Can You Guess What This Will Be?

A few weeks back we had a dear, brave little house guest whom I will call Rose. She heard about a childrens' photography studio contest and decided she would like to participate. I told you she was brave.  At five years old, she made it to the third round (the very youngest of the top 8).  He mother was so sweet and kept asking her if she was sure she wanted to continue.  She loves attention and loves to perform and didn't know it was supposed to be a competition; so she was still having fun.  Anyway, her last round required a Trashion outfit.  Neither her mother nor I were quite sure what this was or where to begin; so we looked online and got some garbage bags plus a grocery tote I had from Carrefour, and Voila!...    Our little Rose Fairy.

This was her final day and she ended as happy as she had begun.

I am indebted to Dana at Bungalow56 for the reminder that I had these photos.  If you want to see a simply darling duck tape dress her daughter created, you can find the post here.

Hope your day is full of joy and creativity.

How long has it been?

 How long has it been since you last played Candy Land? Princess Lolly, Queen Frostine, and all.... Considering I have a high school graduate, senior, and tenth grader at home... it's been way too long for me. Thankfully, I had saved it. All part of the joy of moving in to the auntie-ing or grandmothering stage of life. A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of caring for a Chinese friend's little girl while she and her husband needed to be away. I thought Jia Yuan would feel disoriented and frightened staying in our home for a few days and nights, but she showed no real fear and only a slight, temporary shyness. She slept in my second son's full-sized bed (which is a bit tight for him). The next day she asked, "Am I sleeping in 2nd brother's bed. The tall one?... No wonder it is so long and wide." I cannot imagine how I would feel thrust into a home were the language sounded like loud white noise; and the main staples were milk, cereal, peanut butter, and bread instead of rice and vegetables; and household rituals and customs seemed odd. Especially when I was five years old. We did try to accommodate as much as we knew how, but for all our efforts it was really she who bridged the cultural gaps (our little white poodle helped a lot too). I returned to my young mother days, playing blocks and cars while sitting bent knee-ed on the floor and listening to simple songs sang full-heartedly and with joy. It's way harder to get back up from the carpet than it used to be and I was thoroughly tired by the end of the day. But we enjoyed walks to the playground and digging in the complex sandbox. She was much neater in the sand than any boy I ever produced (and tidy in the apartment as well, for that matter). It was a surprise gift to relive the sweetness of seeing the world through the eyes of a small child and to have the responsibility of her care. It's priceless to have a preschooler to make memories with again, if even just for a little while... and a girl at that! And it's nice to be able to give her back in to a loving family. I get the best of both worlds.

I forgot to mention that the first morning Jia Yuan came up to me pigtail holders in hand with the expectation I would put up her hair. I eventually succeeded after several time-consuming fumbled attempts. The next morning she decided to do it herself. :)