Bunch Family

Would you splurge on a Disney princess makeover for your kid?

Now you can enhance your kids’ trip to Disneyland by treating them to a princess transformation at a fanciful spa.

Leave it up to the fairy godmothers / aestheticians who will do your kid’s hair, makeup, nails, and supply the gown, wand and shoes so they can really live the Disney dream for a day. Princesses-in-waiting can choose to “be” Belle, Tiana, Snow White, Cinderella, or Brave’s Merida.

Ok, so it sounds like a pretty fun way to spend a day at D-land – but would you splurge on a makeover of princess proportions for well over a hundred dollars?

“Having a fairy godmother make you into a princess, that’s as real as it gets,” said one mom as she watched the transformation of her two daughters. “You can’t put a price on it.”  Read more...

What the cool parents are reading about today:

1. A Parent’s Guide to the Best Kids’ Comics is designed for those who want only the cream of the comic crop in their library (and who doesn’t?) Authors / librarians Scott Robbins and Snow Wildsmith review 100 of the best kids comics and recommend 750 honourable mentions. Geekmom gives it her stamp of approval.

2. The New York Times Room for Debate shares an opinion about why you shouldn’t feel bad about going out sans kids this summer: “when we carve out “me time,” we reconnect with ourselves in a way that pays enormous dividends for the entire family.” Do you have some proper me time penciled in this summer?

3. Today’s Tumblr award goes to Amy Mebberson’s My Junk Drawer for her hilariously clever Pocket Princesses comic strip. She gives Disney princess the sass we always knew they had in ‘em. We agree with The Mary Sue blog, this should be a Saturday morning cartoon.  Read more...

What the cool parents are reading today:

1. Sephora makeup devotees can now look as fierce as Cruella de Vil (or as angelic as Tinkerbell) – the Disney femmes just got themselves a beauty line. The makeup, fragrances, and nail products are aimed at grown-up Disney fans who want a little more animation in their look.

2. A new reality TV show about breastfeeding beyond infancy is officially in the works – brought to you by the same production crew that made Dance Moms and American Stuffers. Sigh.

3. American salon chain Uni-K wax salons just ran an eyebrow-raising promotion: 50% off wax jobs for girls under 15. The salon urges young girls to “celebrate freedom and independence All July.” Girls as young as 10 are partaking. Now that’s a painful thought.

4. Attention Fraggle Rock fans: the Doozers are getting their own show. Here’s hoping the industrious, hydroelectricity-powered characters will resonate with all the kid-builders we’ve been seeing lately. Stoked!  Read more...

While Meri Perra is on vacation this week, we’re taking a trip down memory lane

Our dear Queer as Moms blogger Meri Perra is taking a post off this week. We figure it’s a great chance to catch up on her greatest hits.

We Need More of Rachel’s Dads

More isn’t always better, but in the case of Glee, Meri makes the argument that we could all use an extra serving of Rachel’s dads. True say.

When Toddlers Drop F-Bombs

Ah, out of the mouths of babes. This post about dealing with toddler f-bombs (and s-grenades) is about as cuss-tastically smart as they come.

Getting it Right, Snow White

How do you deal with Disney-princess overload? Teach your daughters that princesses are smart, brave and sometimes even like to wear pants.

Wishing the Sister Wives Good Luck  Read more...

Finally, a Disney princess with a mom!

Have you noticed the absence of moms in Disney movies? The heroines, with the exception of Sleeping Beauty, either have a wicked stepmother, or their dad just hasn’t found a new wife. But Princess Merida from Brave seems to have a very present and loving mother in Queen Elinor. Could this be why Merida promises to kick so much ass?

We very much enjoyed this new Mother’s Day spot from Brave and June 22 just can’t get here fast enough.

Have you seen the latest trailer for Brave?

Image via YouTube

What we’re reading today:

1. Gay-straight alliances were seen as too political for Catholic schools, but they’ve given the OK to “Respecting Differences” clubs. If it gets the job done, we’re on board.  That said, we can’t even imagine how tough it must be for a teenager to come out, so to not even acknowledge their gay identity when they’ve have the guts to do so seems pretty crummy. Make it better, Catholic board!

2. Colder temps and scary weather sometimes force kids to stay inside for recess; how can we make indoor recess more active?

3. Shame as punishment: does it work? Does it cross the line?

4. Hipster Disney Princesses. What do you think? Accurate? Ariel looks like the kind of hipster we avoid at all costs, but Belle looks like she’d work in our building. Actually, we think Hipster Mulan does work in our building.  Read more...

Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values

Our daughters are joyfully riding the wave of a well-meaning but definite over-abundance of Disney Princess gifts they got for Christmas.

Part of the infestation includes a very big, very pink Disney Princess story book, the complete princess series, in point of fact, which comes with an infinite number of stickers that are now scattered all over our house.

The book is not all horrible, it’s just mostly horrible. Mulan is a brave hero who goes to war, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast gets trapped when she goes off to rescue her dad. (By which I mean, Mulan and Belle are less bad than the other stories.)  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Is Adam Go the F**k to Sleep Mansbach angry?

2. One mom lost custody of her kids because she spanked her daughter. Catherine Connors wrote about the complicated things involved with spanking and disciplining your kids.

3. What to Expect When You’re Expecting to be made into a movie.

4. White babies are now a minority in the States. So how long until we stop using the phrase “ethnic minority”?

5. Here’s a dreamy Pogo remix featuring a whole bunch of Disney princesses via The Hairpin.

Photo by paparutzi via Flickr

What we’re reading today:

1. Is Young Adult fiction too dark? What with the vampires and sullen teens and such? Some people think so. This GeekMom argues that no, it’s not too dark, it’s fine.

2. Asian new moms in Queens, NY head off to confinement centres so they can rest up and eat and nurse. How do we get in on this?

3. Artist Claire Hummel creates historically accurate versions of Disney princesses. (Historically accurate ≠ totally accurate as Hummel’s Pocahontas wears period clothing, but is a fully adult woman, whereas the historical Pocahontas was 12 when she met John Smith) Via Buzzfeed

4. Hands up those of you who’ve had to deal with bug bites this summer? Babble’s got some tried and true home remedies for bites, burns and car-sickness.  Read more...