Happy Valentine's Day!

Every princess deserves to feel special on Valentine's Day. If the princess in question is a child, then Mommy or Daddy should do something special for her to mark the ocassion and let her know how loved she is to them. If the princess is grown, then a friend or a sister should do something special for her to show her she is loved.

One year on Valentine's Day, I had a lot of single friends and my fiance was 7,000 miles away, so I threw a Valentine's Day party. My single friends all came. There was party food and games to play, romantic movies to watch and I even bought cute little stuffed frogs for them all that, when squeezed, would either croak like a frog or say "Give me a kiss" in a rough voice.

I always do something special for my children on Valentine's Day too, from buying them Valentine's Day cards, special sweets or cute little toys to sometimes just making cupcakes for their whole classrooms.

You don't have to limit Valentine's Day to just a romantic day; it can be a day for friends and family too.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, full of the love of family and friends.




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A Princess Drawing Done By A Five Year Old

Five year old Isabella loves the idea of being a princess. She loves princess stories, princess dresses and princess art. Today, using a book called How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas (Usborne Activities), she drew this princess.

For the book in the US:


For the book in the UK:




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Feminine & Strong

My little girl loves everything to do with princesses. If it's sparkly and pink, then she acquires it and adores it. She loves wearing dresses and she loves looking girly. She is five years old.

For my other daughters, five was about the age when they started to lose their love of all things girly, or at least, they pretended to lose their love of dresses and tiaras and other girly things.

I wonder if my little five year old will start to think that she has to show the world a different face. Why is it that the world around her seems to encourage her to be tough rather than tender, stoic rather than emotional, and suspicious rather than trusting?

She is hanging on to her idealism about being a princess. I hope she continues to do so. There is nothing wrong with being tough and strong, but there is also a great deal of strength to be found in things that are traditionally considered feminine. Being able to shed tears and show emotion has the power to help us heal emotionally and the strength to face almost anything. Being able to show compassion and tenderness is one of the ways of making this world a better place for others.

When did the world start equating femininity with weakness? When did the world at large decide that to be anything other than macho and masculine was to be weak and victimized? It's a falsehood that should never have been given legitimacy in society.

Some of the most feminine women I know have backbones of steel.

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