Pageant!!

It's taken me a week to recover from the Cinderella State Pageant last weekend -- and I wasn't even the one competing. Although I WAS doing the hair and fingernails and toenails and outfit matching and yes, MORE hair.

It was fun and both Hannah and Lizzie did well and enjoyed themselves and made friends, so it was worth it. Oh, and Bob got to eat his way through a whole new resort, so he was happy, too!

Here's the recap (and I assure you this is the SHORT version!!):

We left Friday afternoon after the girls got home from Nature Club. It was about a 4-hour drive so we stopped for dinner at Burger King and made it to the Seven Springs Mountain Resort by about 9 p.m. Which would have been fine except once we got there I had to throw Lizzie into the shower, put curlers in her hair and do her nails.

So it was at least 11 p.m. before anyone got to sleep.

Then we had to get up at 7 a.m. to get ready for the pageant and have breakfast.

Lizzie was competing in a modeling competition, even though I begged her to do the talent competition. Lizzie dances and plays both piano and violin and I thought she'd do well in those categories, but you know Lizzie -- she wants to do what SHE wants to do.

Lizzie has never modeled before. Lizzie gets upset and worried when she thinks the WalMart checkout girl looks at her too long. Lizzie hates to fuss with her hair. Lizzie hates changing her clothes more than once a day. Lizzie wears a shirt and pants to the pool in case someone looks in our car during the 30-second ride.

So you can imagine how much fun she had getting ready for the pageant.

And you'd be right. I believe she broke her own personal record for blaming me for things when she told me it was bragging when I told her that her hair looked nice. She said I should just stop thinking about myself and how great I am at doing hair. That's my girl Lizzie.

The good news is that those of you who know her, know that she ENJOYS being a pessimist. So the opportunity to complain is one of her favorite things. And she took EVERY OPPORTUNITY!

However, her innate beauty and competitive spirit won out and despite her trying to do everything to the contrary, my little tomboy won third place in casual wear modeling and 1st place in photogenic. So there!!

:)

Here she is in casual wear:

And party wear:

Modeling party wear (they had these little taped runways they had to stay inside, but they could model however they wanted):

Lizzie and her medals (taken with my phone - sorry):

When it was all over she told me that her modeling career had come to an end. To which I said (to her), "Okay, if that's what you want." and (to myself) "Whew!"

And here's m y new favorite picture of Lizzie -- gorgeous, isn't she? And every bit as beautiful on the inside, too (even when she's complaining!) Oh and those are Grandma Jo's pearls, which they both insisted on wearing because they wanted Grandma to be with them. I told them both that she had a front row seat in heaven and would be cheering the loudest!

The next day was Hannah's big pageant. And let me tell you that girl loves to be on stage, loves to talk to people, loves to have her hair done, her nails painted and will sit for hours and talk to me about dresses and hairstyles and pageant songs. 

Here she is getting ready the night before (I had to do this again on Sunday night, too):

Hannah LOVED every single second of the pageant and that makes it extra fun for me, too. (Since as you know, I am not exactly a pageant person, favoring grey hair and leggings as I do...)

Sunday Hannah had to compete in interview (which is closed to spectators, but she told me it was fun and she wasn't nervous and I believed her) and then we had a break before talent. She wowed everyone with her song and I was crying by the second note. You'd think I'd stop crying because I've heard this song at least 14 million times, but she just nails it each time and I'm so proud of not only her talent but the work she puts in to make it better. She thinks that MAYBE she might want to take voice lessons, but only if MAYBE we might do riding lessons, too. (Both Hannah and Lizzie are negotiators -- luckily so far I am better at it...)

Here she is in her interview outfit. Is it just me or does she look about 22 in this picture?:

And here's a link to her talent presentation on youtube:

After talent, she modeled casual wear and then we had a long break until the Western-themed party that night. That was a real fun time for both Hannah and Lizzie who danced and laughed and drank enough soda to keep them up for the rest of the weekend!

Here are Lizzie and Rob getting ready to giddyup!

The next morning Hannah had to be back at the ballroom at 7:45 a.m. (ZZZZZZZZZZ!) to rehearse for the production number.Then she had to hurry up and get into her party dress for the final part of the judging to see if she made the top five girls.
Here's Hannah modeling her party wear (and yes, that's her first communion dress to which I added some appliques and she's also wearing Grandma Jo's pearls!)

YAY!!! She made the top five!!! One of the judges came over to me and told me how difficult a decision it was because there were so many wonderful contestants in this category, but that Hannah's abilities in both interview and talent put her in the top five:

Then she had to model and do talent all over again.

YAY!!! She was third runner up overall. Crowning was nerve wracking but Hannah was so happy to be in the top five that she didn't care what place she was. I love this picture of them all holding hands ... this pageant really does promote kindness and friendship. The winner is on the left, followed by 4th runner up, 1st runner up (a spectacular tap dancer who also won the talent-- she was extremely talented!), 3rd runner up (our Hannah Banana) and 2nd runner up:

Hannah getting her trophy:

Then there was a luncheon (although to be honest Hannah and I had a piece of pizza because it had been 7 a.m. when we had breakfast and seriously I don't think that pizza ever interferes with anyone's appetite!) It helped to pass the time before the luncheon, too.

At the luncheon we sat with Hannah's new friend Isabella. Isabella was at the same preliminary pageant and was named most photogenic girl. When Hannah saw her at states she was SO EXCITED!!! The two of them spent most of their time sitting together and chatting and it worked out that their numbers were next to each other so they even got to wait in line together. Isabella is a sweetie (as are her parents and brother) and I think there is a playdate in our future as they don't live that far from us!

Hannah and Isabella modeling party wear together:

Then it was time to name the category winners. Here they are waiting to see if they won anything else:

Isabella won 3rd (I think) in the beauty category and Hannah won 1st runner up for her talent and I was SOOOO proud!!! She was happy, too, although she had really wanted a crown. She said NEXT YEAR she'll get that crown!!!

Here are the happy winners and new friends:

Then it was time to come home. Here's Hannah and the two trophies she won (another phone photo, sorry):

Both girls fell asleep for part of the ride home (and I'm not going to tell you how short the ride was or how fast Bob was going....)
As you can see from this picture, I spent so much time getting Hannah ready on Monday morning, we sort of   forgot to even brush Lizzie's hair. Luckily that gave her something to complain about:

Oh, and speaking of Bob, it turns out HE came home with a crown....

Hannah's already choosing a new song for next year (we've all been singing "Tomorrow" in our sleep!)
She and Lizzie both want to thank everyone for their support and facebook messages. They loved reading them in between all the pageantry!!

Way Back Wednesday

Don't adjust your television sets, this is Way Back Wednesday and it actually still IS Wednesday!
Yay for me!!
So here is this week's picture:

I like this picture because it reminds me of a time in my life when everything was almost perfect. It was just Aunt Anonymous and I was a very snazzy dresser. In fact this is the last time I wore gloves until I made my First Holy Communion seven years later. Frankly it would have been perfect if it had just been me, but since A.A. is a year OLDER than I am, I didn't have much say in the matter. My guess is that this picture was taken on Easter in 1960, a few months before Terry was born, turning me from a lovely, spoiled youngest child into the confused, stuck-in-the-middle, middle child. :)

This picture was, according to the scribble on the back (and I do mean scribble -- Dad has the handwriting of a doctor) taken in N.Y., which I interpret to mean Massapequa Park where I spent my first couple of years, although it could have been at my grandmother's house, too. The woman in the photo is identified as 7u[or7? which I have interpreted as Audrey? but I don't really know who Audrey was. I thought at first it might be Alphy (my grndmother) because it does sort of look like her, but I am thinking that even if I can't exactly remember what my grandmother looked like in 1960 (being year old and all), my father probably did and he was he person who followed the name with a question mark on the back of the picture. In fact the only thing I remember about this picture is Aunt Anonymous' hat, which I preferred to my own -- and I did eventually get one of my own -- and the pocketbook which I believe was passed down through the Garrity ranks because I remember Beanie carrying it around, too. 

Way Back Wednesday

I didn't think this photo was way back at all until I noticed tat Shelby looks to be a bit after a year old ... which means this photo is at least 22 years old! And the kids ALL still look EXACTLY the same. Except for T.A. doesn't have a mustache anymore. Oh, and Shelby is taller.
This was taken in the living room of the house on Hilltop sometime in the late 1980s or maybe even 1990. Since there is no Christmas tree in this picture I know that it is not Christmas or Easter or any holiday in between (we usually tried to get the tree down by Easter) so I am going with Thanksgiving. Also, we are dressed for cooler weather, I am wearing my dress jeans and Beanie is wearing pearls so I'm sure it's some festive fall holiday.

Shelby was our side of the family's first grandchild and my mother waited a looooooong time for her although both Terry and the Anonymouses did provide us all with granddogs in the interim. And I donated at least one grandkitten to the cause. Terry also provided the second grandchild five years later. Then there was an even loooooooooonger wait. (Like almost a decade). Then there was a grandchild boom with Hannah, Lizzie and Tommy all born in 2002 and then Brenna was the caboose grandchild five years ago.

Way Back Wednesday

Is anyone else surprised that today is NOT Wednesday? This is what happens when the girls have a random Tuesday off from school. I spent most of yesterday thinking it was Monday, which means today is Tuesday, which means this photo is a day early, not a day late.
True?
Oh well, whatever day it really is .... here's the Way Back Wednesday photo:

This is one of only a handful of photos from our years in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. We moved there when I 2 and then moved away from there when I was 8. I don't remember a whole lot about Elk Grove, but I DO remember quite a few parties like this on the back patio. That's my dad, by the way -- looking very 1960s suburban, right? Handsome, too. And I'm going out on a limb and say that the dip in the foreground of the photo is my mother's famous Egg Dunk dip, made from mayo, ginger, hardboiled eggs and curry powder. In today's world it's the kind of dip you eat with vegetables, but back in the 1960s (and 70s, 80s, 90s) it was served with potato chips.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that there is probably some alcohol in those glasses, it being a day ending in the letter "y" and all. (Ha Ha.)

Here's a couple of things I remember about Elk Grove:

Aunt Anonymous sat in a chair that collapsed on the patio and bled all over the chair.

Terry got her finger caught in the back door of our house (I may have had something to do with that by it was a loooong time ago....) and bled all over the backseat of the car on the way to the emergency room

I once lost TWO teeth while eating the same sandwich cookie

There were actually Elk that you could go visit in a park somewhere. I think we went there one time.

The twins were born shortly before we left for New York -- but they still managed to get a write-up in the local newspaper. A write-up in which I was identified as "Tressy" because TRACY was such an unusual name for the 1960s (not.)

We had a million guppies and they all died of Ick. (A disease for fish, not a commentary on their fish tank or anything.)

There was an A&P a few blocks from our house and we regularly walked there to by candy with our friends (no parents).

We walked several miles to school each morning, back home for lunch, back to school after lunch and then home for the day. In the snow there were no phone poles to count so we were on our own.

I had a boyfriend named Ricky Stevens.

I had a best friend named Ann McNulty.

I used to watch Days of Our Lives with my mom and Mrs. Pauli next door, while they did their ironing.

I still watch Days of our Lives. But I don't iron.



Simple Woman's Daybook

For May 15, 2012

Outside my window... It's raining. And I'm stuck inside with two girls who had the day off and one dog who always has the day off and they are B.O.R.E.D. Every once in a while the sun comes out to tease us, but mostly it's raining.

I am thinking... that it's not allowed to rain this summer. Seriously. I am also thinking that I haven't done one of these recently.

I am thankful ... that Hannah's finally OUT of Everyday Math and actually LEARNING math now.

From the kitchen... Mom's Swedish meatballs, egg noodles and a vegetable to be named at a later day (in about 20 minutes when I look in the freezer.)

I am wearing... red shirt, brown capri pants, fake croc maryjanes that cost me $8 at Walmart and are extremely comfortable and good for walking in the rain.

I am creating... this year's installment of the Very Bored Princesses that we write and illustrate for the girls' teachers each year. This year's title is "The Very Bored Princesses and the Great Hamster Escape," which is sort of based on a true story.

I am going ... to finish setting up the basement as a craft/exercise/tv and sometimes spare bed room.

I am reading... I just finished "The Dry Grass of August" and I loved it right up to the very end, which I thought was very abrupt. In retrospect I can see why the author chose this ending-- I just wanted to spend more time with Jubie and her family.

I am hoping... that Hannah and Lizzie learn time and money  this summer. I've just about set up my summer learning program and it's ALL time and money (and a little reading -- but  that's mostly for me!)

I am hearing... Hannah complaining that she is SO SO SO BORED and the only thing that will take care of that is computer time and Lizzie trying to finish her math homework (what's 9x7??)

Around the house... yeah, things look about normal. Take that however you like!

One of my favorite things... my new android LG Optimus V phone. It's my first smart phone (although I've had several phones smarter than me!) and I've been enjoying playing Words with Friends, Hanging with Friends (reminder to Terry that it's YOUR turn) and Draw Something. Oh, and making calls is still fun, too.

A few plans for the week ahead... Work-wise things are pretty light, but we've still packed the week with homework, pageant practice (two weeks until the states!) dance, Nature Club, a passport office appointment and a Leader-Daughter event where there will be country line dancing.

Pictures I am sharing... I think Mother's Day is probably going to be bittersweet for the rest of my life, but I try to focus on the sweet. Which is why when I was told to pick my favorite place for lunch I just wanted a large cheese pizza in the park with my favorite people (Rob was there, too!)

Way Back Wednesday

This picture actually provides more questions than answers. Here's what I do know. It was taken in front of the house on Hilltop, probably right around 1969. And it was probably snapped following some occasion because that's really the only time we took pictures, although if this was taken following some occasion, how come no one is wearing a sailor suit?

Here are my other questions. I don't really know the date of the photo and, in fact, I don't even know the season. Why? Because I am wearing a Saratoga Springs tee shirt and pedal pushers and Aunt Anonymous (the smart one in the family) is wearing a turtleneck sweater and long pants, so it's probably on the cooler side. However, TA is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and long pants and Beanie is wearing a dress and no pants (ha, ha -- that dress is kind of short, no?)

I also don't know what hair products I was using at this time, but I wish I did because my hair looks GREAT. It's very curly and frizzy, so I have no idea why it looks so smooth and straight in this photo.

Also, we are down one child in this photo. Terry is missing. Is she at summer camp? Is she across the street at Nancy's house? Is she the one taking the picture? Who knows?

If any of you can shed light on these mysteries let me know. :) Otherwise I'll just say I chose this picture because my hair has never looked this good ever again in my whole life.

Way Back Wednesday

Well, it's Thursday evening so you know what that means ... time for Way Back Wednesday. To say this week has been incredibly busy would be an understatement. So the fact that you are reading this on Thursday and not  NEXT Wednesday is a credit to my extraordinary caring for my many fans... :)

So this is a bonus post that magically relates the past to the present.

First we have the Way Back photo ... this is Aunt Anonymous in (I believe) third grade at her viola recital in Illinois. The fact that I remember it so clearly (she played "Jolly Old St. Nicholas) is most like due to the fact that my ears were never the same after that concert.... I played the xylophone and the glockenspiel back in Illinois, but as far as I can recollect there are no photos of my first foray into music.

So now it's nearly 50 years later and I'm hearing those same squeaky strings, this time played by Lizzie. Lizzie plays the violin (and the piano) and she told me last night at dinner that she was the best violin player in the Junior Orchestra. Here's Lizzie getting ready to take her seat:

The spring concert was tonight and Lizzie (and her classmates in the third grade) performed for the first time as a group. And as a bonus, here's their first song -- "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."