"All by myself!"

Miss Trin, as a dear friend calls our Princess, managed her own breakfast all by herself this fine Saturday morning.

She fed her pretty purple pony first, of course, and the baby pony. They like Fruit Loops, just like the Princess! Then, when her Queen Momma was not watching, she poured herself the last of the cereal in her very own pink bowl. There was a perfect amount of milk left after her brothers had eaten their breakfasts, so she helped herself with that, too, and then got her own spoon. Her Momma was not frustrated with the big girl at all, and only smiled and kissed her head and complimented her growing pouring skills that only spilled the smallest of drops on the counter and floor. (Well, they grew to bigger spills as the meal progressed, but such details are best unexagerated.)

We believe that this was the most successful independent cooking adventure to date. There has been a significant decrease in the Princess's Adventures lately. The King and Queen paused to wonder if this is due to the abundance of toys, a slight cold, or the increase in general skill and understanding. Time will tell, no doubt.

Question of Mischieviousness Answered

The question was asked, and a good one it is....

Is the Little Princess mischievious?

It is true that she finds many adventures, some new, some favorites. Take the most recent dumping out of the playdough bucket on the living room carpet, for example. The Queen Mother had established the Table as the correct place for playdough, and had noted with great contentment how the Little Princess thouroughly enjoyed playing with playdough for long periods of time. That was why it was left out on that table into the afternoon. The Princess had been playing happily with the Littlest Prince all morning. After lunch their play continued, and the Queen Mother had no thought to worry that they might happen upon an adventure quite suddenly. Imagine her surprise to discover her Sweethearts sitting on the carpet with playdough supplies and tiny strings of playdough spread around them in a huge diameter! The Princess was right in the act of making more tiny strings with the garlic press!! Everyone was shooed away from the mess, including the cat, before anything could attach to the carpet fibers and the attendents thouroughly cleaned the entire area. The offending playdough was put away out of little fingers' reach.

Let us pause and think of this question. On one hand, the mess was large and very messy. But on the other hand, there was no sneaking or whispering or glancing out of the corner of the eye - all actions that would be attributed to Mischief. Even the quick footed retreat of the Princess could be attributed to her acceptance of getting into adventures frequently, rather than escaping the scene of the crime. Then there is the Littlest Prince's observances, too. "We were just playing, Mom!" he announced. Once he learned it was not Good, he clarified, "she dumped it out!"

The Queen Mother concluded once again that no rule had been directly violated in a purposeful manner and her thoughts turned to where her Nursery Attendent was during this time?! She was found to be designing a quilt block nearby. When quizzed as to the negligence? She answered that the Darlings were in ear-shot the entire time and seemed happy and cooperative, which is a good state to let them remain in. She was quite astonished to learn of the dissaster as assured the Queen Mother that she would watch them more thoroughly with her eyes as well as her ears.

It seems everyone is well-meaning and not malicious, especially the Princess (or all are well-fooled!)

Creativity in the Kitchen

The Little Princess has recently turned her attention to the kitchen and what wonderful creations she might be able to make!

She tried spreading old fashioned peanut butter on a vinyl-topped stool and licking it off again. That was not a bad recipe, she thought, but her Queen Mother was not too happy about the chair choice.

Next she thought she might make her own creamy milk, but the cup she thought held only cream was full of coffee, too, and spilt all over her beautiful, flowy jammies and cute piggy toes (not to mention the floor, counters and cabinets).

A Princess cannot give up after a setback or two, so next she tried mixing butter and hot chocolate mix. It actually tasted quite delicious, and she felt like she'd found a Winning Recipe until she couldn't get the chocolate off her fingers. The more she licked, the more it stuck until her hands and face were coated with sweet chocolate mix. In the end, she had to go ask the Queen Mother for help to clean up properly. The ingredients for the Princess's new Recipe were promptly put higher in the cupboard, perhaps for another day.