323 and Tea

Three hundred and twenty-three days until my life returns to its ideal state. Three hundred and twenty-three days until 22 pounds of delightfully impish fun reclaims her throne at Moose Mountain. Three hundred and twenty-three days until I reinstate my schedule of waking up at previously unheard-of times in the morning just to drive over to MM to ooh and aah over new vocabulary or hand gestures. Three hundred and twenty-three whole days until next July.

In lieu of burying myself in bed and wallowing in self-pity for days on end, I thought perhaps I should adopt a propulsive mindset. In order to ward off depression induced by withdrawal symptoms, reminiscing is strictly forbidden. Instead of wondering what I will do without my daily dose of Lillie-kisses, I am choosing to muse on upcoming summers.

One thing that we never got the chance to do this summer was have a tea party for Lillie. We mentioned having one at the beginning of Jenni and Lillie's stay, but it was quickly cast aside by more pressing obligations like having dance parties on the deck and watching Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper a few hundred times. "You're no status-quo calico--" Oops. No reminiscing, despite how easily Barbie embeds her lyrics into your head. Here are some pictures I came across of a gorgeous tea party set up for a photo shoot by Simply Bloom Photography:

And of course, we have to be properly attired! I love these over-the-top dresses from Victorian Maiden. I think I would have done anything for one of these when I was in my prime tea-party age.

Of course, if Lillie's current utilization of her two Disney Princess Barbies as hand grenades is any indication of things to come, she may not be quite as excited about the tea party as we would desire her to be. Something tells me we will be sitting with our tea and cakes, pinkies poised and at the ready, while she finishes a game of wiffle ball with the boys (on a field specifically designed to benefit Jason's left-handed swing). But hey, I can dream. And even if these visions of teacups and ruffles forever abide only in my head, I'll still be counting down the days.