Have I Mentioned She's FOUR?!

I violated at least 96 of my own personal rules of motherhood a few days ago to bring you these photos...

There is more gel in her hair and make-up on her eyes than I use in a week!  And let's just rewind that sentence because I'm referring to my FOUR-YEAR-OLD!!  And the really disturbing part is that you can't see the make-up in the photos....that means I didn't use enough and will have to apply more for the real recital!

This was our own at-home dress rehearsal for the ballet recital.  Boy, am I glad we did a walk-through.  Took me an hour to get her runway ready.  An hour.  She's four.  And for all the other ballet moms reading this, just know that I did bribe her with a new toy and let her sit in front of the tv the whole time I was doing it.  Still....an hour.

She's been begging for a "strap" swimsuit this summer and I've been so conflicted about it.  Break out the ballet costume with nude spaghetti straps, maribou trim and bunny ears.  Yes, it has a little fluff tail in the middle of her tutu.  How do we back peddle from there to a rash guard swimsuit?

The only saving grace was that she fought me tooth-and-nail on the make-up.  She was so scared to get it in her eyes or in her mouth that I don't think she's going to be asking for it on a regular basis.  We were told to emphasize that it is part of the costume so people can see her face from far away.  Really?!  That's what the zoom is for on your camera.  She's four!!

I really want to be laid back and easy-going about this.  I mean it's part of a stage performance, right?  Special circumstances call for special costumes.  I get it.  But she's four!  And she's one of the oldest ones in her class!  Surely it would be okay if her hair weren't so tight that it gave her a headache and does anyone else really care if they can't see my daughter's eyes from their seat?  Do the other little girls enjoy this more than mine?  Is that the missing piece to this puzzle?  Maybe if she were excited about it and looking forward to performing, I would be more at ease with what seems like a little much for a FOUR-YEAR-OLD!

Somewhere around the time I was telling her to make a kiss with her lips so I could put on more lipstick, I finalized the decision in my head that we're doing gymnastics next year.  Stay tuned for recital details.