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LMAO

So we're headed to Florida tomorrow night (yes, again), for a wedding. Given that we got back from Florida on Saturday, Easter was Sunday and Hubby and I have been to work Monday through today, we are in no position to go anywhere at all! Our house is in disarray. Nothing is even unpacked from last week (other than most of the kids' stuff - thank you wonderful nanny). I just got back from getting my hair done, after taking the girls to get theirs done last night - but forgot to get my eyebrows done, and forget about my nails. Oh and L'il Buddy has nothing to wear yet. I don't have much time in Florida before the wedding because I am a bridesmaid and so I have to attend the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and the other festivities the day before. I'm supposed to go to work tomorrow, attend a morning meeting and participate in an afternoon conference call, get home on the metro, and get everyone into the car and to the airport for an 8:30pm flight. It's making me laugh just typing it. There's no way!

Firing up my laptop while watching Law and Order: SVU and munching on the last of the Disney cotton candy seemed like the best thing to do at the moment.

When Your Easter Quiche Crust Goes Wrong

Clearly my mind is still in the Magic Kingdom.

Where Was The Princess & The Frog at Walt Disney World?

I started to leave my thoughts as part of my comment to Justice Ny's post about The Princess and the Frog movie, but thought that it deserved a post of its own.

As many of you know (from being bombarded by my tweets, Facebook postings, Foursquare check-ins and the like!) my family went to Walt Disney World for spring break this past week. While the trip was truly fantastic, I have to say that I was a little disappointed at how little of a presence Princess Tiana had at the Walt Disney Parks. Having 2 little girls - one of whom is a die-hard Disney Princess fanatic - we were on the Princess Circuit this week. My girls did the Princess Makeovers, we booked a special lunch with the princesses, and we spent way too much time at Cinderella's Castle. But there was one glaring omission; where was Princess Tiana? We had to hunt her down while at the Magic Kingdom (she was hidden in a garden that we only found by accident) and her meet and greet times were very limited! So much so that we didn't get a chance to meet her. We didn't see her in the parade, she did not make an appearance at our princess lunch, and the boat cruise that Disney launched to welcome her is no longer running...

I really think that Disney could be making a little bit more effort to make a big deal about Tiana at their parks. Because, she is a big deal! She really should should have a special section devoted to her and her cast of characters. Or even a "Bayou Breakfast" where people could reserve special seating to meet them. SOMETHING. I mean, Tigger and Pooh have their own breakfast for Pete's Sake. So do Lilo and Stitch. And even Chip and Dale. I have to think that some special event focused on Tiana and her friends would be a huge hit.

I made sure to seek out the window where her dress is displayed (will put up the photo later). But unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't see it. My gals were bummed to not have met her and so was I. Of all the wonderful things Disney did amazingly right this week, the lack of a showing of The Princess and the Frog Characters was definitely a let down. I'm crossing my fingers that this is simply because the movie just came out. If there's not a PATF ride somewhere next year, Disney's got some 'splaining to do!

The power of The Princess and the Frog

I just finished watching The Princess and the Frog with my little princess. I know I'm four months late, but I MUST post about my feelings about the movie. (BTW, I was not asked to do a review nor was I paid in any way nor received anything free. These are my thoughts and recommendations). GET YOURSELF A COPY OF THIS DVD; IN FACT, BUY TWO!!!!

At Blogalicious we got a sneak peek of the movie and I was super psyched to see it. However, I was unavailable the movie's release weekend, so hubby took princess to see it. I figured it would be a great daddy-daughter outing anyway, so I didn't sweat it. Then once the movie was scheduled for dvd release, princess asked for it. Hubby promised to get it and so did my mom in Canada. So, unbeknownst to me, hubby purchased it on Tuesday, after my mom did the same and shipped it to the States for her granddaughter.

Once I discovered that we would potentially have 2 copies of the movie, I decided that we should simply return the one bought here. As you can imagine though, once princess got wind of the purchase she had to see it immediately; as if her life depended on it. Having not seen it, I figured that copy number 2 would be a great birthday present for someone. However, after seeing it tonight, I've changed my mind and we will keep both copies - one for use and the other as a back-up and here's why:

Inspirational movie

The movie's message is so grounded and inspirational. Dream big and work hard! I loved that Tiana's dreams were centered around making something of herself and they weren't simply to get married to a prince and live happily ever after, as so many fairy tales end. I was also impressed that their challenges weren't simply solved by the prince. She was as involved in solving their problems as anyone else. Also, the music was so culturally rich and the message was so powerful that I appreciate and welcome my princess listening everyday - "I'm almost there" and "Dig a little deeper" are mantras that I hope she will live by.

Inspiring me to dream

For those of you who attended Blogalicious, you may remember one of our keynote speakers, Karen Walrond's (@chookooloonks) presentation during the Disney sponsored lunch. Her talk was entitled "The Beauty of Different" and it tied perfectly to the movie's theme. Karen gave us a glimpse into her life and walked us through how she ended up pursuing her passion and her dream of being an author/photographer/business woman. You may also remember that my emotions got the better of me during my thank you to Karen because her courage and strength to pursue her dream has touched me deeply. As I watched the movie tonight, Karen's words of encouragement echoed in the back of my mind because I actually saw through Tiana how perseverant, courageous and determined you have to be to live your dream and be truly happy. I am emotional as I write because the combination of messages is driving me to figure out how I can make my dream come true. Considering that I am struggling with this issue right now, you can only imagine how confused I am. I will figure it out!

Buying the black movie

I read somewhere that the movie did not meet Disney's revenue target and may be considered as an under-performing film. We cannot affect box office sales, but we've got to get out there and buy the dvd. It's a great film and it's the first black princess and I think it's imperative that we support this effort to show the buying power of people of color. It hurts my heart that despite the great recession, at the end of the day, Disney (and maybe others) may attribute lower revenues than expected to the fact that the princess was of color. I feel like we've got to show them (whomever that are) that we are a force in the marketplace and that they should continue to market product that specifically appeal to people of color. Please don't spend your $14.99 on Hannah Montana or the Backyardigans before spending it on The Princess and Frog!

My Biology Experiment

A few weeks ago I took the kids to get some new shoes and didn't realize the outing would result in a biology experiment. With three kids, all with different tastes and demands, I knew this outing would require plenty of patience and a good sense of humor to get me through it. What I didn't expect was to learn that I was going to have a clear snapshot of the differences between the male and female psyche.

We started out with the boys running down the aisles basically tearing the place apart, grabbing and knocking everything down. Oldest wanted a pair of Heelys. Little B wanted anything that looked like it would help him run "super fast" and within minutes he quickly found a pair of dark blue Nikes with bright green Nike checks zipping across the sides. They looked just like "lightening speed shoes." Even though they did just what he was looking for, I tried to show him a few others choices. How could he be done so quickly? He had zero interest in other shoes.

Next was Oldest. Although there were no Heelys, he found a good alternative. Skater shoes with no wheels. Since it's what all his friends are wearing these would do just fine. Like Little B he also was done pretty quickly and had no desire to keep looking.

Daughter, now she had a completely different approach. She looked at every possible shoe in her section. She inspected, flipped possible choices around, and thought about her choice long and hard. While she did this, she even talked about the types of shoes her friends had or what so and so would think about her choice. The boys were getting very impatient with her but this didn't distract or deter her. Eventually, even I had enough and tried to show her a number of shoes and felt like I picked one in every single possible style. There was something not right about each shoe. Either "too pink" or "too flat" or "too plain." The girl was driving me nuts!! Finally, she found the "perfect" shoe, the new Twinkle Toes by Sketchers. (Side note: The shoes are super cool and stylish with toes light up. A perfect match for my little style diva. Check them out!)

The approach the kids took when selecting their shoes really highlighted the differences between the two sexes. But this isn't something I noticed just during this outing. Really, since having the kids I've learned to have a better appreciation and understanding in how different men and women really are from each other. I saw in Daughter what most women go through when they shop for clothes/shoes. For most of us we put a lot of thought into our purchases and enjoy when we get compliments from our peers. (And let me assure, she's been getting plenty since she got them and it makes.her.day.) Most men, on the other hand, have a totally different approach. They know what they want, they find it quickly, and voila, they are done. I can remember plenty of times where Mr. Jonesie would ask us to wait in the car while he ran in and out of Dillard's only to come back with exactly what he needed, and in minutes.

As the kids get older I'm really starting to see more and more that my boys are wired completely different than my girl. Their habits, inability to communicate, ways in which they communicate, or solve problems are much different than the way I would or Daughter would approach something. Even though the two boys have two totally different personalities, the basic science behind them are similar.

While I realize none of this is groundbreaking information for anyone, my little shoe experiment has compelled me to inquire into this a bit further. Maybe listen to an audio book or two on the subject and see if I can find answers to some of the million dollar questions in my life. Like, why can't men just put the toilet seat down? Or find something without asking where it is first? Or express their feelings about something just for the sake of talking about it rather than searching for solutions or answers only? Or how about this one- toughen up when they are sick?

I think I'll start with adding Men are From Mars/Women are From Venus to my reading list because it's about time I better understand what's really going on here.

I'll keep ya'll posted!