It's not what you've got, it's what you use that makes a difference. Zig Ziglar

I am so proud of Rachel. She danced so well to the 'Dancing queen' number at the beginning of the pageant. She could not have done any better in the evening gown, talent, swim wear or interview question portions of the pageant. Absolutely beautiful at all times.

Dancing Queen- During the dance number, the girls danced down through the audience, and onto the stage with the current royalty. To the ABBA hit of the same name. They were later joined by their 'little miss' on stage. Rachel's little miss - Riley a girl with down syndrome had her own style of dance. She stole the show.

That is her in the front. 

 Interview

Swim wear







And her Talent- A monologue from 'Greater Tuna'.


And the best of all! The evening wear

She won the interview portion which was held earlier that day. She won a small amount of money that we will probably put toward her education. Other than that, no awards went to my daughter and she could care less. She did it all for fun, she made new friends, had a wonderful experience and will be able to use many of the skills she has learned later on.
And now, next on the agenda! Finishing her play, graduation, and turning her mother into a sobbing mess at the thought of her youngest child growing up.

Evening wear

Thank goodness for a family that sews.
My mother worked in a sewing plant for 10+ years before returning to school when I, myself was in Jr high school. Piece rate work was tough but she was fast and made pretty good money. Easily sewing hundreds of pieces a day.

She taught my sister and I to sew long before we were old enough to take home ec. in school ourselves. I sewed an entire micro beach house closet full of fashion for Barbie and Ken. I sewed many of my own clothes and later sewed clothes and blankets for my own children.

Of my mothers four sisters,  three of them also worked in sewing plants. They are all great with a sewing machine. My mother is the oldest of the five girls. Three of the four of them still sew often. Elaborate Halloween costumes, darling summer capris, and darling outfits for the grand babies and great grand babies.

Luckily, My aunt Diane is recently retired. She was the one who created my wedding dress oh so many years ago...  And she was so sweet to help us out.

We purchased a pattern, some fabric and she created this fabulous dress for my daughters pageant.

Of course, I think my baby is gorgeous. And being a size 3 helps her a little. But Check her out!

The pageant is this Saturday and she has been working her tail off!

Up hours before school starts to practice for and rehearsals for an upcoming school play. A full day of senior year classes. Then two or three hours per evening of directing the rehearsals for her own profile project.

There have been obstacles for sure. Many who could not also handle the double performance/ rehearsal schedule have dropped from her cast. She has had conflicts with the schedule on the venue, and a friend standing in as her right hand man also dropped out.

But she is standing strong, she has not stressed about it. They will be holding a meeting today to see if they are able to still pull together a full cast and continue on. If not, she has plans in place to conduct a school talent show with the proceeds still submitted to her charity.

Wow! I could not be more proud. At eighteen I am not sure I would have the strength, initiative nor the willpower to pull of the play in the first place. But to rearrange and adapt so quickly and undeterred just amazes me.

The pageant will be held this Saturday. Just a mere four days from now.

Every weekend for her is filled with mock interviews, dance number practices, learning to walk like a pageant queen and practicing with her 'little miss'.

Each contestant was asked to find a small girl between the ages of four and ten who will be walking with her, and also performing in part of a dance number with her on stage. My daughter's little miss is a friend of her best friends, a petite four year old girl. Although she was born with down syndrome, she is one of the best performers in the show. She is so excited!

Every night this week my daughter has gone to bed early. She wakes up extra early to complete homework assignments then she is off for the day.

Through all of this (male readers who are squeamish may want to skip this bit) the stress has caused her period to get all out of whack. She has had a period on and off all through this crazy month.

Here is hoping that everything goes back to normal after this month.

I am hoping she wins the queen crown. She certainly deserves it for the effort if nothing else.

But no matter if she places or not, what a great experience and wow what an accomplishment!

Break a leg baby!--- well, you know what I mean.

Another fun giveaway

Because the job hunt and the wait on a particular job I have interviewed for twice and am still waiting to hear from is stressing me out, lets have some fun:


As a kid I watched the Hanna Barbara cartoons of Yogi and his friend Boo Boo. I laughed as they attempted to steal the picnic baskets.

I have not yet been able to catch the latest version but with names like Justin Timberlake, and Dan Aykroyd it has to be good right?

Want to win a DVD?

Just comment here below and tell me your own bear story. Ever meet one in Yellowstone? Have a favorite teddy bear? I would love to hear.

Me? A Pageant mother?

It is true.

No, I am not sending a toddler out onto the stage in full on makeup and adult dance moves prey to the child predators.

My youngest daughter who just turned eighteen much to the heartache of her mother, is running for Miss Strawberry days.

I admit, the thought of girls parading up and down the stage to be ogled by the audience is a bit unnerving. However the benefits of the program surpass any uneasiness.
For a single mother, a scholarship for a daughter is a big deal.

In addition to the pageant event, the girls are required to create a platform. Despite the confusing title, a platform is a chance for the girls to get creative and come up with their own activity which will get them motivated to service, and potentially help them to raise funds for a charity of their choice.
It is such a great project.
One girl will be tutoring illiterate children and adults.

My daughter, has taken on a huge challenge.
In the next month, just two months prior to her high school graduation, she will be directing, producing, and presenting a small community play. All proceeds to be offered to handicapped individuals, more specifically the Special Olympics.

She will be auditioning, directing and creating the set and stage for a cute little play that she herself wrote.

I was nervous. She has had history of procrastination, of leaving tasks incomplete. But so far, she has impressed me. The scripts are written, edited and copied. She has already made arrangements for the venue, the props and the costumes.
Auditions will be held tomorrow and then the practices will begin.

She is a beautiful girl, inside and out but I could not be more proud of her initiative and organization.

The most amazing thing is that this will all be concurrent with graduation, a drama club performance of 'Children of Eden' and all the other activities that fall into your last few months of high school.

And, unlike most pageants and children's productions and activities, it didn't cost us an arm and a leg in order to win a small scholarship.

I wish her luck in the pageant, of course I think she is the most beautiful, and talented of the bunch. But the benefits she gets from this go well beyond the scholarship money.
I could not be more proud.