Into uncharted territory

When Charlotte was invited to a "princess tea party" for her classmate's birthday, I panicked.  The invitation specified that Charlotte should wear her favorite princess dress.  We have one hand-me-down princess dress, but it looks more like the dress Cinderella was wearing after the wicked step-sisters ripped apart her handmade initial attempt (you know, the one she sewed with the assistance of various critters before the fairy godmother poofed her a new one).  In other words, it has been ridden hard by Charlotte and several of her playmates.

Luckily, Charlotte's buddy, Odie, in an amazing gesture of selflessness uncharacteristic for a typical four-year-old, happily agreed to lend Charlotte her Belle (from "Beauty and the Beast") dress.  The frock came complete with fingerless gloves and a petticoat.  I have never been able to pull off yellow (thanks to my olive skin), but Charlotte looked very sweet in the dress.  We accessorized it with "jewels" from Charlotte's personal collection, pinned it up in strategic places so it would fit her skinny little torso, and away we went for a great party filled with foam tiaras, pink lemonade (instead of tea), petit fours, and a pink cake.  What more could a little girl want?

Here is Princess Charlotte of Franklin, twirling in her borrowed gown:

Not to be outdone, I declared myself to be a queen and put on a tiara of sorts as well.  It was actually just the rhinestone headband that I wore at my wedding, but it gave me an air of royalty suitable for escorting Princess Charlotte to her affair.

Even mommies need to play dress-up sometimes.  And yes, even though the other moms at the party giggled politely when I explained my bling, I'm pretty sure they thought I was a nutjob.