Beyond seeing red...

You must be f#ckin kidding me, right?

So, Patrick goes to the concert that he already had tickets to last night with my brother-in-law. It's a weekend concert party. Whooot for him. I figured it'd be good for him to release some of the feelings he probably had after yesterday's news.

I cook the kids French toast for breakfast. We hang out. We're doing fine. I tell Evan to get something out of the basement and he says,

"I can't. The carpet is soaking wet down there."

Yep. The day after he loses his job, we get water throughout the entire basement. Craploads of toys ruined. Boxes of books gone. And the clincher? The BEST PART??

Patrick knew before he left.

Yep. Evan told me that Daddy went downstairs to get his suitcase and said, "Don't come down here! The carpet's wet."

And.

He didn't tell me. He left without alerting me to the piles of work that was awaiting me in the basement. I could have dealt with it last night, without being upset. Instead, I am left alone, AGAIN, to deal with this shit.

Pissed is putting it lightly. I am furious, sobbing and finally overwhelmed... It is freezing cold out and I don't know HOW I am going to dry all of those area rugs before mildew sets in. Tons of storage boxes are damp and I need to sort through them to see what was in them. Most of our valuables are in plastic boxes, but not all of it. Stupid? Yes. But who doesn't use a cardboard box now and then?

But wouldn't you at least have TOLD your spouse before you left?!?!?

In the blink of an eye

Just like that, your priorities change and your life takes on a new direction...

I didn't need to learn empathy this way. I already cut every corner I possibly can. So when Patrick called to tell me the news that his position was eliminated, I lost it.

Just moments ago, my family fell victim to the shithole that is the recession. Instantly, my priorities shifted and I began to wonder how I could begin to pull together a few bucks to carry us forward instead of falling behind...

We have very little savings.

We have average debts.

And we have 3 kids that need to be fed every once in a while...

Please don't let anyone get sick.

Please let Patrick find a new job... Can he start right in on the real estate, full-time?

Can I find someone to babysit? A playmate might be good for Corinne, anyway...

As a person who really, REALLY needs security in her life, I was already a nervous wreck as we lived from paycheck to paycheck. I honestly don't know how I'm going to stay strong for my family...

But the one thing I CAN do to make my family ease into this new situation is to provide a clean space to relax in. I am off to put all the laundry away and cook something moderately healthy for dinner. I know my husband and his ability to impress people. He is the best worker and most personable man I have ever met. He WILL find a job. I just hope it's before I have a nervous breakdown...

Jumpstart winners!

The winners for the Jumpstart giveaway!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Didn't he sound thrilled? :)

Congratulations! I'll be emailing you ladies with the information you need to sign in. Thanks to everyone who entered, and don't forget to enter the Woodgroove block giveaway!

2 giveaways in one week?

You know, blogging may not pay my bills, but it certainly does bring a few perks into my life...

I have always thought that giving the kids' teachers gifts is a great idea, but never had the extra cash to actually do anything about it. I usually end up writing thoughtful letters of appreciation (which, btw, made one of my sons' teachers cry. True story.). So when this next review opportunity fell into my inbox, I was thrilled to accept.

Woodgroove is a company born of chance. When the owners' children began growing up, they crafted a unique wooden growth chart that caught the eyes of all of their friends. One thing led to another, and Woodgroove became a company available to everyone. They now have a line that includes growth charts and fanciful, keepsake wooden blocks, one of which I was offered as my very own!

I pondered for a while on how I would choose to engrave my own block. Who could I give it to? Who would really appreciate it? My own children are a bit old for a baby block, and wouldn't understand the value of this item just yet. But as I surfed through their site, I saw the teacher gifts and I was hooked.

Evan's first grade teacher is one of those guys that is just Fa.bu.lous. He adores the kids and they adore him. Somehow, he is able to keep 27 six-year-olds on track without losing his cool. My middle child, who started the year as a non-reader, is now reading above the level and working very hard to do well. There isn't a parent in the school who doesn't think Mr. P. is just incredible. We all owe so much to this man, so I decided that he would be the recipient of this unique gift.

First, I chose the engravings for each side:

"P" for his last name...

And 2 sides with a quote he said during the early weeks of first grade. I hope he is as touched that I remembered it as I was that he said it. It reads:

"All children are gifted..."

"...They just open their presents at different times."

Awwww....

(The other sides have his full name and school name, the Chinese symbol for wisdom, and Evan's name and year.)

I showed it to Evan and he was so happy he actually clapped his hands. (seriously)


And nooooowwww for the good stuff!! A giveaway!!

Woodgroove has generously offered a free wooden block (a $29 value), inscribed with your own choices, for free! (you are responsible for shipping, though).

Interested?

I thought so.

Leave your comment below and if you post about this giveaway on your own site, just leave another comment that lets me know. 2 chances to win! We'll do the drawing on Friday, March 6, so get your entries in!

Tell me, what would YOU choose to engrave on YOUR block?

I've been grounded, too...

Take this bit of advice from one parent to another:

If you are contemplating banning a child from tv, Xbox, Nintendo DS, computer, and all things electronic, be prepared for the changes this will bring to your family. For while I am loving the creativity that the kids are showing in their games and activities (imagination! Who'd've thunk it?!?) I am growing a tad weary of all of this togetherness. And really? I just want to watch television in peace!

(Actually, I'm glad for the change. Our lifestyles WILL be different from now on. We were way too dependent upon the tv and computer for entertaining ourselves and I HATED IT.)

So, I guess I can thank my kid for needing to be grounded? Eh?

Thanks, kid. THANKS A LOT!

Some examples of what they've been up to for the past 6 days since Operation Electronic Lockdown began:
One of their "stands." They spent a good hour designing boxes to sell stuff from. Stuff like cookies, granola bars, and juice boxes that they would sell every day at the end of our driveway and make tons of money for more Pokemon cards.

Evan was PISSSSSSED that I wouldn't let him out yesterday to sell! I thought the fact that it is FEBRUARY and COLD out would have been sufficient reason, but they are determined to get out there soon and make some money. I think I should explain to them that you can't sell what you don't own. They may need a loan for some money to invest in their products.... Heh. I think they assumed I would just DONATE said food for them to get rich off of! They obviously don't know me very well!

"Mommy, I taked a picture of Smudge wif the camera!"

Doesn't Smudge look thrilled about this fact? Notice the choke-hold my 3 year old has on the cat's neck?

Nice.

What? Your kids don't play poker with you?
And she TOTALLY kicks our butts. Rollin in the pennies... Next family vacation? Vegas, baby.


Hey, still time to enter the JumpStart giveaway! Click on over and get your chance!

The Parenting Tango...

Two steps forward.
One step back.
Try not to let your heart get stepped upon
too many times...

Every fear,
Every pain,
All the outcomes your too-vivid imagination can dredge up...

I don't know the steps to this dance.

I need an instructor.
Please guide my feet so I can guard my heart.
I cannot let him be trampled upon...

"I'm concerned about your son..."

Labels and stereotypes.
Cold-shoulders and bullies...

How can I protect what I must release into the world?



Let's just say that Parent-teacher conferences didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped....

Just a jump to the left, and a step to the right....

This mini time-warp is being brought to you by route of a rambling comment I left on some poor person's blog post about squirrels and raccoons. I finally realized that more than a paragraph wasn't appropriate, and so directed her to read the rest of the fascinating tale on my site. Which was NOT, I swear, a ploy to get more traffic. HONEST to gosh.

Let's go back. WAaaaaayyyy back so that our heads touch the floor, to a time where I was pregnant with my first bambino. Ah, the days of innocence. Before I knew what "tired" meant. Before I had enough extra skin on my stomach to craft a babushka....

doodley doo. doodley doo. doodley doo....

Setting the scene...

November 1999. Small Sears kit house from the 1920's with a weird heating system.

Enter younger version of Tracey. Short hair with less gray and bad perm. ENORMOUS pregnant belly (and ass). Carries bag with Taco Bell goodies inside.
After a long day of work, I stumble through the door into a frigid house. Shivering and vaguely recalling something that dear husband said about "...don't turn on the heat... blah blah.... something in the chimney... blah blah... wait for me to get home..." I disregard what spouse said because it is FRIGID in the house and I am PREGNANT and I need heat. And also Taco bell tacos and Orange Crush, but I digress...

Flip on the heater and get changed, watch a little tv while waiting for the house to warm up and DARLING husband to get home from his late shift. Notice that the cats are being all weird and chasing each other. Grumble to myself about the stupid stinkin cats...

Hear one of the cats make a strange, otherworldly mrowling growling hiss...

Look into the tiny galley kitchen to see my BELOVED feline friend(I was pregnant and totally allowed 180 mood changes) having a stand off with a rabid squirrel!!

Ok. He probably wasn't rabid. I mean, he wasn't foaming at the mouth but I WAS PREGNANT and holy shit! A SQUIRREL?!? In my HOUSE?!? Are you freakin kidding me?!?

Scream.

SHRIEK.

Jump around like a little girl.

Well, maybe not little girl, as I was HUMONGOUS but you can picture it, right? Gestating and gesticulating, I grabbed a broom and began to swipe and shout at the top of my lungs at the squirrel, who just glared at me before he darted AT ME because the cat was chasing it the wrong way!

Stupid cat.

Somewhere in the midst of this hysteria, I snatched the phone and called Patrick at work. The conversation went something like:

Tracey: "SQUIRREL! IN THE HOUSE!! RABIES! MY BAAAAAAABBBY!!!"

Patrick: "Why did you turn on the heater?"

Tracey: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? SQUIRREL!!!!!! GET HOME!!!! AYIEIEIEIEEEEE!!!!"

Patrick: "I have to do blah blah blah work related crap blah blah and will get home when I can...."

Tracey: "YOU ARE COMING HOME NOW!!!! SQUIRREL!!! IN THE HOUSE!!!! RABIES! MY BAAAAABYYYY!!!"

Seriously. It would have been comical had I not been sobbing and screaming and TRULY terrifed for my baby's life. And my beloved cat's life, who got trapped in the basement with the rabid rodent when they both ran down and I slammed the door shut.

Thank God Patrick worked close to home back then. He got there in about 15 minutes and managed to chase the nasty beast up the stairs and out the back door. But I am telling you now, it was horrible!

(Apparently, the squirrel had gotten into our chimney through a hole in the screen on the rooftop and couldn't get out. Apparently, Patrick had KNOWN this and didn't make it crystal clear to me that it was still in our heating vents. Had I KNOWN that there was a live rodent in our heating vents, I not only wouldn't have turned the heater on, I also wouldn't have COME HOME that night!!)


Moral of the story: Don't turn on the heat if your spouse says it might be a bad idea. CALL him first and find out what he meant, no matter how cold you are and how much you want to just eat your tacos in peace and quiet.

Friday Giveaway!

You know how sometimes, your children will give names to things that they love? Names that make NO sense, but you completely understand what they're talking about? We've got quite a few of those, over here: Ya-ya for water. Logrit for Yogurt. The most recent nickname being Corinne's dubbing Jumpstart.com as her "mystery game..." Still not sure where she came up with that name!

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I was contacted by the company that MAKES her beloved "mystery" game! They wanted to know if I would review their website and share what I thought about it with my invisible friends (i.e. YOU). I responded that hey! We love that site and would be thrilled to have a full membership, in order to explore the site fully.

Let me tell you, Corinne already enjoyed the JumpStart site with the free games they had available. But the expanded site that comes with membership is AWEsome. All of your basic pre-school concepts are covered: letters, numbers, sequencing, cause and effect, and more. They are presented in games that aren't solely focused on timing as many online games are. Clicking a mouse in a timely fashion isn't always a 3 year-old's forte... And the extras that it offers which Corinne thinks is "just for fun?" (she especially loves PetLand where she can adopt and care for a number of adorable pets) She's STILL learning. Gotcha, kiddo...

The best part of all of this long-winded ramble? JumpStart.com has offered 2 three-month memberships to any of you! All you have to do is comment and your name will go into the drawing, which my miniature assistant and I will carry out on the morning of Friday, February 27. If you'd like a second chance to win, just go ahead and post a link on your own site and let me know in the comments. Trust me when I say that this site is really cool and worth the effort to click and comment!

Random shots of our weekend...

BLUE skies. Smiling at me...

Am I the only one to find it inappropriate that Patrick was my Joey??

Corinne's view of me at Justin's birthday party. Apparently, drinking too many Mike's Hard Lemonades results in no frontal lobes...

We totally skipped the cake facade this year and made a huge sugar cookie. MUCH easier to cut with pizza cutter! Less mess than chocolate cake, too!

Patrick's Valentine's gift to both of us. He KNOWS me. He really, really knows me...
It was GOOOOOD. Until Corinne saw the crab legs and started to mooch...

The dawning of a new decade....

So, he's ten. And I did shed a few tears, but only because he wasn't as thrilled (initially) with the Big Surprise Trip I had planned for him. Wah wah, for me...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(don't you love my hubby's videography skillz? sideways and all... AWEsome.)

That's what happens when you build something up in your head. I pictured him squealing with delight or a look of shock on his face. Instead, he had a strange half-smile like "This is IT? This is the big surprise? What am I really getting?" He did impress me with his reply of, "No, I like it. It's just not what I .... expected."

We had a discussion later on about the cool things that Cave City by Mammoth Cave in Kentucky has to offer. We talked about the water slide at the Jellystone Campground, the Alpine Slide, the Kids only tour where he will crawl through small crevices while I sit outside, drinking coffee and reading a book. We talked about how much fun we will have camping together, not having to do what anyone else wants. To be able to hike when we want. Eat when we want. And DO what we want. He is, NOW, quite thrilled. But the Pokemon card collector's book was much more immediately thrilling...

Whatever.

I am still suffering the aftermath of the party, finding random plastic cups with just enough Coke left inside to further stain my carpeting, left balancing on a rocking horse and bits of shredded cheddar everywhere. (note to self: a taco party may not be the BEST idea when you have 4 children under 4 attending...)

So I am off to clean and straighten and rearrange and REVIEW a new product that you will all have a chance to win in a giveaway, very shortly. So check in later to see what cool stuff you can win!

The ONE DAY taxes aren't a dirty word...

Is there anything better than getting your tax return, so you can pay a few debts and breathe a bit easier?

I think not.

Especially since you can then justify finding a ten-dollar bill to treat yourself and your daughter to a girl's day at the mall, where you will share soup and salad (and a chocolate chip cookie!) at Panera. She will be so charming and polite that tears will actually well up in your eyes at the beautiful and amazing girl you are raising. Add to that the free gift card for $30 at The Children's Place you received from Michelle so that when you take her into the store, you can actually buy that adorable 2-piece swimsuit for said adorable daughter. She will then jump up and down and hug it, exclaiming in a booming yet strangely, still squeaky voice,

"I didn't KNOWED I was getting a new SVIM suit!! Thank you so much, Mommy!"


Oh how I wish I could just take a suit off the rack and KNOW that I would look adorable in it...


Think kind thoughts for me this weekend as Justin's final day as a 9 year old is tomorrow. I think I have cried a little every day, and many old photo albums have been thumbed through with wistful "Awwww!!"'s and "Oh my God, he was so CUTE!"'s being uttered.

Poor kid's gonna get a complex.

One of those posts where you THOUGHT you knew where it was going, but it took on a life of its own and you are too lazy to try to find more cohesion..

And so, the freezing rain and dark skies have returned. But not before I got a good dose of what's just around the corner. I can wait a bit longer for that gorgeous weather.

Now if I could just keep the ENTIRE household healthy until Justin's family party on Sunday, I'll be golden. (typed as Corinne hacks up a lung in the family room...)

Speaking of parties, I am now 100% certain that slumber parties/sleepovers are for special occasions. And while the kids all had fun, and nobody went home early (though one boy had the phone in his hand around 3 am. I talked him down from it...) it was exhausting! The absolute best idea I had was to pawn my other kids off somewhere else. Corinne got a sleepover at Nana and Papa's and Evan got his FIRST sleepover at a friend's house (backyard neighbors!), so nobody felt left out.

My boy. Justin.... He's changed so much. I cannot believe the way he let the unplanned situations at the party just roll off his back! Things that would have ruined the party for him just 2 or 3 years ago were no big deal. Very little sleep and friends not wanting to watch the movies you picked? Getting a duplicate present and having your asthma act up? "No problem, Mommy. Let's just have fun!" He was like any average (almost) ten year old boy!

Having dealt with his emotional/anger/attention issues (Executive Functioning) for so many years, I am left wondering when or IF I'll ever be completely comfortable and accepting of the fact that he HAS matured. That all of his brain's lobes are growing at an equal rate. That he is closer to "normal" than "high maintenance." So much of my early years of parenting were spent trying to plan, plan, plan around his needs. Such a huge portion of time devoted to explaining and consoling, apologizing and worrying, crying and yelling... To find myself at the point where I EXPECT him to behave and am not SURPRISED is a daily miracle...

Not going to question a good thing. It's not like we're out of the woods with him yet. There are still issues and scars that he and I work on every evening. Organization, accountability, controlling impulses... These are remarkably better than before, but still needing extra attention.
But I try not to dwell on the negatives when it comes to my eldest. If he can make so many changes in such a short time, I am positive that in the next 2-3 years he can achieve the standards we ALL want for him.

Let the Sun shine...

Guess what? You'll NEVER GUESS!!

It is WARM outside. Like, warm, WARM. Like, the boys walked with friends and rode scooters to school warm!

Warm enough, even for Corinne and I to head out for an "adventure" of our own. Looking for muddy puddles and enjoying the Vitamin D.

So, adios, dear friends. I am headed into the sunshine, armed with tissues and a mug of coffee. Sniffling and hacking but THRILLED to be away from these 7 rooms...

Updated: SEE?!? Seeeee!?!?!

Hack hack... snort, sniffle

Please excuse the snot on your screen.

Will commence with posting when the mucus and jack-hammers have left my head.

The countdown has begun

The pre-teen boys will be landing at Casa de Our House in 2.5 hours. I have these last moments to go over my checklist of Necessary Requirements for a successful sleepover.


Skittles? Check.

M&M's? Check.

Ridiculous amounts of CAFFEINE FREE pop so that they can create suicides the likes of which you don't want to imagine? Check.

Ice cream and lots of toppings for a sundae bar? Check.

Ginormous pizzas to pop in at 6:45? Check.

Chocolate chip cookies instead of birthday cake for a picky boy who doesn't like birthday cake? Check.

Age appropriate movies that won't embarrass my (almost) 10 year old boy? Check.

Child 3 of 3 on her way to Nana's house for a special sleepover of her own? Check.

Child 2 of 3 almost ready to head to neighbor's house for his very first friend sleepover? Check.


Psychologically prepared for my baaaabeeeeeey to turn 10? getting there....

I was rockin those overalls, eh?

How to know you've been online too long...

When your 3 year old walks in with not 1 but TWO suckers....

That she didn't ask for!!!

Oops.

Bad Mommy.

Bits and pieces, twigs and berries...

Basically, Yes. Yes, I am still alive.

But verrrra verrrra busy. (I like to type with a Scottish burr, now and then...) Got to help with the school's rock climbing during gym class, which scared the crap out of me. Imagine, if you will, having 20 seconds of "training" before being held responsible for making sure someone else's child is properly held 20 feet above ground, with nothing more than a 1 inch gymnastics' pad to ease their fall should my training prove lacking and allow them to plummet through the air. (Oooh! quite the run-on sentence, eh? Fun stuff.)

I also got to help in Evan's class today by punching out 100 circles for the 100 day celebration on Friday. What? You don't know about the phenomenom that is 100 Day? A regular fiesta of grand proportions, letmetellyou!

I managed to throw together, LITERALLY, from my cupboards and dwindling craft supplies, a project suitable for 6 year old boys to do at our Cub Scout den meeting last night. Just to prove how lazy I am, I spent over an hour and a half figuring out how I could avoid a trip to Wal-Mart (which would have taken only a HALF hour of shopping). In the end, the projects are FINE (paper plates, dried beans and construction paper are more versatile than you think) and the boys had fun. Isn't that what it's all about? RIGHT?

I moved the couch across the family room to make space for 5 sleeping bags today. Justin's sleepover is this Saturday and I didn't think the boys would want to sleep in the piles of crumbs and random bits of wrappers, toys and utensils that had accumulated under the couch. (though, they ARE boys...) GROSS. Ew, ew, ew. I need to add that as a regular chore. Move the Couch, woman!! After vacuuming, I realized that the stains were really icky, so I spent an hour scrubbing with Woolite Carpet stuff, which just resulted in slightly lighter stains surrounded by slightly lighter carpet. Basically, I spent an hour highlighting the stains. Time well spent.

The family room tv has been broken for at least a week now. Which is convenient for Justin, as he was grounded from video games anyway. But that kind of sucks for me, because I WANTED him to see his brother and sister and dad playing the video games so that he could be all "dangit! I need to work harder at school so I don't get my privileges taken away again!" Instead, it's been more of a "hey, we're spending more time together as a family and I don't think I WANT the tv fixed because I can still watch my shows upstairs but the kids are actually PLAYING together more"...

Whooosh!! Would you look at the time!?! The kids will be descending upon my quiet home any minute now. Buh-bye.

I really don't mind sharing. All you have to do is ASK...

Possession is 9/10 of the law, right? Or some fraction like that. But how does one own an idea? Or a collection of words? When you quote someone, and don't give proper credit, is that the same as stealing?

There is a multitude of legal standards when dealing with journalism and, more recently, blogging. The cyber-written word is available for everyone to quote (or misquote) the moment you hit Publish Post. We, as bloggers, have to understand that not everyone is going to give credit where credit is due. But when credit IS given, but presented improperly? That's just an extra rub on an already raw wound.

Kelly recently experienced a situation where she WAS given credit for the words she had written on her blog, Don Mills Diva. Unfortunately, the article (and, potentially a book?) were written without her knowledge, though her name was used in a manner that suggested she had been interviewed for this specifically!

Really, is it so difficult to contact a blogger? To ask for permission? Or, at the very least, alert them that their information IS going to be used, as are there any corrections that should be made? I would think, as a "professional journalist" that one would be incredibly concerned with getting the story straight. I would think, that letting a blogger know that their piece struck a chord to the point of having an article in the Times Online in the UK would be flattering and exciting. Most bloggers are NOT professional journalists (as Kelly is) and would not only be giddy over being quoted, but would direct traffic BACK to that article. Was it really that hard for the journalist to just link back to Kelly? Or to send an email alerting her to her full name being used?

Good Press! Good Press!

Isn't that what we all want? More traffic for our sites? To reach more people? Truly, any blogger who claims to not want people to connect with them is lying, at least a little bit. If you are honestly writing for only yourself, you would password protect it, or find a pen and paper. No, we are looking for input and opinions on our writing. We are ALL looking for validation.

I write here, on my personal blog, but also at Chicago Moms Blog and Root & Sprout (btw: new issue is UP! Check it out. A whole new layout is scheduled for next month which will be FABULOUS!). And, would you look at that? I just linked to them. Without fear of you not coming back to read me again. I just added a whole BUNCH of links in under 60 seconds.

And I? Am NOT a professional writer (though I may pretend, from time to time!).

Write on, Blogging brothers and sisters. Stand up for your ideas and collections of words. Check out Don Mills Diva for other posts regarding this topic. Write your own opinions and let me know. I'd love to hear them. And, like Kelly, I'll even LINK them here! (Cuz I'm talented like that.)

A little Pixie Dust on a winter day...

Ever want a surefire way to brighten up a wintry gloom? Take 3 three-year-old girls to see Disney on Ice, Worlds of Fantasy!

My mom and I took Corinne and my 2 youngest nieces last night on "an adventure" (says my niece) into Chicago. Pigtails were bobbing and the giggles were more akin to shrieks of delight as the lights went out and the ice came to life...

I am so happy we made the effort to do this. The girls were at the perfect ages for a show like this one. And my mood has carried through to this morning, leaving me grinning for no apparent reason...

Fabulous seats are still available in Chicago. And I have some codes for extra savings for you!

-$5 off: Qualifier MOM5

-Allstate: Thurs., Jan. 22 at 7 pm, Fri., Jan. 23 at 10:30 am

-United Center: Weds., Jan. 28 at 7 pm, Thurs., Jan. 29 at 10:30 am and 7 pm, Fri., Jan. 30 at 10:30 am, Weds., Feb. 4 at 7 pm, Thurs., Feb. 5 at 10:30 am and 7 pm, Fri., Feb. 6 at 10:30 am

BASICALLY, this is good for all weekday performances

-$3 off: Qualifier MOM3

-Allstate: Fri., Jan. 23 at 7 pm, Sat., Jan. 24 at 7 pm

-United Center: Fri., Jan. 30 at 7 pm, Sat., Jan. 31 at 7 pm, Sun., Feb. 1 at 11:30 am, and Sun., Feb. 8 at 11:30 am
Does not apply to VIP or Front Row (only applies to $25, $20, and $15 tickets)

TOTALLY worth it!!