Practically Perfect - Switching Apartments, More Princess Stories

When picking out the song for this post, this was the first thing that came to mind. For the most part, my college program has been perfect - my role was even better than I thought it would be, I have made the most incredible and thoughtful friends, and I love going to the parks just about every day! However, the song is called practically perfect - and that means almost! While my apartment was absolutely fabulous, and I had an amazing suite mate, I was having some roommate issues. Most people do on the DCP - and when I say most, I haven't met anyone without a story. To make a long story short, there were several safety issues in my apartment with my roommate, and when I tried to address it, the concerns were ignored. My suite mate encouraged me to contact housing, and when they heard about the issue, they wanted me to go to security immediately. Basically, after a couple days of stress (and comforting from my mom, Tatiana and Amanda - thank goodness for them), housing asked me if I wanted to stay in the apartment or if I wanted to move to a new apartment. For people looking to do the program, this isn't common for housing. Usually, they sit everyone in the apartment down to talk about any problems, and its usually quite a process. The fact that they offered me the option almost immediately gives you an idea of how uncommon the predicament was. 

While I knew it would be a hassle to move to another apartment, and that I would miss Natalie, I knew it would be worth the stress. I already feel more comfortable in my new place than I did in the other - everyone is friendly, sweet and welcoming, and there is a real community feel. I'm still bringing in things from my car, but most things are set up and I'm really happy here. I also feel safer for several reasons, which is obviously really important =) 

Now that I'm settled in, I can say that my program is NOT practically perfect - it IS perfect! I literally have it all, and I feel so grateful!!!

So now that the whole apartment change situation has been explained, I have more princess stories! Get ready because there's a lot!

- Prince Philip and Princess Tia were very special siblings. Prince Philip was an older brother to a beautiful princess with special needs. He was the absolute best brother I have seen in my life. His sister was having trouble sitting in the chair, and her fairy godmother in training was doing the best she could to keep her still while doing her long, beautiful hair. When I saw the situation, I asked her if she wanted me to buddy, and within seconds I returned with a book and stickers. She was laughing and singing in no time (stickers fix everything!), and she was enjoying every second. We even sprinkled pretend pixie dust in her hair together every time she had an "ouchie" (she was very tender headed). Her brother was with us every step of the way, showing her how to close her eyes for the makeup, holding her hand, fixing her sash, and making her giggle. It was obvious she adored him, and he was just such a great kid. I made him a special pin that said "Brave, Strong, Hero, Prince Philip." He and his family were so appreciative and grateful. After the transformation, and him telling his sister how beautiful she was, I told one of my leaders what a special kid he was. The leaders said we could make some magic for him, so I told him not to leave the boutique until he found me. I ran in the back to get things ready. When I returned, I found him looking for me around the boutique, so I brought him to the lobby. I told him and his family that everyone at the boutique saw what an amazing kid he was. I told him that while it is easy for the attention to go to his sister, I noticed, and other people noticed everything he did for his family, and that we wanted to recognize him. I got to declare him a royal knight, and give him a big sword and shield. The boutique burst into applause for him. Thinking of it now, I'm tearing up. It was such a special moment that was all about him. That's something that probably doesn't happen that often without interruption. His mom was crying pretty hard at that point, and it took all that was in me to hold in my tears until I returned to the back of the boutique. His dad was teary-eyed, and Prince Philip was so surprised and grateful. He couldn't believe it and neither could his family. His mom, who had already given me a big hug after working with Princess Tia, gave me a bigger hug before leaving the boutique. It was such an honor to witness such an amazing kid, and I'm so grateful that my leaders gave me the opportunity to recognize him. 

- People come up to me all the time and tell me I have the best job in the world. I have to stay in character and say, "This isn't a job! This is my school! But I love going to school!" Of course, I wish I could reply, "I HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!" I think my favorite comment came from a grandfather who told me "I can tell you really love your job. I think I had more fun than my granddaughter!" As he left with the pixie dust sparkling on his head, all I could do was giggle because I really do think he had the time of his life! LOL!

- I had a special little princess who said funniest things! When I asked her how she makes her grandma and grandpa laugh, she told me she "shakes her butt at them." Later, I told her to think of a big wish. About 3 minutes later she said, "I want to kiss a prince! I'll take Snow White's." Hey, its a girl who knows what she wants! Haha

- Every princess comes with a story. Some girls have known about their trips for months, while others find out the morning they come into the boutique! I always like to ask if it was a surprise trip, or if it was a trip they've been anticipating for a very long time. For example, I found out one princess won her trip just a couple weeks prior to their arrival from a TV show in Canada! However, there was a princess who had the most heartfelt answer to this question that you could imagine. She told me that her grandfather passed away in August, but it was his wish before he died to send his whole family to Disney World together. With the help of a very generous grandmother, the family had the chance to go together. I already had a celebration button waiting for this princess, but once I found out her story, I asked for a pen so I could personalize this button. The button said "I'm celebrating Pop" with hearts and pixie dust. When her mother saw it, she started crying, and then her aunt cried when she saw it for the first time. Her mother asked if I could make one for all three girls, and I told her I had already planned to make pins for her whole family, and a couple to take home for anyone at home or any scrapbooks. They were so grateful. When the grandmother saw the pins, she started sobbing. We always have tissues handy at the boutique for situations like this, so I grabbed a box to hand out to everyone in the family. Then the grandmother gave me a big hug and sobbed in my arms. You know its a hard cry when you feel the person shaking in your arms, and I just whispered the most comforting words I could think of in her ear. We hugged for a really long time. It made me think of my own grandma, and how much I wish I could have told her I got into the program. She knew how much I love Disney, and she would have been so happy to hear that this dream came true for me. After a lot of hugging and tears, the girl's mom told me "you really are a fairy godmother." While it was such a sad story, it was a special way to honor him.

- Princess Samara was a very special princess. From the moment she walked into the boutique, she told me "I want to look just like Tiana!" While this princess had the most fantastic hair, it was really hard to slick up into a little bun. It took a long time, but we were able to do it! She didn't mind, as long as she looked like Tiana in the end. Her reaction was priceless - with screams and squeals and her jaw dropped to the floor! Her favorite thing to say was "Bibbidi Bobbidi BAM!" She was so sassy and fun!  However, the best quote of the night was, "Not every man is a prince charming!" 

- I had a lovely little princess who so eloquently told me that she has cerebral palsy. Her mom brought her to Florida to see Winter the dolphin. Winter was the dolphin who inspired the movie Dolphin Tale. If you have never seen the movie, Dolphin Tale is about a dolphin who had to have her tail amputated. Due to her special needs, this princess felt a special bond to Winter. After their visit, her mom surprised her with a trip to Disney World! She was so funny. Her mom was so happy with the little things, like me giving her some pixie dust, giving them pins for her teacher, and leaving her daughter's glasses on the whole transformation. This princess had been to the boutique before, and her mom told me that when they come back again, they're going to request me because this was the best experience they've had in the boutique. That meant the world to me. The most touching part of her transformation was when I told her mom to close her eyes and make a wish. Her mom told her daughter to tell me what the wish was, because it will always be her wish until it comes true. The princess replied "that I will walk one day." 

Yeah, think about how you would reply to that without tearing up!

There are so many other stories I could tell, but this post is already long enough. Thank you for reading!!

Breakaway - My Time With a Special Princess Tiana

Usually my posts won't focus around one princess because they are all so cute and say such funny things! Just today, I asked a little girl what she wanted for her birthday and she said "crutches." I asked her why, as that was a pretty odd and random wish and she said "just incase." What 6-year-old just thinks of that!?

But there is one very special princess that I just had to write about. The Fairy Godmothers in Training in the boutique are always looking for their "forever princess," meaning the princess you'll never forget. When you "turn 1,000 years old" and become a real fairy godmother, this is the princess you'll take care of and make her dreams come true forever, like Cinderella's fairy godmother. I'm fairly certain nothing will top my time with Princess Naelah. You'll understand why I chose "Breakaway" for the song title once you read the post. I wish I had just one picture from this very special evening, but unfortunately, the princess takes those pictures home and I'm left with special memories.

Now, here is the story of Princess Naelah - or should I say Tiana.

Princess Naelah was a very special princess from the moment she walked in the door. She was one of the last girls in for the day, so the boutique was pretty quiet. Princess Naelah pranced through the door, with a special princess spunk that is rarely matched. She was quickly escorted to the royal dressing room. That did not stop her from trying to sit in a beauty chair (or two) on her way to the room. Once she had her dress, she was happy to model it in front of the mirror. As she walked past my chair, I looked to the fairy godmothers in the front of the boutique and mouthed "oh my goodness, I love her!" I mean - how could you not LOVE this girl! One of my coordinators brought me her slip and told me that she was all mine and the hairstyle was already picked out and ready to go - it was perfectly ready for a fairytale. She told me to have fun and that I could bring her right from the dressing room. She told me her mom was worried about sizes and she was posing in the mirror, saying "I'm a princess! I'm a princess!" When I saw her in the dressing room in her perfectly tailored Tiana dress, I was not disappointed. She was STILL twirling around in her dress, and it was fabulous. Tiana was her favorite princess. Her mom told me she met Tiana the night before, and burst into tears of joy. So much Disney magic! Finally, it was time to bring her to the chair!

She jumped into the chair with such excitement, and I began on her hair. Another Fairy Godmother came to buddy (meaning she did makeup and nails). We led the boutique in singing "Let It Go" and danced around her whole transformation. It was super magical. Princess Naelah showed us her Simba doll and a fairy godmother ran to get a tiara for the doll. While she took care of that, my coordinator pulled me aside and told me that I would be doing a princess parade with this special princess. This isn't common for our location (as in it never happens) so that was super exciting because I knew it would be very magical for her, and her Mom!

By the way, her mom was laughing and smiling just as much as the princess, if not more. It was so wonderful to see the two of them so happy without a worry in the world. You see, Naelah was a special princess with some extra challenges, so it was so wonderful to see the two of them with no restrictions, where she could just be herself.

Her mom told me that her Facebook was already exploding from comments on her first picture, and I told her that the surprised had only just begun. Tiana delivered a very special gift to the princess, already decked with a Tiana crown, a sash and a birthday button. The weather was a bit chilly that evening, so we had a special winter shawl for her. She and her mom were ecstatic. It is absolutely beautiful and really keeps the princesses warm on chilly nights. Then, my coordinator told me that instead of ending our princess parade at carousel, where I would take her to the line of the ride, I would bring her to the photo studio because Tiana wanted to give her another special gift - a special photo package to remember every moment from that special night. It was amazing.

After giving Simba and Princess Naelah's mom some pixie dust, we took out a special princess book. This book is very special and is very rarely signed by a princess, but there was a special Tiana spot just for her. She signed it with some scribbles, and I wrote her name above in bold letters so everyone who looked through the pages would know about this special princess.

After the book signing, I did a brief princess lesson with her- how to walk, talk and wave like a princess, and told her that while hair, makeup and nails is fun, what makes you a princess is having a kind heart. This princess certainly met that very important requirement. Then, the princess parade happened. Now, if you've ever seen that moment in Princess Diaries 2, where they have a princess parade, that is basically what happened, except it was Princess Naelah in the center, with her mom and I holding her hands, and a group of fairy godmothers following behind. Sorry the quality isn't great, but it gives you the idea.

Okay, the parade wasn't quite as big and there wasn't music in the background, and Princess Naelah CERTAINLY wasn't as shy as the princess at the front of this parade, but the emotion was just the same. We paraded her all around Fantasyland. People cheered for her and wished her happy birthday (did I mention it was her birthday? Best birthday ever!). People clapped and waved and she curtsied and twirled and it was just wonderful. One of the fairy godmothers took her mother's iPad to record so mom could enjoy this moment with her princess instead of worrying about recording it, and the princess had her very own personal photographer to capture each curtsy and twirl.

We ended in the photo studio, where Princess Naelah and I practiced her poses and smiles. One princess posed with Naelah. They didn't know each other, but she had become quite the celebrity, so everyone wanted a picture with her. Another girl who was in the boutique at the end of the day bowed to her and greeted her with "you look lovely Princess Tiana." It took some time, but Princess Naelah finally curtsied back and said hello to "Queen Elsa." It was so nice to see so many girls treating her with such respect and kindness - and it made us all tear up even more, especially her mom who was practically bawling at this point. They took so many photos of princess Naelah in the studio, some with Simba, some with mom, and then pictures of all of us together. It was so magical.

The princess started to give everyone hugs, and she gave me the biggest hug and wouldn't let go. It was amazing. Then her mom started giving hugs too. She grabbed me real tight and said "Oh Ellie, thank you so much!" I told her that while it was all so much fun now, we know that it is not always this easy and fun at home, and that during those tough times to remember that there are so many people that care about her and her daughter, and we hugged again. We had to clock out, so we said farewell to Princess Naelah. When I arrived back at the boutique, I turned around to find that a little princess had followed me back! I brought Princess Naelah back to her mom and told her that she had to stay there. Mom was looking at all of the amazing photos picking out prints and didn't even realize she had followed me back! After one last hug, I returned to the boutique with tears in my eyes and thanked my coordinator for making all of these special moments possible, and for letting me be her fairy godmother. It was truly one of the best nights of my life.

While the princess was so happy and felt so special, it was her mom that truly impacted me. She was so touched and so appreciative of every moment, and when a mom is so grateful, it makes the experience that much better. When we were in the lobby of the boutique, someone said "Oh, someone's mom spent a lot of money tonight to get all that," and it made me so upset. Why can't people just let a child have a moment where she can feel special and included? This family goes through extra challenges every day, and if we could make up for that in the slightest way and give them a special memory, it was worth it. So many people cared about her daughter, hugged her and admired her, and that was so impactful for all of us. I'll never forget this absolutely amazing night in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where I found my forever princess.