Princess Parade

"Walking with Daddy" anthology - Melusine Muse Press now taking submissions #WalkingwithDaddy

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:22:00 +0000

Walking with Daddy

If you were ripped from this Earth tomorrow, what would you want your daughter to know? What message would you want to leave behind for her? If you knew that you could write her a letter and she would take every word of the letter to heart, what would you write?

Melusine Muse Press is now taking submissions for the "Walking with Daddy" anthology. This anthology is a collection of letters from fathers to their daughters, written in letter format. The title and cover shown above are just a "working title" and a "working cover" and may not be the title and cover used on the finished anthology.

1. Your submissions must be written in a letter format addressed as "To my daughter," "To my daughters," or "Dear Daughter." Tell your daughter what is in your heart. What do you want her to know? What are the things you love about her? What hopes do you have for her?
Alternatively, we will accept some short stories about daughters.

2. In an anthology like this, I shouldn't have to even say it, but please keep it PG.

3. Letters cannot be less than 500 words and should not go over 2,000 words.

4. Please follow the formatting guidelines as stated on Melusine Muse Press's page. Go here to read the formatting guidelines.

5. There will be a prize for the BEST letter, as determined by me, of three free print copies of the anthology. Second place will get two print copies of the anthology and third place will get one print copy of the anthology.

6. Author bios must be sent in - around a paragraph each, links may be included, and must be written in 3rd person. These will be included in the book.

7. Short, one- or two-lines long, dedications may be included with your submission, and will make this book even more special to have on hand for your daughter as she grows.

8. The deadline for submissions is open until we have enough "letters" to create the anthology, but I would prefer to get submissions in as early as possible.

9. E-mail submissions as a file attachment to Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net.

10. You may submit individual letters up to the number of daughters you have. You may write one letter that is inclusive for all of your daughters, or, if you have more than one daughter, you may write separate letters for each one and submit them.

11. Your daughter doesn't have to be a little girl still. Even if she is all grown up, you can still write her a letter for the anthology.

Anthologies will be made available in both kindle and print formats.

The goal is to have the book out on World Daughter Day in 2017, which is on January 12th, but it might come out earlier to make Christmas purchases possible.

Only a limited number of letters and stories will be included, so there is no guarantee that your letter will be selected if you send it in, but you will be notified of whether or not you letter has been accepted by November 1st, if enough submissions have arrived for the anthology to go forward.

Deadline: OPEN UNTIL THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF ACCEPTABLE SUBMISSIONS IS REACHED

Special note: If you have a touching "daddy and daughter" photo which you would like included with your dedication, send it in jpeg or png format to the same e-mail address as the letter submissions. Decisions on which photos to include or solely up to Melusine Muse Press. Photos will be printed in black and white.

2016 - Chase your dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 23:40:00 +0000

Chase your dreams.

Go ahead and build castles in the sky.

Believe in magic,

and never stop using

your imagination.

Happy 2016, everyone!

"SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories" - available now!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 07:15:00 +0000

Here's some awesome news!

Tired of not seeing enough media attention towards female superheroes, Rebecca Fyfe (that's me) decided to do something to change that. She found others who felt the same way and this wonderful group of authors all created their own female superheroes. Collected in this anthology are the details about each of the superheroes they created as well as a short story for each superhero which gives you insight into who they really are.

About “SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories”:

Girls are under-represented when it comes to superhero movies, toys and other merchandise. This wonderful group of authors decided to do something about it. Within these pages, you will find stories of female superheroes to enchant and delight. You will read all about their powers and their masked identities and then get to read a short story that gives you insight into who they are or who they will become. You’ll find action, adventure, magic and betrayal. You’ll find everyday female heroes, as well as super-powered heroines and devious villains. From friendly encounters to government conspiracies, 27 new superheroes, all FEMALE superheroes, can be found represented in these stories, written by 24 talented authors.

From the foreword by Emmie Mears:

"When I was growing up I was told superheroes weren't for me... that superheroes and comic books weren't for girls. They were for boys... This anthology is a tribute to superheroes who happen to have XX chromosomes. I want the next generation of girls to grow up in a world where they won't get told superheroes aren't for them."

Proceeds from sales of SuperHERo Tales go towards the charity Because I am a Girl.

About the charity (from their pages on their website):

"Because she is a girl, she’s more likely to suffer from malnutrition, be forced into an early marriage, be subjected to violence, be sold into the sex trade, or become infected with HIV. Because she is a girl, she faces discrimination in her own home. Because she is a girl, she’ll have limited access to a doctor or even a primary education (if she’s able to go to school at all). But we’re here to change all that. Because being a girl should always be a positive, empowering experience."

Get your print copies of “Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from around the World” here.

Get your kindle copies of “Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World” here.

Get your kindle copy of “SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories” here.

Princess Parade Flash Fiction Contest - the judgment is in!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:02:00 +0000

The Princess Parade Flash Fiction Contest had five entries (not counting my own entry or the under-16 entry). The challenge was to write a princess story, from 300 to 1,500 words long, that portrayed a strong princess, the kind of princess that would be more likely to save herself than to wait for a prince to come and rescue her.

I would have loved more entries, but of the five entries for the competition, we had some really good stories to read. There was no specification as to whether the stories had to be written for adults or children and we got a nice mix of both kinds of stories.

Including myself, there were six judges, both male and female, and each judge picked their top three favorite stories, ranking them from first to third. Of the five stories, all of them wound up in the top three of the judges more than once. Up until the last vote came in, there was a tie for first place. The sixth judge broke the tie though so we have a winner!

And the winner of the prize is...

My Princess Wears a Superman Cape by Melissa Gijsbers Khalinsky (Melissa Writes)!!!

Melissa, you will be contacted for a mailing address. Congratulations! (I will also e-mail you a winner's badge that you may put in the sidebar of your blog if you so choose.)

The close second place in the judging was The King is Dead by Scott Hunter and deserves to be mentioned. As I said, every one of the stories was in the judges' top three choices at some point, so congratulations to everyone who entered on writing some thoroughly enjoyable stories!

We only had one entry in the under-16s, so 11 year old Jade with her story The Brave Princess is the winner of the teddy bear!

Congratulations, Jade!

The King is Dead by Scott Hunter - Entry for Princess Parade Flash Fiction Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Scott Hunter sent in this entry for the contest.

“The king is dead.”

The court fell silent at those words, and for Princess Cunegonde – sitting, as she was, at her usual place of reverence within the long dining hall – this silence was unbearable. She had dreaded hearing those four cursed words for months now, ever since her royal father had lifted the handkerchief from his mouth to reveal those spots of blood on the stark white fabric.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, then, and Cunegonde was snapped out of her trance – she had not noticed, it seemed, that the hall had long broke out into whispers and movement, so many people scurrying about on new-found business.

“Your grace, let me offer my sincere condolences,” He was the first of many, Cunegonde knew, and that was not a pleasant thought at the moment; and there were those words.

“My good lord,” Cunegonde replied, taking very special care to make sure all the words came out well and fully formed, to not let her grief show, “Your condolences are appreciated,” She paused, then, and deliberated her next sentence, what she wanted to say versus what she should do. 'I will run away this one last time', she told herself, 'I must be alone right now, and tomorrow I can sit on that throne for all time.' So, she continued, “But I fear I will retire to my chambers now, this news has shaken me somewhat.”

“Why, your grace, of course,” How she would like to have hit him then, “Let me escort you out.”

“No,” she interrupted him, her voice a command, “I shall see myself there,” and with that she was gone, knowing that this was the last time she would leave this hall. The guards on the doors did not help her make a subtle exit, but that did not matter once she was outside, away from them all.

Cunegonde felt bad later, she really did, and sat in her chambers for hours, stewing over it. She should not have left, she knew – it was not the action of a woman of her position and, yet, part of her was glad she had done it, 'It was my father who died,' she said to herself, 'Why should I have to remain there for their sake? Now, I am in a position to do as I...' But no, she could not finish that sentence, for she knew it was not true. She was not at all in a position to do what she wanted, only to do what had to be done; and there were things that needed to be done, before the night was through.

It was approaching midnight, after all, 'The end of my last day,' She thought to herself, with some measure of resentment, and then she felt terrible for resenting her own father's death, 'I cannot look back,' she decided, 'There are things that must be done and I must do them – I am not who they think I am, I have made sure of that, and now it is time to become my true self, the person who I was always to be.' So she took some paper and ink, and wrote down two simple words, 'Your grace.'

“Take these to my captain,” she told a the guard outside her door, “And hurry.” Then her guard was gone, and Cunegonde could only hope that her carefully laid plans would come to fruition.

She had not stopped watching that light for hours, the one she could see from her window, emanating from a nearby tower. Granted, there were many such lights, but Cunegonde knew the one she wanted, and had dared not take her eyes off of it, for fear that she might not find it again – no, not for that, for fear that she might miss the moment when that light went out, and all the terror that was wrenching her gut would stay there forever, unable to be moved by anything but the end of that light.

Then, all at once, it was extinguished. Cunegonde exhaled, then, in all manner of relief. It had been done.

She did not have long to enjoy the moment, though, as her attention was directed to a more pressing matter. There were footsteps in the corridor outside, and as Cunegonde hid in the blackness of her chambers, her door opened. Strangely, she was very glad she had not misjudged her uncle, in all his scheming ways; this man entering her chambers now confirmed it all, that all of her actions had been entirely justified.

Things passed very quickly, after that – she saw a figure approach her bed, and heard the rip of metal through fabric as the man stabbed into the sheets; and then she was on him, her own dagger piercing his flesh. She held it firm as the man went limp.

“Your employer is dead,” she whispered in his ear.

“The king,” the man replied weakly.

“My uncle was never the king,” was her reply, “And he never will be.” She had made sure of that this very night.

The man was dead, then, and Cunegonde went about calling for some guards, 'My father is dead,' she thought, 'And so is the Princess. Long live Queen Cunegonde.'

873 words

The Brave Princess - Princess Parade Flash Fiction Contest Entry (Under 16s)

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:31:00 +0000

The Brave Princess

by Jade (11 years old)

Once upon a time, there was a princess named Isabella. She was locked in a tower.

One night, she told herself, "I can not stay in this dirty place." She was determined to plan her escape.

She sat at her princess desk with her paper and pen trying to think of a plan for her escape. Despite her situation, being trapped in the tower, she was a brave princess. Her plan was to dress up like her mom, the Queen and then tie up some bed clothes like a rope. Then she would begin to moan at the wicked witch.

The wicked witch treated princess Isabella like a slave, so Princess Isabella dressed up as her mom the Queen and acted out her plan exactly as she had planned it.

It worked. Galloping through the woods on the horse that she had found tied up just outside the tower, she saw a handsome prince. "Hello, I'm Prince Andrew and what is your name?" asked the prince.

"I'm Princess Isabella," said the princess.

The prince smiled and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Princess Isabella thought and then said, "Yes. Are you Prince Charming?"

Prince Andrew replied yes, so they galloped back to the castle of the king and queen. The king and queen were delighted to see the princess . After that, they planned the wedding.

One of the phrases Princess Isabella kept hearing being said was "walk through the fire to God." She asked herself, "What does that mean?"

Her family was delighted that she had found love, but soon Princess Isabella started to cry because prince after prince came, another and another and another. They all claimed to be her Prince Charming, but she knew they couldn't all be, so she ran away from all of them. She ran all the way to England and she is still there.

This story was sent in by 11 year old Jade as an entry for the under-16s.

Modern Day Warrior Princess - Princess Parade Flash Fiction Contest Entry

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:31:00 +0000

I am not elligible for the prize, as I am the one doing the judging (along with some friends), but I thought it only fitting that I wrote something for the Princess Parade Flash Fiction Contest anyway. Besides, it's fun theme for writing a story!

Modern Day Warrior Princess

by Rebecca Fyfe

Marie walked beside her husband in the crisp night air. The movie had been okay but nothing to get excited about. It had been enjoyable to get out away from the children for a few hours though. Dinner and a movie with her husband had been a welcome break. James gently slipped his hand over hers. It was only a short walk home. They’d given up their car many years ago and never regretted it once. Most places were within walking distance from them anyway.

The clouds moved and the light glow of light from the moon disappeared just as they started walking across the field near their neighborhood. A shadow moved in front of them, and Marie was startled when she felt James’ hand grip hers tighter and pull her up short. She looked up and saw a man standing in front of them. He was almost as tall as her husband and was built like a linebacker. It was difficult to distinguish his features in the dark, but there was enough light from the nearby streetlights to glint off the knife he held in his right hand.

“Hand over your wallets and jewelry and no one will get hurt!”

James held up his hand in a placating gesture. “Okay, we’ll do what you say. You don’t need to hold that knife out at us.” He reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

In the next moment, the thug had hit James over the head, knocking him forcefully to the ground. Stunned, Marie could only think that he must have thought James was reaching for a weapon.

“Why did you do that?” Marie surprised herself by yelling at the thug. “He was just getting his wallet out like you asked!”

“I’m the one with the weapon here, so shut up!”

Marie could tell this guy was not the brightest guy they’d ever encountered, but he was right in that he was the one with the weapon. He was also nervous and violent and Marie wasn’t convinced that handing over their possessions would earn them any safety from him.

She took a step toward James as he got to his knees and tried to stand up, but was brought up short by the thug snarling, “Stay where you are!”

“I will not! My husband is hurt and I am going to help him.”

The thug moved towards her, moving faster than she had thought him capable and within a blink of her eyes, he was standing behind her holding the knife to her throat. By then, James was standing and growled out, “Let her go!”

“Stay back or I’ll cut her!” the thug yelled.

Marie was getting really tired of all of this posturing by the thug and she decided that enough was enough. This guy was violent and dangerous and he was threatening both her and her husband. If she didn’t do anything, one of them might not make it home alive to see their children again. She would not be threatened by this moron any longer. She clasped her hands together and swung her elbow back with as much power as she could put into it, hitting him in the middle of his gut while stomping hard on his right foot at the same time.

The thug made a muffled “oof” sound as he bent forward, his knife nicked Marie’s throat slightly as he pulled his hands into his stomach and let go of her. While he was still doubled over, Marie spun around and kicked him in the face. She heard a crunching sound as her foot made contact with his nose.

James was about to move in to help, but realized that Marie was handling the situation quite well on her own. He stopped for a brief moment, experiencing a swelling of pride in her. He watched her kick and pummel with the grace of a ballerina in her movements coupled with the force and power of an avenging angel. She was stunning in her ferocity. He’d always known she had it in her. She was normally easy-going, funny and sweet, but he’d seen the fierceness in her eyes whenever she thought her children were threatened. He’d always known that she’d be fierce and courageous, his own beautiful warrior princess, if given the right circumstances.

But really, he was beginning to feel sorry for the idiot who had decided to threaten the two of them. He was laying on the ground now, blood pouring from his nose, holding his hands over his head as he curled into a defensive ball. James supposed he should take pity on the criminal and call the police before Marie did any more damage to him.

790 words

Princess Parade Flash Fiction Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:17:00 +0000

I recently read this article by Amy Fox about a new Disney Princess book. The book is so ridiculously awful. The storyline makes Cinderella seem so completely shallow. I hate the idea that little girls are reading drivel like this.

This blog might be about princesses, but I have tried to convey that "princesses" as described by this blog are strong, independent, self-confident, clever, creative and kind-hearted, not weak, submissive, dependent, insecure, shallow and self-centered.

In response to Disney's new Cinderella book, I've decided to run a challenge. (Also I need more material for this blog, and a challenge seems like a good way to possibly get some. Besides, I like taking part in challenges.)

The challenge is to write a story that involves a princess in some way. You can use a wide scope to interpret this, but in your story, your princess needs to be strong and independent, possibly even the "hero" of the story. The story can be dark or light in nature. The story has to be between 300 and 1,500 words. You can write it for adults or for children, but remember that this is a family-friendly blog. Post the story on your own blog and link it here by using the button at the bottom of this post. If you don't have a blog of your own, you can e-mail it to me through the contact form in the sidebar and I will post it here. Make sure you post the word count along with the story.

Deadline to get your story posted is March 4th. The winning entry will be chosen and announced here on March 12th. Please go through to read and comment on everyone's stories; it's not required, but it's a nice thing to do.

You must paste the linky at the bottom of your post. (Click the link below to copy the html code to paste into your blog.)

get the InLinkz code

1st prize is the book "The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers and Writers in the Field."

Note: I have decided to add a secondary contest within this one. If any children under 16 years old would like to enter, there will be a separate judging for their entries and the prize will be a different one. The winner of the under-16 entries will win a teddy bear with a special message about the competition on its t-shirt.

10 Ways to Be A True Princess

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:26:00 +0000

I've made it clear in previous posts that, to me, the idea of being a princess is about being strong, feminine, compassionate and smart. It's about not feeling helpless and about being helpful. It's about realizing your ability to attain your dreams.

Here is a list of ten quick and simple ways to be a true princess.

1. Believe in yourself and in your ability to achieve your dreams. Always believe.

2. Be compassionate towards others, giving help when you can.

3. Be gracious in accepting help when you need it and never look on the need for help as a failure.

4. Never believe the words of people who try to tell you that you aren't strong enough, aren't smart enough or aren't pretty enough, because you are strong, you are smart and you are beautiful.

5. Believe in the beauty of people's souls. Everyone is beautiful inside, and everyone deserves respect.

6. Demand respect for yourself. Never let anyone treat you as less than the wonderful person you are.

7. Be kind to animals. Animals bring out the best in people and deserve the best from us.

8. Learn as much as you can. Read and study. Be knowledgable in the things that are important to you.

9. Take time for yourself. Never forget to spend time doing something you enjoy. It nurtures the soul.

10. Don't forget empathy. The ability to feel what others feel or at least to feel for them in whatever situation they find themselves in is what holds humanity together.

Sites That Empower Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 07:12:00 +0000

As you know, Princess Parade is all about girl empowerment and believes very strongly in raising our daughters to be strong, confident and capable. With that in mind, I have been perusing the web for websites that have similar beliefs and have come across two that I would like to share with you.

The first one is called 7Wonderlicious. This site states in its about page:

"We believe every child is placed on this earth to accomplish something remarkable, something that only he or she can do.

Our tribe was created with one single purpose , to help reduce all threats to girlhood that crush our girls ' true nature and potential.

We focus on overturning the gender stereotypes that make girls obsess with body image, keep girls from taking leadership roles, that limit girls' interests in sciences and maths and cause them to feel self-aware when playing sports.

The first years of a girl's life are a crucial time when their identity and model of world are being shaped. Our goal is to provide in our 7Wonderlicious girls a group of fantastic role models; confident girls that are healthy, confident, resourceful, persistent and a lot of fun."

They share a lot of links and helpful news articles about girl empowerment and raising powerful, confident daughters. They also have some fun apps for kids.

The other site I found is called SheHeroes. The SheHeroes vision and mission statement states that

"Our Vision
■A world where young people can see themselves in whichever occupation they choose.
■A society where gender doesn’t limit one’s choice and voices of both women and men are heard with equal regard.

Our Mission
■To tell inspiring stories of female role models via free web based video interviews geared towards 3rd through 5th graders.
■To awaken youth to their potential, increasing the numbers of youth from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who will consider entering the workforce in a variety of careers. Careers which they might not have known or thought about previously.
■To encourage positive choices and reduce risky youth behaviors through video programming which facilitates discussion between the youth and a caring adult."

They share video interviews with women role models to help inspire young girls with the knowledge of the greatness that they can achieve.

I recommend that you go and visit these sites! I'll make sure to let you know of any other sites I find that empower girls.

How To Feel Like A Princess

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Some common ideas about princesses are that they live in the lap of luxury, they can have almost anything they want, they dress elegantly, have perfect make-up and look beautiful at all times. With that in mind, most of us would like the chance to feel like a princess.

You might be shocked to find out that you can make yourself feel like a princess and that it is surprisingly easy to do so! Here are ten easy steps to take to help yourself to feel like a spoiled, pampered and beautiful princess.

1 - Believe in your own beauty. You are a beautiful person and one way to help yourself believe in that fact is to remind yourself frequently that you are beautiful. Act as though you are assured of your own beauty and pretty soon, you will start to feel it and believe in it.

2 - Take some time every week to do something pampering for yourself. Whether this is to take the time for a long and luxurious hot bubble bath at the end of the day or getting a professional massage to help relax yourself, it is important to do something special that is just for you. Indulge in buying your favorite gourmet chocolates or go and get a pedicure. There are many ways to treat yourself.

3 - Take time each day to style your hair and put on your make-up. If you don't have time to do this everyday, give yourself a couple of days a week where you take the time to glam yourself up a bit. You could also go and have your hair and make-up done professionally on occasion.

4 - Wear a pretty dress. If you're taking the time to glamorize your make-up and hair, make sure to also put on a dress or outfit that makes you feel pretty and feminine. It has to be something that you feel pretty wearing.

5 - Take special care with your accessories. Wear jewelery that compliments your outfit and coloring and shoes that flatter your feet and legs. These finishing touches are a great way to top out your glamorous look and can help add to your feeling like a princess.

6 - Do some breathing exercises. Take slow deep breaths and empty your mind of all thought except for concentrating on those slow deep breaths for a few minutes. Hold your breath for several seconds between breathing in and out. This can relax your body and calm your mind, and feeling calmer will help you keep your emotions under control and can lift your mood.

7 - Donate to charity. One thing modern princesses are noted for is their contributions to charity. Your donation doesn't have to be monetary. You could volunteer to spend your time at a soup kitchen or to drive your elderly neighbor to do her weekly shopping. Doing good things for others will help you feel better about yourself.

8 - Set a small amount of money aside from each paycheck to save towards doing something you love. Even if all you can set aside is $5 from each paycheck, it will eventually add up and knowing that the money is there can be a huge stress reliever and you'll be able to look forward to whatever it is that you have planned to do with it.

9 - Be tidy. By keeping your house uncluttered and clean, you will feel better and will even be more likely to entertain guests. Having a dirty or messy house can be stressful and stress can definitely keep you from feeling like a princess.

10 - Spend time with your prince and if you don't have one yet, make sure that you never settle for less than a true prince (i.e. a man who shows you both love and respect). Spending time with your man and letting him be the one to spoil you with affection and to let you know how beautiful you are to him can be a wonderful boost to your ego and is a great way to feel like a princess!

Dads, How Are You Raising Your Princesses?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:56:00 +0000

"Lift your daughter up to the sky when she is young, and when she is grown, she will soar to the heavens on wings of her own creation." ~Rebecca Fyfe

Here's one for the dads. Your daughter needs you to think of her as your little princess. Not so that you can protect her, but so that you can encourage her. Not so that you can spoil her with gifts, but so that you can spoil her with love and affection and with time spent with you.

More and more girls are growing up with a lack of self-esteem and barely any belief in themselves or in their abilities. But this trend can be changed. Dads, you need to be active and present in your daughters' lives. You need to support them not just financially but emotionally. You need to believe in them. You need to show them through your actions that you respect all women so that you reinforce in their minds the fact that they are worthy of being respected. You need to spend time with your daughters so that they believe that they are worth spending time with. You need to listen to your daughters and let them speak so that they realize that their ideas and thoughts are important.

It's not enough just to work to support them but never spend time with them. It's not enough just to criticize them when they do something wrong or to harp on them about their chores. They need to know that they matter. They need to know that you see them for who they are inside and that you like that person.

Think about this; studies have shown that girls will subconciously seek out men in their lives who either treat them the way their dads treated them or who treat them the way they saw their dads treat their mothers. They learn what they see, just like everyone else in this world. Let them see you treating them and every other woman on this planet with respect and decency and care, and that is what they will expect from the men in all areas of their lives.

Isn't that what you want for your daughter?

Happy Valentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Every princess deserves to feel special on Valentine's Day. If the princess in question is a child, then Mommy or Daddy should do something special for her to mark the ocassion and let her know how loved she is to them. If the princess is grown, then a friend or a sister should do something special for her to show her she is loved.

One year on Valentine's Day, I had a lot of single friends and my fiance was 7,000 miles away, so I threw a Valentine's Day party. My single friends all came. There was party food and games to play, romantic movies to watch and I even bought cute little stuffed frogs for them all that, when squeezed, would either croak like a frog or say "Give me a kiss" in a rough voice.

I always do something special for my children on Valentine's Day too, from buying them Valentine's Day cards, special sweets or cute little toys to sometimes just making cupcakes for their whole classrooms.

You don't have to limit Valentine's Day to just a romantic day; it can be a day for friends and family too.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, full of the love of family and friends.

A Princess Drawing Done By A Five Year Old

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:41:00 +0000

Five year old Isabella loves the idea of being a princess. She loves princess stories, princess dresses and princess art. Today, using a book called How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas (Usborne Activities), she drew this princess.

For the book in the US:

For the book in the UK:

Feminine & Strong

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 09:29:00 +0000

My little girl loves everything to do with princesses. If it's sparkly and pink, then she acquires it and adores it. She loves wearing dresses and she loves looking girly. She is five years old.

For my other daughters, five was about the age when they started to lose their love of all things girly, or at least, they pretended to lose their love of dresses and tiaras and other girly things.

I wonder if my little five year old will start to think that she has to show the world a different face. Why is it that the world around her seems to encourage her to be tough rather than tender, stoic rather than emotional, and suspicious rather than trusting?

She is hanging on to her idealism about being a princess. I hope she continues to do so. There is nothing wrong with being tough and strong, but there is also a great deal of strength to be found in things that are traditionally considered feminine. Being able to shed tears and show emotion has the power to help us heal emotionally and the strength to face almost anything. Being able to show compassion and tenderness is one of the ways of making this world a better place for others.

When did the world start equating femininity with weakness? When did the world at large decide that to be anything other than macho and masculine was to be weak and victimized? It's a falsehood that should never have been given legitimacy in society.

Some of the most feminine women I know have backbones of steel.

Throwing A Princess Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:28:00 +0000

One of our daughter's just turned five, and she requested a princess party.

We bought some of the usual sweets and treats for the party bags, but I wanted something especially princess-themed to give to the party-goers. I bought some wooden frames and painted some of them bright pink, some of the dark blue and some of them yellow. I also bought stencils made to fit the frames. The stencil I bought said "Princess" across the top and had stars and crowns on it.

For the yellow frames I tried a peach colored paint for the stenciling on one and a metalic blue for the stenciling on the other one. The blue looked better than the peach color, in my opinion.

For the pink frames, I chose a metallic purple for the stenciling. I liked the way they turned out.

For the blue frames, I didn't stencil the whole word, "Princess." I stopped when it only spelled "Prince," and I used a metallic aqua color for the stenciling. I really liked the way that they turned out.

We took photos of each child as they arrived at the party. (They were wearing costumes.) We then added the photos to the frames as gifts for them to take home with them. We also took some photos of our daughter with her friends as an extra photo for each of them to take home with them to remember the party.

The kids played the usual games such as Pass-the-Parcel and Musical statues.

I also wanted some princess-themed crafts for the kids to do. First, they made "royal chalices." I bought some inexpensive plastic wine glasses and a variety of stickers. Because my daughter had invited both boys and girls to her party, I bought some stickers of cars, trucks and emergency vehicles as well as stickers of flowers, butterflies, Disney princesses, hearts and stars. (I would have bought stickers of dragons and knights, but I couldn't find any.) The kids then got to decorate their "royal chalices" with the stickers.

Next, we had some crowns I had bought at the craft store for the kids to decorate with stickers too.

Then we progressed to the food. I wanted to keep it simple, so I had some sausage rolls and pizza that I stuck in the oven and baked beforehand to serve to the kids, and they all seemed to like them.

Last, we moved on to serving the cake and singing "Happy Birthday."

Robert made a simple two-layer round cake and frosted it. He rolled out ready-to-roll icing and wrapped it around some cake rolls which he then cut in two pieces each for the towers. One of the pieces was 2/3 of the cake rolls and the other was 1/3 of the rolls. We used more vanilla frosting to attach the larger halves of the towers to four sides of the round cake and we put three of the smaller ones on top of the cake. He frosted the tops of the towers and added mini marshmallows around the edges of them. He used food coloring to color the left-over ready-to-roll icing, and then rolled it out and cut out windows and doors, using thinly spread frosting to stick them to the "castle."

The cake was a big hit!

Wonderful Women

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:27:00 +0000

"What others think of us would be of little moment did it not, when known, so deeply tinge what we think of ourselves." ~Paul Valery

The way we are treated or talked about, the way people see us, has an effect on us even when we don't want it to. Don't you think the world would be a completely different place if women were all confident and felt good about themselves?

I propose we all do something this month to help make that a reality. This month, at least one time every day, tell a woman or a girl in your life a compliment. Make sure it is sincere and that it is empowering. Compliment her looks or compliment her sense of humor. Compliment her skill or compliment her intelligence. Compliment her talent or compliment her kindness. There is always something wonderful to be found in every girl or woman.

Your compliments don't have to all be face to face. You can compliment someone you admire on-line too, or let your mom or sister know how great she is while on the phone with her. The point is that you somehow tell someone how great you think they are.

You can start today by telling me in the comments about a woman or girl that you think is terrific and why you think so.

I must admit, I have so many wonderful girls and women in my life that I could do this every day for the whole year!

Prince Charming?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Being a grown woman with a failed marriage behind me and in a healthy marriage now, with children of my own, I am at a point in my life where I know exactly what traits Prince Charming should have in order to be MY Prince Charming. I'm happy to admit that my husband fulfills my Prince Charming requirements.

But what about my daughters? What have they learned from me about Prince Charming and what they should look for in him? And what have they learned about him from their peers and the media? Have I raised my teenage girls to be the confident and capable women that I hope they will be? Am I raising my younger daughters in a way that will teach them what to look for?

And just as importantly, what have my sons learned from me about what it takes to BE someone's Prince Charming? Will my lessons to them stick despite other outside negative influences?

Here's what I hope they have learned from me, and I hope they have learned it well enough to ignore some of the conflicting lessons that their peers and the modern media might try and teach them.

1 - Prince Charming always treats his princess with respect.
2 - Prince Charming NEVER calls names or physically hurts his princess.
3 - Prince Charming is kind-hearted and empathetic towards others.
4 - Prince Charming values education and intellect in both himself and his princess.
5 - Prince Charming always sees his princess as beautiful, no matter what her weight is or whether or not she is having a bad hair day.
6 - Prince Charming is not afraid to show his emotions.
7 - Prince Charming is willing to do some of the cooking and cleaning in the house and does not expect his princess to do it all on her own, whether she works outside of the home or not.
8 - Prince Charming can be patient with his princess when needed.
9 - Prince Charming is good with children.
10 - Prince Charming is not afraid of a little hard work.
11 - Prince Charming knows how to behave romantically.
12 - Prince Charming understnads that "no" always means "no," and he will never pressure his princess into doing something she doesn't want to do.
13 - Prince Charming is faithful to his princess.
14 - Prince Charming does not ogle or otherwise lust after any women other than his princess.
15 - Prince Charming understands and is proud of the fact that his princess is strong and capable and can do anything she sets her mind to do.
16 - Prince Charming never belittles his princess's dreams and instead will do whatever he can to encourage and aid her in achieving her dreams.
17 - Prince Charming does not raise his voice or shout when he is angry but instead discusses differences calmly and without accusation.

I could add to the list, but basically, it all boils down to #1 - RESPECT. I want my sons to learn to respect the women in their lives and I want my daughters to feel respected and to know that they deserve to be respected.

Sometimes, with all of the outside influences and pressures that I know they face as they grow up, I know it can be an uphill battle, but if everyone teaches their children about respect, then maybe those outside influences will instead be influenced by the rest of us.

What do you hope your children, your little princesses and future Prince Charmings learn from you about how to treat one another?

"You've Lost Your Muchness"

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:22:00 +0000

"You used to be much more..."muchier." You've lost your muchness." ~The Mad Hatter (to Alice), "Alice In Wonderland" movie, 2010

This quote struck a note with me as I watched the new "Alice In Wonderland" movie last weekend. I think back to my own childhood, and I can't help but remember how confident and adventurous I was as a child. I don't know where along the way I lost those parts of myself, but somewhere along this journey of life, some of that confidence and my sense of adventure seeped away.

And as a mother of daughters, I feel a responsibilty to analyze where my "muchness" went and what caused me to lose so much of it. I can't help but want my daughters to keep all of their confidence, all of their sense of adventure, all of their belief in themselves, and not to let anyone or anything in this world take any of it away from them.

I grew up eager to please. I wanted to be liked. My parents taught me to be nice to others. I was expected to behave and be a good girl. I was taught, probably unintentionally, to subjugate my desires and my needs in order to fit in and to please others. I was a talkative, bubbly, confident child who believed in herself and had no doubts that I could change the world. But I was taught from the world around me, from my elders and my peers, that I talked too much, that I had many flaws and that no one person could change the world.

It took me many years to mature enough to finally start gaining back what I lost of myself over the years. I do not want that to happen to my daughters, and I don't want it to happen to anyone else's daughters either. We do our daughters a disservice when we expect them to conform to society, to be nice, to be "good girls" at the cost of being themselves.

My favorite quote from the movie "A Little Princess" is when the character Sarah Crew says,

"I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart or young. They're still princesses. All of us."

I like this quote because I want every girl in the world to believe it. If a girl can believe she is a princess, then she can believe that she has value.

I want girls to maintain the same confidence and belief in themselves and their abilities throughout their lives that they have when they are two years old. How many two year olds do you know that don't say what they think? Tell a two year old that she is pretty, and she will, more often than not, answer you with, "I know," rather than the conformist "Thank you," or worse, the confidence-sapping "No, I'm not!" that I hear so often when I compliment any female.

Why do we lose our "muchness?" Why is it that we feel we must be something other than who we really are in order to be liked and loved and accepted? And what will it take for us (and our mothers, aunts, nieces, sisters and daughters) to truly BELIEVE in our own awesomeness?

So I have a challenge for you. This week, do something that you have been putting off out of fear. Speak to someone new, even if you are feeling shy. Try out some rock climbing, even if you don't believe you are strong enough. Send out the manuscript you wrote to a publisher, even if you are afraid of rejection. There are millions of things you can do to fulfill this challenge, from small, seemingly insignifcant things (like making a point to smile at the cute mailman who delivers your mail) to much bigger things (like singing on stage on front of a crowd). It's up to you to decide what to do. But do something brave.

And it'd be really great if you came back here and let us know in the comments what it was.

Win A Princess Magnet!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:36:00 +0000

Princess Parade is on Facebook! Come become a fan of us there!

With the idea that being a princess is about girls being strong and believing in themselves, understanding that there is power in their femininity and that they deserve good things in life, including being treated well...

What 3 rules would you come up with for being a princess?

Answer this question on the Princess Parade's discussion boards on Facebook, and get a chance to win a free princess magnet. One random commenter who answers the question on the discussion boards will be selected using a random number generator.

Fairy Magic Photos Opportunity! (possible freebie!)

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Fairy Magic Photos is giving a few people an opportunity that can't be beat! If you'd like a Fairy Magic Photo of your own, now is your chance as they are looking for 10 models for advertising. Please go to the discussion board at Fairy Magic Photos' Facebook page and let them know if you would like to be considered. Remember moms these pictures could be of your children. Or you could have a fairy photo created of you!

My husband is the artist that creates these photos, and when he decided to offer this chance, I had to share it with my readers, because these pictures are a $75 to $150 value! There are some conditions, but it's still a really great chance for a Fairy Magic photo of your own!

This is perfect for the little princess in your life!

The Little Princess Trust

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:01:00 +0000

I recently lost a lot of weight, and I promised myself that when I got myself down to my goal weight, I would celebrate by getting my hair cut and styled. I haven't had my hair cut in over 8 years, so it is really, really long.

I always intended to send my hair, once it was cut, to somewhere like Locks of Love, a charity that provides wigs for children who have lost their hair due to alopecia and cancer, but that is based in the US and I am in the UK. Fortunately, there is a UK counterpart to them called Little Princess Trust.

I've decided to send my hair to them. And I believe that it is a really worthy cause, so I am also running a short fundraiser to raise enough money for the full amount of creating a wig from the hair. I was told it would cost $455 (£300) to create one wig. Please help with this worthwhile charity! Once we reach the target amount, I will be videoing myself getting my hair chopped off (probably to just below my shoulders, and I'll post that video here.

Every little girl deserves to feel like a princess and to feel pretty. The amount of suffering a lack of a positive self-image causes in girls can have lasting effects. Just a little bit of help from all of us, and we can help prevent some of that suffering from happening and brighten a little girl's day.

You can donate below.

THANK YOU!

EDIT: The ChipIn widget is working in that it is taking donations and sending them to the Trust, but it is not working properly in that it is not showing the donation amounts. To date, $30 has been donated. I will update this edit to add any future donations to the total (until I can figure out how to get the widget to work properly.

Edit: The ChipIn Widget is working now! Hurry and contribute!

Why Little Girls Are Always Daddy’s Little Princesses

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:07:00 +0000

There is something about the innocence of youth that charms even the most hard-hearted soul.

A father has a difficult time when the innocence of youth is coupled with his protective instincts towards his daughter. Men are designed by nature (most of them, anyway) to want to protect females. And dads are programmed to feel protective towards their families. Daughters have the double whammy of being both female and family to their daddies, and when these two traits are combined with the charm of their youthful innocence and absolute dependence on their parents when they are young, daddies have no chance of escaping before they are wrapped securely around their little girls’ fingers.

It is easy to see how this happens as I watch my four year old daughter skillfully bat her eyelashes at her daddy after asking for something and softly intone, “Pleeeeeeeaase, Daddy?” when she is trying to wheedle him into buying her something new or taking her out to the park. I don’t know where she learned to bat her eyelashes, but she has done it since before she was walking.

Not all girls are naturally skilled in batting their eyelashes and pleading while exuding charm and sweetness. Some girls are defiant and challenge their dads at every turn. But even in this, a father’s built-in inability to resist his daughter kicks in; he exudes pride in how strong and independent his daughter is becoming. And because of this pride, he gives in to her requests as surely as if she had batted her eyelashes at him and used her cuteness to get what she wanted.

Most girls, though not all, go through stages. A girl begins by batting her eyelashes and saying truly adorable things, and her innocence and child-like charm begins the process of wrapping her daddy around her little finger. Then, as she matures, she develops into a headstrong, independent young girl, and daddy is already securely wrapped around her little finger, so this is when he begins the stage of being proud of her strong will and independence.

Not everyone fits the mould, but you’ll find that most daughters really can be called “Daddy’s Little Princess.” And daddies, for their part, don’t seem to mind any of it. When they first hold that sweet newborn baby girl in their arms, they’ve already begun the wrapping process.

Why Would You Want To Be A Princess?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:48:00 +0000

I have it on direct authority (meaning my 4 year old daughter informed me) that being a princess is a really wonderful thing. And apparently, the main reasons it is a wonderful thing is because, as a princess, you get to wear pretty dresses that twirl and you are automatically beautiful.

As my four year old told me this, she motioned with her hands and a bit of a twist of her body to show how a dress would twirl, and then she batted her eyes at me in that way that only pretty little girls know instinctively to do when she spoke about being beautiful.

Unfortunately for my 3 year old son, being a prince is apparently not as wonderful as one would hope. As far as he can tell, it consists mostly of being bossed around by the princess.

Princess Isabella

noreply@blogger.com (Becky Fyfe) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:34:00 +0000

My 4 year old Isabella is fascinated with everything having to do with princesses. A little bit before Christmas, we were on our way to see Santa Claus and I asked her what she was going to ask Santa for. She told me, "A pretty dress, so I can be a princess! I want a dress that twirls."

And Santa gave her what she wanted.

(Yes, her hair was still a mess as she had only recently woken up, but it was important to her to put the dress on and show it off as quickly as possible.)

(That's her 3 year old brother Connor in the photo with her. He often is forced to stand in as "Prince Charming" when his sisters Gabby and Bella play "pretend princesses." The background is a mess too, because they had all been opening their Christmas presents and everything was just strewn about the room.)