Eating crow...and all that jazz.

So, as we get ready for Maeve's 3rd birthday on Wednesday, I find myself reflecting on the the kind of parent I thought I would be, vs. who I have become.

The "eating crow" part of this post is related to Maeve's current obsession with all things "princess".  Brent and I were quite adamant that no daughter of ours would be suckered into the "princess" marketing vortex, and did everything in our power to discourage it.  I don't think it was the princess theme in particular that bothered us, more so the marketing and culture behind it.  So, we bought tools and trucks, watched Bob the Builder and Handy Manny (not that they are much better, really) and thought we'd escaped it.

But recently, the word "princess" has creeped into Maeve's vocabulary.  As in...."Mommy, I want a princess dress", and "Mommy, can we go to the princess castle?" and most recently, "Mommy, I want a princess cake".  Eek.  A cake, eh?  Since I'm no Betty Crocker, I knew a princess cake was out of my league.  So, off to the Superstore we went.  And, yes, I will be ordering a hideous-disney licensed-white sugar laden- princess cake.  Why, because the look on Maeve's face will be worth all the crow in the world.

Raising kids is a gentle reminder that one should never say never.