Spa Night

Dear Em,
This happened a couple weeks ago, & I almost forgot to post about it. I'm glad I remembered, because it was a little bit of preciousness that I want to remember & hold in my heart for always. You had your first best friend spa night.

You love getting mani/pedis, whether it's at home or we splurge five dollars & get your toes painted at the nail salon. Recently we've been reading Fancy Nancy: Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day. It's funny how often you request to read the book, since a lot of it is just lists & recipes. I think you just love the idea of girly pampering, & it gave me an idea. How much stinkin' fun would it be to have a little spa day at home? During your next sleepover with your best friend, we did just that.

I started off by calling you both Miss <last name>, & you called me Miss Mommy. You both smiled from ear to ear, relishing in sounding so grown up & proper. I played soothing music while you dressed in my clothes: a long sleeved long tee, a robe, & a head wrap. I smiled as the two of you looked at each other & giggled. You very much looked the part of spa goers- even if your sleeves hung well below your hands.

We started with facials. I sat you down, leaned your heads back, & generously applied the honey & banana mixture (recipe from your Fancy Nancy book). The two of you giggled & squirmed, & the mixture got all over the place. At that point I was glad you were both wearing robes. It was mostly about fashion at first, but now I could see the robes were functional as well. The last touch of your facials was placing sliced cucumbers over your eyelids. "Aughhhhhhhhh! This is making my eyes frozen," you screamed. The cucumbers only lasted long enough to take a couple quick, adorable photos. Clearly, you two don't appreciate the feeling of rejuvenated eyes.

I put on the movie Frozen for you to watch while I went to work with manis & pedis, rotating back & forth between the two of you. I used the kits your aunt Jennie & uncle Nick gifted you, complete with soak tub, foam flip flops, nail drier, & foam pedicure comb. We started with a scrub, followed by rinsing off & applying lotion. This made the two of you squirm & giggle as I touched your ticklish, little feet. I dried off your feet & hands with warm towels before starting the polish. In honor of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day, you both chose gold & green polishes & white flower stickers that we had on hand.

It took me the entire Frozen movie to complete you both. During that time there was singing & dancing- which makes it a little challenging to paint nails. It wasn't exactly the quiet & relaxing spa experience that I'm used to. By the end my back hurt a little, & I was wondering where my spa treatment was. Ha! You did ask if you could paint my nails, but with visions of nail polish covering our entire living room, I politely declined. Maybe next time.

I tucked you in that night, & you both fell asleep immediately. I went to sleep soon after (little girl spa nights sure take a lot out of you), thinking all the while how wonderful it is to have a little girl to make these special moments with. I love how exciting the night was for both of you sweet girls. It was only a couple hours & it didn't cost anything (we already had everything we used), but watching the smiles on your faces, that was...sigh...that was worth everything. It just goes to show you, you don't need to go out & spend a whole lot of money to make precious moments. In fact, often times the memories that are most near & dear to my heart come from simple moments. Sometimes all you need is a little bit of imagination, a little bit of time, & lots of love (& maybe a Fancy Nancy book & a Frozen movie or two).

I love you so,

Mommy