OK, so it wasn't so bad.

I lived through Disney Live, and so did the rest of my clan.

Let me start my story by saying that I've really been lacking in the sleep department for the last several days, and not by choice. It's just happenstance and a crazy work schedule that have been denying me dreamy bliss. So, on Thursday night, the night before the show I had to work 3rd shift. This was the 2nd day in a row I had to work and I was running on about 1.5 hours of sleep for the 2 day period. Adam had worked out a deal with our awesome, awesome neighbors who said they would watch Blake for a few hours so I could catch some zzz's. They came and got him around 8am and I slept until about noon. I got up, got Blake and made him some lunch. I hopped on the computer to check email and things got quiet out in the living room. I peeked in on Blake who was sound asleep on the couch. Whoohoo! Another nap for me! I jumped at that opportunity to get back under the covers, even if for an hour or 2. I woke up at 3:30 as Emily was coming in the bedroom, just home from school. She said Blake was awake and watching cartoons quietly. I let Em play on the computer for a bit while I caught "just a few more" zzz's. I woke up at 4:45. OMG! I said, we have to get going! The show started at 6:30 and I had promised the kids McDonald's before the show. I put the kids in their new tshirts my sis and BIL had gotten them from Disneyland a few days before and we headed off. After we ate and were on our way to the show I was bummed and so were the kids when we realized we forgot their Mickey Mouse ears at home. My sister got them each ears from Disneyland and had their names embroidered on the back. Blake's is a Pirate Mickey version. There's a scarf around the "head" and a big gold earring in the ear. Emily's is an old school Minnie Mouse one. The kind when Minnie used to wear that little yellow hat with the daisy coming strait out of it. You know, when Minnie and Mickey used to have white faces and pac-man eyes? Yeah, now you get it. But I guess it's ok that we forgot them because it would have been just one more thing for us to deal with. Also, I forgot the camera. Dang it!

Our seats were great. I didn't buy floor seats because I think its ridiculous to pay that much for something so...childish, I guess. The people who buy seats on the floor for these types of shows:

A) must not have anything better to spend their money on since they are literally paying more than twice what I paid.
B) all seem to have pretty little kids, like 3 and under
C) are stupid because they don't even think or realize that their little 2 year old cannot see over the heads of the 20 people in front of him because the seats are ON THE FLOOR. They aren't staggered and tiered like the lower or even upper bowl seats. You can't see the stage on the floor unless you are in the front row. Seriously, don't parents think of these things???

*Steps down off soapbox*

I set rules on the way to the show. First of all, everyone was going to go potty when we got there. Secondly, we were not going to buy a bunch of souvenir crap especially when they got the real thing brought back from Disneyland and also because they are waaaaaay overpriced at these stupid shows. I said we might buy something small and then maybe something to drink to share.

We pulled into the parking lot of the arena and the lot was fairly empty, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to leave so early. I said, "Hey kids, we're gonna get a great parking spot." I paid the attendant and he said to take the first left into the lot. Sweet! Well we kept driving, and driving and driving down this aisle. The attendant finally pointed me into the second spot from the end. What? I was one of the first ones here and now the losers behind me are going to get to park closer because they get to go into the next aisle. I don't think so. So I sat there until the "attendants who point" headed back up the next aisle to direct more cars. I then backed out of my spot, headed 2 aisles over and parked in the 3rd spot from the front without even being noticed. It was also directly in front of the main sidewalk so we wouldn't have to try to remember what aisle we were in when we came out in the dark. Muahahahaha! Adam would have had a coronary if he were with us and would have never DREAMED of doing such a thing. In his mind you park where they tell you and don't even think of driving an extra 20 seconds to find a closer place to park.

Once we got inside the potty thing didn't go so well. I took Blake in a stall with me while Emily ventured out on her own. I went to the bathroom and then Blake refused to go. I fought and fought with him in that stupid little stall while all the other moms listened and thanked their lucky stars they weren't me this time. By the time I finally got Blake on the potty and got out of the stall Emily had been standing outside our door for some time. "Troubles?" she said, smiling with her hands on her hips. I had to laugh at her. She's like Blake's 2nd mom sometimes and knows what a handful he can be.

We made our way upstairs and checked out the wallet rapists vendors. Everything was freaking expensive, just as I thought, especially when you factor in that you have to buy two of whatever you get. We decided on pennants for each of the kids. They were $6 each so not too terrible. Then we made our way to the food and grabbed a bucket of popcorn and a large lemonade. Had I been thinking and not sleeping just before we left, I would have snuck in some juice boxes and snacks from home.

So, like I said, our seats were great. We were in the lower bowl in the section directly in front of the stage. The show was based on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so we got to see Mickey and his buddies, Little Einsteins, Pooh, Tigger and their pal Darby, and Handy Manny. Blake freaked out when he saw Handy Manny. He started waiving and yelling and saying, "Hi Manny! Hi! Hey! Manny!" It was cute. I had no idea he had such a love for the guy. Blake asked me towards the end of the show, "Where's Pluto?" Emily wanted to know where Daisy Duck was. I really had no answer. Back at the Clubhouse? Sorry. Not sure.

The show lasted about an hour and 20 minutes, which isn't very long but it's the perfect length for kids. We made it out beautifully and without me having to drag a kid out by the arm. Of course we found our car right away, got out of the parking lot with no issues and without a lot of traffic. It was a great way to end a fun night.

M-I-C...
See ya real soon!
K-E-Y...
Why? Because like you.
M-O-U-S-E.