A Tale of Two Dresses

Hello Friends!  Let me start by saying that my last post was written in a hurry, and it may have sounded like Don and I spent our ENTIRE vacation lounging by the pool, and were then TOO EXHAUSTED to go on any excursions or even eat dinner!  Just to clarify...We did spend a lot of time by the pool, but we also toodled around the island quite a bit!  And, because of the 5 hour time difference, we would be up at 4 AM most days!  So, there was one busy day when we just ordered room service for dinner because we couldn't go on any further!!  Ha!  I just had to let y'all know that we are not TOTAL slackers!!  We squeezed every once of fun we could into our vacay...

So, back to the issue at hand, A Tale of Two Dresses...

I typically do not buy Sydney many clothes.  Maybe I'm weird, but I just feel like certain areas are not "my turf" as a stepmother.  It is kind of like if your Mother-in-Law kept bringing bags of clothes to your house for your kids.  If you like her taste, you are thrilled.  If you do not like her taste, you would really rather she didn't.  So, I pick up things a few times a year for Christmas, birthdays, and special occasions.  So far, I think Syd has liked most of my selections.  Shew!  Talk about pressure!  Recently though, I was faced with a challenge.  Don offered to buy a dress for Syd to wear in a local talent show that she was participating in.  That means I got to pick it out!!  Now, a normal person would have driven to the mall, gone inside and bought the cutest dress in her size.  Then they would have gone home and moved on to another issue.  But, I am an obsessive, over-achieving, people pleaser.  So I took Sydney on a scouting trip to the mall, spent a week perusing the Internet, and then thought of different "looks" to go with possible song choices.  Then I spent an entire day shopping and ended up with two dresses. 

In my fantasy world, Syd would have sung a Disney song like "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"  or a classic like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and she would have worn a big, pouffy, princess dress with a little sparkle on it.  But, she sang "Blessed Assurance"  which is a lovely song- just not very princessy.  So, with that in mind I set out to find a perfect dress for the Talent Show and Easter Sunday.  More bang for the buck.  Here is what I came home with...

It is darling, no?  Pink seersucker with a bubble skirt!  A big sash!  LOVE IT!  And it is the kind of dress that she will love to see in pictures when she is grown up.  A sweet, innocent spring dress!  Excuse the pollen covered porch!  I need to hose it down!  OK, so after I picked this dress out, I felt a little guilty.  It is a darling dress, but, I knew Syd wasn't going to flip out over it.  She has a little more spunk than this dress. And, I have to say when you are on stage you need some sparkles.  So, dress number two...

Much better for performing!  Right?  I laid both choices on her bed and when she came home from school she ran back and immediately told me that she liked the PURPLE ONE!!  I knew it!  So, we decided that she could keep both dresses, and that the pink dress could be a good summer church dress. I love the purple dress too, but it is not easy to find cute dresses for 9 year olds- everything is either too grown up, or too casual, or too pageanty! 

She looked adorable, and she sang so well!  And, what a wonderful song choice for the beginning of the Easter Season!  "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine!  Oh what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of Salvation, Purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, Washed in His Blood!"  Happy Easter!!