Working for Ariel

Zoey's latest fascination is her collection of tiny plastic Disney Princess dolls, which come with tiny plastic dresses and shoes that magically disappear at the hands of the vacuum cleaner. She loves them, covets them, drools over them in the check-out line at Target. And my friend Jodi at work loves to buy them for her, as Jodi would love to have grandchildren of her own but doesn't yet, and in the meantime settles for spoiling my child.

And last week I got smart and made her start working for them. A sticker chart was placed on the fridge. A sticker was added every time Zoey did what I asked her to do, the first time. 20 stickers, which took an entire week to earn. We were working for Ariel, the Little Mermaid, and ohhhh, she wanted that Ariel doll. Badly.

So, on Sunday, Ariel finally floated down from the top of the fridge to the eagerly waiting hands of Zoey, who, like little girls everywhere, wanted nothing more than to undress her and examine her naked body. Ariel came packaged in a little mermaid flipper fin thing, and a miniscule clamshell bra, with a pretty pink dress waiting on the side for that magic moment when her flipper turned to feet. The flipper came off in a flash. The clamshell bra? Not so much.

Zoey: Mommy. I need help. I can't get her nipples off.

Me: Excuse me? Her what?

Zoey: Her nipples. See? They're stuck.

Me: Oh. Those aren't her nipples, sweetie, they call that a bra. A clamshell bra, specifically.

Zoey: (blank stare) Oh. Can you take her nipples off, please?

So. Ariel and her clamshell nipples have now joined the ranks of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, along with various mice and magic coaches, in a Disney Princess shoe box tucked safely under Zoey's bed when not in use. This week we are working toward Sleeping Beauty #2, compliments of Jodi. Thankfully, I see no delicate bits that will need removing when the package finally comes open.