The Heat is On

Well, the heat is on. It finally hit 90 degrees here, and it is June 23, which is a record long spring. And as much as I know the heat is not good for me being preggo, I am relieved to feel it and see a tan line on my skin. Afterall, tan fat is so much more attractive than white fat. :)

We have been having a recovery week here after the Pageant and Cherry Festival. The kids are enjoying the pool in the yard and I am enjoying lots and lots of iced tea and iced water. I have caught up on some reading and washed windows on my house, which I am now paying for with contractions and muscle pain in my legs. Seriously, this sucks.

Here are a few photos to entice those of you who like to look at a photo or two....


This first photo was of a cake that Cameron helped mix and bake and frost. And obviously decorate. It's not quite up to Martha Stewart par, but gotta love the crust of princess sparkles. Pink and Purple equals delicious!

And here is a shot of my big t-baller, getting ready to slam the ball to the outfield or atleast past the pitcher. She's so cute!

And finally, my dynamic duo after Cameron's Preschool graduation. Tucker doesn't have a clue what we're celebrating, but he's excited just to get a cookie and some punch. He's so funny.

And the Winner Is...

We survived the Junior Miss Cherry Festival Pageant. Barely. Exhaustion, hunger, thirst, crankiness...and that was just me. Cameron was completely done by the time we finally made it through the week of practices and interview. But I have to hand it to her, she kicked butt and took home the crown. Last year she did first runner up so I was pretty nervous for her, just never knowing how something like this might go, but I knew she had what it took.

We started the day at noon with a pre-pageant interview. It is just Cameron and the judges behind closed doors and it is good for 40% of her final score, so pretty important that she does a good job. She refuses to tell me what questions they asked her or tells me she forgot, so I have no idea how it went, but I imagine she did fine.

We then scrambled for lunch, and ran home to gather up things and off to a full dress rehearsal at 2:30 followed by group photos in t-shirts and shorts on stage. We just made it out of there shy of 5:00 pm. I had to line Tucker up with my brother for babysitting and then we were off to hair appointment at 5:30. Craziness. That took until just after 6:00 and we had to be ready to go by 6:30 for the pageant at 7:00.

This year Hot Pink was the in color and Cameron was no exception. We found a great dress online and apparantly lots of others found the same great dress because it was there atleast 12 different times in different colors but a lot of hot pink. Oh well.

Anyways, here are some shots of her on stage and back stage, ready for the show. The girl loves her some stage action and she totally rocked it! I'm so proud of her!

This is her on the stage in her dress. This part also includes an onstage question and is worth 40% of her score.

And here she is after they announced her as queen of her division.

And here she is behind stage waiting for her turn.

Here she is in her swimsuit, worth 20% of her score. They also introduce themselves and say their age during this portion.

And behind the stage.

The opening number dance. Sorry about the crummy photo.

And behind the stage in her shorts and pageant t-shirt.

So Yes, I'm totally bragging, but she did awesome and it was a good time, even though I was exhausted and feel like I have ran a marathon. I have to give a shout out to all the crazy moms who were there last night. It's tough making out little one's shine, but so worth it!

First Real Week of Summer

I turned on the air conditioner last night. It is June 14th. This is probably a record for me. Usually I make myself sweat through the end of May in an attempt to appreciate the finer things in life, one of which, is definately AC. Not this year. I have recently been wearing sweats and covering with a blanket in the evenings. But last night, I went to the thermostat, it said 77 degrees inside. It was hot and muggy and I am fat and grouchy and decided to make the most of my thermostat. Kicked it down to 72 and when Matt got home I was sprawled out on the couch in a tank top and short shorts trying to cool down my body. He complained it was freezing in the house and immediately turned it off.

Yesterday was the first "real" day of summer, as fas as I'm concerned. It was warm when we woke up and it continued to get hotter all day long. We went to the city pool for the first time, along with every other kiddo in town. It was a BLAST! Thank goodness they have the small pool, as Cameron is the perfect age to just play. Tucker, on the other hand, still doesn't realize that water can hurt you, and continues to run like a maniac and try to drown himself. And then get mad when he swallows water. Hopefully he'll master that so I can relax for a few seconds. I love how even when you bathe, you can still smell just smidge of SPF and chlorine and the hot skin of the first burn/tan.

After swimming, we came home for dinner and a much needed hour and a half of watching Cailou and having a little downtime. Then it was off to Cameron's final tee ball game of the season. I sat in the 6:00 pm heat and realized that this heat is great, but I am so going to swell to the size of a water buffalo this summer. I could literally push down on my thigh and see the water sloshing around inside. My ankles and calfs are retaining water and it hurts. Still nice to see the sun, but I imagine I am going to be griping about this for quite a few nasty posts between now and baby due date in September.

Today is Cherry Festival Pageant Day. We start with an interview at 12. Then Dress Rehearsal at 2:30, pictures at 4:30, hair at 5:30 and the final pageant starts at 7:00. Unfortunately, Cameron was over tired last night, and didn't go to sleep until about 10:00. I'm hoping we don't have a melt down sometime during the pageant. But, I think we're ready to go and I'm looking forward to seeing Cameron all put together and so cute on the stage. I promise to post photos tomorrow, but for now, I"m putting my feet up with a cup of tea and getting ready for the day that lies ahead.

Toddlers and Tiaras

Can I just say that as much as I think the moms on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras are plain psychotic, I have to give them props for the time and energy they put into making their children into pageant queens. Seriously, we have been going strong for four days now. For those of you who don't know, we live in a small town outside of a big city. We are pretty redneck. So every year, when the Cherry Festival comes to town, we also hold two "Scholarship" pageants. Not to be confused with a beauty pageant :). The first is for the 18+ age category. It is usually won by someone who has recently graduated from high school. The second is the Little Miss Pageant. This is the one where all girls age 3-14 can come join in the fun. It is seriously the least uptight pageant I have ever been to. It is kind of like a parade of the redneck children. It's loads of fun. It's probably the only pageant in the world where a girl can win wearing a bathing suit by Target. And nobody cares. The dresses are either left over from someone's wedding, someone's Easter Sunday or, if you're really up for the splurge, bought off of e-bay. Shoes from Payless, a little hair glitter and you're golden.

But, even though it is laid back in that aspect, for the week leading up to the pageant, it is a full time job of practicing. Now, remember, Cameron is four. She has practiced from 5-7 for the past four nights. She practices for 3 hours tomorrow. This is all leading up to the actual pageant on Tuesday. And lo and behold, it is coming together. I am exhausted, as most all good crazy pageant moms must be, simply from stressing about it, organizing jewelry (from Claires) and shoes (three costume changes=three pairs of shoes). But it's so much fun on the big night to watch the girls shine. And Cameron has never been afraid of a stage, in fact, her only fear is that someone might not see her up there. So this is right up her alley.

So, we have a full weekend of practicing walking, waving, smiling, and simply just being cute. And hoping for some damn sun so the girl can get a suntan. Seriously, what is with this weather?

More details to come on the big pageant.

Sunday Book Review--12

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I write this review with as much hesitation as I had in actually reading the book. I bought this book four years ago at Walmart for $3.94 in an attempt to improve my reading list. I have always considered myself to be a book nerd to the fullest extent, but I always lean towards what is new and fresh compared to the classics of old. Therefore, I continue to set goals of five classics per year inbetween my "smut" novels as my husband refers to basically anything I an entirely engrossed in. This novel has been started and stopped atleast five different times. It has been floating around in my bedside drawer for the entire four years that I have owned it. I have not been able to focus and enjoy this novel.

In an attempt to "NEST" while pregnant, I have been trying to tie up loose ends. Touching up paint, finishing up unfinished projects, all the little things that don't happen when you have a new baby in the house. One of my things is the stack of "Should reads" that I have floating around. The one's that I have to read, but then always get distracted by something else. Pride and Predjudice was at the bottom of a tall stack of "shoud reads".

I started reading. I read and read. I was proud of myself because I was making progress. And yet, I was beginning to question my mental abilites because, unlike every other book nerd, I was finding no reason to continue on with this book. But...it's Pride and Prejudice. And by God, I'm going to finish this book if it's the last thing I do because I'm sick to death of seeing it in my dresser drawer. So I kept reading.

I can honestly say, I didn't care for the book. There were parts that were good. There were Characters that I enjoyed. But the whole thing seemed rather tedious and painfully long.

I enjoy England and especially old England. I enjoy the courting dance that used to take place in order to "snag" and eligible man. I enjoy the language. I just think it was a bit drawn out for Elizabeth and Darcy to simply end up together.

I'm sure people are reading this right now and completely offended because I just don't love Jane Austen. I apologize. I would like to love Jane Austen. I feel like I should, but she and I just don't mesh. But, it's out of the drawer. I can honestly say I have read it. And I only have four classics to go for my 2010 goal. Any suggestions?

View all my reviews >>