What Kind of Princess Are You?

Madeline often refers to herself as a "pirate princess." I'm good with that. I like that she fancies herself an independent, adventurous sort of princess, rather than the damsel in distress type.
As she's become more interested in the whole princess thing, which undoubetedly includes the Disney princesses, I've been making a few observations that escaped my attention when I was a little girl with her own princess fantasies.

Let's begin with Snow White, shall we? Snow White strikes me as the typical, "Oh dear me! Where is a big strong MAN to rescue me because I certainly can't fend for myself" kind of princess. She finds herself at the mercy of the huntsman, seeks refuge with the dwarves, and can only be saved by the kiss of the prince. What the heck does she do for herself? Nary a thing. Nary. And, if I guess correctly, I would imagine that a young, single woman living with seven men would not have been deemed appropriate in her day, no matter how vertically challenged they were.

Cinderella has always been my favorite. I mean, the prince proposes with shoes. What's not to love? Here's something from my teaching experience, though. I used the Cinderella story as a familiar tale to demonstrate how everyone brings their own opinions to the table when it comes to reading, and no one is any more correct than anyone else. Is it a "love conquers all" story? Yes, although how you fall in love with someone without knowing her name, forget what she looks like, and have to try her lost shoe on every woman in the kingdom just to find her is beyond me. Is it a story of revenge? Yes. Surely, the stepmother and stepsisters get their comeuppance after Cinderella marries the prince. Is it a "good trumps evil" story? Sure it is.
Cinderella is a little more bold than Snow White. At least she has the gaul to defy the crazy stepmother by coming downstairs with the shoe in her pocket and escape her prison.

I'm still not sure about Sleeping Beauty. I had to watch it more than once to figure out why she had two names. I also think Timothy Leary and Jerry Garcia had a hand in the design of the movie, but that's another story. Here's my biggest problem with the movie: the princess's guardians let her in on the fact that she is actually a princess and will be leaving them, the only parents she has known for 16 years, to live in the royal palace with the king and queen (her real parents) forever. No reaction. Blank stare from Aurora/Briar Rose. They tell her she can't eat her birthday dinner with some random guy she met in the woods 20 minutes ago, and she gets a case of the vapors, runs crying hysterically into her bedroom, and throws herself on the bed in convulsions of despair.
Message to girls: It doesn't matter who your family is, what kind of life you live, or whether your guardians have been honest with you about your lineage. What really matters is that you have a man to eat dinner with.

Now, let's talk about Belle. Beauty and the Beast was a cute movie when I was younger (it was released when I was 15 or 16), but it wasn't a favorite until recently. In Belle's village, of course you have the dime-a-dozen, blond ditzes who fawn over any guy with muscles and consider Cosmopolitan a book. They dress alike. They have the same hair and make-up. You know them. But, even the handsomest, most eligible (albeit brutish) bachelor in town wants nothing to do with them. He wants the brainiac. He wants the girl with her nose in a book, unafraid to express her own opinions and be just who she is, without trying to imitate anyone else. That's the girl the Beast falls for, because she is so different from all the other women. She speaks her mind. She's smarter than he is; she teaches him to read. She had a 10-foot beast growling orders at her, and she stands up to him.
Yes. I think I like having this example set for Sweet Pea. Be yourself. Read. Be kind to others. Help people even when they haven't done anything to deserve it. Yes.

I've only seen The Little Mermaid once, and I do like Aladdin, but it's been so long since I've seen it I don't recall all the details. The others, I haven't seen.

So, what kind of princess are you?

8 Months Old!

I couldn't decide which picture I liked more, so I posted both. Look at that happy little face! Don't you just want to squeeze the stuffings out of him?? (Don't, though. He needs his stuffings.)

Baby D is now combat crawling, much to his sister's delight and chagrin. She likes it when he slides across the floor on his belly to come after her, but his now successful attempts at overtaking her dollhouse or her cars are met with protests of, "No way, Dabid!"
I never had a sibling. I never experienced this. We'll have to see how I handle it. Stay tuned.

He still doesn't have any teeth, but we can see one getting ready to make its debut. Of course, I'll post pictures as soon as that happens.

Has it really been 8 months? Really? He's getting to be such a big boy. (sigh)