And Just Like That...*Poof*
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When we visited Disneyland 1.5 years ago, calling Little L a princess would have resulted in violence. Today? She's all about frilly twirly skirts, tiaras, fairy tales and fancy shoes.
What. Just. Happened?!!?
Of course, she is now *begging* to go back to Disneyland. We haven't made promises but I have a feeling that a return trip is looming on our horizon. Understandable, really. Age 5 truly is the ideal age to be roaming the Magic Kingdom in search of Minnie Mouse and Cinderella. Mine was even enthralled by the generic high-school-aged princess she spotted at the school carnival. The picture doesn't do her excitement justice, but trust me, she was fairly entranced. Her favourite fairy tale du jour? Alice in Wonderland. Closely followed are Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty (aka Briar Rose).
While I'm not some extremist feminist, I do have pretty clear boundaries on matters like consent, and frankly, Sleeping Beauty (and even Snow White) offends my sensibilities as a woman. Think about it: Aurora is cursed to sleep until awoken by true love's kiss. She is asleep for like a century, and then some random prince hears about her "plight" and comes riding in to "rescue" her with a kiss on the mouth. Where's the consent? She doesn't know him from boo, and now she wakes up to his mouth on hers. I'm not buying it.
So while Little L enjoys the story, we don't gloss over this kissing thing. We talk about it. I retell it with a different ending; maybe the prince kissed the back of her hand. Maybe he just held her hand. True love doesn't always need to be expressed with a kiss - maybe it was a tear trickled onto her skin. You get the picture.
Anyway, some people think I'm making much ado about nothing. They're entitled to their opinion, but as for me and my house (and my kid), we will talk about how being handsome or a prince doesn't entitle anyone to unsolicited advances, even if the intention was good and "noble." (Is it ever, really?).
Also, I don't pick apart every fairy tale, even though there are others with big bad themes I should probably talk to her about. I just wish Little L would move along to Frozen or Mulan or Brave. Something a little more empowering for the princesses, and a little less disturbing for this princess.
*****
..... our piano keyboard died.
I think it was because Little L sometimes pounds on all of the keys like a frustrated pianist, but since the keyboard was an old one that we were gifted for free, it likely had age-related issues too. Regardless, we had to get a new piano, specifically a digital one with 88 keys instead of the usual 66. Used, of course. Little L was howling like a banshee when she discovered her beloved keyboard wouldn't play, and she wasn't able to "sing me a little song."
We scored a good deal on a Yamaha P-105 that came with the fancy bench and stand. I managed to negotiate the price down, but it *still* cost us hundreds of buckeroos. My kid better play the piano is all I'm saying about that!
*****
..... Little L outgrew her stroller.
She was cruising around in a Baby Jogger City Mini GT for the past several years, but it maxes out at 65 pounds. Guess who reached that magical number at her last paediatrician visit? Yep, my big girl. And while sure, everyone would love it if she didn't need another stroller, the reality is that it's handy dandy to have at parks and in airports and also whenever I want my kid contained, and she's whining about tired legs.
Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of non-special-needs strollers out there for near-kindergarteners. The best I could find was the Joovy Zoom 360 Ultralight, which is a much larger stroller than the Baby Jogger, and holds kiddos up to 75 pounds. God help me if she's still wanting a stroller at 75 pounds. This had better be our last stroller (not including if I pick up an umbrella stroller on a deal from my friend). Anyway, I wasn't about to pay full price for 10 pounds' worth of strolling, so guess who scored a mondo Craigslist deal on an EUC blue Joovy? Me. And we even got a $125 rain cover thrown in as part of the deal. Still, my wallet is feeling the burn from all these unexpected purchases.
I think it was because Little L sometimes pounds on all of the keys like a frustrated pianist, but since the keyboard was an old one that we were gifted for free, it likely had age-related issues too. Regardless, we had to get a new piano, specifically a digital one with 88 keys instead of the usual 66. Used, of course. Little L was howling like a banshee when she discovered her beloved keyboard wouldn't play, and she wasn't able to "sing me a little song."
We scored a good deal on a Yamaha P-105 that came with the fancy bench and stand. I managed to negotiate the price down, but it *still* cost us hundreds of buckeroos. My kid better play the piano is all I'm saying about that!
*****
She was cruising around in a Baby Jogger City Mini GT for the past several years, but it maxes out at 65 pounds. Guess who reached that magical number at her last paediatrician visit? Yep, my big girl. And while sure, everyone would love it if she didn't need another stroller, the reality is that it's handy dandy to have at parks and in airports and also whenever I want my kid contained, and she's whining about tired legs.
Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of non-special-needs strollers out there for near-kindergarteners. The best I could find was the Joovy Zoom 360 Ultralight, which is a much larger stroller than the Baby Jogger, and holds kiddos up to 75 pounds. God help me if she's still wanting a stroller at 75 pounds. This had better be our last stroller (not including if I pick up an umbrella stroller on a deal from my friend). Anyway, I wasn't about to pay full price for 10 pounds' worth of strolling, so guess who scored a mondo Craigslist deal on an EUC blue Joovy? Me. And we even got a $125 rain cover thrown in as part of the deal. Still, my wallet is feeling the burn from all these unexpected purchases.
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