Remember back when you first found out whether or not it was a boy or a girl? You probably immediately had visions of throwing footballs, going to baseball games and in-your-face-shouting-matches over the car keys (if it was a boy) or ballet recitals, two-for-one pedicures and in-your-face-shouting-matches over knee-length vs. barely-there (if it was a girl).
Me? Not so much. I was an English major in college, an unofficial minor in women's studies and bona fide grrrrrrila girl. When I found out my son was, in fact, a boy, my major hang up was how to make his room as neutral as I could, while still staying in the society-dictated (and daddy-to-be-preferred) blue palette. Enter shades of marine blue, pale blue and green, boats and birds. I stayed away from the football-emblazoned sleepers and wouldn't have bought a onesie that said "Daddy's Li'l Rookie" if you'd paid me to take it out of the store. Every once in a while as he got older I'd succumb to a shirt with a dump truck in his favorite color (orange) on it, but I made sure to balance that out with a pale heathered lavendar shirt that picked out "LOVE" on the front. (For the record: he looked beautiful in both.) Likewise no gender specific toys really, yet move the clock forward to his second birthday - the child knew cars, trucks, buses, boats, planes, trains and the occasional starfighter. Now, at almost 5, he plays Transformers and Star Wars with a furrow of concentration between his eyebrows and a huge grin. It must be in the genes.
So when it came time for baby #2 to make her gender known, I'd already somewhat given up my rigid stance, at least in my subconscious. And Daddy took the reins and ran with them. Her wall colors? Purple and purple. Her bedding set? Shades of purple with flowers and butterflies. Gone was the pretty green, ivory and light red dragonfly set I'd mentioned - this was a room for a tiny princess. Except that she wasn't a princess, dammit (I thought to myself). She was a little girl. MY little girl. A little girl who, as she grew, developed a penchant for talking, telephones, jewelry and all things sparkly, shiny and PINK. This is ironic because, in a conversation in the late-pregnancy days, I remember saying "She won't wear pink. I just won't buy it. She won't know any different. Khaki is good, and blue and green. It'll be fine." This is also ironic because I wear dresses on my anniversary, at weddings and funerals. That's about it. My daughter puts on a dress, looks down at herself, smiles, swishes her hips and says, "pretty!" And she is.
Today's purchases: Skechers Twinkletoes. Hot pink coat with pink and purple plaid lining. Pajamas with castles on them. Put them all together with a pearl bead necklace and suddenly, it's Princess, enter stage right.
Mama, exit stage left and head straight to the dressing room for your steaming plate of crow. Tastes like chicken.
And for the joy on her face, I'd eat every bit and ask for more.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
$1 Movies at Regal Cinemas Manassas
Having two children who were born in Woodbridge, I was a ginormous fan of AMC's Summer Movie Camp. What's not to love? You go the week before, you buy your tickets, you show up day of, no line, you buy popcorn, you sit down, you watch, you laugh, you leave. Excellent.
However, given that AMC decided to cancel their summer program for the 2011 season (sad!) and coupled with the fact that my family and I moved out to Bristow in the spring, I'm now in the market for a new dollar-kids-movie-on-the-weekday venue.
Enter Regal Cinemas Manassas. Remember all that stuff I said earlier about what's to love about AMC? Yep, after reading this you'll be missing it as much as I do - even if you'd never been to an AMC before in your life.
The past Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. The perfect day for the pool, except we were all a little tired of the pool. Great day, thought Mom, for a movie. Let's go see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
I drove up to the theater at 9:31 and was greeted by the sight of a line of parents, children, and (what I assume to be) various daycare and church groups snaking from the front doors halfway down the building. This did not bode well for my littlest, who at two is not fond of standing still in lines. As it got closer to 10:00, the line moved along and we bought our tickets right around 10:07 (yep, almost 10 minutes after the movie started, and we got there almost half an hour early). After having bought a kid's pack (small drink, small popcorn and bag of fruit snacks, $5.75) and taken a fast restroom break, we made our way into the theater, only to find...no available seats. Not one. Not even that lone, one-third-of-the-way-across-the-fourth-row-from-the-top no-mans-land seat.
Trekked out of the pitch black theater juggling a two year old, four year old and a tray of food, to find a manager. The one I found was having his ear chewed by another mother annoyed that it had taken so long to get through the line that she and her kids had missed the beginning of the movie (can't blame her for that, I was less than ecstatic myself). After she had her say, it was my turn. I suggested to the manager that they allow pre-show ticketing (his response: corporate does not allow this, nor are they allowed to open the doors any earlier than 30 minutes prior to showtime) and then asked what to do about the no-seat-in-our-movie situation. He informed me that theater 9 was showing the same movie and I should go there - please note: there was *no* signage to this effect anywhere.
Cue trekking to the other theater, which was pleasantly not crowded - perhaps because they were showing a movie with a younger target market (VeggieTales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything). Luckily I hadn't mentioned that we were supposed to be seeing "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"!
The trip after that was fine. The movie quality was great, the patrons were great, my kids were well-behaved and enthralled by the antics of the VeggieTales crew, and my stress level went down considerably.
So.
Pros: Inexpensive for tickets (can't beat $1 a seat). Movie quality excellent.
Cons: You may not get to see the movie you originally planned on seeing. You may have to stand in line a good long while for tickets (or if -as I do - you have a small, impatient child, partner up and get one partner to stand in line while the other amuses the kids elsewhere until showtime). You may need (or choose) to forgo concession in favor of a seat. (And that's another thing - it's not like you can leave your kids in the theater - if they're small - to go get food, and if you get up to grab some popcorn you'll lose your seat! But I digress.) Pee fast.
Overall review: OK. I love movies, and even though it was a lot of hassle and stress, my kids loved it.
However, given that AMC decided to cancel their summer program for the 2011 season (sad!) and coupled with the fact that my family and I moved out to Bristow in the spring, I'm now in the market for a new dollar-kids-movie-on-the-weekday venue.
Enter Regal Cinemas Manassas. Remember all that stuff I said earlier about what's to love about AMC? Yep, after reading this you'll be missing it as much as I do - even if you'd never been to an AMC before in your life.
The past Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. The perfect day for the pool, except we were all a little tired of the pool. Great day, thought Mom, for a movie. Let's go see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
I drove up to the theater at 9:31 and was greeted by the sight of a line of parents, children, and (what I assume to be) various daycare and church groups snaking from the front doors halfway down the building. This did not bode well for my littlest, who at two is not fond of standing still in lines. As it got closer to 10:00, the line moved along and we bought our tickets right around 10:07 (yep, almost 10 minutes after the movie started, and we got there almost half an hour early). After having bought a kid's pack (small drink, small popcorn and bag of fruit snacks, $5.75) and taken a fast restroom break, we made our way into the theater, only to find...no available seats. Not one. Not even that lone, one-third-of-the-way-across-the-fourth-row-from-the-top no-mans-land seat.
Trekked out of the pitch black theater juggling a two year old, four year old and a tray of food, to find a manager. The one I found was having his ear chewed by another mother annoyed that it had taken so long to get through the line that she and her kids had missed the beginning of the movie (can't blame her for that, I was less than ecstatic myself). After she had her say, it was my turn. I suggested to the manager that they allow pre-show ticketing (his response: corporate does not allow this, nor are they allowed to open the doors any earlier than 30 minutes prior to showtime) and then asked what to do about the no-seat-in-our-movie situation. He informed me that theater 9 was showing the same movie and I should go there - please note: there was *no* signage to this effect anywhere.
Cue trekking to the other theater, which was pleasantly not crowded - perhaps because they were showing a movie with a younger target market (VeggieTales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything). Luckily I hadn't mentioned that we were supposed to be seeing "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"!
The trip after that was fine. The movie quality was great, the patrons were great, my kids were well-behaved and enthralled by the antics of the VeggieTales crew, and my stress level went down considerably.
So.
Pros: Inexpensive for tickets (can't beat $1 a seat). Movie quality excellent.
Cons: You may not get to see the movie you originally planned on seeing. You may have to stand in line a good long while for tickets (or if -as I do - you have a small, impatient child, partner up and get one partner to stand in line while the other amuses the kids elsewhere until showtime). You may need (or choose) to forgo concession in favor of a seat. (And that's another thing - it's not like you can leave your kids in the theater - if they're small - to go get food, and if you get up to grab some popcorn you'll lose your seat! But I digress.) Pee fast.
Overall review: OK. I love movies, and even though it was a lot of hassle and stress, my kids loved it.
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