According to My Watch, It's Potty Time!

Today should have been met with a big Saturday breakfast and a sense of humor. Instead, I prepared myself with a sleepless night and herbal tea for our potty adventure. To say I was ill prepared would be an understatement.


Ariel showed some interest in the potty over the summer, so Eric and I borrowed videos and books from the library. Ariel loved watching and reading both, and soon connected the words “pee” and “poo” with the toilet. She wasn’t quite ready for the big leagues, so she had a few hits and way more misses while we waited. This also included some frustration for both of us. Mainly because Eric and I had no idea what we were doing. This potty training stuff isn't the easiest concept to get across.

It wasn’t until recently that Ariel had the dexterity, strength and coordination to pull her pants (and her diaper) on and off. Now we were getting somewhere. Since my mom was kind enough to help ease our potty woes, she bought a watch for Ariel. Every 30, 60, or 90 minute, the timer goes off and plays some cutesy music to let you know its time to potty. Pretty neat and informative.

So this morning began with a front row potty seat to “Toy Story” for 30 minutes before breakfast. Her diaper was warm and full when we pulled it off, so we weren’t expecting anything to come around for awhile. And it didn’t. For three whole hours! Eric and I were mostly passed out when she finally peed ¾ the way through the movie. Ariel looked into the potty and declared, “Candy!” (We reward her with M&M’s. I know its probably bad parenting, but it gets Ariel to go. Everyone has a motivator).

This was awesome. One victory at a time. So before we laid her down for her nap, she went three more times. I know, so cool. She even climbed down from the table during lunch so she could go.

After nap was a challenge, as Ariel decided she wanted to wear her diaper again. Well since we “threw them away,” she was left with bare bottom or Big Girl underpants. Given those choices, she went naked. Two more hits in the potty before dinner. One after dinner. And all day long, she didn’t have a single accident. Yeah, I’m a proud mama.

Right before her bath, Ariel managed to place quite a smelly #2 in the pot. Wow. I didn’t think she’d do that on the first day of training. Lots of song, dance and high-fives for our little slugger. I didn’t expect this adventure to take all day, but it has and I couldn’t tell you what I did other than listen to the potty watch and dole out chocolate candy all day. It's been a long and exhausting day, but full of success.

I’m hoping we can nail this potty thing down before Christmas and then we can spend the diaper money on a date night.

Cooking Up Halloween Fun!

Ariel became an Iron Chef for Halloween this year. Since I still have creative control, I wanted a costume that was off the beaten path of vampires, pirates, and princesses (although, the princess thing is sure to rear up one of these years).

Our participation in the festivities included a mall trick-or-treat event and a trick-or-treat dinner and door knocking party. On Saturday, we went to the outdoor mall by our house. We wanted Ariel to take a nap, but since she feels she’s such a big girl, she skipped it. So we wasted a good part of the treat collecting and got there 20 minutes before it was over. Now it sounds sad, and it was, but that girl hauled away a good quarter bucket full of loot. Impressive, to say the least. Eric and I also dressed up. It was nice to see we weren’t the only parents to do so.


Pumpkin Carving with Daddy



On Halloween night, we went to the house of Eric’s running friend. She and her husband were so gracious to feed us all before trick-or-treating. There were 6 kids in the group that went out, with Ariel being the youngest. Someone at every house commented on her costume. Yeah, score one for Mom! We’ve been teaching Ariel about patience and waiting your turn, so she was the last one of the group to get candy, but she managed to say “trick or treat” and “’thank you,” every time. Then she would run back to us shouting, “Candy, candy, candy!” Her little beach bucket was so full by the end of the night, that candy was falling out of it, but Ariel wouldn’t let us hold any of it so she could get more. Yes, we are in the “Mine, Mine phase” of the terrible twos. Fun.



We all had a great time this year. I’m wondering if I’ll get another year to choose her costume or if she’ll be old enough to dictate what she wants.

À la cuisine!





The Boo Crew



Obi Wan Kenobi Vs. Pj Pookie




Pirate Girl, Arrrgh!

Costume on a Shoe String: Pirate Style

Ariel was invited to a Pirate birthday party. The family asked the guests to dress in costume. Now Eric and I are not pirate people, so that meant we needed to find a costume. Luck would have it that it was too early in the season for Halloween costumes to be out. So we were now engaged in an exercise of creativity and ingenuity.

What we started with: a plain white t-shirt, frilly socks, black shorts, red material, large lace, red tulle, purple satin, and unrelated costume pattern.

What we bought: sheer dance skirt, black shoes, sequin trim, stiff white felt, and headband.

<-----I used this picture for inspiration.

How we brought our Pirate Girl to life:

1) Trimmed the bottom off the t-shirt. It was a 3T and way too long. Released the gathers in the sleeves. Sewed the large lace onto the neckline and end of loose sleeves.

2) Use Simplicity pattern #, for the vest on the monkey costume. Pinned, cut, and sewed vest and hand sewed sequin trim on the vest. (Yes, this was tedious and time consuming. And yes I stabbed myself…repeatedly).

3) Folded 4 inch wide tulle in half, and ran it through the sewing machine to make it gather and scrunch up. Glued to head band. Using a picture of skull and crossbones on the Internet, traced the image onto stiffened felt and cut two out. One for the headband, one for the belt.

4) Cut a 4 inch wide piece of purple satin 18 inches long. Folded it in half and sewed a seam. Turned it inside out and closed off the opening for the belt.

5) Sail Away:

The shirt was tucked into black shorts and the sheer skirt went over them both. The purple sash was tied around Ariel’s waist and the skull patch was safety pinned on. On went the vest. Ariel’s hair was kept down and curly. She loves headbands, so getting her to wear it was easy. Frilly socks and black shoes and our pirate girl was ready to sail the open seas!

*apparently Ariel was not in a picture taking mood, so this is all we have.

Results of the Splintered Lands Contest

I wanted to thank all of you who voted for my story, “Blessed,” for the Splintered Lands contest. I truly appreciate the time you spent to vote and for the support you have given me in regards to this story.


This contest was a fiasco of epic proportions. Not only was it mishandled, Deepwood Publishing all but admitted through a tweet that “They could change the votes if they had to.” Well, perhaps they did.

What the results boiled down to was three of the four finalists being “disqualified,” leaving the sole author as the default winner. Not how I would have like to win, but a publishing credit is a publishing credit. They claimed that there were too many “voting inconsistencies that led to multiple authors being disqualified.”I did email Deepwood asking why my story was DQ’d, but have heard nothing from them. Unfortunately, I really don’t expect to.

For the record, despite the insinuation, I am not a cheater, nor did I ask anyone to cheat for me. Mostly, I am angry because I spent over six days crafting a story worthy enough for their anthology, only to have them toss it out for reasons beyond my control.

So, when play is not fair, how do you hope to win?

I am left with a story I am immensely proud of. When time allows, I’ll tear it down and build it up in my own world, with my own rules.

Varinia Sulan shall live on!

Lucky Number Seven!

This one time, at summer band camp, I met the man who would become my college sweetheart and eventually, my husband.

The first day I met Eric, it was like I had known him all my life. It was strange and kinda cool in my eighteen-year-old mind. I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, but I wasn’t going to not take a chance on him. With that being said, my college relationship with Eric can be defined by one break up and reconciliation after another. We were young and selfish and not sure if this love thing was the real deal or sparked by infatuation. But over the years, we grew up and realized that if we wanted to be together, that we were going to have to fight for each other.

And fight we have.

No one tells you that you will be asked to compromise or surrender all together to keep your relationship on track. You might be called upon to make a sacrifice for the good of your marriage. We’ve made it seven years and have had to do all of these thing and more. Trial by fire will either strengthen your relationship or burn it to a crispy crunch.

We’ve encountered many challenges and heartbreaks — surviving Hurricane Ivan during our Jamaican honeymoon, joblessness, lean financial times, and fertility issues. It’s easy to see why people don’t want to commit to their marriage when life tries to beat them down. A 60% divorce rate says a whole lot about people’s willingness to honor their marriage vows of “for better or for worse.”

But despite the struggles, we have had some great fun. Road trips to triathlons, an Alaskan cruise, buying a house, having Ariel, and getting the chance to fall in love with each other again and again. There are many more adventures for us to have and many more struggles to endure. But with Eric by my side, we have more than a fighting chance.

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported and loved us all these married years. Couldn’t have made it without you all. Above all, we owe the strength and love of our marriage to God, who has held our hands through everything.
I love you, sweetheart! Happy Anniversary.

On My Way to Publication via Your Vote

Howdy all!

I have been slacking off on the princess posts and for that I do apologize, however, I have been busy with other writing projects.
I entered a contest for the Splintered Lands anthology http://splinteredlands.com/. This is a post apocalyptic land where magic has torn the world apart. Magic wielders and technologists are despise and hunted, while the Knights govern what they can and destroy the rest.

My story, "Blessed," is one of the four finalists. It under my pen name of Nicki Delone. Who ever wins, will have his/her story as part of the anthology to be published by Deepwood Publishing.

So if you have some time, go to the website and read the submissions. I have some tough competition. Your vote is greatly appreciated. Tell all your friends, neighbors, and paper boys. I don't know how long the voting will stay open, so hurry, hurry, hurry!

Aurora: The Princess Who Personifies Grace & Beauty

Country of Origin: France as told in "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault in 1697.

Movie Debuted: 1959

What Aurora brings to the table: Unerring trust

Age at time of story (in the movie): 16

Major Differences Between original story (OS) and movie (M): The Disney version of "Sleeping Beauty" varies slightly from Perrault's tale, but they are nearly identical. Again we're going for a three way comparison (BG=Brothers Grimm)

1) In all three versions, one fairy is not invited to the christening. The scorned fairy curses the baby, leaving the last fairy to use her gift to counteract the evil. In M there are 4 fairies total, BG has 13 and P has 9.
2) BG & P have Aurora pricking her finger 15 yrs old. Her parents go on a trip, leaving her alone. M has Aurora succumbing to the curse at 16 yrs old.
3) BG & P has the entire castle falling asleep when the princess does. The three good fairies put the castle to sleep in M.

4) The curse lifts after 100 yrs in BG & P. In M, the prince breaks the spell with love's first kiss. Anyone remember that from Snow White?

Moral of the Story/Social Implications:

Bubble Child:

My major issue with this movie is when Aurora goes off into the woods, she meets her first stranger. And a young man at that. He feeds her a line and they spend the afternoon together. What happened to "Stanger Danger?" I understand the importance of protecting your children, but to do so in the extreme invites as much danger as if you didn't protect them at all. We know Prince Phillip is a good person, but Aurora doesn't and your kids won't either when they come across strangers. Arm your children with enough smarts to recognize a potential threat in people they don’t know.

Begging for Mercy

In Perrault’s tale, the curse breaks after 100 yrs. A headstrong prince then makes his way through the thorn barricade, kiss the sleeping princess awake (but not by the power of love), and they marry. Poor Aurora never had a chance. What if the prince had not been a prince at all, but a thief, or a peasant, or worse? In some of the early tellings of this story, the prince who finds Aurora, actually rapes her. Thank you Disney for sparing the rest of us. Did she really have a choice in who she married? Was it love at first sight or did the prince use his powers of persuasion to gain her hand?

Reclaiming What was Stolen

When the evil fairy curses the princes, it is the last fairy who also suffers. Her gift is essentially stolen and now she must use her turn to counteract the harm brought upon the child. While it seems like the raw end of the deal, the situation sets up the last fairy, Merryweather in case of the movie, to be the true hero. Grace, beauty, and musical ability are all fine traits we wish upon our daughters, but the gift of life is invaluable. Merryweather saves the baby and gives her another chance to live the life her parents dream for her. You can’t put a price on that.

No Wrath Like a Fairy Scorned

Something has to be said for the villainess, Maleficient. According to my dad, she is “one bad mama-jamma.” When she is not invited to the christening, she hits the king and queen hard by cursing the baby it took them years and years to conceive. Ouch! That’s a heavy price for excluding someone. So, make a note to yourself, 1) don’t tick off evil fairies, 2) rethink the guest list for your next party/gathering/christening/wedding. The one person you decide not to invite may get offended and send you a nasty gram.

Did you know?

1) Aurora is known by three different names: Aurora, Briar Rose, & Sleeping Beauty

2) Disney wanted the movie of SB to be illustrated as a moving tapestry. Compare to the "Unicorn Tapestries" and see the similarities in color, angular structure, and sophisticated decoration.
3) SB was the second most successful film at the box office after Ben Hur.
4) The music from Peter Tchaikovsky's ballet of the same name was a major source of inspiration for the film.

Poll Results: After counting all the votes, you all think that Aurora's dress should have been a purple compromise. I personally think she would have looked stunning in violet.
Final Note:

This is one of my favorite movies and it truly is a piece of art.

Found a Good Seamstress

So the the snag in my princess dress has been repaired. On to discovering more about Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty.

La-la-lala, la-la-lala, Birthday Time!

Guess what Elmo is thinking about today? Ya-ta-da-day!

Ariel's 2nd birthday.

We had a small family party simply for the fact that I didn't want to mess with the hassle of a big ordeal. Still put in a lot of work, but everything was perfect.

Obviously we had an Elmo themed birthday party, as per the princess's request. We also had a BBQ meal that her daddy cooked so deliciously.

My parents were able to make the trip for her party and Ariel enjoyed having her family around her. We presented her with the celebratory cupcake and, after all the singing, Ariel attempted to blow out the candles. I don't remember telling her to do this, but she apparently knew what to do. That's my smart girl.

Gifts varied from Little People playsets, to puzzles and a stuffed Cookie Monster, to a bubble machine.
But the big highlight was a bubble lawnmower and a Radio Flyer tricycle. That girl is doggedly determined to learn how to ride that trike down the street. Right now, we are taking baby steps going down hill in the drive way. Ariel doesn't quite have the strength to peddle, so gravity is her BFF at the moment. I'm so glad she has a helmet because she's nearly crashed several times. I realized a tumble off the bike is an inevitable reality, but if we could delay it, all the better.

Vicki took her official birthday pictures and I hope to share a few shots from the session next week (or when we get them). It's so hard to believe that our little baby is 2! Hardly seems possible.
Here are some pictures of the day. Enjoy.

cupcake

presents

grandparents

riding pretty

park

hot wheels

A Snag in My Pretty Princess Dress

As I've been going through my princess posts, I'm finding that for the older stories like Snow White and Cinderella, I'm having a hard time finding the videos from the library. Obviously, this is slowing me down as far as getting the breakdowns posted.
Sleeping Beauty has been the most difficult to get my hands on, so we'll have to skip her until a video becomes available. I'm quite peeved about this as I would have liked to stay in order of appearance, but for the sake of satisfying curiosity, I'll have to move on.

Next discovery: Little Mermaid, Ariel.

Follow the Adventures of Nicki Delone

Hey friends and family!
I just wanted to let you know that I now have a blog devoted solely to writing.
For a myriad of reasons, I have decided to go with a pen name, which is Nicki Delone. I believe that it will be more marketable and I don't have to worry about people misspelling or mispronouncing my name.
I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle yet another thing in my crazy day, but for the sake of promoting myself as a writer, it must be done.
This new blog comes as a recommendation from a local literary agent, who said you start promoting yourself WAY before your book ever comes out. Essentially, WAY before you're ever published to build up your fan base.
I'm excited and nervous. I don't want to have a blog that is poorly written or is just lame. I think that my writing is witty enough hold readers' attention. The biggest trick now is deciding what to write about.
Wish me luck. Please stop by for a visit. I'll make lemonade.
http://nickidelone1.blogspot.com/

Cinderella: The Princess Who Rose From the Ashes

Country of Origin: France as told in Cendrillion by Charles Perrault (1697).

Movie Debuted: 1950

What princess brings to the table: Optimism and undying hope

Age at time of Story (in the movie): 17-19

Major Differences Between original story (OS) and movie (M):
The Disney film is almost a direct adaptation from Perrault's story (P). Since I've been reading a lot of the Bros. Grimm (BG), I thought I'd do a three way comparison.

1) M- Cinderella's parents die, leaving her an orphan, in BG and P the father is a widow who remarries

2) Godmother - both M and P show the appearance and helpfulness of the godmother. In BG, Cinderella goes to her mother's grave and cries, then birds tending the grave shower her with gifts of gown and shoes.

3) The slipper - in M and P the slipper is glass. In BG, the slipper is silk. In the brother's version, when the stepsisters try on the shoe is doesn't fit. In order to make it fit so they can marry the prince, the first cut off part of her toe while the second cuts off part of her heel. When the prince sees the blood, he knows they have deceived him.

4) At the end of P's tale, Cinderella has mercy on her stepsisters and sets them up with noblemen at her wedding. Too generous if you ask me. The BG ending is a bit more traumatic. The birds who gave Cinderella her finery, find the stepsisters wicked and peck out their eyes for their dishonesty. I say they missed a great opportunity to get dear old mom.

Moral of the Story/Social Implications:

Cheaters never prosper

Despite the initial pay off, those who cheat and lie eventually get what is coming to them. And paybacks are everything they should be. I'm sure the stepsister in the Grimm tale didn't see those birds coming to peck out their eyes. Let this be a lesson, stay away from Hitchcock's birds and do your best to be honest.

Stepmothers get a bad rap

Disney had a great way of make an evil villain. Unfortunately for all the stepmothers out there, they now have to deal with the fall out. Snow White's evil queen and Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's stepmother are about as wicked as you can get. Its no wonder that children fear their fathers (divorced or widowed) remarrying. I think the stereotype of the wicked stepmother has changed a bit, but the stigma is still firmly attached.
If you are a stepmother, God bless you. Making a blended family work is hard enough with having an unfavorable, albeit stereotypical, reputation trailing in your wake.

Dad has to step up

In the Grimm and Perrault version of the tale, Cinderella's dad is alive. It really makes you wonder what kind of man would marry a woman who abuses his child? I think Disney did us all a favor by take her dad out of the picture. There would have been problems finding anything to like about a man who would sit around and let his daughter suffer. And in the two stories, he does just that. Pitiful.

Kill them with kindness

Cinderella embraced this with everything she had. Not once did she say an unkind word to her family, which in my opinion, they deserved (and much more). She accepted her role without much complaint and was even cheerful about most of it. What we can learn from Cinderella is that kindness will open so many more doors than filling your heart with hatred and ugly thoughts. The girl was a saint. Putting this philosophy into practice is very hard to do and many of us struggle with it. But can you imagine what this world would look like if we all were able to do this?

Hope is hard to kill

I think this is one of the best messages that came from the movie. Despite the horrible turn Cinderella's life veered into, she never gave up on her dreams. I think for Christians, the underlying message is having faith in God. In the case of faith, there is no darkness deep enough that God's light can't reach, though there are times in our lives when we feel the opposite. Keeping faith during those dark times is what allows God's love to come through. I'm a firm believer in the power of prayer. Armed with a strong faith, there can be nothing in world that God will deny us. While your prayers are answered on God's time and fulfilled in His way, he has our best interest in his hands. Blessings in abundance will be poured over us.

Back to the dreams. Children can reap the most benefit from this. A dream of becoming a world renowned painter may be dashed as people criticize and tell the child that he'll never make it, he isn't good enough. Folks, that's life. And it sucks. But if that child continues to dream and perfect his craft and push the naysayers away, then he might indeed achieve his goal. Just because someone says negative things to you, doesn't mean you need to relinquish your dreams. Stay steadfast, learn from constructive criticism and become better for it. Ugly criticism definitely toss in the trash. When the road is littered with obstacles push through, because there is something wonderful waiting for you just down the road.
Here are the lyrics to "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes." It's a beautiful message I keep posted next to the computer I write my novels on. It helps keep me focused.

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true

Poll Results: Lady Tremaine was voted as having the most wicked heart. Anyone who would lock a girl in a room to keep her from competiting with her daughters, is someone with quite an ugly soul.

Did you know?
There are over 90,000 versions of the Cinderella story around the world.

Final Note: Despite what Cinderella endured at the hands of her stepmother and sisters, she got exactly what she deserved. Her dream of a better life came true and how can you not love a happy ending? Maybe this is why she is a much loved heroine. She rose from the ashes and into a new beginning.

Why?: A Rant

So we went out to celebrate Eric's birthday at a restaurant we rave about. But this time around, there wasn't much nice to say.
The biggest problem was finding food on the menu that Ariel would have eaten. I'll be talking about this restaurant in particular, but it applies to all sit down restaurants in general.
Why, oh why don't these places have options available for little ones (2-5 age range)? It might be a tactic to prevent families with young children from dining or it could be that no one cares. But I'm a mom. I care.
As I perused the menu searching for something to order for Ariel, I was outraged at the lack of anything on the menu. Even a child who was in the target range of the kids' menu (6-12) wouldn't have eaten what they offered. There was no macaroni and cheese for crying out loud!
I quickly searched the side dishes and found nothing that my picky child would eat. Nothing edible in the appetizers either. When the waitress arrived, I asked if there were other options other than what was on the menu (truly, I was looking for a fruit cup/bowl). She proceeded to tell me that I could order a kids' meal and take home what Ariel didn't eat (which would have been everything). Then she pointed out the all-veg side dishes, going on and on about the broccoli casserole they had. Seriously? What child in their right mind is going to eat broccoli, not matter how much cheese is drenched over it?
Albeit to say, until Ariel is like 3, we'll have to bring food from home for her to eat. She did have some fluffy, delicious, honey-butter croissants. So at least someone was happy.

Super Star Birthday!

My honey turned 31 last week! So of course, we had to celebrate.

In October, Eric asked me to make him a Super Mario Bros. cake for his birthday. No prob, I said. Then I saw a picture of the cake (left).

Ummmm....yeah right! So with a little compromising, I made a Red Mushroom cake. It's a classic icon of the video game and with it being on an invincible star board, everyone should know what it is. It's just not the same if you have to explain what it is.

Since I used to watch a lot of Food Network: Challenge, I have been very interested at trying my hand at rolled fondant. Fondant is a type of icing that is commonly used on wedding cakes. It can be molded and handled like clay, but of course, its edible (well, if you can get past the taste anyway).

Some things I would change next time around:

1) in the case of the Red Mushroom, I would use a broader bowl to make a more squat mushroom. The bowl I used made the cake have a bit of an X-rated appearance.

2) use a traditional buttercream for the filling. I made a Swiss meringue buttercream, which tasted great on day one, but when we cut the cake, I think the heat messed with the texture a bit. It was still tasty.

The results of my fondant experiment are below. It wasn't too much hassle to work with and it does give everything a very polished look. If I attempt another fondant cake, I'll definitely cover a sheet cake that way it won't bunch in the back of a spherical form. 

Snow White: The Princess Who Would Lead Them All

Country of Origin: Germany; as told by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm

Movie Debuted: 1937

What Snow White brings to the table: innocence and naivety

Age at time of Story (in the movie): 14 yrs

Major Differences Between original story (OS) and movie (M):

1) OS-Snow White is 7 years old! M-she is 14

2) OS-Evil Queen tries to kill SW three separate times (choking her with corset ribbons, pricking her with a poisoned comb, and finally that fateful apple)

3) M-Huntsman tells SW to run away, but in OS, it was SW who had the idea to go into the woods and never come back4) OS-After SW eats the poisoned apple she "dies." Some time later, a prince hears of the princess and asks the dwarfs for her body and coffin. As they move the coffin, one end is dropped which dislodges the piece of apple from SW's s throat.

Now, in the M version, SW eats the apple and falls into a death-like sleep. The prince comes to pay his respects and kisses her. *Gross alert approaching* The prince doesn't know that love's first kiss will break the spell (he and SW had a love-at-first-sight moment in the castle courtyard), and he kisses her anyway. He just kissed a dead girl! I give you leave to take a hot shower now.5) M-Evil Queen falls to her death. OS-Evil Queen is fairest in the land for a time. The magic mirror tells her that the new queen is now the fairest. Evil Queen goes to the castle for the marriage celebration and check out the new queen. She is obviously horrified to see SW alive and fair. As punishment for attempted murder, the prince order Evil Queen into a pair of red hot iron shoes to dance in until she drops dead. Sucks to be her.

Moral of the Story/Social Implications:

Don't open the door for strangers (they might be a homicidal maniac)

Vanity will be your undoing   
 
Plastic surgery seems to grow more popular every year. Distorted body image not only plagues grown women, but affects girls as young as eight! More women should learn a lesson from the Evil Queen and find a way to love the body/skin/face they already have. I know, easy to say, hard to do. If we didn't feel like we were competing with other women, then perhaps the "mean girl syndrome" wouldn't be as prevalent. Becoming a slave to your vanity may cost you more than money. What is the price of a broken friendship, a mountain of debt, or your life?

Jealousy and the Mean Girl Syndrome  
  
Jealousy drove the Evil Queen to extremes. She tried to kill her stepdaughter several times, so she could be the most beautiful in the land. Unfortunately, not much has changed in society. Girls who feel threatened by other girls take drastic measures to ensure that their rival knows her place. Whatever happened to supporting each other and building meaningful relationships? When did we start beating each other down to get a guy's attention? I don't know either, but we need to tell our daughters/nieces/cousins/god- & granddaughters that jealousy (in small, minuscule amounts) can serve a purpose -- to make you work harder to achieve more.

Quotable Quotes:

"Snow White: There once was a princess and she fell in love
Sneezy: Was it hard to do?
Snow White: (laughs) No, it was very easy"
This made me pause. Yes, teenagers are stereotyped with falling in and out of love at the drop of hat. This quote only serves to support this notion and turns every new boyfriend into prince charming. However, what we can take away from this, is that while falling in love is "very easy," staying in love requires maturity, communication and a lot of hard work.

The dwarfs have just discovered SW and are watching her sleep. They're having a discussion about letting her stay.
Grumpy: She's a female and all females is poison. Females are full o' wicked wiles.

LOL! On some level this is so true. On another level, this is so funny!

Did you know?

Because Snow White was so successful, it gave Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer the green light to film "The Wizard of Oz." You can thank Walt Disney for flying monkeys, thank you.

Poll results: Sleepy and Bashful tied as your favorite dwarf. Excellent choices.

Final Note:

I haven't been able to find much evidence supporting the idea of "love's first kiss." I'm inclined to believe that this is exclusive to the imagination of the man, Walt Disney. It really is his fault that young girls believe their first kiss is supposed to be this wonderful, fireworks-filled event. What kind of first kiss to going to live up to all that hype? 

Liar, Liar

So I promised a princess discovery session in February and failed miserably at reaching my own goals and your expectations.
All I can ask is for a second chance and your forgiveness. Excuses aside, I should have put up or shut up.
Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty all to come in March. Perhaps I'll find some time (ha,ha) for Princess Ariel.

Ariel Update

At last doctor’s visit in December, our little princess was nearly 22 lbs and 31 inches. So that puts her in the 5th percentile for height and weight for age. She’s petite and that makes her perfect for GYMNASTICS! A sport suited for petite-powerhouses that combines strength and grace. The recreation department does offer classes for her age group. I think Ariel would love a gymnastics class. Just gotta get the cash together.

Ariel has always loved music, but the more I watch her, I’m realizing just how innate her musicality is. She finds the beats and the off-beats, she moves in time to the rhythm, which makes her great for MUSIC and DANCE classes! Wee! Yes, I sound like neurotic parent, but why not build on the foundation she is already establishing. And as a daughter of two band geeks, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. I mean, she has choreographed her own dance to the 1812 Overture. If that doesn’t scream ballet, or band geek, I don’t know what does. Ariel can’t start any of these other programs until she’s three, so it’ll be gymnastics until then. In the mean time, she enjoys putting puzzles together, dancing, singing, coloring, building, chasing after Pazu, and spending time with Elmo.

On Fridays when I do my long days at Kmart, Eric takes her for storytime at the library and she totally digs it. It gives her and Eric some awesome father-daughter time. I’m not sure how many words she has in her vocabulary bank, but she talks non-stop (gee, I wonder where she gets that from). We’re enjoying everyday with her. The next phase is to find a home daycare for her. I’m hoping I can transition straight from my externship into a job without much lag time. Trusting strangers with your child is such a leap of faith and trust and making a decision apparently is leaving awake at four in the mornings with nightmares. Yeah for me.

I’m working on another music video for Ariel. I have to search and re-download  the programs I was using since our computer crashed a few months ago. Maybe by March I’ll have it up. Until then, enjoy these pictures.



pint-sized Picasso







 

<><><>

reclining in a non-recliner



An Exercise in Research & Reflection: Disney Royalty

As we embark on our journey on all things princess, let’s nibble on a few points to get the pondering juices flowing.


Fairytales are a subgenre of the traditional folktales that were verbally passed down through the generations. They date back to ancient Egypt!

Charles Perrault was the first person to record fairy tales, with the Brothers Grimm making fairy tales their own genre. In the late 17th century, Madame d'Aulnoy invented the term conte de fée, or fairy tale (en.wikipedia.org).

And there is no escape from these stories, like it or not. It would be like trying to cut out the gene that makes up the color of your eyes. Other than the commercial cash-cows that they have become, fairy tales do serve a purpose and we can’t dismiss the moral and magical influences they have on us.

These subliminal, and sometimes, blatant messages are more geared towards girls than boys. The ideas of the saving acts of prince charming, the transforming power of love, and the magic of that first kiss seem to wedge themselves between that desire to be the next great athlete, that selfless doctor, or mother of the year. I don’t think that most women really grow out of those romantic notions, no matter how old they admit to being. Take for example, the over-hyped process of finding the perfect wedding dress.

I’ve watched enough wedding shows to see how the salespeople go for the kill. “How do you feel about this dress? Does it make you feel like princess?” Aha! There it is. How could a starry-eyed, bride-to-be not want to drop a couple thousand dollars to become a princess for a day? It’s what she’s been dreaming about since she was a girl (and marketed to since she was two years old). Along with that is the fairy tale wedding at Cinderella’s castle and the brides makes her grand entrance by arriving via pumpkin coach. It’s no wonder the wedding industry makes a gazillion-million dollars every year (I’m estimating here). What kind of price tag does that magic come with? I suppose it depends on how deep your prince’s pockets are. And yes, we shall envy Kate Middleton, the commoner who gets to become a princess for real. Wonder how she really feels about that? Dream come true or nightmare in the wings?

Disney wised up to all this wedding hoo-ha and in 2010, debuted their Disney Fairytale Weddings Bridal Collection. This features dresses based on the personalities of six of the ten princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Jasmine, and Belle. Now I was a girl who was obsessed with The Little Mermaid. Had this line been available when Eric and I were married, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have looked at a dress or two.

The thought of being a princess involved in a romantic love story with a handsome prince is what sells romance novels. On the extreme side of royalty spectrum, there are woman who are treated all their lives as little princesses and expect the world to do the same. Has anyone ever seen an episode of Bridezillas? Case in point. While I never want to raise or be around a spoiled, self-centered, brat, pretending to be a princess for a few hours will not hurt anyone. My cousins and I made- believe we were Autobots, and we turned out ok.

Peggy Orenstein, an author and contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, had a different idea on the subject. In her article, What’s Wrong with Cinderella, she voices her concern over the negative influence that the Disney royals have on the psychological development on young girls. While she highlights some great points, I feel that ultimately it is the parents’ responsibility to keep things in check.

Now onto your official disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in the analysis of the “Big 10,” are merely the musings of one writer. They are meant to dig a little deeper into some ideas that are grossly glossed over or otherwise dismissed completely. And provide a little humor on the side. Comments are encouraged and I will answer back in the comments area, so check back if you post a question. Certainly we can have a discussion and still be friends afterwards.

Now onto our first born princess: Snow White.

Happy New Year!

Hello friends and family!

The beginning of a new year always brings with it New Year's resolutions. I haven't been the best at keeping mine in the past, but my goal this year is to set an achievable goal and run with it. This is specifically targeted at our blog.

I take full responsibility for its neglect and can only hope you accept my deepest apologies. I could give you a handful of excuses, but in the end, the blog is still lonely. Part of the problem is that I take a lot of pictures, because a blog without pictures is a bit boring. By the time I've downloaded the pictures from my camera, two weeks or more have gone by and with it, all the little details that make for interesting reading.

Another reason I have neglected things is that I don't have much to blog about. I could talk about every little thing that we're doing, but how interesting would that be? So here is my proposal for 2011:

I'm going to shoot for a writing series.

For the month of January, I'll be playing catch up with Christmas pics/video and Ariel updates. For February, I'm planning a dissected look at the Disney Princesses. Yes, all ten of them. I do a lot of research for my novels and only my critique group reaps the benefits. So why not apply the same technique to something that is so prominent (and profitable) in our culture? I'll be looking at the country of the story's origin, major differences between the original and Disney versions of our heroine, and moral/social implications of the tale.

I'm really excited about this. I know it'll be a ton of work, but perhaps if I have something to write about, then the blog will be updated more frequently. I hope you all will join us for a deeper look at the fairy tales we grew up with.

In between princess posts, I'll do my best to keep you abreast of the family happenings.