Allie gets bejeweled!

Allie is all smiles with her pierced ears.

Zach and Allie recently turned seven, so I thought it would be a good time to surprise Allie with something she's been wanting for a long time -- pierced ears. Never mind that her 14-year-old brother has been ardently requesting his ears be pierced. Several times over the summer when he was at the mall with friends I received urgent, pleading phone calls asking if he could. And the answer was always no, his ears remain bare. Now that he's playing football he says it's a good thing.

But I thought the time was about right for Allie. We talked about it for days in advance, planning the big Saturday trip to my favorite shopping center which conveniently houses a Claire's. And if you don't know what a Claire's is, just imagine the minds of young girls exploding and colliding to produce every piece of costume jewelry, every hair accessory, notepads, pencils, pens, every color and scent of nail polish imaginable, all the fun stuff that comes with being a girl ... and oh yes, anything and everything plastered with Justin Bieber.

So I told Allie what to expect. As she picked her earrings and took her seat, she was a bit apprehensive. The girl at Claire's quickly pierced the first ear. Allie looked at me like a deer looking into the headlights. Before she could say anything or change her facial expression, ear two had an earring in it. All done.

Allie loves her pierced ears and is so good at reminding me to clean her ears every morning and night. Now if only she was as good at taking the initiative to brush her teeth ...