What do you do when your child is obsessed with something? I enjoy Lion King about as much as any other parent (I LOVED the Broadway version and liked the movie, oh, the first 16 times I saw it), but for god's sake! We even have the Broadway soundtrack and both girls are adept at creating their own language for the African sections...cracks me up. India sings Lion King, plays Lion King (she strong-arms her friends into playing various characters and she is always Mufasa because she likes "getting dead"), and just generally seeing life through Lion King-colored glasses. Yesterday after play group my friend Andrea and I took the kids to McDonalds for lunch, and the Happy Meal toy was a lion. I'll let your imagination run wild.

The point of all this is that I spent the better part of today convincing India that she does not need to have a Lion King-themed birthday party. Firstly, I try to avoid the licensed character thing...I have a pet peeve re: marketing to small children. Secondly, while I fancy myself a decent cake decorator, I WILL NOT make a lion cake! Besides, who wants to eat tan and orange icing?

India's birthday is June 6, so you would think this conversation a timely one, but as many of you who know her well are aware, she has been planning a Lion King party since her 3rd birthday (that one was ladybugs...we sent each kid home with live ladybugs for their garden and the cake was as cute as a...well, a bug). Perhaps a day or two after that she began to obsess about birthday #4.

Once I pried her off of the Lion King idea, her second and third choices were a "shoe" party or a "princess" party. Each involved guests wearing the named fashion item and, of course, a coordinating cake. It took a bit of explaining, but I think India finally understands that her friend William might not be interested in wearing play heels or a sparkly tiara. I cajoled her into settling on an ocean theme. Now THAT I can enjoy doing. Those of you who know me well understand that my bored mother brain will latch onto this creative outlet and obsess...I don't know where India gets it!