Prom 2008 ~ One Crazy Morning!

What do you do when you need to find a prom dress...fast? My step-daughter, Ruth, (who went to her Sr. prom in 2006 and is now actually in college), was asked to this year's prom by a friend of hers from youth group. I found out about this a couple of weeks ago via her dad, whom Ruth had told over the phone. I was happy for her that she'd been asked to prom again, but I said, "What does she plan on wearing?". Her father had no idea, (since guys don't necessarily think about those things). I figured she had something in mind, and hoped she wasn't planning on wearing the same dress she wore two years ago, fearing it wouldn't fit her anymore and just because it would be much more fun for her to have a "new" dress to wear.

Ruth was coming home from Bemidji that Friday night, the night before prom. We were doing our karaoke at church that night, so I asked my friends if any of them had an idea of where I could come up with a dress for her on such short notice. My friend, Sarah, (sassyfrazz), volunteered that she'd been a bridesmaid quite a few times and had a fairly large collection of dresses that just might work. She would have her husband drop some of them off in the morning.

Ruth tried on the dress she had planned to wear, but it didn't fit, so that was no longer even an option. Terry dropped off 4 lovely dresses around 10:00am, and Ruth tried 3 different ones on. We, (Ruth, Molly and I), decided on a beautiful sea-foam green strapless number, that fit Ruth to a tee. The only problem now was, we had to run to the store to get her a strapless bra to wear underneath it. The three of us jumped in the van, and knowing we had very little time to get everything done before her date would be there to pick her up, (because pictures were at 2:00pm), I was maybe driving a little fast for the road conditions...

Yes, it was Spring, yes, it was prom...but it had SNOWED the night before. The roads were wet, and had just a little slush on them. My van, which never slides around, started skidding sideways, I corrected it, but must have over-corrected a little, cuz then we went sliding the other way. Thankfully, the oncoming drivers saw what was happening and waited for me to straighten things out. I did manage to get it back under control, and we stayed on the road and didn't hit anyone or anything. Another potential crisis averted. Thank you Lord!

We got to the store, found a bra, pantyhose, and a little make-up and proceeded back home to get her ready. Ruth jumped into the shower, while I pressed her dress. She has never been what you'd call a "girly-girl". Preferring the natural look, Ruth has never worn make-up, except for the few times when her friends have tried it on her. On the other hand, my 11yo, Molly has been experimenting with make-up for about 3 years now. I don't like her to wear it outside of the house, but once in a while she manages to slip out with some on anyway. I told Ruth that I'd do her hair, and Molly was going to do her make-up. I put her hair up in a french braid, (because that's pretty much all I know how to do), and it looked very nice that way. Molly did her make-up, (quite well I might add), while we all ate a frozen pizza for lunch. Her date was coming between 1:30 and 2:00pm, and I was so afraid that morning that we'd never get everything done. We did, with about 15 minutes to spare! Thank you, Sarah and Terry, it just goes to show you what you can do with a little help from your friends! The kids all ended up having a great time that night, despite the cold wintry weather outside. Here's a pic of Ruth at home, and one of her with her date, and a couple of friends at the Grand March.