Adelin is passionate about princesses right now. I am thrilled to see her actually playing and interested in something other than Caillou. She saw a Princess playhouse in a toy magazine and wanted me to take her to the store right away. I smiled, then tried to distract her with something else.

While we were in the backyard playing, I noticed a large cardboard box the kids had not yet managed to destroy. The dusty gears in my head started to grind and smoke. Ten minutes later, Adelin had her very own Princess Castle. I think I was more astonished that she actually loved it. The next step is paint.