Parting is Such Sweet… Satisfaction?
Part of Perfect Moment Mondays…
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I told my daughter, who is just shy of 3-years-old, that we were going to put together a box of her toys to give to kids who don’t have any. She doesn’t play with most of them anyway and we needed to make room for all her new Christmas loot. So, when she ran straight to her room and came out carrying as much as her little arms could hold, I was stunned, but, pleased. Mostly, I wasn’t sure if she understood. I guess I was expecting the process to be a whole lot more painful.
“Here! Here! They can have this (name of toy) and this (name of toy)!” she exclaimed with joy, then ran back into her room to get more. Back and forth, until her drawers were emptied.
“And this!” she said handing me a toy Santa had just given her for Christmas.
“Reagan? Are you sure? You just got this?”
“Yeah.”
“You realize you’re never going to see this again? Never get to play with it? It’s going to someone else if we put it in the box?”
“Yeah. It’s for my friends.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. They want it. Reagan don’t want it.”
“Okay.” I said, setting that one aside. We didn’t want to hurt Santa’s feelings after all. 
Not completely convinced that Reagan knew exactly what we were doing, I held off on taking the box to Goodwill right away. I let it sit for a few days and added even more toys to it from other parts of the house that I thought she might have grown out of. Then on Sunday I pulled out what had now become two boxes, and explained again to Reagan that they were going to go to some kids who wanted them. I showed her each toy one at a time and asked her if it was okay.
“Yeah. They want that,” would come her reply, except in a few cases of some pitiful, little stuffed Pooh dolls, where I heard, “No. That’s Reagan’s Pooh. They not want that.”
I was impressed by the amount of toys she was willing to part with and my heart smiled that it was Pooh Bear, my favorite, and the decor I’ve surrounded her with since birth that she had chosen to keep. But what really touched my heart was when she picked out a ratty, plush, pink hippo wrist-rattle that had been just sitting in a drawer for over a year. I had no idea if she even remembered using it as a baby.
“That Reagan’s raddle! They not want my raddle!” and she quickly put it on her wrist.
As hard as I thought the first parting with Reagan’s toys would be, for both of us, Reagan has shown me that she understands they are just things and there is no need to hold any attachment to them. But, by choosing the items that held the most sentimental value to her, I can see that she also understands the value of memories. She chose well.
4 comments January 18, 2010
Are Fairytale Princesses Passe in 2010?
I recently took part in a discussion over Disney’s new movie “The Princess and the Frog” where a few people wished Tiana, a poor, hard-working young girl in New Orleans who dreams of owning her own restaurant, could’ve had it all without having to kiss a frog, become a princess, and marry the prince. After all, it has been 50 years since the Women’s Liberation Movement began. Though Tiana IS the first Disney princess to have a job, a savings and a dream to start her own business they argued, did we really want to send the message to young girls that they also needed “a man” to complete the picture?
Perhaps this is a bit of over-analysis for an animated kid’s movie, but it begs the question, are fairytale princesses passe for young girls of today? I don’t think so.
My little girl is no different from any other her age. She loves to dress up in her growing number of princess costumes (sometimes three at once), complete with crown, jewelry and even a magic wand. We play along and call her Princess Reagan as she twirls and skips through the house, waving her wand in utter confidence that her every wish is our command. Well, I guess she’s mostly right there. Reagan’s been enthralled with everything princessy for the past year, from books and movies to the Band-Aids she plucked off the shelf at Walgreens yesterday with Princess Tiana’s picture on it (conveniently located at kid eye-level). She can’t get enough of Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora and Snow White, making her Daddy and I read the stories over and over again at naptime and bedtime.
I remember being the same way. I wanted to be Cinderella with singing birds and mice as friends, a pumpkin that turned into a coach, and a handsome prince to rescue me. Despite the fact that I was a tomboy and my mother an adamant feminist who taught me never to rely on a man, that part of me could never be erased. No matter how hard I tried. And, I did try.
I was completely mystified by other girls in college who openly admitted they were there to get their “MRS.” The idea never occurred to me. In fact, I wasn’t even sure a husband and family were something I wanted. I believed in making my own way and being self-reliant. Convinced I would find happiness and fulfillment through my own personal success, I didn’t need a man. In many ways, I could see myself in Tiana, blinded by my own ambition.
But, the truth is, that little girl inside of me who dreamed of being Cinderella never really died. No matter how hard I tried to deny her, she was always there, making an appearance in the excitement of every new relationship. That part of me that wondered, “could this be the one?” could never be squashed. It wasn’t until I made a conscience choice to give into my inner-Cinderella, recognize that there is no shame in desiring love, a husband or children and decided to accept the gift of each, that I truly felt… dare I say it? Complete.
I believe we were designed this way as women. Seeking our soul mate is part of our makeup. And no matter how many decades go by and how far women excel in this world, there is no fighting nature. Is this to say a woman can’t be happy unless she finds a man? No. Of course not. But, is there anything wrong with indulging that innocent part of your little girl who wants to believe in the love of fairytales? I say there is plenty of time for your princess to discover that the world can be one big swamp full of wart-covered frogs promising to be her Prince Charming, and time to learn that she better take the reigns of her own coach if she wants to go anywhere in life. Sure, teach your daughters to stand on their own two feet, but why not also let them believe that there’s a Prince Naveen out there somewhere who can sweep them off of them too?
12 comments January 15, 2010
Beignets and Bourbon St.
Just when you thought I was done. I promise this to be my very last post on our Christmas vacation in the Big Easy. And just to give it a little different twist, I decided to create a Whrrl story for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
1 comment January 12, 2010
New Year, New Me?
There’s something about having your birthday coincide with New Year’s that makes resolutions seem almost necessary. A new year, another year older. All at once. I’ve never been good at resolutions. The “keeping them” part that is. But, now in my 40’s, with life glancing by faster than a shooting star, I’m giving resolutions another shot.
We rang in the New Year along with 80 or so of Danny’s family members in Destrehan, Louisiana at the plantation his uncle owns, Ormond. Uncle Johnny always puts on a grand fireworks display at midnight, after a dinner of seafood gumbo and jambalaya and night of mingling and dancing.
We’ve been visiting family here in Louisiana for almost two weeks and the eating has been non-stop. I always allow myself to over-indulge when we visit because the food is so good, and because, well, that’s what you do here. You eat. It’s all about the food: gumbo, etouffee, Po’ Boys, jambalaya, Po’ Boys, muffaletas, red beans and rice, pralines, beignets and more Po’ Boys. To visit New Orleans on a diet would be a sin.
It’s all a great set-up for my first resolution:
#1 Eat healthy.
This of course, is to commence as soon as we leave Louisiana. On Tuesday.
My second resolution falls in line with the first:
#2 Exercise.
Fortunately, I was recently gifted a Nintendo Wii Fit Plus at a launch party hosted by friends and bloggers, Amber of CrazyBlogginCanuck.com and Aimee at Greeblemonkey.com. What a Christmas present! Thanks Amber and Aimee, and of course, Nintendo! I have no excuse now to not squeeze a workout into my day.
#3 Read more.
I’m ashamed to admit, I didn’t finish one book last year. Started more than a few; never finished. My goal is to finish two. Gotta set the bar low and work my way up!
#4 Pray more.
Because we all need more prayer, right? I’ll be starting with this one every day; praying that I keep all my other resolutions!
Happy New Year, everyone!
What are some of your New Year’s resolutions?
5 comments January 3, 2010
A Creole Christmas
Part of Perfect Moment Mondays…
Last week was full of perfect moments. But, nothing could be more perfect than Christmas day visiting family in Louisiana. THE day we’d been promising Reagan all month had FINALLY arrived.
It was a morning fit for a princess as Reagan had the stage all to herself. She made the most of it, carefully tearing open presents and throwing away each tiny piece of paper, bit by bit. I kid you not. Though thankful she is a tidy tot, this could take hours.
The first present she opened was a book. And before anyone knew what had happened, Reagan ran out of the living room with it like a shot! Where did she go? Well, to put it on the bookshelf with all her other books where it belonged, of course! This had us all laughing hysterically. <Insert anal retentive jokes here.>
I treasured every moment of the morning, watching Reagan open each toy and play with it like it was the only one she had been given. We had to remind her every time there were more. Clearly, she doesn’t have the hang of this Christmas thing yet.
Opening all those presents from Santa can be exhausting! Several hours and some blueberry pancakes later, just as we were about to head out the door to visit friends, Reagan did something she has never ever done. She announced she was going to take a nap. And she did. For three whole hours! Knowing we had an eventful night ahead of us, we let her. For after that, it was off to her “second Christmas.” This one, with the Carmouche clan and just a few of Reagan’s countless cousins:
There was much horseplay and trouble to be made at Uncle Johnny’s house while the adults were in the kitchen stirring and sampling the chicken and andouille gumbo:
And then it was time to open even MORE presents! Right in the middle of all the excitement, mid-tear, Reagan got glassy-eyed and was soon out for the count well before 9pm:
It appears she had had enough for one day. Hopefully now we’ll no longer hear this again, “Mommy, where’s my present?” Until next year that is!
4 comments December 29, 2009
Merry Christmas! It’s a Glade Gift Basket Giveaway!
So, you could say I’m a bit late on posting this giveaway, as the party I attended where we made these gorgeous gift baskets was last month. But, I would say I’m right on time! What better way to start your New Year than with freshening up your home – out with the old, in with the new!
Early in November, Anne Marie of A Mama’s Rant hosted a little get-together, sponsored by Glade, for some of the Denver-area bloggers. We had fabulous hors d’oeuvres, wine and conversation in an intimate setting at the downtown Warwick Hotel. It’s always fun to meet other bloggers who soon become friends online and IRL (in real life)!
We were then introduced to the new Glade Sense and Spray air freshener and set about making our gift baskets. One to take home and one to give away. Your basket will arrive exactly as pictured above. Delivered free by Glade! In the natural woven Ikea basket you will find not only the Glade Sense and Spray in Clean Linen scent and one refill bottle, but a cozy, cream-colored Ikea throw, a purple sleep mask, glass keepsake jar filled with hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips and marshmallows, and a ceramic mug with markers to decorate and make your own! I spared you my own attempt at decorating the mug like other bloggers did, such as Laura from LaLa Girl or even Jen Goode, the professional illustrator who doodles adorable penguins! Crafts aren’t my strong point.
To end the evening there was a drawing for the lovely Gerber daisy centerpieces, and yours’ truly won the biggest one! Danny was surprised when I came home from my Girl’s Night Out with both arms full. He was even more surprised to see how the new air freshener worked. Danny just so happens to be an air freshener connoisseur. We have more kinds of air fresheners in our house than I can keep track of. The plug-in kind, the fan-blown kind and the good old fashioned aerosol can just to name a few. He’s always in search of the latest greatest way to make the house smell great. Is that weird for a guy? Anyway, as soon as he saw how the Sense and Spray worked by use of motion detector to spray only when you walk into a room, he was smitten. A smart air freshener that runs on batteries and dispenses only when needed in just the perfect amount every time? Danny was ready to throw out all the rest. In fact, a few days later he came home from the store with another Glade Sense and Spray for our second bathroom. I was so proud. I only wish he had used the $3 off coupon that came in the box.
To win this beautiful gift basket assembled by moi, just leave a comment below. The winner will be selected at random on Saturday, December 26th, the day after Christmas. Be sure I know how to contact you to let you know you won so I can get your shipping address and you should have this baby by the first week of January!
Good luck!
9 comments December 23, 2009
Give the People What They Want!
Part of Perfect Moment Mondays…
On Saturday night, we had eight of our friends over to join us in watching the undefeated New Orleans Saints play the Dallas Cowboys. The Saints are my husband’s, and several of his friends’ home team. While the Saints flag previously adorned a snowman in October, last night it was hung proudly from our balcony, welcoming all believers in miracles inside.
Reagan gets extremely excited whenever we have guests, and last night was no exception. She was bouncing off the walls yelling “Who Dat?! Who Dat?!” all night to the encouragement of our friends. She brought every toy, blanket and thing-a-ma-bob out from her room to share, leaving them in a pile in front of the television. I could never get her to slow down enough to enjoy the scrumptious meal the rest of us gobbled throughout the evening.
Our friends, Stevie and Jennifer, prepared mouth-watering roast beef Po’ Boys with debris gravy and all the fixin’s!
I made my friend, Amber’s recipe for “Mama’s Whipped Shortbread Cookies” while the game was on. Mmmm… mmm!
And followed that with rounds of Tom & Jerry’s. A Christmas tradition in my home growing up. My parents were pretty liberal about letting us share in this “tradition.” But, only one! Still, one of my fondest memories of my Dad is watching him whip up the Tom & Jerry batter and settle into his La-Z-Boy sipping his hot toddy while watching Christmas specials with us on TV.
Because I spent all night in the kitchen, you can see I didn’t take many photos other than of, well, the food. But, I did notice sometime during the third quarter, when it looked like all hope was lost, Reagan running in and out of our bedroom carrying various gifts I had hidden in my closet and handing them out to all of our guests. I asked her what was she doing as I picked up the presents and returned them to the closet.
“Mommy!” she cried, “People want presents!”
Such the entertainer. She obviously knows what the people want. I quickly thought of the candy canes I had also hidden in my closet. I gave her the box and she happily set about distributing them, a huge grin on her face that became contagious.
If the Po’ Boys, shortbread cookies and Tom & Jerry’s weren’t enough to offset the gloom at seeing the Saints undefeated record broken, I’m sure the candy canes did the trick. And that’s what makes my little girl the “Hostess with the Mostest!”
9 comments December 21, 2009
Surprise! It’s Santa!
Here’s your shot! Santa has decided to pay a surprise visit to your preschool class. You get to sit on his lap first! He asks you “what do you want for Christmas?”
You’ve had lots of time to think about this one. After all, you’ve only visited Santa twice already at his house (Outdoor World). The first time, okay, you were caught off guard. And you drew a blank. The second time, you said “a doll,” because that’s what Mommy told you to say. Because she already bought you one. But, now’s your chance! Let him know what it is you really want!
“A candy cane?”
So nice to know my daughter is easy to please.
8 comments December 18, 2009
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!
Part of Perfect Moment Mondays…
Charlie Brown would be proud. After an encouraging suggestion from my friend, Helen, I decided to do a tree this year after all. It may not look like much, but I’ve never been prouder!
When I told Reagan we were going to make her tree, her eyes lit up like Rudolph’s nose. She took one gander at the paint and poster board and wanted at it!
We spent an afternoon painting the tree and all the ornaments and the next decorating the ornaments with glitter glue and sticking them to the tree. Reagan’s excitement at having her very first Christmas tree of her own could not be contained. So glad we got it all on film.
What precious memories this tree will provide. Our plan is to laminate it and put it up every year! Along with our “real” artificial tree of course.
I bought a special nativity musical snow globe that plays “Silent Night” to place under the tree. Reagan tries to take the snow globe with her everywhere. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pack it away once Christmas is over!
Thank you to Helen for inspiring me to create our own family Christmas moment this year that is sure to be a favorite tradition for years to come no matter where we spend our holidays!
9 comments December 14, 2009
Where is Christmas?
How do you explain when Christmas is to a two-year-old? What is it and where does it come?
Right now, Reagan thinks Santa lives at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. We’ve visited him there twice. Beyond that, I can’t be sure what she understands. Except maybe that there is a tree and some big socks involved. Clearly, I have some work to do in the “what is it” department. Thankful that the “Little Drummer Boy” is on today to aid in this endeavor.
Answering “where is Christmas” hasn’t been helped by our choice not to decorate again this year. Between the fact that we’ll be spending most of the holiday in New Orleans with Danny’s family and Danny’s health the past two years and now since his back surgery, we haven’t wanted to add that stressor. And, until this year, we always figured Reagan wouldn’t notice. But, she’s noticing now. It crushed me tonight when she asked in the most innocent, little voice if she was getting a Christmas and a Christmas tree. Did I ever feel like the Ebeneezer Scrooge to her Tiny Tim.
The timing of Danny’s surgery just before the start of the holidays at Thanksgiving was unfortunate, but necessary. No bending, stooping, kneeling or lifting anything over 15lbs for six weeks. There was just no way I was going to be hauling a Christmas tree and boxes of decorations up three flights of stairs, setting up and taking down while watching a toddler all by myself. I tried to be Super Mom at Thanksgiving and am still recovering. Hence, my absence here as well. In case you were wondering. Or not.
So, I answered Reagan that Christmas is at Mawmaw and Pawpaw’s house and that there will be a tree and presents there for her when we get there. It may not be the perfect answer, but it’s one we can build upon as Reagan discovers all that is Christmas. Eventually, she will come to understand that it doesn’t really matter where you are, or if there is a tree or decorations, or presents, Christmas is always with you. Just as God’s love is always with you. And the greatest present we could ever receive is the gift of Baby Jesus on Christmas Day!
4 comments December 12, 2009
