Pierced!

The second attempt at getting her ears pierced proved the charm for Alison. Stephanie is her new best friend, and I'm sure they'll be seeing each other in exactly six weeks from now when Ali can take out her new starter earrings out and shop for new jewels.

My offer to photographically document the experience was firmly declined or I'd show you Stephanie -- the certified piercer at the Castleton Square Mall Claire's location. I highly recommend her should you need a hole in your body, or that of a loved one.

She remembered Ali from her first try at the chair. Sure it was less than 24 hours since our first visit, but still. She greeted Ali like a long lost friend, asked if she still wanted the blue daisies, and was really great with her throughout the process.

God knows if I had the same job there would be countless ungrateful brats with uneven holes in their ears and maybe a few other scars. And I'd be in prison. But thankfully I don't have to deal with other children.

Ali is thrilled. As we pulled into the driveway, two neighbhorhood girls were in the drive across the street waving wildy. Ali leaned out the window, yelling, "Maddie, guess what I just did!" She was shouting the answer out the window as Maddie and Melanie came running up the drive. I thought she was going to leap out the window. I'd barely gotten the Subaru stopped before she out the door and showing off her sparkling ears.

"It didn't hurt hardly at all!"

It's truly a sea change for her. After we left Claire's, we ran around the shops looking for princess dresses for Angie and me. It's the annual Angie's List derby and we're on team Mario Kart and we have to dress up. Angie is Princess Peach. I'm Daisy. I'm on finding the dresses duty.

We ended up at TJ Maxx looking for clearance prom-like dresses. While I flipped through the merchandise, Alison bounced a 25-cent ball from the gumball rack, losing track of it every other bounce. She spent a good portion of her time crawling under the racks looking for it -- that's the Ali I know.

She hates to shop. Unless its for video games or ice cream. She'll spend a good amount of time in a book store, but she's never had much interest in clothes, or makeup or jewelry or girly things.

After battling her way from beneath a rack of maxi summer dresses, she asked if she could go to the girls' section. Not five minutes later, she came running back at me with six hangers of clothes she thought she might need and before we left, she was simpering down the aisle trying on a pair of stiletto heels.

I bought her a few tee-shirts with glammed up cats on them. The heels went back on the shelf. She didn't spare a glance for dresses or mini skirts. Yet. Eeek.