Princess The Camel Predicts Giants To Win Super Bowl

Now onto news about a different kind of Princess.

Princess the camel, the star of New Jersey's Popcorn Park Zoo, has correctly picked the winner of five of the last six Super Bowls. This year Princess has predicted a win for the Giants.

How does Princess pick her winners?

Zoo general manager John Bergmann writes the name of the competing teams on each hand and then holds a cracker in each hand for Princess to pick.Whichever hand Princess nibbles from is her predicted winner. On Wednesday she made quick work of picking her winner the Giants, thus bearing bad news for the New England Patriots.

Princess has had a stellar pick history with her only misstep being two years ago when she nibbled on the cracker of the Indianapolis Colts over the New Orleans Saints. I guess sometimes, even Princesses make mistakes.

Thank you for your prediction Princess. I think I just might have a cracker at my Super Bowl party in celebration of you!

Sneak Peek

Shh... this material is top secret and we may have to dispose of you once you have viewed it, but here is a little pencil sketch Mr. Ewing, our fabulous illustrator has worked up.

Rebekah is darling and we can't wait for the world to meet this little Princess in her debut book. We have a feeling many of you have equally adorable Princesses in your own lives.

Happy Friday all and thanks for stopping by!

Once a Princess always a Princess

When my lovely daughter Erica was 4 years old I bought her a pair of pink Princess Ariel shoes that lit up whenever they hit the ground. They were the most beautiful shoes Erica had ever seen. Later that day I found her with her shoes in her hands crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she knew she would out grow these wonderful shoes one day and it made her so sad. I assured her that no matter how old she became or how big her feet grew, I would find these shoes for her even if I had to make them myself. She looked up at me with her beautiful, teary eyes and told me that she knew she would not want the shoes when she became a grown up and that made her even sadder. "Perhaps," I said, "but you love these shoes and you should enjoy them today and not worry about tomorrow."

Well, Erica did out grow the Princess shoes and as of today has not asked me to find her these shoes. As she grew up she put Ariel as well as all of her other Princess loves aside for friends, soccer, boys and college. Today she is 21 years old, graduating from college, student teaching a class of 32 rowdy 5th graders and planning her wedding to her English Prince, Michael. Even though she is an adult, I still see the Princess in her, from the bejeweled TOMS shoes she wants to wear on her wedding day to her selection of the music from the Princess Bride she wants to have played as she walks down the aisle. And her wedding dress! she will be as breath taking as any Princess I have ever seen.

I know all little Princesses will grow up one day, but a spark of them will always have a place in their heart. Last week Erica and I were at a wedding tasting with other future brides. One of the girls at our table told us that she was so disappointed that she had purchased her wedding gown right before Disney debuted it's bridal Princess collection. She had always dreamed of wearing Cinderella's ball gown at her wedding and at that moment I realized that no matter how old our daughters become, once a Princess, always a Princess.

Survival guide for a boy sandwiched between Princesses

How is a boy to survive a life that involves 2 Princesses?

Here's one boys survival tips (as related to his mother who is currently blogging about it):

1. Sometimes you just have to give in and let ponies and dolls be a part of your train story.

2. Pink and purple items can only remain in your room for a short period of time, never overnight and most definitely not when you have friends over to play!

3. Even if they were mistakenly left in your sock drawer, never wear your sister's socks to school. Others may notice the small pink stripe or pink lettering on the side and ask you why you are wearing girl socks. (Um, sorry son. I'll pay better attention when folding the laundry in the future.)

4. Don't let your sisters dress you up for their "stories". EVER!

5. Sometimes a boy just needs to pretend he doesn't hear what his sisters tell him to do.

Then this cute little boy went on to tell me that when his sister was in the hospital last week he prayed for her every night and just wanted her home to play with him.

I guess sisters are worth the hassle, even if they think they are Princesses.

I can't say for certain, but some of the events in Rebekah Grace's first adventure MAY be based on real life events......

The Strength of Princesses

This blog is primarily dedicated to the book my sister and I have written that will come out in March, but I would like to take a moment and talk about how strong real life Princesses can be and how happy I am to be able to write about them.

My 10 year old daughter, started complaining last week about blurred vision and woke up one day to black spots in her vision. We took her to a retina specialist and were informed that she had some very serious swelling on the nerve around her eye. My husband and I sat in the Dr's office and listened to some possibilities for this, and heard words like tumor and Multiple Sclerosis.

Through this ordeal here are some examples of  the strength I saw in my Princess:

1. I watched as she submitted herself to a spinal tap, fully awake and did not cry out. Only the tears streaming down her face showed the amount of pain she was undergoing.

2. Treatment after painful treatment she would smile at the nurses and doctors.

I watched other little Princesses in the pediatrics ward and saw their smiles, courage, strength and a determined desire to be happy.

True Princesses come in all ages and sizes. They are Princesses not because they were born in a castle to royal parents, but because ALL little girls have infinite worth and make this world a better place to live in.

Our diagnosis for her looks good and for that we are grateful.

If you have a Princess in your life, hug her extra tight and make sure she knows just how special she is.

Here She Is...

We would like you to meet someone special.....

Here she is, Rebekah Grace The Practically Perfect Princess!

We would also like to introduce the incredible illustrator who created this adorable little preschool princess. Welcome Mr. John Ewing.

John is a former illustrator for Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, where he helped craft classic feature films, including Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh, and 1961’s Oscar-nominated Aquamania. After Disney, Ewing went to New Zealand and launched Freelance Animators Ltd. We are so happy to have you as a part of this project.