotional while writing this}

At the time I was too young to notice my Grumpy Bear looked a bit different than others kids Grumpys. I believe I had only seen Care Bears on TV, greeting cards and coloring books. The story goes that when my parents went to purchase a Care Bear for me they were all sold out. Every store sold out! Every Bear sold out! My mom’s heart was hurting because she wouldn’t be able to give her little girl (me) the one gift I was hoping for at Christmas. Now being a mother myself I totally understand my Moms heartache! But then my amazing Mom had an idea. Being extremely crafty with a sewing machine and by hand she went to the craft store and bought a pattern to MAKE me a Care Bear. My Mom loves me so much she spent hours sewing by machine and hand creating the perfect Grumpy Bear. And I mean perfect… from the rain cloud on his belly to the heart on his nose to his little bear tail! She made him for me and he is even more special because she did! I still have my Grumpy Bear and now look forward to sharing him with Kade.

If you have been following me for some time now you know I am slightly obsessed with the Freshly Picked Moccasins. AND…they just happened to recently launch a limited edition collaboration with Care Bears to celebrate Care Bears 35th anniversary. Their collection includes: Tender Heart, Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear and Grumpy Bear. Freshly Picked limited editions seem to sell through fast and with all those eighties Mommas out there I knew I better set my alarm for the launch! And I’m sure glad I did! Especially, I because I got pulled into a meeting when they launched…EKK! I knew I needed to get out of that meeting and get online to order ASAP! Once I was able to log in to freshlypicked they were practically sold out and I was maybe 40 minutes after their launch time!!!!! Thankfully Grumpy Bear was still available in size 1 and 2 and I quickly added a size 1 to my cart and checked out! Then I called to just to confirm the size 1 was still in stock because they announced they had sold out but would start taking pre-orders for the next batch to arrive in a month or two. Luckily yes, they were in stock and arrived a few days later.

Now Kade and I get to share a little Grumpy Bear love together!