My very own Fairy -- Tale (aka Maren's 5th Birthday)

Ah, count the candles.....ah, what a mother can do in a moment of party chaos. Can anyone photshop two more candles on here for me????
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Ever since I was a little girl, I've had a love of fairies. They are at once beautiful and ethereal, and spunky and earthly. I love the grace and strength of fairies. I love their attachment to and oneness with nature. I love the notion that they can cast a spell -- and make people see beauty in the world, and can get little girls around the world to believe in the unbelievable. I love sheer thought of fairies -- and I spent many days wishing I could inhabit the fairy world and would lose myself in daydreams of gardens, pixies, and leprechauns.

Well, for Maren's fifth birthday party, she demanded one thing! BARBIE. Okay, for some of you that might not be a problem, but for me, Barbie is horrendous. I detest the image of beauty she represents, from the flowing blonde hair to the unnaturally large breasts on an unnaturally small frame (and yes, scientists have demonstrated that her proportions are impossible and would require the removal of two ribs ;-). So, what's a mother with a 5 year old Barbie obsessed gal to do? Ah, for the saving grace of Barbie Fairytopia! (I'm okay with fairy imagination, but not commodified for marketing beauty falsehood, LOL). Fairytopia --- Barbie's world filled with fairies and mermaids, and mythical creatures galore.

So, Maren's party was a huge hit (other than in my moments of adrenalin rush and glee I only put three candles on her cake, LOL). The guests all got necklaces with their fairy names, they decorated wands, hunted for fairies (girls) or frogs (boys). We played "Help the Fairy Catch the Star" (an artistic version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey). The guests got cute stuffed animal type flowers for their wrists and magnifying glasses, and bubbles. They got more loot than Maren :-). We ate fairy food (bug crackers mixed with colored marshmallows) and drank nectar apple juice. We had a butterfly pinata filled with magical goodies --- all in an idyllic arboretum backdrop. Maren's party was truly fairy-tastic.

She turns 5 officially on Tuesday, but Saturday marked a real celebration of her life with friends and loved ones who joined to celebrate all that is beautiful in life and nature. Maren was the star, and boy did she enjoy being the center of attention!

The next morning (Mother's Day) a sleeply little girl, clad in her new nightgown from her dear friend Emma Grace (daughter of Maren's first teacher), came down the stairs with her party ballons, threw her arms around me and said, "I love my fairy party. I have another fairy day." I think our 6 year old theme is set!

-- Who am I to argue with the Daisy Fairy? She has clearly cast her spell on me and I am offically transfixed by her beauty and magic. And, if my life with my Little Miss Magic is all a dream brought on by pixie dust and incantations, may I never wakeup.