"I'm a Fancy Star, Mommy!"

That's what Auds tells me in the morning. How precious is that?! Here's a collection of snapshots of my little tres chic mademoiselle. You can see her two outfits at once, her curls, her crown, her multiple bows at once, and her sunglasses at 10 at night after prayer meeting and choir practice. This girl is the accessory princess. Today she's got pink striped knee-highs, twisties in her hair, and a crown. And a beanbag. It's the chosen accessory today. She's working on her aim. She actually got the phone while I was typing that. Lol!

Adventures with Miss Priss

I find it interesting how my kids fall into the typical "gender stereotypes" all on their own. Auds absolutely loves pink and frills and princesses and fancy things. She always has. If given her choice of anything in the store, she will pick the pinkest, sparkliest item of all. Little T, on the other hand, is all boy. He loves blue and tractors, cars and trains. He digs in the dirt and runs amok.

I didn't have very feminine influences growing up, and wasn't really allowed to be a girly girl. I was discouraged from having long hair and encouraged to be as tomboy as possible. Not one to want to disappoint, I had short hair and ran with the boys. I was always intrigued with the beauty and delicacy of the more feminine girls, but it was just a foreign concept.

It wasn't until I moved into college that I embraced a more feminine nature and found such a beauty in following the gender distinctions that God put in place. I started to dress more modestly and in skirts and dresses, grew my hair, and actually found joy in learning to cook and care for a household. Now, since I didn't have that growing up, I'm still learning, but I love learning more about managing a family and setting a Biblical example for them. I'm still very low-maintenance though, with my lack of makeup and my headcoverings. Anyway...

So, rearing a girly girl is certainly an adventure. I will say, though, I love it. It is adorable to watch my daughter dress herself. She will actually wear two outfits at once - a skirt and a shirt underneath a dress - with as many bows as she can fit on her head and some sparkly shoes. She has to have accessories to even stay home all day. This, however, can get a little frustrating when her desired outfit(s) is dirty and in the wash. When her "little pink heart" is set on something, finding an alternative is hard to do.

Getting dirty isn't an option and if the slightest speck of dirt gets on her, we have to wash it off. Even her hair must be perfectly coifed. My sweetheart has recently decided that straight hair is boring and curly hair is divine. So, we now have an evening routine of sitting in the rocking chair as I put her hair in foam curlers at night. Yesterday was the first day she had curly hair, and she proudly told every.single.person she saw - multiple times. I'll admit, she looked like a porcelain doll.

More effort goes into getting her ready than myself. I'm so low-maintenance, so it is a funny joy to get my three-year-old dolled up. Today, for instance, I'm in a skirt and a 3/4 length shirt with a headcovering and my hair in a pony tail. Auds, however, has curly hair with one half of her hair in a pigtail and the other half down, a princess crown and a Minnie Mouse dress with sparkles, bows, and ruffles. She wanted to wear her sparkly shoes inside, but I discouraged her from doing that. T is still in his Thomas pj's. I'll post pictures as soon as I get my phone back from her. She wanted to watch My Little Pony on Netflix on my phone while her brother naps.

Baby dolls and princess dolls go with us wherever we go. She longs for a baby sister so she can do her hair and play princesses with her. Her favorite colors are "pink, purple, lavender, fuschia and blue-indigo," and she wants to learn French coz "it's so fancy and chic."

How precious is that? Any tips on helping her to embrace her inner princess?

Free is My Favorite Word

So, of course I don't have any pictures accompanying this post because it's pouring down rain outside right now. Go figure. But, I can always add some later.

I LOVE a good deal. If I can't make it myself, I better have a coupon or it better be on sale. That's just the in's and out's of it. UNLESS it is something that I place an high value on. Photography, cloth diapers, music equipment, those are things I will pay full price for and gladly. But $2 for a can of tuna fish - I think not.

All of that said to say that we now have a subdivision in our backyard. Backstory: when Auds was about a year and a half, I saw a playhouse and a slide outside of a thrift store. You know the large plastic playhouses that cost upwards of $300, right? One of those. How much did I end up paying for it? $10. And I got a sprinkler slide for another $10. $400 worth of outside play equipment for $20. Amen.

Fast forward two years and another kid.

We had to run a few errands in town yesterday and decided to drive through the oldest subdivision just to look around. The most beautiful houses are in there. It's so secluded, it doesn't even seem like it's in town. Huge lots with lots of trees and it's just gorgeous - especially to architecture lovers like my husband and myself. The land was originally owned by Henri Bendel. Like the store in New York.

Anyway, as we're driving along, I spy one of those same playhouses out by the side of the road. I made my husband pull over and ask if it was available. The owner, who was outside working in her garden, said that it was. Her kids had knocked it into the pool and it came apart and she didn't feel like putting it back together again. So, we further disassembled it, shoved it into the back of the van, and brought it home.

In our backyard we now have two of these big playhouses - one for the boy(s) and one for the girl(s), a car, and a slide next to our back patio. It's too cute. Auds and T will go in their separate houses and talk to each other through the windows.

Thank you, lady, for not wanting to put the house together again and allowing us to take it. I will post pictures of all of their fun in their subdivision when they can play outside. :)