Meet the 2009 Little Mr. Citrus!

I know, sounds fancy right. I knew when I entered Dane he would win. He is photogenic, with a toothy grin, dimples, blonde curls and his father's genuinely happy disposition. Besides all of his winning qualities, how many two year old pagaent contestants could there be in the 6-35 month old boy catagory on a Saturday at the Chain o' Lakes complex?
I should just start by saying that this was my first pagaent. When I was about 12 my parents took me to Barbizon (remember them?) they wanted to sign me only after my parents paid heavty tuition for finishing school and modeling and wanted me to loose about 10 pounds (ok, more like 15). I was dancer for 13 years and haven't gone many days without makeup since I turned 14. and then... I have a boy. and then... I HAVE ANOTHER BOY. After Dane was born I proclaimed to do my best to ensure that at least one of my boys would be gay (j/k Nan!). All joking aside, I entered Dane into (what I prefer to call) competition due to teach him poise and confidence and begin to make him confortable on stage. I am quite certain on of my children will end up on Broadway. The winner also recieves a full scholarship to the John Powers talent agency, etc.
Like many of the opportunities I attempt to seize, I just have too much on my plate and always rely on my talent for "winging it". But... these moms were serious. Sure, I had my costume change and cream based rouge to add a little color to his cheeks, but this was no joke. While I can appreciate the what the stage mom goes through (mine was one for many years) this group too it to a whole new level and the children felt oddly mature at least in my opinion. Dane hammed it up and then had frequent melt downs when he couldn't color on demand. But he still won. Oh yeah, did I mention he was the only one in his category, yeah, he was a shoe-in alright.
My favorite quote of what was certainly among the most oddly disturbing experiences of my life was: "I try to give you the benefit of the doubt when you have these wild ideas, but this...my youngest son, and his first trophy is from a beauty pagaent!? This is the last straw, I am taking over the children's activities!" -Justin Heimer.
You can imagine how much better he felt when he saw his picture in the paper the next day donning crown and sash (Dane refused to wear it on stage, so they put it on dad, right about the time the reporter came in to ask me some questions!)