Or at least the first draft. I hope I make it to the second.
Little Miss SC Pageant 2009
I’ll go ahead and end the suspense and say that Lexi didn’t place in the competition Saturday. But that isn’t to say we didn’t have a great weekend.
Friday we headed up there late afternoon. I realized on the way down that I booked the hotel in the wrong city. Go me! I was lucky to take the last room in the second hotel they recommended. The kids were beyond excited about the hotel. Lexi declared it “the best day ever”. We were soon off to the pool party at a hotel just a few blocks over. It was held in Hartsville, SC and let’s just say the highlight of the town seemed to be The Walgreens and The Sonic. I do have the say the downtown area was very quaint and nice. So no complaints there.
The kids had a fantastic time at the pool party. Both of them were having a great time jumping in and swimming. The pool was full of little ones so it was a little bit of controlled chaos. They also served little cups of ice cream and gave out bubbles. Lexi once again declared it “the best day ever”.
We stayed for the scheduled hour and then went to The Walgreens and picked up some snacks and a curling iron. I’ve never been able to get Lexi’s hair to curl but hadn’t tried since she cut it. We were all happy to see it was going to work. Lexi practiced her poses (that she came up with on her own) in the hotel room and we all went to bed excited for the pageant.
I, however, got a fever and could not sleep. I seriously think I laid in bed for three hours without sleeping a wink. It was hard getting up the next morning. But the kids were excited. We went downstairs and ate waffles and I think Lexi might have declared it “the best day ever” again.
But sometime mid-morning Lexi decided she was no longer excited about the pageant. She was scared, she didn’t want to do it and she hated the outfits I had brought her to wear to the rehearsals. That’s when I started to worry a bit.
We made it to rehearsals with her hair and makeup done. Her hair was cute but not like some of the girls who had updo’s by professionals that morning. We practiced on stage and Lexi barely made it out from behind my leg. She was nervous to say the least. She told me on the way back to the dressing room she was scared of all those people. I can’t blame her really. I knew we were a little out of our league when I saw some of the girls practice. These girls were trained to be in pageants. Hands out, leg kicked out and a plethora of kisses and waves and I was just hoping Lexi wouldn’t hide behind my leg.
Lexi seemed excited though after getting her dress on. Several of the girls commented on her dress and she heard one of them say she wished she had her dress. I think that gave a little bit of confidence to her. She was excited waiting backstage and kept asking when it was her turn. She didn’t seem scared at all.
We had three X marks to stand on, the 2nd at the end of a red carpet with lights. At the first, she did great and smiled, waved and I think blew a kiss. But on the way to the red carpet I could feel I was having to drag her a bit and looked down to find she was walking on her heels! Lexi don’t walk like that! She walked the rest of the red carpet and I honestly don’t remember what she did. I think she may have waved and I got her to do a quick turn. I do remember she hid behind my leg a bit before I started pulling her to the last mark. There I think she just looked at the crowd and then walked off stage a little bit before the announcer said her name.
Walking off stage, I knew it wasn’t enough to have won. I was just glad to have it over with though. She didn’ t cry and she didn’t make me hold her. Definitely wasn’t worse case. And she really did look gorgeous. I kind of hoped she may have placed something just because she was so cute.
We were shuffled on stage two more times and the awards were given out. Each girl got a participation trophy but Lexi didn’t get anything else. They gave out Sweetheart awards and photo awards but we didn’t even enter those competitions. I felt really bad when Lexi kept asking where her crown was. But really, those crown were simply bought by money that the parents raised. Minimum $250. The photo awards were $150 just to enter. I’m sorry, but first we know that Lexi is not one to take pictures and second, I’m just not spending that much after spending hundreds just to get her in the pageant. Do you know how many toys I could buy Lexi instead? Yeah, the $20 I bought her afterwards made her more happy.
I have to admit it was hard not to place. I knew Lexi was one of the prettiest girls out there and if you think it’s just about beauty, you’d be dead wrong. The prettiest ones didn’t win. The girls that won are the ones that were trained. They knew where to go, how to stand and they LOVED being in front of the crowd. It was all about confidence and personality. Not to say Lexi doesn’t have it. She just didn’t have it on stage. And we’re totally ok with that. Neither Scott nor I nor Lexi for that matter want to do another pageant. We’re not sore losers, we just know it’s not her thing. And that’s ok. She’ll be our dramatic, funny, beautiful Lexi just for us.
Here are pictures. Unfortunately the pageant doesn’t let you take any while the pageant is going on so we just have a few from before and after.
Busy Weekend
Today and tomorrow I think will be nothing less than insane.
Scott is on his way home from the missions trip as we speak.
Our pool liner is going in.
I’m listening in on a training call for work.
I need to drive up to work after the call to hand off the pager.
This afternoon we leave for Lexi’s pageant that is about 2 hours away.
I’m not packed yet.
Tonight is the ice cream and pool party at the hotel.
Tomorrow at 12 we have to be at the pageant to register.
1:30 the pageant begins.
I don’t want to wish the time away but I also would like my brain to slow down.
Sunset
I’ve had a thing for sunsets lately. This evening didn’t disappoint.
Daily Peek: Summer
This is pretty much how my girls have spent the summer so far. Gathering as much as they can, including food, in some other room besides their playroom and pretending. Usually the word “boyfriend” comes up.
Aggravated
Emma and Lexi were playing outside. Lexi stomps in my office where I was sitting, slams the door and then stands at their art table with her arms crossed.
Lexi: She’s aggravating me!
Me: Are you guys playing or is she really aggravating you?
Lexi: Emma is real life aggravating me!
Day 30 of Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred
I did it! Technically I’m 32 days in but I skipped 2 days. Overall, I’m giving this video a big thumbs up. Was it fun? No. Was it hard? Yes. Did I want to skip it every day? Yes. Did I want to punch Jillian in the face? Yes. But do I feel great after 30 days? You bet.
And more than that, I have some results.
Weight
Overall, I only lost 2 lbs. I know, some of you can poop and get rid of that but I tend to sit in between two clothing sizes and just a few pounds makes a difference on whether I can zip a pair of pants or not. So yes, 2 lbs means a lot to me. However, I really wanted another 3lbs. The DVD says 20lbs in a month which is ridiculous to promise with so many body types.
Size
I have no idea on my measurements. I didn’t take them. But I can tell a difference in my size in only one place. My abs. If I squeeze real tight and lean the right way, I have what appears to be the start of a six pack. I’m not plastering a picture of my abs on here but click here if you’d like to see some real-life results. I couldn’t produce any of those “indentions” 30 days ago.
Strength
With every level and even within every level I saw improvements. Day 1, I didn’t even use weights for any of the arm exercises. I could barely pass on push ups and now I can do the traveling push ups (still on my knees) way past what she makes you do on Level 3. I was doing what could barely pass as lunges but can now do the jump lunges in Level 3. I can feel more strength in my thighs and actually can feel where my abs are engaging to make the process easier. Same for those push ups. Who knew you used your abs for push ups?? So basically, yeah, I’m stronger.
Endurance
Day 1, I was huffing and puffing right into the 20 minutes. I remember Heather walking in at the end of the exercise and said “BREATHE!” The workout is still, well, working me out, but the cardio doesn’t wear me out like it was.
Flexibility
I’m amazed at how you can be flexible, quit working out for a year and your body completely forgets what it was doing. Day 1 I could barely touch my toes during the stretches. Now, I can lay my head down on my knee to stretch. That’s about the only way I know how to describe how much more flexible I am. I wouldn’t say I’m a flexible person in the least but I CAN say I’m MORE flexible.
What I liked about the workout:
My favorite part was it was 20 minutes. That seriously is the only thing that kept me going for 30 days. I found that about an hour after dinner was the best time for me to work out.
I liked the workout was pretty flexible. You were allowed to move up to the new level when you wanted and they offered the easy version for many of the exercises. I found that I was sticking with the easy exercises for several days. And I’m actually still on the easy exercises for a few in Level 3. I’m very interested to go back to Level 1 and 2 to see if I can do everything at the max.
I liked that there was no fancy equipment. I ended up doing the last two weeks of the video in my room that has carpet so all I needed was my weights.
What I didn’t like
What can I say? Besides the payoff, working out isn’t much fun. I’d be ok if I never heard Jillian say “hit the deck” again. And I thought she might make out with “her girl Nat” she kept praising her so much which became annoying. But really I don’t have any major issues with the video.
What’s Next
I think I’ll continue with the video. Like I said, I’d like to go back to Level 1 and 2 and maybe keep up with “her girl Nat” the whole time. Maybe I’ll alternate the levels every day.
Overall, I’m pleased and will be recommending it!
Weekly Peek
A few things going on in the Bennett Household this week.
- Scott is on a missions trip with our youth group in Georgia. Sounds like they are having a good time.
- Meanwhile, I’m dealing with the first week of summer break with the girls by myself. They did really well playing together today only driving me crazy by how much they wanted to eat. Oh my word.
- The pool liner installation got postponed until today because the rain backed everything up last week. Then the guys that came today thought it wasn’t leveled enough/was too rusted to put the liner in. Their boss came and said they could do it so they’re coming Thursday. It’s either risk it or pay at least 3K for a new pool. I’m willing to take the risk.
- Lexi’s pageant is this weekend. We have everything but her shoes which we might venture out tomorrow night to find some that she doesn’t complain about.
- I’m working on the last big scene for my book. It seems to be coming very slowly and painfully. Pretty much like the rest.
Other than that, I’m pretty much in survival mode trying to get my work done during the day, the kids sane, entertained and fed, the house in some sort of order and a little bit of me time at the end of the night.