Balancing Princesses and Role Models

I love princesses.

I really do.

I wasn't crazy about Disney princess as a child.

I liked them and played with them.

I loved the movies,

but yet it wasn't nearly on the scale that some little girls do today.

Was my favorite along with

I actually fell in love with the princess idea as a teenager.

To the point that my goal in life is to be act like a princess.

I was totally going to raise my future daughter this way too, 

until the backlash against Disney princess started.

I started reading things like...

"Cinderella ate my daughter"

"Feminist Princess book list"

and it goes on and on and on.

I started second guessing myself and when I got pregnant, I was scared at the idea of raising a girl.

When Matt asked me why, I told him there was too many options and none of them seemed right.

Then that day came. 

I found out our Tiny was a girl.

I didn't go out and buy a ton of things for her,

instead I hit the internet.

I really needed to find a solution to the whole princess thing.

You can ask Matt.

 I love to research things.

I spent hours and hours researching looking for answer on how to raise my baby.

I was frustrated because what I was looking for was missing.

But then one day, it all clicked in place.

I suddenly had a plan.

I was going to raise my daughter with princesses.

I wasn't going to hold them back or push them on her.

I'm just going to give her a well-rounded princess education.

So along with the Disney princesses that are heavily marketed, my children will be taught

Grimm's Fairy Tales and any other collection of fairy tale 

She'll know a Rapunzel that has a cute little chameleon named Pascal

and the other Rapunzel is banished to the wilderness while her blind prince searches for her.

She know the Little Mermaid named Ariel,

and the Little Mermaid who dies and becomes sea foam in the ocean.

She'll also know of Indian Cinderella, the Swan Princess,  Scheherazade, the Goose girl, the Weaver girl, The Paper Bag princess, along with many other princesses that Disney hasn't made movies about.

Some of those stories have morals, others are just enchanting stories. 

but I'm hoping that Tiny and her siblings will fall in love with them.

Princesses aren't just in books though.

Many of my own role models I see as modern day princesses,

and you can bet my children will learn about these women too.

Audrey Hepburn

Dedicated her later life helping children in the poorest nations.

Refused to change her eyebrows, despite the fact they were not in fashion.

The Queen Mum

Hitler called her “the most dangerous woman in Europe”.

Queen Noor

Broke tradition by being involved with politics

Natalie Portman

 Has degree from Harvard and speaks several languages.

 "I'd rather be smart than a movie star."

Mother Teresa 

Helped thousands of people that no one else wanted to help.

Shirley Temple

Ran for Congress

 a US ambassador to Ghana

 first female Chief of Protocol at the White House.

I admire these women because they made a difference in the world.

They didn't do it with a lot of flair.

They all have a quiet elegance to them that gives them power one way or another.

And what do they do with this power?

They help others.

These women along with many others define what "feminine" means to me.

They have grace, beauty, loveliness, determination, and kindness.

I think you could use those all traits for both their personalities and their looks.

Which is something that our little fairy tale princesses try to capture.

Unfortunately, those traits are easier to capture in looks than personality in movies,

but you know what?

If you look, those traits are still there...in some from or another in every Disney movie. 

(Maybe not in the dolls. I'm STILL upset with their makeovers.)

They just get lost in the happily ever after story.

As a mom, I hope to point them out.

I love that princesses come in every shape and form.

I love the traits they represent.
I love the love stories.

I love the message that if you are true to yourself, some one will love you for it.

As a mother, I'm hoping my sons and daughters can see past all the pink and know being a princess is more than just putting on a dress.

I'm hoping they learn about grace, beauty, loveliness, determination and kindness through these stories and people.
I hope my daughters embrace the fact they are female
and that they can achieve whatever dreams their hearts make.

There is so much good they can learn from fairy tales.

It's just up to me to show them.

Random articles that I love

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-young-women-meeting/2010/03/your-happily-ever-after

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hayley-krischer/im-a-feminist-momand-my-d_b_998130.html

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/02/04/constance-marie-blog-anti-princess-confession/

http://mom-101.com/2012/02/not-anti-princess-just-pro-choice.html

An interview with a princess!

And if you are wondering what we did after this? 

We danced to Abba.

Being a mom rocks.

2 Random Notes

Once upon a time, I had a blog before I got married. Now I'm moving it all on here, and just scattering it through my previous blog post. It's about seeing life as a Princess, by walking in princess shoes. I loved writing it, and I want to continue it on here.

Also, I know I'm the one "writing" on here, but Matt helps too. He edits every blog, and usually sticks in his own snarky comments. So you see something that looks like I'm making fun of him...he's doing it to himself. :) 

Being Smart: Books

That is the princess shoe of the day. Gorgous isn't it? It's a Kate Spade shoe, called the graham pump. I love her shoes and purses.

Yesterday I could have bought those shoes, but I spent the money on something else instead, books. I live for books. My perfect day is going to a used bookstore, getting my normal order from Starbucks (a tall peppermint hot chocolate with low fat milk with no whip cream and extra sprinkles), while looking super cute. I can spend hours in a bookstore and not even notice.

People keep suggesting libraries to me so that I can have both shoes and books, but see I have this issue with returning the books. I know they will be loved a lot more on my bookshelf and have difficulty giving them back. So bookstores and amazon have become my best friends.

I know a princess is suppose to be smart. Talking to an idiot is one of the most annoying things in the universe, believe me. I’ve met plenty, and honestly I rather not be one of those. I find that being well-read helps me not only to be smarter, but also gives me common ground with a lot of people that otherwise might have very few similarities with me.  Also, to quote John Bytheway, “I might not be very smart, but I sure can quote.”  Basically, even if you do not really remember most of the book, a few memorized quotes go a long way.

So what books should you read?

Goodreads.com I think is an excellent resource. I use it all the time. It helps me keep track of not only what I  have read, own, and want to read, but also gives me a long list of suggestions.

But here are a few books that are my absolutely favorites of all time to start you off.

 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Everyone should have read this one point during their high school education. It's a wonderful book, and I learn something new each time. It teaches about tolerance, family, and race.

Funny story about it. So when I first heard about it in 7th grade, my mom asked me what we were going to be reading. I replied, "Oh I think How to Murder a Hummingbird, Mom." My mother was very bothered by this and all ready to tell the school that she did not approve of what they were having us read, but then she realized it was me she was talking to. When she found out the real title, she was more than happy that I was reading it, but from then on the book has been referred as in my family as "How to murder a hummingbird."

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This is one of my very favorite books of all time. People ask me what it is about all the time, and the best explanation I have is, it's about life. It is a really short well-written book about a boy that is trying to find his purpose in life. The character growth in this book is incredible, and out of the dozen or so people I have lent it to, everyone has been able to relate to the main character. The book is an international best seller, and I highly recommend it. (While I love this book though, I'm not too big of a fan of the rest of his books)

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

I love this book, and it's a great quote book. The chapters are only a few pages long, but they teach you a lot. Most adults I have found have read this book or at least know a bit about it. It's also about life. As this man, Morrie, is dying, he teaches one of his old students about what is important in life. Along with being really neat, it's also a really good biography, which is sometimes hard to find. I love this author, and even those this is Mitch Albom's most famous book, it's not my favorite. My favorite is Have a Little Faith.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

I think everyone knows why this one is up. Everyone talks about it. The movies are great, but I really think everyone who really wants to sound educated should be able to tell what the differences are between the movie and the book. The first line of the book is actually my favorite part of the whole book. I think it's the funniest and a honest summary of daughters and mothers I have read. Anyway, it's a good book. Guys, you should read it too. Jane Austin writes some really amusing books. My favorite is Emma. That book makes me laugh every time I read it. The movie Clueless is based of the book Emma, and I love that movie also.

There are so many other books that people should read, and if you really hate reading that much you should at least read the cliffnote versions or watch the movies. If you want to be able to talk to boys or men more, then I would get a good list of Science Fiction or Fantasy. They tend to like those better than Jane Austin books. Biographies and best seller list I find are good for general adults, and children books are so much fun to read and short if you ever want to read those. Also, children's books have really easy analogies and stories that can often time be useful for examples in speeches and conversations.

Anyway I'm off.

Love always,

Michele