The Lose for Good Challenge starts Sunday over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, are you ready???? I am!! And I'm reviewing a pair of Zoot Shorts over there this weekend, so stop on by! (PS. There's a giveaway involved!)
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Saturday
Get Ready!
Thursday
The Cirque-us
Last week we went to the circus. Not the real circus with tigers and elephants, but the other one with lots of people in tights and heights.
A little thing called Cirque du Soleil. You may have heard of it.
Of course I didn't know how to explain what Cirque du Soleil was to a certain three-year-old so I told him it was the circus with lots of gymnastics. Because he's in gymnastics (I suspect it's mostly for the girls...) and I thought it would help him aspire to do things like stand in line after his turn instead of running all over the gym after he's done trying out a cartwheel. You know, help him maybe want to focus. A girl can dream.
Anyway, this is the Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco version and I was lucky enough to get tickets through Mom Select . And I'm so glad I did because not only have I always wanted to go to a Cirque du Soleil of any type...
!!!!!!
But I have to admit I was scared. I googled the show and couldn't find anyone who had dared to take a three-year-old and an 18-month old to the show who had lived to tell about it afterward. And after 7pm. Yes, the show started at bedtime. Aye-aye-aye. But I really wanted us to all go.
So here's what happens when you take two toddlers to Cirque du Soleil after their bedtime.
First of all, people look at you kind of funny. I got all gussied up and so did the husband (he wore his good khakis) and the kids wore their little polo shirts. There were actually plenty of children ages three and up accompanying their parents. But it was also opening night, so there were lots of couples. Oodles of them.
I am pretty sure we broke the record with the Mini. He was definitely the youngest one there.
I did get some looks from mommies and non-mommies alike that said, "Are you freaking crazy?" Actually, the mommies were thinking that; the non-mommies were probably thinking that the 18-month old I had on my hip didn't go with the dress I was wearing. (Oh I'm kidding!) And all of their manfriends were oblivious by the way, stopping to make goo goo faces at him. That was kind of cute.So when we got in, we found our seats and the husband took Poops to the potty and to get popcorn. If all else fails, have snacks. That's my theory.
I happened to have a 100 calorie-pack of Oreos on hand because we were about 20 minutes early, which meant it was 7:10, which also meant it was 10 minutes after bedtime and 20 minutes before the show started. This 20 minutes was precious. It could make or break the whole show.
So then it was Mini and me - and he sat on my lap and we danced to the music pumping as people flooded into the arena, pausing only for more crackers. The time went quickly, the lights dimmed, the family was back together and the show went on. Success.
The show opened with a bunch of Cirque-ish clowns doing silly things, some of them to the people in the audience, then the dancing and flipping and juggling and swinging and the "Oooh!"-ing and the "Ahhh!"-ing began. And the kids were pretty entertained.
Mini eventually became very squirmy and wiggly but was kept at bay pretty nicely with his popcorn. Poops was entranced. An hour and a half in (yes, we made it a whole HOUR AND A HALF with no major incidents to report!), there was an intermission where there was ice cream and two very happy ice-cream eaters. But on the flip-side of intermission, things started to go downhill.
Mini began talking in his loud gibberish, and only to hear his own voice. Which would not have been a problem except that it was during the silent parts. And silence in Cirque usually means that there is some sort of death-defying act happening and, well, the acrobats were really trying to concentrate. People who are suspended from the ceiling usually want to be able to do this.
But they lived and the only people who seemed annoyed were the "date couples" around us. Sorry guys.
He did pipe down (I think that must've been the last gasp) and he was almost asleep. He started the eye-rolling and the nodding off. And I briefly thought, SWEET! We were going to be able to stay! Yay! But at this exact same point, it turned out that Poops was now laying down in his seat with his head on Daddy's lap. So we decided to let a good thing be a good thing. We decided to take off.
Overall, I'd say: take the three-year-old? YES! The 18 month old, nah. I'd spare him, if you could, but you know, it's not the end of the world if you take him. It's like baby roulette. It could work out and he'll fall asleep, or it could end badly. Really badly.
Cirque in general, I loved it. It was silly in parts, it had some over-the-kids'-heads' jokes, it had beauty, it had a tiny bit of scary (a monster-sounding voice) but that pretty quickly turned funny (to my relief), the music and singing was absolutely unbelievably beautiful and there was even a point where they played just two notes that was unmistakenly from "Billy Jean", a little moment for Michael Jackson because the news reports were just coming out about him. There was daring and amazing and stunning and breathtaking.
I loved it. (Can you tell?) Maybe an earlier time would have been better for the kid(s). But honestly, I judge "success" on whether or not there was tantrum-throwing-crying-wailing-hitting-or just overall embarrassment. So, no we didn't finish the show. But there was none of that other stuff, so I consider the trip a success! Besides, I had a great time with the family, Poops saw real gymnastics (and really is totally excited about going to classes now!) and we knew when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I think that part is key.
The show's moving out of Tampa next week, so find out when it's coming to you! It's a great show.
Tuesday
Bloggy Carnival Giveaway! A Review of Sorts
I have this thing about giving away my favorite things. It's not as fun for me to give things away just to give them away. When I love something so much, there is literally sheer joy involved in sharing it with people.
Like, for instance, the Bebe au Lait nursing cover. And lucky for me, there's a bloggy carnival going on! So I get to do a review-slash-giveaway combo platter!
So here's my two cents.I am very modest. With my first child, I would go out and run errands and flee home when it was time to nurse. I liked nothing about nursing in public or nursing in a hot car, especially in Florida where the heat is unimaginable sometimes, even with the A/C going. So all of my errands had to be done in tiny windows between feedings. It was a little ridiculous.
And maybe it was my modesty that forced me to banish myself into a ladies room to nurse in a chair alongside all those yucky potties when he wanted to eat before I could get home. Ew. I hated that too. Why do we feel like we have to do that? It's gross! I wouldn't go to McDonalds and order my burger and go sit in the bathroom and eat it. So why is that good enough for my child? Ew. Even a nice bathroom is still just that. A bathroom. I wish I had nursed longer for child #1, but it didn't work out that way. We made it just shy of 6 months.
So when child #2 came, I wanted to own nursing. I knew I wanted to try for a year (maybe more), and I knew I wanted to be able to nurse anywhere without feeling ashamed. But I still have that modesty problem.
And a blanket just didn't do it for me. It's Florida! A blanket is hot and stifling (for everyone involved) and besides, those wandering babyhands just rip it off anyway. So I saw these nursing covers on line at Bebe au Lait and thought, hey, they're onto something here!
I bought the one above, called "Chocolat". It was my favorite pattern, although now that I go back to their site, they have so many new cute patterns and I like them all!
All patterns aside, I can't even tell you how much of a love affair I have with the actual cover itself. It's given me the freedom as a modest mommy to nurse wherever, whenever, without feeling guilty or embarrassed or nervous that someone would say something to me.
The fabric is very thin and light weight. I have had it crumpled in my diaper bag and it still doesn't wrinkle. And my baby stays cool when he's under it. You just drape it around your neck; the neck strap is adjustable, and there is a thin strip of bone in the neck of the cover that bows the fabric away from you. This allows air to get in while also allowing you to be able to see your baby and your baby to see you. It's genius!
Plus, before I lost some of the babyweight, I was really conscious about those little (or not so little) extra rolls I had on my side when I sat down and nursed, but the cover is as wide as it is long (without being overwhelming) that it also covers your sides (at least mine, anyway!) when you pull your shirt up and nurse. It literally covers everything!
There is even a little terry cloth pocket on the inside where you can stuff a burp cloth or pacifier, or you can actually use as a burp cloth if you're in a fix (which I have done a few times).
And me, modest mom, has nursed (thanks to this cover) at the zoo (the cheetah exhibit), the mall, the park, the aquarium, the beach, pretty much everywhere public. No one even knows the baby is under there, except for the fact that his little babyfeet poke out. And people see his little babyfeet and they think it is just too cute. But there is no reason for anyone to feel embarrassed when I nurse. I feel like I am feeding my baby, not exposing my hoo-has to the world.
Child #2 is now almost 8 months old (where did the time go??) and we are still going strong because I can nurse anywhere and everywhere. I have just bought the same nursing cover for my sister who's due in October, and one of my dear friends also has one (she has "Hot Dots" pictured below).
I remember seeing her using it in her hospital room after the baby was born while some big burly maintenance men were fixing something on her bed and thinking how great it was that she could even nurse in front of big burly man-strangers without batting an eye!Here's the good part: I asked Bebe au Lait if I could give one of them away because I loved their product so much that I wanted to share it with the world and they said yes! So here are the rules:
-Head over to Bebe au Lait and look around and leave a comment here telling me which one is your fave.
-Comments close Friday, August 1, at 8pm. Contest open to bloggers and non-bloggers.
-I will announce the winner Friday night.
That's all! Good luck! Hope you like it as much as I do!! Thanks Bebe au Lait!
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