Big Bad "P" Word....Pageant

As mentioned in a previous entry, I had signed Snow White up for ....dun, dun, dun, dunnnn...a PAGEANT...an Easter pageant. You would be surprised to find out there were many things that need to be taken care of in preparation. Yes, you heard me correctly, I said the big bad "P" word. This is what was required just to get ready in advance.

You need an outfit for each stage event - Beauty, Casualwear and Easter wear. Her beauty dress was a cotton dress from Lord & Taylor and a beautiful shade of blue. She looked adorable in it! Her casual outfit was a blue and tan paisley swing top she loves, khaki peddle pushers and a cute pair of blue sandals. That was the easy part.

Next I searched the Internet for a Little Bo Peep costume and you would not believe how many sexy adult costumes came up! Ewww so not what I was looking for. I thought "Oh come on!" Why would searching for a child's fairytail outfit bring out all the sexy adult costumes links?



All I need is a little girls costume! Little girl Bo Peep costumes seem to be very rare! Eventually...I did find the perfect little girl outfit!

When I receiving the outfit in the mail it was beautiful! You know how it goes sometimes when you purchase an item through the mail. There are times it really does not look as well as it did in the advertizement. I was thrilled with the outfit when I unwrapped it! Well, except for the hat. The hat was not what the bonnet style I had envisioned from past story books and paintings. The hat was more Little Miss Muffit style so I searched costume shops and on line but could not find a Little Bo Peep bonnet. I was very surprised that this "country town" we moved to did not even have the cute little girly Easter hats in any of the stores. Macey's of all stores in this town, did not carry them this Easter season! Instead I found many pastel colored cowgirl hats. Some even had tiaras attached. My non-make-up-wearing-no-frills-but-breathtaking-sister was also surprised at the sheer lack of Easter bonnets.




Everyone knows Little Bo Peep needs a shepherds staff. I looked all over for this as well and almost decided on a regular cane. I typed in searches for Bo Peep walking stick, and staff but nothing came up until a week before the pageant. In one of my searches I found a shop on eBay that makes walking staffs, just what we needed! I thought it was a bit too tall for Snow White but I planned on cutting at least a foot off the bottom. ManSon convinced me it was the perfect height from the photos he had seen. We did a google search and sure enough each of the photos showed Bo Peeps Staff was about a foot or so taller than herself. Snow White and I painted the shepherds staff white.

Little Bo Peep also needed sheep and since spring had arrived (by the calendar) and Easter almost here you would think it would be easy to find at least one sheep. We searched every local toy store, department store and even pharmacy and grocery stores but could not find one single sheep. I gave up looking about 4 days before the pageant. I found only a few on eBay and purchased two lawn sheep and paid extra for overnight delivery. The auction did not end until two days before we were leaving for the pageant and the seller needed to wait until the next day before the post office would open.



FINAL COUNT DOWN

Just days before the pageant I gave up finding the perfect hat and thought of making one myself. I searched to no avail for a pattern to make the bonnet. I also searched for a form but did not find anything similar enough. Thursday evening, the night before we were to leave, I found a broad brim ladies hat that was flexible enough to bend to the shape needed. I rolled up the back of the brim and sewed it down. I also sewed some flowers and eyelet lace at the front and back of the hat as well as added the blue ribbon for the front bow. I used the same blue ribbon for a bow on the shepherds staff.

The night before we left for the pageant I thought we were ready. I looked over the paper work and saw there was one more thing I needed to take care of... photos for the Photogenic category.

I dressed her up in different outfits and took pictures of her in the back yard and front yard. She loved trying on the clothes and being a little model. Unfortunately our photo session was cut short by Pup escaping out the front door when we went inside for an outfit change. We chased Pup for a block before he encountered a few big dogs behind a fence. That was enough to stop Pup in his tracks and cry for Mommy! By the time we were back at the house it was dark but Snow White wanted to try one more outfit on so I took those pictures in the dark. Don't forget we moved out to the "country" so there are no street lights. Anyway, the photos were sent to be printed and picked up the next day when we were on our way to the pageant.







The night before I went to Walmart (nothing else open at this time) for a few odds and ends. What do you think I found! I actaully came across a display of very cute, cuddly, giant stuffed sheep! I bought one thinking it would be "just in case" the other sheep did not arrive in the mail by tomorrow afternoon.

I packed up as much as I could Thursday night but I was still working on the hat. Due to normal Mommy duties, making sure we had everything and the hat issue, I was up until about midnight. I went to work the next day and came home at lunch time to pack up the car. The mailman had come and gone without the ordered sheep. Ok, we will arrive Friday night, the pageant is Saturday all day and we check out Sunday morning. Why on earth does it take two large suit cases to bring everything we need? After work there is still no sign of the ordered sheep. I picked up the girls and we were on our way. ManSon decided he did not want to go and would rather spend his time with his friends. Since he decided to stay home we left Pup in his care.

To be continued....