The Secret is Out

So when Tracy called me from the Disney store telling me about their fabulous sale, I told her to grab two of the big princess dolls for me. I planned on giving one to each of my girls for their birthday.


When she dropped my goodies off, I ran and put the gigantic Disney bag in my bedroom, filled to the top with princesses, and quickly closed the door.

Looking back, I'm not sure why I thought that was a good idea. You know, just closing the door to keep the bag out of sight. My child is almost 4 years old, and a closed door never stopped her before.

Sure enough, a few minutes later she went into my room. I jumped out of my chair and tried to beat her to it. It was one of those moments where I felt like I was moving in slow motion.

I got to my room about 3.6 seconds after she did, but it was like that darn bag was calling to her and she went straight to it. Thankfully, I was pretty sure she didn't get a peek at what was inside. The obligatory 3-year-old-whining ensued, so I came up with the solution of telling her that it was her birthday present and a surprise. Then I whisked it away to a high shelf in the closet.

Fast forward to this morning. We went shopping and of course had to stop in the Disney store because, heaven forbid, we visit the mall without perusing the magic that is the Disney marketing empire.

Just to reassure myself that I had made the right choice, I steered Lauryn in the direction of the gigantic princess dolls. I held up Jasmine (who was almost as tall as Lauryn) and in my most obnoxious voice shrieked, "Lauryn! Look at this!! Isn't she beautiful!"

The reaction I was hoping for included Lauryn getting so excited and begging for the doll right then and there. Then I would say something thoughtful like, "Well, maybe you can ask for it for your birthday."

Instead, the following is what really happened after my embarrassing display:

Me: *shrieking* "Oh, Lauryn! Look at this beauuuuutiful Jasmine doll!"
Lauryn: "Oh, yes! I'm getting that for my birthday."
Me: "Hmmm...well I don't know about that. We'll have to see."
Lauryn: "Yes, I am getting that! It's a surprise!!"

SO, the moral of the story is: Your child CAN accomplish many, many things in 3.6 seconds. And spoiling a birthday surprise is at the top of the list.