10 years of Wedded Bliss

Decided to create a post to honor our wedding anniversary, even though Ashton has expressed disappointment several times at not being invited to the event (!?).






Anyway, just got wedding photos scanned so decided I should post a few. Yes I think we look exactly the same today and anyone who wants to suggest otherwise will do so at their peril. We miss you mom & dad Bear.

Those silly things kids say

I know everyone who is around children has their stories about things that child says that are either a) funny or b) odd or c) profound or d) all of the above. We all know that kids are both smarter then we give them credit for and more observent then we are.

Anyway here is one of those stories to share.



Ashton -- 4.5 years old
"Mom what are we going to do about the candles? All our princess dresses are flammable."

Now, this is/was a completely legitimate question. There was an entire table of girls in princess costumes [which are, indeed, highly flammable due to the vast amount of tulle]. Birthday cake was on its way and candles would be involved, for singing and wish making. Essentially a scene from any 4 year old [girl] birthday party, trust me, I'm becoming the expert on the topic.

Of course, the mother standing next to me at the party asked "Did she just say that the dresses were flammable?" (!). To this I had to sigh and say "yes".

I also know exactly how Ashton came to know about the risk of flammable princess dresses and birthday candles concern -- yup its all my fault.

In my defense, I was not being a paraniod mother, nor was I planning to make my child sound like someone in an old folks home. It happened the same way that all conversations happen with Ashton, very innocently and normally until such point as you somehow jump off the cliff and end up explaining something she doesn't need to know for years and years.

I am pretty sure the discussion was several months ago, since I do remember it but can't place exactly which birthday it was. The conversation went something like this:


Meg: Scoot back a bit honey[from the table/birthday cake]
Ashton: Why ?
Meg: because there is a candle there
Ashton: Why do I need to scoot back when there is a candle there?
Meg: Well, you are wearing a princess dress and its a bit close to the flame [in fact the dress is almost in contact with the flame]
Ashton: Why can't my princess dress be close to the flame?
Meg: because Princess dresses are flammable.
Ashton: what does that mean?
Meg: it means they could catch fire easily and that might not be a very fun thing for a birthday party

Of course, I realize where I went wrong with the whole discussion now, but honestly you never expect that they are listening to you anyway, let alone planning to quote you around other 4 year olds!

Somehow, you think that if you just answer matter of factly, with some specific detail, it will make the questions stop. Anway, there you have it, I have a 4 year old who would fit right in any senior citizen's club, I guess that is something.

All Princess all the time

My house is a house of princesses. I have no idea how long this "phase" lasts but I can tell that I'm smack dab in the middle of it. It goes way beyond princess movies and princess dress up clothes. Everything in our lives is brought into the context of a princess. So who do I have to thank for this? Is it Disney? Their excellent marketing department? The friends at school? While there is probably some culpability on all sides I have to say that I am even to blame. Let me explain:

You are in the store and have to get something, we'll say a toothbrush. You can either get some generic toothbrush and not be sure if its accepted or rejected OR you can go with the princess one. Sure it costs you a bit more but you figure how much is it worth to you to have no hassles about "I don't like my toothbrush" or worse "Jacqueline got the better toothbrush" or "I don't want to brush my teeth". Nope you decide very quickly that princess is the clear winner by any measurement.

Then you find yourself using princess as a description of good behavior. "would a princess eat like that? I think not." "would a princess take her sister's blanket and make her cry?" and so on.

After awhile you find yourself happily going to the disney store to buy lunchboxes and jammies and that is when you decide that, hey these girls look pretty cute -- just like a princess.

So of course then you plan the Disney trip to include the "princess lunch" and find yourself looking forward to it. What can I say? Its all princess all the time... now where did I put my tiara?

School's out for summer

Ah yes its true, I've turned into a mom. I remember vividly thinking that the whole topic of a year round school year was just dumb, and now I'm finding myself thinking... hmm why does a school year have to ever end?

To be fair, having a school year that goes from Sept to July is pretty close to year round. I guess the real reason to end the school year is the end of year party and to get a chance to look at all the fun school by-products.

The most interesting of school artifacts this year was the journal. What a cute idea to have a 4 year old keep a journal. From this journal I got a whole new insight into how information travels from home to school to be chronicled by a teacher taking dictation. I learned such sage information that Ashton likes bugs (huh?!) and that Jacqueline likes cheese puffs (true).

I also had the sappy mom-happiness of reading "Jacqueline loves me" chronicled as well. All kinds of fun.