Four seconds of fame

I haven't really blogged about this yet (but I did talk about it on FB) because I was waiting for it to come out, but now that it's here.

Check out my little man in the latest Hooked on Phonics commercial. He comes out at 1:10 and again at 1:32.




We went to Orlando and Venice Beach in March and April to film this and it was a great experience. Everyone was so nice and patient. I'm so proud of him because he was really tired that day (we had gone to the beach earlier because the film crew was running late), but he was a real trooper and did what they asked him to (for the most part).


I found the video last night because Christian wanted to play his Hooked On Phonics games on the computer. I wondered if the commercial was ready, so I looked on their website and found it in their YouTube channel. Christian was pretty excited to see himself on the screen. I hope he sees it on TV though because then he'll really freak out (and he doesn't get excited over things that easily).


As far as the product goes, I think it's wonderful (and I'm not just saying that because we were in the commercial). Christian has really gotten ahead with his reading. He reads three and four letter words now and I often catch him trying to read and pronounce longer words as well. He's half way through the Kindergarten book. Because he is only four though, I don't pressure him to do the workbooks or lessons or anything. That way, it's not something that becomes a chore, but something fun that we do together. It's there on the counter in plain sight, whenever he wants to work on it, he asks me and we do so. The fact that he wants to do it almost every day though speaks volumes for the product and how great it is. I'm really glad I stumbled upon it.


Now, if only I could get Jordan in a commercial too....hmmm....that's next on my to-do list!

New Kids!...Kids?...hmm...not so much

Let me kick the tumbleweeds from this blog a bit to regale you with tales from last night's NKOTB concert. Two words can really sum it up though: HOT DANG!

When I told people that I was attending this concert, I often received snarky comments from haters to the tune of "oh, they're still around"..."oh how cheesy"," are you serious?", " you're such a goober/nerd/dork/insert term here"....but it's OK, because my consolation is that the haters will never know what they are missing. Que sad for them.

But I am getting ahead of myself...

We got to Miami Beach at around 5:30 or so to stand in line and what a line it was. I was telling Amanda that I love the demographics at this concert. Tons and tons of thirtysomething ladies. I'm sure there are some younger and older, but for the most part, 30-somethings. Amanda and I quickly noticed that as much as we like NKOTB, we were truly not "hardcore". We overheard tales of going on the New Kids cruise and crossing the country to go to various shows, and camping out to be first in line and various message board names and fan meetups and tattoos (yes, tattoos) and VIP meetings and....yeah, we were out of our league. We were just two moms with T-shirts and a bunch of New Kids on the Block albums...on tape.

When they finally let us in to the theater, around 7ish, Amanda and I secured a spot in the second level of the pit (3rd rowish) and continued to stand and wait. At 8pm, they put up a countdown clock behind the sheer curtain, which only increased the anticipation and got us even more hyped up (those boys sure know how to press our buttons). At 8:30 the lights went out and then the insanity began. Let me just say this....gone are the days of little teenage boys strutting their stuff on stage whilst trying to keep it PG for the little girls in the audience...oh no sir. There were no teenage boys or little girls there last night, not on stage and not in the audience. The five Boston babes grew up and so did their show. The Fillmore on Miami Beach was packed with hoardes of 30 somethings pining and screaming for their favorite five guys from yesteryear. They sang the old favorites and they sang some of their newer songs as well while putting their moves on us in the process.

These guys really know how to put on a show. I love that they really put alot of effort into their performances and don't just show up to get a paycheck. They go out of their way to involve and interact with the audience by actually going into the audience to sing...I mean, really? who does this? Most stars are too scared of their fans to actually do this. They had a kick ass DJ to entertain us between sets and they also took things easy and sat down for a nice guitar session. Their shows have always been entertaining and now, even more so. I guess they feel like they have to step it up a notch, and that they definitely do.

The highlight of the show (for me anyway) was when Joe took the stage by himself looking like a fellow straight out of Chippendale's. He was decked in a penguin suit (a tuxedo jacket...not an actual penguin costume) and used the mic stand as a prop while he thrusted and gyrated his way through a medley of "Sweet Dreams/Twisted". Mind you, I've always been a Jon girl, but after last night...hm, I don't know. I needed to be hosed off after Joey's performance. It was a little bit Adam-esque at times, (which is perhaps why I liked it so much cause I lurve me some Adam). Wow. But don't take my word for it. Here's the video of when he performed it in Vegas. Go watch it now, I will wait...GO... oh, and have a paper towel ready.

After that performance the ladies in the audience picked their jaws up off the floor and enjoyed the rest of the concert. Another entertaining moment was when I noticed that Jon didn't do his homework on one of the new songs. At one point I saw him pull a cheat sheet out of his pocket. Come on Jon, get with the program...lol. If you're gonna use a cheat sheet, use one smaller than your hand! Lol, poor Jon, he just doesn't seem like he's enjoying the attention. Always looking down, always looking at the other guys to see if he's not messing up the dance moves, never removing any clothes...hm..come on now Jon. The good thing is that I'm sure only those that watch him often (other Jon girls) will notice these things because he does a good job of blending in.

The show ended with a bang just like it began and when the house lights came on, we were all bummed that it was over. Of course this was a pre-cruise concert, so 90% of the lucky souls in that room would be leaving the next morning on a cruise with these fine fellows, but for the po folks like myself that could not (and did not want to) dish out at least a Grand for a weekend cruise, it was over.

As Amanda and I walked outside the venue towards the parking garage, we looked over at the side of the building and noticed a gaggle of ladies loitering about and taking pictures. This is definitely something that raised a red flag, so we took our Scooby Snacks and went over to "investigate". It turns out there were about 20 ladies staring at a window that appeared to be the dressing room where the New Kids were. The shades were down but we could all see that some of them were inside. Some girl threw a rock at the window to get their attention. Donnie and Jordan came to the window, pulled the shades up, opened the window and stuck their heads out to say hello to us. As you can see, I was the first one to get to the window. Child when I saw him pulling those shades up, I was under that window faster than you can say Take me I'm yours NKOTB. They reached their hands down to shake hands with us (I am never washing my hand again). Then Jordan went inside and Mr. Chippendale's Hotness um, I mean, Joe popped his head out the window. I was able to get this picture with my phone before they went back inside. It’s amazing how being in their presence, hearing their songs and being with the same friend I was with back then, makes me feel (and act) like I’m 14 again. If anything, I love them just for their ability to do that, to make me feel young and carefree again....that my friends, is priceless.

So, the haters can hate all they want, and make comments, but it was a wonderful evening filled with great memories that I will always cherish.

I can't wait for the next one. Hey, can anyone lend me a Grand?