It started with a bad idea.

The Circus came to town.

Our kids hadn't been to a circus.

In a moment of goodwill I asked my husband if we should take the kids to the circus

For the price of a healthy functioning liver, we purchased tickets.

It sounded like a great way to spend some time together as a family.

We would have the chance to teach the Princess some good social skills while still in an enviroment that would allow for some freedom (of expression...if you follow me).

With great expectations (ehem...first mistake), we loaded up and headed to the circus.

And then

We arrived.

To my credit, I didn't really remember what a circus was like.  In my mind I pictured animals and trapeze artists.

I KNEW there would be some level of overstimulation.  I figured it would be a problem for the Princess.  She may have handled it better than I did.

Here are the Circus details:

~Every plastic toy that glowed, glittered, sparkled, and lit up lined the walkway as we made our way to our seats.  Each one for the low, low price of $12.00 plus sanity.

~Next to the toys were booths and booths and booths of sugar.  They colored it and added ice and put it in cups.  But bottom line it was pounds of sugar for sale.

~Last but not least, the balloons...on sticks.  Big balloons.  My only thought as I looked at these fantastic toys was: I know how close together the seats are.  There will NOT be room for people and light up swords and balloons on sticks in the seating space.

~We did finally make it to our seats.  Along with a clown wig, a light up gun, cotton candy, 4 drinks, Dippin' Dots, a snow cone, Peanuts, Nachos, and a soft pretzel.  **I'm not a complete party pooper.  I complain, but I still tried to let my kids enjoy the moment.**

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Doesn't he look like he's enjoying the moment?

~Once we were sitting, the Princess started looking around and noticed (1.) There were MORE ways to spend money on the main floor... i.e. Elephant rides, pony rides, face painting, inflatable slides, etc.  (2.) EVERYONE HAD LIGHT UP GLOWING SWORDS!  And SHE WANTED ONE!!!

~The kiddos behind us had light-up-glowing-swords.  Wanna know how far beind us?  2.2 inches.  Wanna know what this means?  I got hit in the head with a light-up-glowing-sword no less than 10 times.  And the mother yelled at the little girl at least as many times.

~And then, the moment we'd been waiting for...the circus started!  No animals.  The rope climbing girls were impressive...really...for about 3 mintutes.  Then my Prince leaned over and said, "Why do they keep doing the same thing over and over and over?"

~The Acrobats were impressive...until the Prince leaned over and said, "Why do they keep doing the same thing over and over and over?"

~The Princess spent a majority of this time saying, "I want a lightsaber!  Now!"  That was super awesome.

~There was a distinct moment in my evening when the Ring-Master said, "Sit back and enjoy the next two and a half hours"...I thought I might die a long death.

~In between every act...and by act I mean: BMX bikes, Tow-Mater Truck from Cars and a clown-ish dude, a Girl doing a hoola-hoop act on a horse, a girl doing a hoola-hoop act on the ground, roller-skating, and 3 minutes of tigers who didn't act like they were interested in performing...the Ring-Master asked the kids to hold up their hands if they really, Really, REALLY wanted a glowing lightsaber!  Guess who did...

~After two hours, the Prince asked if he could rest his head on my arm and sleep.  The Princess held her stomach and said she might throw up.  And the Ring-Maseter announced it was intermission.

~We convinced the kids that intermission meant it was over.  Kinda. And it was time to head home.  Best part of the night...they agreed to leave without issue.

I cannot wait until the circus comes back to town.