Disney Pics

I still haven't found that camera cord, but here are some pics by others.

The elusive Snow White - totally worth it all just for this priceless shot:

Thank you, mister Magic Kingdom Balloon Man, for making this little moment possible:

Aladdin was the only "Prince" available for meet and greet.  These two were really impressive in their roles, and Natalie was so excited that she literally couldn't stop jumping for a full 5 minutes after she got her turn.

Isaac actually really loved the characters.  Here is Mama's family with The Mouse Himself at Animal Kingdom:

Princess or President?

This is not a post about Caroline Kennedy trying to get into the Senate. I just want to save you googlers some time. You're Welcome.

This Christmas was the Year of the Princess for my 4-year old daughter. Her gifts were a Disney Princess bicycle, princess Barbie-style dolls, and a craft kit with gemstones and tulle to turn her bed into a princess bed. In her stocking, she got a Cinderella DVD and a 6-pack of princess underwear.

She is obsessed with all things princess and with looking pretty.  She is so concerned with how she looks that she often fights wearing a jacket because she wants everyone to see her clothes.

Where did this little girl come from?  I am about as far from "girly" as any girl can be.  When she tells me how she wants to be a princess when she grows up, I have to fight the urge to argue with her, "Why not a scientist, or an astronaut, or an artist, or the President?  How about a ballerina?  (I would totally take ballerina over 'princess' these days) Don't you know you can be anything?" 

I try to keep my defensive reflex responses in check, though.  While I do think it's important to teach her that "beauty" is about more than her dresses and hair, I also want her to know that she really is beautiful.  "Princess" is her ideal right now, and I don't think I can argue that out of her.  I have faith that this, too, shall pass.  As long as it does last, I have resolved that I don't want to somehow give her the idea that she is less than qualified to be a princess, whatever that means to her, so I choose my words carefully.  

And put up with enough plastic high-heels, crowns, and necklaces to provide the wardrobe for our own production of Victor! Victoria!

Honey for Children's Cough - A Test

Now the FDA says no cold medicine for kids up to age six. Natalie is 3 and has a cold. Again. So…

The latest news claims that researchers concluded that honey is just as effective as OTC cold medicine in treating cold symptoms. Since honey is not recommended for children under one due to botulism, I’d say this is a step back from the previous recommendation of chicken soup.

Natalie did some research on Poppy’s new iPhone and decided that there was some support for this theory and that we should give it a go.

The basic idea was that we should give a teaspoon of honey, but it does not specify how it should be done. Since honey is basically sweet, I though we would just go with a teaspoon and call it a special treat. Natalie took one small lick and spit it out, saying “I don’t like honey.”

For the next attempt, I told her we were having tea. I mixed the teaspoon of honey and water in the most exciting mug I could find in our house and nuked it for one minute.

The resulting mix tasted like lukewarm sugar water, which I was sure would not be popular. I thought about adding some lemon juice, but I didn’t have any lemons. I did have a lime. I don’t recommend using lime. That cup got poured down the drain, and the next one got a few squirts of this stuff – although I’m not really sure what it actually is and I am totally sure that the holistic medicine people would frown upon using it.

That version tasted pretty good, so I offered it up to Nat.

Mama: Here’s some tea for your cough

Natalie: Well, I only drink pretend tea. Real tea is for mommies and daddies.

Mama: [Dang, she listens well.] Actually, this is just pretend tea.

Natalie: [ No words actually came out of her mouth, but her eyes were totally saying “If you think I’m going to drink that, you haven’t been paying attention the last 3 years.”]

Take 3 – I filled the syringe that came with her last round of antibiotics with honey and told Natalie it was her cough medicine. She took it without complaint, and then decided she needed to drink the “tea.”

The results:
She got the honey at about 10:30. It controlled the coughing well until about 1:00. I gave her another dose at 1:30, which held up through her nap – although she was too jazzed up to actually sleep. She started coughing again around 4. I gave her another dose, but the coughing persisted. At bedtime, I gave her some children’s Triaminic, which kept the cough away for about 4 hours. For the record, we were using unfiltered Texas Wildflower honey, which is a very dark variety.

Personally, I think I will stick to drugs at night time so that everyone can get some sleep, but I have to say that I was surprised at how well the honey worked during the day.

Homecoming- Wordless Wednesday

Because I just don't know what to say...