Saturday, August 10, 2013

Miss Blue's National American Miss Experience

Watch the newest Teh Dollhouse Girls video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WN6Rm9OEpM&feature=youtu.be
We talk about the pageant and show clips.
Don't forget to come back and read the post.
It is jammed pack full of photos and proud moments.

National American Miss has changed Miss Blue's life.
She started NAM weekend a shy nervous young lady.
After her big pageant weekend , she came home glowing
with confidence and pride.

Lets start from the beginning though.
Miss Blue was chosen as a NAM state finalist.

This was very exciting.
We started practicing right away.
What I really liked about NAM
was the amount of time she had to practice.
It wasn't the typical pageant where
you walk in and pay then just get up on stage.
This was months of preparation,
and a lot of paperwork.
It seemed every month a new 
packet from NAM would arrive.
There was a total of 4 magazines.
All giving the girls info and tips to 
do their best and help them be prepared.

The months flew right by and next thing
we knew it was time to pack up and head out.
Miss Blue was excited and a bit nervous.
We pre registered the night before since we had 
to drive about a hour to get to the pageant.
We didn't want to be rushing the next morning.
We walked into a huge area.
NAM signs all over the place.
Tables were lined up all along the wall.
Each was a stop to hand in certain paperwork.
Also if you had any remaining balances they 
were paid then as well.
Miss Blue got her contestant number 104.
Handed in her art contest entry.
They had to fill in the four boxes with their favorite things.
She decided to paint a sunset,
draw some berries,
made a flower collage out of her drawings.
Then her last idea was a family portrait.
(if you notice the boys have video games in their hands, 
and the girls have cupcakes.)

She got her casual wear ribbon.
Turn in her donations (10% of her score)
The program book was really nice.
She was in Pre-Teen Div.1
104
 I took her schedule and circled the ones she needed
to be dressed and ready for.

It was so organize and went so smooth and quickly.
I got such a positive vibe throughout the hall.
There was nothing but smiling faces all over.
Miss Blue did the extra 
$25 workshop that also included 
a ice breaker pajama party.
The workshop got the girls on stage 
practicing their walks and turns.
Also got them on the mic practicing their
personal introduction.

After the workshop we changed into our pajamas. 
That is right we all were rocking our pajamas.
We may have been the only parents wearing them,
but it was all in good fun.
Miss Blue was a little nervous at first.
Once she got on that stage with all 
the girls she didn't stop dancing till 
the party was over.

She left that party with the biggest smile 
on her little face.

Next morning we arrived just as orientation was starting.
All the staff was introduced.
The ballroom was packed.
Once the orientation was over
it was casual wear time.
We had a roller suitcase full of everything
we needed, every outfit change was easy peasy.
All her shoes, curling wand, and pantyhose.
Also a pair of comfy clothes for her to change into
during breaks through out the day.
My little lunch box had accessories,
 hair ties, comb and her jewelry.
I even brought thread, needle and beads incase I had 
to do an emergency sew.
It is always better to over pack,
then forget something you needed.

We rolled our suitcase back to the dressing area.
It was very nice, big, and 
had a big NO BOYS sign at the door way.
Miss Blue really got a kick out of that.
She looked so darling in her 
Moxie Couture dress!
She totally rocked her casual wear on stage!
The lady behind us tapped me on the 
shoulder and said "she did perfect"!
I must say I agree she really did  do perfect.

After casual wear was personal introduction.
It was time to put on her business attire,
and snap a few pics!


She practiced her speech a lot.
I must say though she nailed it.
She had sass and great eye contact with the judges.
Her left hand stayed on her side and she held the
mic with one hand like she was suppose to.
We are so proud of her!
Miss Blue also received a ad trophy.
Which totally made her day!
Miss Blue energy was high and confidence 
was growing by the minute.
Before formal wear they had a practice
to show all the dads the proper formal walk.
Then it was the time Miss Blue was 
waiting for all day,
formal wear with daddy!
We went to the dressing room.
I quickly curled her hair and put her gown on her.
She looked stunning.
Daddy was all dressed up too.

Miss Blue was graceful and had great eye contact
with the judges again.
She did not look nervous but extremely confident.
I was teary eyed watching her.
We were blown away with how good she did.
Day one of pageant was over.
Headed back to nana's,
for a good nights sleep.

Saturday when she woke up,
she got 3 Mommy and Daddy prizes.
That was the deal I made with her.
If she did good she would get a prize for each category.
Well day one she did amazing and earned all 3.

Pardon the sleepy eyes she had just woke up.

Day 2 of pageant started with interview.
We practiced questions all the way to the hotel.
I was confident that she was going to do good.
Only thing that might hurt her a bit
would be her speech.
I just wanted her to do her best and sit with confidence.
She walked in the interview room standing
tall and a big smile on her face.
While we were waiting Steve Hayes
gave the parents a great pep talk.
Made the time fly right by.
Soon the girls entered back in the room.
We all cheered for them, letting them know
how proud we were of them!

After a short break they had production 
number practice with all the girls.
Another fun thing that all the girls were doing
was signing eachother program books.
This was great because it got Miss Blue
going up to the other girls.
Soon she had made a few friends.
It was adorable watching her breaking
out of her shy shell.

The day before Nana had snuck to the
NAM boutique and bought Miss Blue 
a crown and sash.
I thought that was a perfect idea,
she had definitely earned it.
We went back to Nana's cause we 
had a 3 hour break.
She got her last Mommy and Daddy prize.
And we also crowned her!
She did such a wonderful job,
gave it her all and rocked so hard.
We wanted to let her know how proud we
were of her and all her accomplishments.
This pageant was never about winning.
It was about Miss Blue proving to herself
that she can do anything,
having fun and doing her best!
The crown and sash really did make
her smile, it was a special moment.
We headed back to the hotel,
it was finale time, energy was high.
Miss Blue got in her production number outfit.
We were asked to leave the girls in the 
dressing room so they could get lined up.
I joined Nana, Papa, Mighty M and Daddy in the crowd.
The girls came out and did their dance.
It was really cute and all the girls did
a really great job. I mean they just learned the dance
a few hours ago.
After production number is was time to 
run back to the dressing room.
It was time to get Miss Blue ready
for her finale formal walk.
This walk would be the last time the judges saw her.
They went through the formal walk,
in the dance practice.
Showed the girls which way to walk.
That is another thing I like about NAM.
Everything is explained, you know
how they want you to walk, what time
you need to be there, and what you should be wearing.
I think that is what made it so stress free too.
Everything was laid out for you.
Miss Blue looked stunning once again.
She followed the yellow tape road perfectly,
had really good eye contacts and a pretty smile.
It was now crowning time.
All the girls came back out on the stage.
It was full of young ladies in sparkly gowns.
I just watched Miss Blue, glowing on stage.
Crowning brought back the 
reality of it all.
This wasn't just a fun weekend,
it was a competition.
We were having so much fun 
that at times we forgot all about that.
They gave out all the awards.
Then pick the top 15 girls.
Everyone else is asked to leave the stage.
The top 5 are crowned and then it is all over.

Miss Blue impressed us all weekend.
We knew she was going to get up there and do it.
But we were so pleasantly surprised when
she did everything so perfect.
Her walk was graceful and slow.
She looked at the judges and was smiling
the whole time she was in the spotlight.
Throughout the weekend people kept
coming up to Miss Blue saying how cute she was,
what a great job she did, and everyone 
was loving her gown.

After crowning a lot of girls were crying.
We even saw a few moms crying.
Miss Blue was smiling!
Which made us even more proud of her.
She had a A+ attitude!
Miss Blue walked away from NAM
with a great memory and 
a confidence boost that will last a lifetime.
Seeing we all believe in her and support her.
Knowing she can do anything she wants to in life.

As our pageant tradition we went out
to a celebration dinner, it was also 
Papas birthday!
We had reason to celebrate!

I was headed to the pageant feeling robbed.
To participate is $480 (Personal Intro, Formal, Interview)
The production number outfit is $40
NAM t-shirt
Pair of NAM socks
Pink hair bow

Casual wear is $50
Extra workshop $25
Ad $60
That is almost $700
 There was a lot of other things she could have entered.
Talent
Actress
Top Model
Photogenic
those would have all been a extra $50 each.
We chose not to though, didn't want to over load her.
So even though this weekend did cost a lot of money.
 Miss Blue walks away with something
that is priceless!
And honestly I don't have one
bad thing to say about the whole NAM experience.
It was a great family weekend,
even the boys enjoyed themselves.
Everyday I see her coming out
of her shell more and more.
All thanks to the NAM experience!
It was the best weekend of her life,
so far of course.

Will she do it again next year?
It is up to her....
I know she tells me everyday 
how much fun she had.
She lights up when she talks about it.

Would I recommend NAM?
Yes!
It is a very well put together program.
Everything is organized and stress free.
Don't go with winning in mind.
Go with the goal of building your
daughters confidence and
having a good time.
It is a whole production much more
then just a pageant.
It is a weekend pumped full of 
POSITIVITY!
A memory that will last forever.
And as silly as it sounds 
LIFE CHANGING!

Miss Blue is not the shy little girl she 
was when she walked through those doors.
Miss Blue is also dying to get
back on the stage.
Before school starts
she is going to do a 
Back to School pageant.
It is so much fun watching her,
you can tell she loves being on stage.
Miss Blue has always been so amazing
and special to me.
Now it is time for the world to see that!
I love that she is not afraid to get up 
there and rock it!
At her age I was so scared of everything.
Not Blue she is overcoming fear after fear.
We are so incredibly proud of her!

GO TEAM BLUE!!!!!!
A big THANK YOU to 
all my friends and family
that supported and helped sponsor Miss Blue.
Papa Homer
Nana and Papa
Mykill 
Kimmie
Miss Fernald
Shannon
Melanie
It meant the world to her 
knowing she had your support!

I finish typing this with a big
smile on my face.
The future looks bright for Miss Blue!

We have been gone for over a month.
Sorry for that it is summer vacation
and I have just been enjoying the kiddies.
Miss Blue promised me that
we will do a few more shows before school starts.
With her new found confidence I am sure 
they will be great and full of 
Monster High goodies!