Childlike

There is a difference between being child-ish and being child-like.  I opt for the latter.  As the last few minutes of December bring us closer to the new year, and the photos of myself show that I am not looking any younger, I wish for finding ways to be child-like forever.

Last night we felt the magic as we clapped and believed with all our hearts that we could save Tinkerbell.  Our eyes and hearts spilled over with a powerful joy as she flew again.  Mason and Ellie snuggling into me in the darkness of the theater as Peter Pan flew out over the crowd sprinkling magic fairy dust all around is a moment I want to remember always.  We soared with hope and wonder.

As we stayed until the very end of Peter Pan's meet and greet, Mason hunting for treasures among the fairy dust sprinkled lobby, and Ellie running, singing, "flying" all around I thought ahead to this morning, knowing I would be making a Peter Pan costume to make sure the magic would not end.

"You can fly Onyx!"

Sure enough, when we awoke Ellie found her fairy dust that Peter Pan gave her last night when we met her.  She had proclaimed on the car ride home that she could be Peter Pan because Peter Pan is really a girl.  Oh and "Mommy, Peter Pan has short hair and I have short hair, so I can be Peter Pan".  If we believe, it is so.

Soon enough fairy dust was flying at me and I was told I could fly.  Ellie flew through the kitchen asking me who I was and continued to throw fairy dust long after her container ran out.

The floor was sparkling with silver and before I knew it, I was sewing a Peter Pan costume for Ellie to go along with Mason's from Halloween 2011. She was no longer Tinkerbell, she was Peter Pan.

It pays to have scraps of felt hanging around.
And that belt from Mason's shorts that he never wore has sure come in handy for Puss in Boots and Peter Pan!

The joy of fantasy and play beats out head colds, coughs and such.  If you are Peter Pan there is no room for being sick.  However, you can come close to death due to pirates and need your family to believe that their applause will bring you back to life.

This older brother is always looking out for her.

His get well gift for Peter Pan.  "You can even turn it into a kite on a windy day."  I love that boy!

Ready to fight those pirates again!

We played and played and played and just when I thought the cold had possibly beat us, there was a second wind. The afternoon brought us outside to find a wrench for family that were stopping by and cupcakes were shared with them.  When Mason and Daddy returned from their adventures, Peter Pan and I had "cleaned the ship" and all the leaves were gone.  Mason cruised inside and returned to announce, "Mommy, why do you always do Cupcake Wars when Daddy and I are gone?"

"I don't know.  I didn't know what to make for lunch, so I made chocolate cupcakes. We could play again tonight."

And we did just that.  It was a New Year's Eve that will be in my heart for a lifetime.  Right up there with the year I was in Times Square having champagne sprayed in my face, only oh so much better.

As we dined on Josh's dinner Mason proclaimed that I had to be a cupcake maker and Josh would have to be an Iron Chef.  With the size of our kitchen I jumped on the cupcake idea and searched for a recipe.  I wanted a challenge, I mean it was round 2 and the last day of 2012 and there is always the $10,000 to win.  (Remember if you believe, anything is possible.)

My trusty carpenter! Have you ever seen that show? They always wear those plaid shirts.

So I researched and we were off.  Peaches and Cream Cupcakes complete with a filling?  I was up for the challenge.  Ellie was my baking assistant and Mason was my carpenter.  We had to make our 1,000 cupcake display and we really wow the judges. Mason grabbed a pencil and paper and had me sketch the design idea and he was off to work complete with his plaid shirt.  I was busy trying to pretend like I had things under control and wasn't going to miss a step on the recipe.

Here it is our Cupcake Display.  Didn't I have an awesome carpenter?  Oh and that baking assistant, I couldn't have done it without them.

So as time ticked away, we actually pulled it off.  Cupcakes were baked, filled, frosted, and the display was a show stopper.  We beat out the Grinch and won the $10,000, packed up our display, and headed to the main event.  The dance party started and yep, it was a New Year's Eve to remember.

Dancing in her "glass slippers".