Pink and brown; I do love those colors together and lucky me, it seems to be the ubiquitous color palette of choice for little girls room decor and clothing these days. I was also thinking how that color combo seems to represent our toddler Vivian’s emerging personality perfectly. Pink and brown = princess and dirt.

One moment she’ll take a running jump, try and tackle her big brother and then settle down in the sand to dig with bulldozers. In the next moment she’s fashioning Fisher Price stacking rings into bangles up and down her arm while walking around on her tippy toes, a Lightning McQueen lunch box becomes her jaunty handbag.

Her princess, girly-girl side is a whole new world to me. I grew up a tomboy in the 70’s. I didn’t take dance, play with dolls or dress-up. I was at a store not to long ago digging through the sales rack and found some shirts for Vivian. The woman at the checkout held up one smiled and said, “Oh do you want to get the matching tutu for this one?” I looked at her bemused and confused. I just didn’t get it. I was thinking, tutus are scratchy, too poofy to play in, and definitely not practical for the playground. “A tutu? Where would she wear that?” She raised her eyebrows and looked at Vivian. “Oh, I’m sure she’ll figure it out.”

Well, figure it out she did. I didn’t purchase the tutu that day but her auntie and cousins came bearing girly gifts last weekend. Miss Vivian just ate it up: a tutu, a boa, sunglasses and bracelets. Her diva mode immediately switched to the “on” position. She sashayed around the room wrist cocked in the air twirling around in her skirt. She had instant attitude and sass. Later we went on a hike in the woods with the pack of cousins. She trudged along the dirt path and climbed piles of rocks with one hand held high in the air to keep her bracelets she insisted on wearing from falling off.

Our gritty girly-girl is both fearless and frilly. And I love every minute of watching our little steel magnolia (wait, what would the Minnesota version of steel magnolia be?) iron daisy (?) begin to blossom.

On a related note: Just saw this essay on babble.com Grit-Glamour: Yoga Pants, Diva Daughters. Another non-girly-girl mom writes on the topic from a different angle. She asks the question: Are moms dressing their daughters better than themselves? And are they projecting who they wish they were/used to be on their daughters?

We’d love it if you chug on over to the Java Train in St. Paul (1341 Pascal Street) this Saturday to meet up with fellow Cribsheeters. 10am-Noon See details and directions in May’s previous post here.
We had so much fun meeting everyone last year we hope to see you there!

Here’s an idea (if you can work it around naptime) you can make a day of it. Come join us, get your fill of caffeinated conversation with the Cribsheet crowd and then head on over to the nearby Como Zoo.

(Ann & Zoe at Cribsheet Cafe 2008 at Sovereign Grounds)

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Hey, and as long as I have your attention here’s another reminder: Cribsheet has been nominated by Nick’s Parents’ Picks as “Best Local Blog”
You can vote daily through July 15th.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Regular Cribsheeters will already know Kate Hopper.

She teaches the wonderful “Motherwords” class at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. For the last two years, Cribsheet has published the best essays from Kate’s class here.

Kate’s launching a new class this Saturday - “Writing Parenthood,” a day-long workshop at the Loft. She’s still looking for sign-ups. Click here for details.

There has been a flurry of conversations going on about the woman who was recently arrested for nursing her 6-week-old while intoxicated. According to the article, “Officers arrested the woman, who later pleaded guilty to child neglect and faces up to five years in prison. Now her case has touched off a debate among moms about breast-feeding, alcohol — and privacy.” Read the complete story here.

Back in 2006 May and I did a little happy hour experiment we called the “Breastalyzer Test” with a box of Milkscreen test strips that measure alcohol in breastmilk. (The things we’ll do for the sake of the blog…) You can read the full post here.
Our conclusion? If you feel tipsy - don’t breastfeed. Just use common sense, combined with time, moderation and a back up plan.

What are your thoughts on the subject of breastfeeding and alcohol?

I think that the above photo summarizes the 4th of July with kids. That’s my brother, Doug and nephew, Jack. My sister-in-law took it at the not-so-secret fireworks viewing spot atop the Southdale parking ramp.

We had a lovely long weekend with a houseful of relatives. Our kids had a pack of cousins to run around with for days.
Seriously, does it get any better than a pack of cousins? Since we live hours away, they don’t get to hang out very often and it was fantastic!

Now come the post-holiday blues. Our house is (a little more) quiet and I need to switch gears to get out of holiday mode and get back to work…
Anyone else feeling that way?

Hope you had a Happy 4th Cribsheeters and would love to get a chance to see you next weekend at Java Train on Saturday! (see post below)