Princess and the Frog...and not talking about the movie...well not only...

So I had a hot date tonight. I asked my five year old daughter Bethanie if she would be so kind as to join me on a date, to which she kindly (and excitedly) agreed. So about 2pm I got her in the tub and then got her dressed. Her granny did her hair in lovely braided pig tails and she began the process of harassing me into getting ready! Woman to the core, she nagged and harrassed my lazy ass repeatedly. "Daddy...are we going?","Daddy, you going to get a bath?" "Daddy..." What is it with women? They don't even have to finish that sentence? All they have to do is start it...in THAT tone of voice...it works at any age in any Relationship...insert whichever you like...Daddy, Honey, Sweetheart, Julio, Son...it works with any of them. The voice inflection finishes it for them...and us guys TOTALLY get it! It says..Daddy, Honey, Sweetheart, Julio, Son....YOU are a dumbshit and a lazy ass procrastinator...now get off of that thing and get to cracking! See? We get it!

So after I haul my ass out of the shower and get dressed we are finally ready to go...way to early as it turns out but that will come into play later. So we gathered in the living room and got granny to shoot a pic for us...



So we then bundled up and piled into the car and head off to town. We got to Ryan's and went in to eat and spent a little time talking about school and how she is learning to read. As always, there is a great selection of food on the bar, but My little angel has to have pizza and hotdogs, because there is no other food group on the planet...ONLY pizza with a side of hotdogs. Afterwards I am sealing my doom by giving her ice cream...which obviously makes her happy...



So after dinner it is about 5:45 and the movie starts at 7:15..and I forsee a problem gathering. No problem we can walk the mall while we wait for start time. Well guess what? They moved the theatre out of the mall into its own building! (goes to show how long it has been since I went to the movies). So we go into the theatre, and buy two tickets for the Princess and the Frog. And now we have an HOUR till show time...this was NOT thought out well! So now I have an hour in a pretty empty theatre with a five year old hopped up on suger! OOOOOHHHH BOY! So we visit some with the locals!

Here she decided to laugh it up with the Mad Hatter and settle in for a cup of tea! We took several versions of this till we were happy...All though Johnny Depp was a bit snooty to us, but you know...he has terrible taste in women...I mean he was ok with that little Queen of Hearts (or was it diamonds?) sitting at his table without fussing...

So she got bored with that pretty quick and she was running accross the theatre yelling "Come on Daddy, Hurry up!" as she gets to the standard arcade games in every movie theatre, she starts yelling what I am sure I am going to be hearing for a long time, "Daddy, money, give me money...pleeeeeaaaasssseeeee." So I give her a dollar to put in the prize arcade game you are never supposed to win because those claws are rigged to drop everything it grabs. Finally she runs over to the racing game and all of a sudden my little girl is a NASCAR driver...



So it is finally 7pm and we buy our popcorn and drinks and hotton candy (no that was not an accidental misspell...it is what she dubbed it!)And we go into the theatre and get a seat up front (why is it kids always want the seats up front? the crick in my neck will NEVER go away! I will forever be forced to look into the sunlight!) And we wait for the movie to start...which My five year old believes she can rush by yelling at the light at the top of the wall behind us! The movie comes on and it is a beautiful movie, the best Disney has done in a very long time...I havent even started the movie and My beautiful five year old is cuddled up to me ready for the show and I am there crying in the dark....this is what it is all about.

The movie goes on and the story is great, it is about wishing for your dreams..and then working for them. And I think to myself, this is the message I want to get to my kids. You can do anything you dare and you can be anything you are willing to work for. Halfway through the movie she says, "Daddy may I sit in your lap?" I pull her into my lap and we watch this movie together and by this point my heart is overflowing and I have forgotten about the movie and am just wrapped up in a special moment of Daddy and daughter time. She laughs, and laughs from her gut! She gasps when the bad guy turns the princess back into a frog and claps when they turn into human after the Prince kisses his new (frog) Princess Bride. My little girl is in a fantasy world of her own...and I am lost in it with her...beating the shit out of the frog that tries to kiss her...of course she wins..and gets to kiss the frog...



We pile back into the car..it is cold and we head home...on the way home she tells me, "Daddy I love you"....and the world just can't get any better...We get home and she brags to Granny and Papaw what a great time she had and then gets ready for bed. I tuck her in with a good night hug and kiss...I let her fall asleep and then sneak back in the room for one last shot of my babygirl...

And now as I sit back at my desk tonight and write these thoughts down...I find myself looking out the window at Evangeline...and I find myself wishing...wishing that this beautiful light in my life will turn out right, despite the fact that the poor thing is stuck with a crusty old bachelor Dad...that despite the many shortcomings I have, that I can give her what she needs and raise her to be that hard working princess...that over achiever...and that when she looks back, she will remember these moments for the rest of her life.

I look at that star...and also wish that Evangeline will also help my older two understand..that I miss these moments with them...that I wish they were here for me to take my son to go watch some guy flick...my daughter to go watch some irritatingly teeny bopper sappy chick flick...and that I could tuck them in at night and watch them sleep....all of these thoughts go through my mind as I sit here tonight and all I can say is...

Please Evangeline!