Happy Birthday, Cinderella

My baby is 5 now. Fully fledged five, happily going to kindergarten, riding the bus, planning her life. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, her first answer is still "Tinkerbell, because then I can fly". But now she has also added "Policeman" and "President" and "A Mom, so I can tell everybody what to do." (Ha.)

Her dalmation-princess birthday party was a success - it was beautiful weather, so we opened up the pool and that takes a lot of game-playing pressure off of me. Although we did still hunt for plastic bones in the yard, play pin-the-tail and the spot on the dalmation, and musical dog-dishes. Granny made a terrific chocolate and vanilla cake with white icing and chocolate chip spots, and we had our dalmation pinata. She LOVED all her presents, especially the dalmation Webkinz, the Little Mermaid styling head, and all the Barbies. She's been playing with her new toys all weekend, and there wasn't one that she seemed disappointed in, with the exception of the socks and underwear given to her by us. Although, it was Hannah Montana underwear and that was pretty cool.

She's headstrong, this five year old. She knows what she wants, and she knows how to get it. I taught her the word kleptomaniac this weekend, because we always know to look somewhere in her room when we're missing a hairbrush, or a mirror, or a flashlight, or the kitchen timer. She's like a magpie - feathering her nest with shiny things that catch her fancy. She's volatile - either joyfully buzzing around the room with shiny accessories flashing, or bursting into tears because we've asked her to eat her waffle. Not many shades of gray with her. Only the new hairs that sprout on my head after each confrontation.


I'm so grateful to have this healthy, happy, spark in our lives. She keeps us laughing, and dancing, and always hopping to stay ahead of her.

Happy birthday, Cinderella.

Back to School!

Well, this is it! Yesterday was the first official day of school, although for Cinderella it was more of a 1/2 day, meet the teacher, tour the building day. Today is her first real day. She's totally confident, relaxed, and happy to be there. Her teacher is very young - just graduated last December - but also seems confident and very happy to be in her job. She's also very pretty, which is always helpful for a Kindergarten teacher. Tarzan's in 1st grade, and he loves his teacher. She's the same one Scooby had in 1st grade, and he's built up a great reputation for her. Tarzan was so excited when he found out he had her too. Scooby has lots of different teachers, but some of his friends are in his homeroom with him, so he's happy about that. He starts string practice next week.

I should be feeling all weepy and nostalgic that my "baby" is going to kindergarten, but honestly, I don't. She hasn't been my "baby" for a long time, and she's definitely ready to go. I was much more weepy when Scooby started. As you can see from the bus pictures, she didn't even want to look back. She's off on a new adventure! And maybe, eventually, so will I be.

I'm back...sort of

How to summarize...

We had a family camping weekend in Cook Forest - even Don came! We managed to set up our tent, build a fire (eventually), go canoeing, and split some wood. The weather was perfect and we had a great time.
Then I went to Mass. for two weeks, and it was wet wet wet! We managed to have fun in between the raindrops, though. We went mini-golfing, ate ice cream at Kimballs, spent a day in Maine (shopping in Kennebunkport, lunch in Wells, beach at Ogunquit), visited Westford's playground, introduced Cinderella to my "vintage" Barbies, brought home an armful of 80's prom dresses for my friend who's costuming "The Wedding Singer" this fall, swam in the pool, visited with family, went back-to-school shopping, drank some wine, enjoyed the new porch, played Guitar Hero for the first time...it was pretty full. I also taught 3 songs to my Mom's chorus, videotaped the choreography, and performed in two hour-long shows at a county fair. It was good. And the transmission didn't fall out, and no one had to go to the emergency room, so it was a step up from 2007!
My mind was pretty preoccupied the whole time, though. I'm trying to figure out Plan B in this whole grad school thing. Plan A, which fell through, was to pursue an MFA in Performance and Pedagogy at the Univ. of Pittsburgh. Plan B has been up in the air since that didn't work out. So, I thought, maybe Plan B was to pursue an alternate route, and I looked into an MA at Regent University in Theater Studies, about half of which can be done online, and the rest with an 8 week summer residency. In the course of "looking into it", they told me they had openings for Fall, so I jumped at it, did all the application essays, resumes, letters of rec., transcript, etc.etc. and they accepted me into the program. However, it's not one of those programs which funds the grad students, unlike Pitt, and the money turned out to be a pretty major stumbling block. Especially since I had missed most of the deadlines around grant and scholarship money. The start of classes was fast approaching, and I was starting to freak out about it, so I asked them to defer my enrollment at least until spring.
In the meantime, I was rethinking the whole MA option, and the online part of it too, wondering if after all the work is done, it might be perceived as somewhat of a lesser degree - a "Jr. College" version, if you will. And that for my ultimate goal, of teaching in a university, I'd probably be better served pursing an MFA after all.
Which brings me to plan C...possibly going back to square one and reapplying to MFA programs. And since the local ones, Pitt and Point Park aren't accepting applications until 2010 and 2011 respectively, it would mean moving if I'm to go somewhere in 2009. Surprisingly, (or maybe not) there aren't that many options for MFAs in theater in the Northeast. My shortlist right now is Boston University, Brown University, Yale (yeah, right!), Penn State, and Regent (which also offers an MFA) Perhaps with Regent, I might not have to reapply with all the paperwork, and could just do the audition phase. There are probably other programs out there, but these are the ones I'm looking at right now. I don't want to live in NYC (sorry Steve...if it were just me, it might be different) I also need to think about URTA auditions (a group audition in NYC or Chicago hosted by a variety of grad schools). It costs money to audition, and you need to be nominated and have a sponsor...It's a lot to wrap my brain around.
In the meantime, I've started working on Murder in the Cathedral, the kids start school on Monday, and I have to learn a new murder mystery script this weekend. The kids all got haircuts today! (There were 10 kids in Great Clips when we went in...fortunately the family of 7(!) in front of us was just finishing up!)
Sorry for the boring post...I'd love to stop talking and thinking about all this, and just get on with it! Unfortunately, I don't see that happening any time soon. All input and advice is welcome!!!

Summer Shower

He's Home!

Camp was fun. Better than okay, but not really, REALLY fun. He'd go again, maybe. It rained a lot, but only at night. He had swimming, and crafts, and hiking, and they were supposed to go camping but they didn't. And he made me a bowl in crafts, but he couldn't bring it home. (Reasons unclear) And they confiscated both flashlights, and only returned one. Everything else seems to have made it home. And he just found his sleeping bag and pillow today, on the way home. And he lost two teeth while eating Starbursts. (I think they were ready to come out anyway) And one of his counselors broke his arm playing soccer during camp, but could still play the guitar. He spent half an hour telling me about "Allegheny Idol" night, and Sledge-o-matic (smashing watermelons with sledgehammers), and the swimming pool, and how the bathroom stalls didn't lock, and what they had to eat. Now he's playing cars with the neighbor boy. (Still in yesterday's clothes...but he really doesn't smell too bad, considering.) Apparently, operation sleep-away camp was a success.

Today's moments

Cinderella: Mommy, while you were sleeping I saw a bug in your hair.

*************

Cinderella: When I was cleaning under the table, I bumped my head. It still hurts.

Tarzan: I can see the red spot.

Cinderella: May you please pray for me?

Tarzan: Okay. God, please make E..'s head better. I pray this forever. Amen.

Cinderella: Thanks, T...

*******************

Cinderella: I saw a feather fall from the flowers. Oh...(giggles) I said feather!

Tarzan: You mean petal.

Cinderella: Yeah.
*******************
Later:

Cinderella: You are a disgrace!

Tarzan: On the contrary.

Cinderella: You're not on the contrary, because I'm the Queen!
***********************
Later Still:

Tarzan: You're cute. (Goes over and hugs Cinderella)

Tarzan: (after about 20 seconds) Stop hugging me.

Cinderella: (Lets go) Was I choking you?

Tarzan: No. I just couldn't breathe.

I got a letter from camp

Dear Mommy
I really, really, really, really, really, really, really miss you. I am writing at 7:25 because they woke us up at 7:00. I am really tired. You are the best mom in the world. Please write back.
Love,
(Scooby)


Aargh.

They like us! They really like us!

Here's a review from the Pittsburgh City Paper about Urinetown. I like the comment about singing and dancing without apparent effort. They must have been sitting far enough back in the audience not to be sprayed with sweat!

All Clear

So yesterday was Scooby's first day at sleepaway camp. We had to meet the bus at 6:45am, so I planned to get up at 6:00. He came in our room at 5:00 saying he couldn't sleep, and spent the last hour not-sleeping in our bed. He was happy and excited during breakfast, although he didn't eat much, and fine while we sat in the car in the rain waiting for the bus, which finally came at 7:10. He was fine until he actually got on the bus, then the tears came. He wanted to be sure I'd packed kitty and pillow, which I had, although he didn't want to hold them right then. He was in tears when the bus left, although I'm sure he was fine by about 10 minutes in. We wrote him a letter in the afternoon, and mailed it for him to receive tomorrow or the next day.
So all day long I'm talking to myself, convincing myself he's having a great time, or at least learning how to survive in a difficult social situation. Then last night, a swath of tornado warnings, funnel cloud sightings, dangerous lightning and golf-ball sized hail passes right through where the campsite is. Don and I spent an extremely anxious hour in front of the tv watching the weather. When it had passed by the camp area, we called the emergency number and requested a call back letting us know everything was okay. Five minutes later someone from the camp called back and assured us everything was fine - that it didn't even rain there. Which I don't get, but which made me feel marginally better.
So, it's day two, and we haven't gotten a phonecall to come and pick him up, or any teary homesick pleas. We sent him with some stamped envelopes and blank pages to write us, and I really hope he does. Tarzan and Cinderella miss him, mostly at night, but it has been a lot quieter around here.
If you're praying people, keep him in your prayers. Or good thoughts, or vibes, or whatever. My baby bird is growing feathers on his wings, and it hurts. It might be a little uncomfortable for him too.

Here, look at these!

Lots of pictures from Urinetown...I'm very scary!!!

Looking at Steve's inserts reminded me of these...





I was looking for John-John counting his penny, but couldn't find that one.
Boy, am I old!

Opening Night!

Opening night went great! We had a blast and got a lot of laughs. Larry Cervi, my old dance teaching boss was there...I haven't seen him in about 8 years. I'll post some pictures soon. They're pretty scary!!!
Yawn!!!

Friday

Today was Cinderella's last day of theater camp. She portrayed a "totally cool" zebra in the story "A Rumble in the Jungle." It was a smash hit.

Afterwards we went and trimmed Scooby's hair - the hairdresser showed him that by cutting his bangs on an angle, he could push them out of his face when Mom was looking, then shake them down into his eyes when she wasn't. He was tickled pink.

Then we went and got him some booster immunizations. He wasn't as happy about that. But then we got cookies. Iced Spiced Oatmeal for Cinderella, Snickerdoodle for Scooby, Dalmation for Tarzan (chocolate chip cookie with vanilla icing) and Gingersnap for me.

Then we read in bed, swam in the pool, and now I'm procrastinating making dinner before I head off for a set construction night for U-town. We open next Thursday! Yay!

What's going on out there?

Late Rehearsal

So much dancing. So much singing. So much rolling on the floor. SO MUCH SWEATING.

Monday

Got up this morning at 6:00 to go running, because when I have to be at work by 8:00 there's no other time to do it! The distance wasn't as far, but there was more actual running involved. My ankles are really sore today. I pulled a pectoral muscle last Thursday at dance rehearsal for Urinetown. It's better now, but still stiff if I bend the wrong way.
Cinderella enjoyed her first day at theater camp - she's playing a zebra in the showcase on Friday. I had a really fun day with the little kids age group. I'm pretty experienced with knowing how to talk to them.
The two neighbor kids are over again. Sigh. I like to be hospitible, but it's hard when it's too wet to play outside. I think pretty soon they're going outside, wet or not!
Quiet out there - is anyone home yet?

Not much new...

Had a couple of family centered days...Don actually had off work Thurs - Sun so we spent some good family time together. Missed the annual trip up to Norwood, but just couldn't afford the gas this year.
Friday we went to Leetsdale's very lame Noisy Candy Parade. The candy's not noisy, but the parade is. The entire parade consists of firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars slowly driving by, sirens blaring, and candy raining out the windows. The kids liked it, except Cinderella didn't want to take her hands off her ears (neither did I!) so she made her brothers collect candy for her. Then we had a picnic in a nearby park, and went home for a dip in the pool. That night we watched fireworks from a parking lot across the road from the field where they set them off. Perfect view, and a decent show.
On Saturday we went to Uncle Joe and Aunt Barb's pool. Heated pool. Like, 90 degrees. All three kids swam like otters and stayed wet for about four hours straight. Don and I just ate WAY too much great food. Another nice relaxing day.
Today we went to church, went to a carnival at Granny's church, then cleaned the dentist office, then I went to rehearsal. Not quite as relaxing. Tomorrow I start teaching again at theater camp. Cinderella is coming with me this week and the boys are going to "camp Granny". Next week, I keep Tarzan and sent Scooby and Cinderella to Granny. God bless her. I saved the toughest week for last!
Scooby's on book six of the "Unfortunate Events" series. I don't think he's going back to Jack Sparrow until all the Unfortunate books are read. See, I knew when the right time was to give them to him!

Birthday parties

Here are some long overdue rundowns on the birthday parties!

Tarzan had a Webkinz birthday party. Webkinz, in case you don't know, (which probably means you don't have any children under the age of 10) are stuffed animals that come with a computer code which opens up Webkinz world online, where the stuffed animal has a virutal identity. You can play games to win kinzcash, with which you can purchase online furnishings for your pet's home, clothing and food for the pet, etc. We used some of the online games as models for our party games. For example, we had a Wheel of Wow, which the kids could spin to win "Timmycash" or small prizes.
We also had a Wishing Well, where Timmycoins attached to paper clips could be caught with a magnetic fishing rod.
I scattered some plastic "jewels" on the front lawn and let the kids have a gem hunt. They collected their gems in little paper bags and took them home to attach to their foam crowns (purchased at Michaels) to make their own "Crown of Wonder."
When the kids came in, they brought their own Webkinz or other stuffed animal, which we set up near their take home bags in the Beauty Contest area. Each pet was awarded a prize such as "nicest pet" , "bravest pet", etc. These bags were where the kids collected all their Timmycash and prizes throughout the day.
We also had a Quizzy's corner, where the kids could earn more Timmycash by answering trivia questions. It was a nice break for them to sit and cool off, and have some quiet time before jumping in the pool! Finally, they ate and opened presents. At the end of the party, they collected all their Timmycash and used it to redeem prizes from the W-shop (in the kitchen). The prizes were gently used or leftover Happy meal toys, recital prizes, small books, etc. The kids really liked getting to choose their own things - just like Chuckie Cheese! The party was pretty inexpensive - the biggest expenses were the jewels and crowns. In retrospect, I would have bagged the crowns and had the kids do whatever they wanted with the jewels at home. Tarzan and co. had a great time and it was an overall success!Scooby had a party based on Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman - a show on PBS. I arranged a scavenger hunt with some of the local business and public places in Sewickley and had the kids follow clues from place to place. We ended up with pizza and cake. It was the most fun party I've ever had with the kids, although it did require a LOT of advance preparation by me, and it was on the more expensive side as well. But we had a blast! Watch the video and see...

Click here to watch the video I took at Scooby's birthday party. If I can figure out how, I'm going to make DVDs for all the kids as thank yous.

My heart

Here is a letter which was delivered to me this evening:

"Dear Mommy,
I was thinking about getting a beagle, and I was thinking about how bad you mihht have felt when I said I was disapointed. I just want you to know that I am very happy that I got the beagle Webkinz. (Though I am disapointed that I didn't get a real beagle).
Love,
Scooby"

Well, he didn't write Scooby, but you know what I mean.

It has NOT been a week since I posted!

Crazy busy here - teaching classes M-F from 9-3, rehearsal in the pm. Survived another birthday party. It went really well - lots of fun. Pictures and details to come.
How can I be this busy and yet this unproductive???

Happy Father's Day

This is my dad. This is probably my favorite picture of my dad, but unfortunately, our scanner is very tempermental, so you get a digital picture of a picture. It was taken about 10 years ago up in NY, on Arbuckle Pond. Dad and I were out in a canoe - and I think that was the last time I was actually in a canoe, which is too bad, since it's something I love to do. I was on a solo camping trip, before we had kids, and had spent some time visiting Mom and Dad's friends at their summer camp.

I love this picture for a couple of reasons. One, the canoeing, that I already mentioned. Two, my dad looks really relaxed and happy. Three, you can tell that he's steering the boat, but he's really concentrating more on being with me. And that third point pretty much sums up one of the great qualities of my dad.

He's a really capable guy. He can fix just about anything, figure out solutions to knotty problems, explain why something works the way it does. He's really smart and funny too - a great one for telling stories at parties - great at knowing how to talk to different kinds of people. He's terrific at steering the boat, in other words. He knows where he's going, how to get there, and how to find all the restrooms along the way. : )

But...he's also great at letting you find your own way on how to get there, and to just spend time with you while you're doing it. For example; I'm a theater person. I love to sing, dance, act, teach...I've worked in theater professionally and non-professionally all my life. My dad's an engineer. Our brains work very differently. I think a lot more like my mom, which is why it's sometimes easier for us to talk about things. My dad probably doesn't understand a lot of the reasons why I do the things that I do, or why I'd even want to. But, he let me do it. He let me major in theater in college and even paid for it. Didn't even panic that much when I told him how little I was making at my first job out of college. He's let me steer my own course, and suffer the pitfalls along the way, all the while staying nearby in case I ever needed him.

There have been lots of times when I've wished to be back in that canoe, gliding along on the cold, smooth pond while the sun set behind us. Moving just fast enough to avoid most of the mosquitoes. Smelling the faint whiffs of smoke and torched marshmallows from the campsites on the shoreline, the pine trees, the slightly mineral smell of the water.

Life lately has felt more like swimming upstream in a strong current than gliding across a glassy pond.

But when I look at this picture, I remember what it was like, and I smile.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Still Here

I know, I know, I've been very lax in posting. I'm a slacker. I'll post soon with pictures and details about Tarzan's birthday and Mom and Dad's visit. I'll get to it. I will! Stop nagging me, internet!!! Stop glaring at me with that put-out look on your face! I'm doing the best I can here, okay? So just hold your horses and stop pressuring me!!!!

There. I feel better.

Take me out to the ballgame...

We spent Sunday at the Pirates game - and a great time was had by all! I know, I know, Pirates vs. the Diamondbacks - not much of a game for you BoSox fans, but there were some good plays, the Pirates won, and we had spectacular seats! Don got the tickets from a guy at work, and we were close enough to see the sweat beads on the players faces. We were right on the third base line, about six rows back from the field. And PNC park is amazing - the view of the city behind the ball field is gorgeous. Yes, it was 90 degrees and we were right in the sun. So it wasn't perfect. Tarzan dropped his popcorn, fell down the stairs and scraped his nose, and got a rash from the sun. Scooby got a headache from the combination of heat and screaming "Let's go Bucs!" for the whole ninth inning. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day at the ball park.

ps: Cinderella spent the day with Granny doing girly stuff. She loved it!!!

Summertime!

It's 92 degrees and the pool is up! One new part, one new tarp, 250 pounds of leveling sand, and a gazillion gallons of water later, it's set up and ready to go. The boys have been in and are thrilled to pieces. Cinderella's not quite ready yet, but if the temp stays this way, which it's supposed to, I'm sure she'll change her mind. I moved all the sand myself (oi! my back!) but Don made up for it by moving all the air conditioners down from the attic this morning. So don't worry, Mom and Dad, we're ready for you!
Went running this morning before it got unbearable. Tarzan's T-ball practice was cancelled due to the heat (wimps!) but as of now both boys have games tomorrow.
My unbelievable children have started their own "school before school" program. They did this last year, and were remarkably consistent with it for about two weeks. Bear in mind they only got out of school on Wednesday. Scooby is the teacher and has set up a schedule for reading, math, free time, lunch, library, geography, and science. They're at lunch now. Library, reading and math went splendidly! They are so tickled that they're doing this on their own, and both Tarzan and Cinderella are enthusiastic participants. Don't know how long it will last, but it's been fun today!

Cinderella's version

Instead of "Eeny Meenie Miney Moe":

Eeny Miny Mo
Checker Tiger Toe
Let my mother go
So we can have the rest of the days
For-ev-er
A-men.

I have now officially passed 100 posts on this blog. Huzzah!

A little better

Beautiful weather is helping. Good rehearsal for murder mystery show, pool party yesterday, the kids had s'mores, party projects going well, all helping. The kids are just breaking my heart, though. Little things they say and do, little shows of disrespect, little unkindnesses to each other, little losses and fears that break their hearts - it's all making me tired. I'm failing them moment by moment, and I'm only seeing the big picture and getting perspective after they're in bed and asleep. Can't really go into detail right now, and really, it's nothing major. Just little heartbreaks. Cracks in the mirror.

What a craptacular day. Starting with my parental lapse of the absent tooth fairy, and it just went downhill from there. Nothing big or tragic, just lots of stupid little annoying crap. Like, the wall plug in the pool cracked and broke off, and nobody around here sells it, and we have to get it online, and it probably won't be here in time for Tarzan's party. And Scooby's baseball game got called off because of the TORNADO WATCH and thunderstorm warnings, but then it didn't rain, and Tarzan's game wasn't cancelled, but he didn't want to go anyway, so we stayed home. And my prescription wasn't ready at the drugstore, again. And the 3 stores we went to didn't have any empty boxes we could have. And Tarzan threw a total fit when I wouldn't let him have candy from Cinderella's party treat bag. And the kids kept fighting all day long, over nothing. And the grill caught on fire and scorched the burgers, again. And when I finally went for a run, a cloud LITERALLY followed me, and rained on me the first 30 minutes of the uphill climb. Just like this picture!!! But it finally cleared up and turned sunny for the last half, and I got home and read the kids a story, and now I'm relaxing with my laptop while Don watches the Penguins play. The tooth fairy will come tonight. And tomorrow is another day.

Crap.

I suck. The tooth fairy forgot to come last night. I have scarred my poor middle child for life.

A bit longer update

So much activity, and so little to write about! We've been really busy, and yet it somehow hasn't inspired me to write a whole lot.
The kids really enjoyed having "Aunt Blackbird" here. Cinderella says she should come back again, and sleep here. Tarzan drew a picture in his journal of her sleeping with a big smile on her face and wrote "My aint wut she dus is fun. i'm not kiting." (My aunt, what she does is fun. I'm not kidding) That's a pretty good endorsement! Actually, she didn't sleep that much, but then, nobody really sleeps much around here.
We had a really great time at Kennywood. They're all old enough to really enjoy it, and they each found something that really tickled them. Scooby liked the 3-D "scary" ride called Garfield's nightmare - where neon milkshakes and burgers float in midair towards your car, and giant scary veterinarians come after you with huge needles. (Tarzan said it was the worst ride ever.) He, on the other hand, loved the big kid rides where you plunge into huge splashes of water and get soaking wet. Scooby, the whole way up, kept chanting "I don't want to do this! I don't want to do this!" but he liked the splash part, and was glad he's done it once it was over. Once was enough, though. Tarzan wanted to do it over and over again! Cinderella loved just about everything in kiddyland - although the flying elephant ride was her favorite. I think she rode it 5 times. She made friends with every kid she shared a seat with, too. I got to ride the Merry-Go-Round, so I was happy too. It was great to have one adult for each kid so we could split up when necessary. Lisa impressed them all at the shooting gallery - she's quite a shot! We did get caught in the rain briefly, but it was right before we were going to leave anyway, and it gave us a kick in the butt to get out of there, since the kids did have school the next day. Hopefully they'll remember it as a really great time. I know I will!

I had my first rehearsal for Urinetown. I think it's going to be really fun. There's a really talented cast, and the music is fun to sing. It's going to be more of a time committment than I'd originally thought, which is going to get sticky as the summer goes on, but I'll cross that bridge later. It's good for me to branch out into a new group of theater people and make new contacts. It will also be something new on my resume, although I'm only "Poor Chorus" and don't even have a name! I'll make up a name for myself, I think.

I spent the day today retiring the winter clothes and pulling out the summer ones - we haven't really needed them yet since it's been so freaking cold!! It took me three hours. Exciting, huh? I have about six boxes full of baby/toddler clothes that I'm saving...should anyone ever need them. Anyone that I'm close to. You know, in my family or something. I'm just saying.

The invitations are mailed for the Webkinz party - tomorrow the Fetch party ones go out. Now I just have to figure out how to throw two parties with no "party budget." Should be interesting.

Lets see. What else?

Oh, Tarzan lost another tooth tonight! He requested two Sacajewea (sp?) gold coins from the tooth fairy. I think maybe he'll get one. The tooth fairy is a little strapped for cash. Fortunately, Mr. Tooth Fairy keeps a secret stash of gold coins for just such an occasion!

I'll post some pictures when I'm not on the laptop - they're all on the other computer. Only three more days of school. Lord help me.

Quick update

We're doing our best to wear Lisa out. She picked up Cinderella from school yesterday, played outside for awhile, went to Tarzan's T-ball practice, returned library books, went to Tarzan's T-ball game today, stopped at the bank, went to a birthday party at Chuckie Cheese, stopped at Sam's Club...tomorrow is (possibly) a picnic, and maybe Kennywood on Monday. So far, she's keeping up just fine!
Tarzan's decided he wants a Webkinz birthday, and Scooby wants a variation on Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman. Look them up, all you people without school age kids.

The weather is gorgeous so far this weekend. What a nice change! Maybe we will try to put the pool up this summer after all.

SP and Pee

Tomorrow I have my actual first day as a working "SP" or Standardized Patient at the medical school. I have two cases that I'm working - and tomorrow's is the easier one. It's a phone conversation - yes, on an actual phone, and I'm the mother of a sick baby. Hm...it's a stretch, but I think I can handle it. I went yesterday and observed my two cases being portrayed by other SPs, and got a feel for how the program runs. I'm glad to finally be doing it - I've been training since October! Only about one day a month, but still, it's been a LONG process.

In other news, I've been cast in a production of Urinetown that my friend Becki is directing. My friends Deb and Michelle are in it too. (The four of us were the ones who did the four part harmony Christmas music that I subjected some of you to over the holidays) I'm in the "poor" chorus. Again, a stretch. I actually don't know the show at all - except that it's about a society which has run out of water and people have to pay to pee. Those who pee illegally are sent to Urinetown. If anyone is familiar with the show, let me know your impressions. The performances are the middle and end of July, right before I head up to Mass. I haven't told Don yet that I'm doing this. He knows I auditioned, but I was kind of vague about the details. I don't know the actual rehearsal schedule yet, but Becki assures me it won't be too bad.
Only one more day of school for Emily. Nine more for the boys. Eeeek!

Still running - didn't go today, but hope to squeeze one in tomorrow morning.
Don bought a new scale - and it made me gain six pounds.
I actually don't care too much about the numbers, but I would like to see them moving in the other direction!!!

Gasp...wheeze...

So, here is where I ran today. Okay, I walked most of the uphill stuff, but ran most of the downhill and flat stuff. If this link works, check out the "show elevation" button under the map. It's crazy! But my goal was continuous movement, no matter how slow. And I did it! On Facebook, I called it 6.7 miles, but according to this, it's actually 6.96. I'm sore tonight, and I'll probably be really sore tomorrow, but I'm proud of myself. I probably won't do this route too often, and there are some curvy roads with NO shoulders and it's not very safe. But I did it today. In the rain too!


Hm..I don't think the show elevation button is there. But trust me, it's some big-ass hills.

In other news, Tarzan was off school for three days with fever and sore throat. No throwing up, which is nice. He went back yesterday, but still tires quickly. He is enjoying T-ball a lot - even though every game or practice they've had so far has been either in the rain, or on a mud-pit of a field after it rained.

Scooby had his third grade recorder concert last night, followed by the 4th grade "orchestra" (11 violins and one 5th grade cellist on loan) and the 4th grade band. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. They really weren't that bad! Next week, he gets to try out an instrument to learn in 4th grade. He's going to try clarinet and violin, leaning towards violin. Can't you just see him as a strolling violin playing waiter?

Cinderella only has 3 more days of school. Her graduation is on the 27th. Then I'll have no more preschoolers! It's going to be a long summer...

On that front, Scooby's been offered an opportunity to go to a week long sleepaway camp in the Laurel Highlands for free! He seems up for it - Don's a little worried about the fact that we don't know anyone running the camp, or the leaders, or who else might be going. He's afraid Scooby will be beaten up and picked on the whole time. I'm going to look into it some more, and see what we can find out.

I also joined the amazing time-wasting Facebook this week so I could be continually humiliated by my brother and sister and brother-in-law kicking my ass in games. On the plus side, I found Laura Heymann! I haven't heard from her, besides Christmas cards, since the five minutes I spent with her at my wedding.

I've picked up a little more work for the summer - some more standardized patient dates, and 3 weeks of drama camp - one week of full days, and two weeks of half days. Still don't know what I'm doing in the fall.

Oh well, I'll think about that tomorrow... (name that movie!)

Consumerism

Here's my rant. It's not about marketing. It's not even about advertising. It's about the "consumer" - the innocent rube who's being "tricked" and "conned" into spending their money on things they don't really need.

I can't say it nearly as well as one of my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle:
"In the world of the theater, we touched on reality itself, and were shocked as the world around us seemed to reach out for the unreal. Planned obsolescence was just coming in, objects made with less than excellence, built to destroy themselves or wear out. Plastics and synthetics were just becoming available to the public. The word synthetics is enough: unreal.
Today we live in a society that seems to be less and less concerned with reality. We drink instant coffee and reconstituted orange juice. We buy our vegetables on cardboard trays covered with plastic. But perhaps the most dehumanizing thing of all is that we have allowed the media to call us consumers - ugly. No! I don't want to be a consumer. Anger consumes. Forest fires consume. Cancer consumes."

When we allow ourselves to be labeled as consumers - beings who take and take and use up, and take some more, whether we need it or not, be open ourselves wide to the negative influence of advertising. We become easy prey for scammers. The American Psychological Association estimates that children today see an average of 40,000 commercials per year. 40,000 commercials aimed at turning our children into mindless consumers who try to find happiness through credit cards. It’s the American Dream! But listen to this little bit of information from US News and World Report. “For Americans with household incomes under $25,000, it would take $54,000 a year to fulfill the American Dream. Those who make $100,000 plus crave an average of $192,000. In other words, the American Dream usually lies nearly twice the distance away.” It's what the whole "predatory lending" scandal is about - people who are so convinced that they need more and more and more that they willingly participate in lying about their means to pay back a loan.

Simplicity is living with what you need, and learning contentment. Consumerism is striving to always have more than what you have now. John D. Rockefeller was once the richest man on earth, with a net worth approximating $200 billion dollars. And yet when asked “How much money does it take to make a man happy?” Mr. Rockefeller replied, “Just a little bit more.”

Do I live in simplicity and contentment? No freakin' way. There is so much extra STUFF in this house that we definitely could do without. However, one of the lessons we are TRYING to install in our kids is that commercials are designed to manipulate your thinking. Or, in kid terms, to trick you. We point out how they are designed, what the goal of the advertisers might be, and how to control your thinking so that you are not blindly influenced by the ad. Scooby's got it. Tarzan's starting to understand. Cinderella...not so much. But one of the hidden blessings of being financially where we are is that it's easier to not give in to our children's demands and desires. We aim for simplicity. We recognize the value of contentment.

And we don't send money to Nigeria.

Day 17

Yesterday I sanded down the picnic table and benches, and bought sand for the sandbox. I also bought a variety of petunias to plant in the little garden in the back. Some purple ones, some red and white striped ones that the kids really like, and some pretty yellow ones called Lemon Zest. I also have some perrenials from last year that came back, but I have no idea what they are. Spiky purple things, star-shaped white flowers on a big fuzzy green leaves, and little purple ones on vines.
I also ran in the village, but then it got dark so I walked home.
Today I painted the picnic table and benches, and went for a very hilly walk. Not THE BIG HILL, but pretty hilly anyway. That's easy to do around here.
Today's soundtrack: Moulin Rouge

Dude, my bro got Dooced!

Not familiar with the term? Check out:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dooced
Also, check out her website http://www.dooce.com if you're not offended by frank language and sometimes raunchy humor. See how I keep deflecting you away from my own blog? It's a clever ruse so "the MAN" won't find me and ...oh, wait; nobody cares what I write! See, there are benefits to being insignificant.

In other news, days 11 and 12 were skipped due to Scooby's illness. Days 13 and 14 were runs in the village, and today, Day 15, was a long walk to Moon park and back (from the church, not from my house.) Probably about 4.5 miles. Yay, me.

RIVETING!!!

I read an incredible post from "Notes to Self" - one of the blogs in my sidebar. It struck home, and I'm still living with exploring why. Here is a quote from it, but you really should check out the blog yourself. It's pretty amazing.

"Even as good and exciting things are happening all around, I find myself slipping back into scarcity mindset. I wake up at night worried that I can't deliver on commitments I've made. That I'm not really good enough. That my dearest relationships won't survive my saying yes to new opportunities. That the house budget will run out before the flooring is installed, that my husband's business will grind to a halt, that the sky will fall.This fear is my default position, like slouching. It takes constant awareness and effort to pull my shoulders back, sit up, breathe, trust. To substitute every "what if?" with "why not?"...it forced me to take a good look at how coldly and quickly I want to disassociate myself from the howlers in the gutter. Because it's one tiny step for health and wholeness to recognize that for what it is—sickness. It's a much bigger stretch to get beyond the reflexive aversion to ugliness and see that the person howling is in pain, and a mighty, muscle-tearing leap to come to a full stop and see myself in them.We react most negatively to what we cannot allow in ourselves. For me, that's the victim card. Nothing will flip my switch like someone whining "poor me," whether it's in the key of self-rightousness or self-pity. But how many times have I been locked in the dungeon of my own thinking, howling and weeping while I held the keys? How many times have I blamed others for my own choices, because that was easier than taking responsibility and risking disappointment?"

Breathing that in for awhile.

Scooby and Tarzan are sick - Scooby more so. Temp of 103.8 this morning. Thank the good Lord above for Tylenol. Seriously - my life would be so much harder without it.

Day 10

Just got back from a slog. Day 8 and 9 were treadmill days. It's kind of nice to see the numbers ticking away in front of you, but golly is it boring otherwise. It would help if the treadmill were in front of a tv or even a window, but there's no convenient way to place it that way in our house. So today I made it outside again - yippee! It's been pretty chilly the past couple of days - down in the low 40's - but the sun came out again today and it's still really pretty out there.
How exciting is this? I'm posting about the weather!
Trying to line up some work for the summer. The mystery shows are suffering somewhat from the economy - my Friday overnight show was just cancelled. My Standardized Patient gigs at the Medical School are coming along - I'm only two training sessions away from actually presenting a case! I've been training since October, about two sessions per month. It's the l-o-n-g-e-s-t training program in the history of the world. But it's nice to get paid for sitting around and talking about stuff, I guess. So I'm looking for more work. There are some summer theater camps that might be interested, and I just passed a Starbucks that is hiring. Still no longer range plans, though. I'm really stuck when I try to formulate something longer term, and the kids are keeping me so busy that it's easy to be distracted away from it anyway.
Oh, well. My noodles are boiling, so I'm off to undo all the hard work I just did.

Daffodils and princesses

Well, I don't know if you can see the connection or not. The original clump of daffodils that inspired this connection for me had faded beyond redemption. These are ones from my front yard - and they're not exactly the same, but you get the idea.

Did the hill again on Day 5 - ran in the village on Day 6. Today, the 7th day, I rested.

Day 4

Ran in Sewickley village today - some actual running occurred. Later, I happened to drive the same route, and it's almost exactly 3.5 miles. I probably ran 2 of it, all told. Not all at once, mind you, but still, it gave me some hope.
It's really interesting to have Steve's ipod, with all his old music stored on it, plus some of the stuff I've tacked on. I put it on shuffle, and get this surreal accompaniment to my slogging. Today was some Massachusetts folk artists, a little Mozart, some Tracey Chapman, Alas for You from Godspell, some Bjork (speaking of surreal!), At the End of the Day from Les Mis, Norah Jones, kd lang, and a couple of other artists I wasn't familiar with, but whose songs I enjoyed. The only ones I've skipped through are some of the Christmas tunes. They just didn't jive with the dogwoods, magnolias, and daffodils.
On yesterday's walk I saw some past-their-prime daffoldils that totally reminded me of an illustration in Melissa's old fairy tale book - remember the Princess and the Pea? When she knocks on the door or the castle and she's all dripping wet, but still holding out her skirts for a curtsey, and the fluid lines of her dress and hair melt into the rain cascading down behind her? Maybe I'll try to post a picture of it soon. Well, anyway, the daffodils had that same ruined elegance look. The lines distorted, but still stately - the colors blurred, but still vibrant. I wish I'd had my camera. Maybe I'll try to go up there again tomorrow, before the next batch of storms and cold come, destroying the last of the flowers.

Another video

Here's one of the MANY dinosaur songs they did. This one's called "Dinosaur Boogie" - which if Mom is pronouncing it, is BOO-gy.

Day 3 of the running is scheduled for about 6:00pm this evening. I'll let you know how it goes. Because I know, you're totally enthralled.

Update:

Went up hill. Big hill. Bad hill. Big, bad, hilly hill.

Wildlife I encountered:

One groundhog

Two Geese

5 deer (alive) 1 deer (extremely dead)

6 wild turkeys

Numerous birds.

One very determined gnat who kept me company for about 1/2 an hour

Total duration of walk: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Thing I was most grateful for: That the elementary school was having a band concert, so I could go in and use the bathroom before I pooped myself.

Day 2

Yep, I did it again. Got the boys on the bus, parked Cinderella in front of the computer, and walked/ran/slogged again. Up through Sewickley village again - my usual route. SUCH a gorgeous day! So many flowering trees, daffodils, tulips, hydrangeas, brillant blue sky, cool breeze...such a shame to have to ruin it by attempting forward motion with my decrepit old body.

Here is some video from the Dino show. Almost as good as being there! Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen???

Bleah.

I walked today.
I got up, got the boys on the bus, dressed in one of my three threadbare sports bras, yoga pants that are too tight in the waist, running socks, Steelers T-shirt, hat, running shoes. Got the girl off to school. Plugged another set of earphones (still haven't found ones I like) into hand-me-down iPod (thanks, Steve!) and set off. One mile from the church to the park, up and down several very steep and muddy walking trails, and one mile back. I tried to run some, but didn't get very far.
My feet hurt. My ankles hurt. My knees hurt.
I suck.
I remember when I used to do this a lot. I also know that if I don't do it EVERY DAY, I'll go long stretches without doing it at all. It sucks being back at Day 1.
However, I've got to start somewhere. I have been spending that past several months NOT doing it, and self-medicating my increasing bouts of depression with food. I know I'm self-medicating while I do it, and yet seem unable to stop. The magazine articles suggest retail therapy instead. To which I reply: HA!!! Without my church paycheck, my discretionary spending budget has dropped from negligable to none.
Well, enough whining.
Tarzan seems a little better. His dinosaur play was great - he was right in the front (there are advantages to being short!) and sang every word nice and loud. SO cute. So that's one less thing for him to worry about. His first day at T-ball went great too. He's got a lot more natural athletic ability than some (not mentioning any names) and I think he'll do really well. Cindrella found some friends to play Barbies with, and had a ball. Scooby wandered around, above it all, complaining that I wouldn't let him climb the chain link fence, and insisting he didn't FEEL like reading the book he'd brought. Oh, well!
We finally planted some grass on the right-hand side of the yard. It's only been 8 months! We got some nice soaking rain and the next few days should be sunny, so it should do well. The kids are already clamoring to put the pool up. Now that I know what a pain in the ass it is, I'm not really looking forward to it!
Current reads: A history of Shakespeare by Bill Bryson; Eats, Shoots and Leaves (the punctuation book); Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
All good - all highly recommended!

Bump in the Night

I'm a little worried about Tarzan. He's been really fretful and anxious lately, which is not at all like him. (Although, I need to be careful about characterizing what is "like him" because he, like the other two, is growing and changing all the time.) Ever since the sleepover-that-wasn't, he's had a little trouble sleeping without being snuggled. And when I went away with Scooby, it really intensified. He had a tummy-ache at Granny's, and "bad pictures in his head" and the next night, home with Daddy, he freaked out and cried for four hours, saying he missed Mommy. And, he wrote me this:

Which is very sweet, but breaks my heart!!! (That's Tarzan, in the blue, sitting at the kitchen table, and that's me in the red, toasting waffles.)
He says he saw a book in the library. A scary book, with a scary alien on the cover. And now, he imagines, this scary alien is going to nail him to a wall. Yeesh.
Some of it is his age, I know. Scooby went through the same thing at this age. I vividly remember my dreams of a pirate ship sailing through the Leaver's woods towards our house, bound for pillage and destruction, and I'm pretty sure I was about the same age then. So I'm trying to be patient, and wait for it to pass.
Of course, those thoughts always go through my head. You know, THOSE thoughts. About what may have happened at this sleepover? But I don't think anything did, other than his imagination slipping into another gear.
THOSE thoughts are the things that sneak into my head on a regular basis and are promptly shooshed and squashed down. "What if the school bus driver just never brings them home?" "What if some bully corners them in the school bathroom?" "What if this birthday party is all a ruse for a pedophiliac sex group?" Unfounded and without basis - and all part of the fear of letting them go, little by little. THOSE thoughts aren't allowed to gain purchase on any part of my mind. But I can't refuse them entry. Some day, they may be telling the truth.
But, this has taken a morbid turn. Tarzan is going to be fine. The alien picture will eventually fade, and new fears will take it's place. He has two birthday parties this week, a Dinosaur play in class on Friday, and a field trip next week. He'll get distracted. He'll move on. In the meantime, I'll hold him a little tighter, kiss him a little more, and read him happy stories about pirate ships. (Hey, that was my nightmare; not his.)

And the chapter closes

Well, we're not moving on to the World Finals in Maryland. Which is probably a good thing, sanity-wise; but I have to admit, it's disappointing after having gotten so far. The team ultimately came in 9th out of 15 - which is not as good as I would have liked, but it still means they're in the top ten in the state! And they really did the best they could do, which is all I can ask for. Scooby was disappointed, but he seems okay about it today. And we had a beautiful day in Altoona - sunshine, puffy clouds, cool breezes...the kids got to spend almost 3 hours playing outside on a big football field. There was a duck-duck-goose game for awhile with almost 100 kids in it! According to my calculations, there were about 1,500 kids from third grade through high school that participated in the state finals. We actually didn't get to see many of the other groups perform, since the kids really wanted to run around outside. Maybe next year. Good grief! Did I just say that??? So the Odyssey is concluded for 2008 - all that's left to do is decide which props to trash and which to salvage for reusable materials. It's been quite an adventure. Now back to real life...

State Finals, here we come!

Well, we're off to Altoona for the Odyssey of the Mind State Finals! Send us good thoughts and safe travel prayers. I'll post on Sunday and let you know how our team did. They're already winners, whatever happens!!!

Tooth Tales, Take Two

I warned you, tooth fairy!

Well, Tarzan's first attempt at real live big-boy sleepover ended at about 10:45pm. The other boy's dad brought him to the front door and said, "Maybe next time" and took off. Apparently, he was fine until it was time to get PJ's on and get into bed - then he got worried about what might happen if he had a nightmare in the middle of the night and everyone else was sleeping. Legitimate fear, in my opinion. So home he came. Next time maybe we'll try it over here.
I took myself out last night and went to see the Pittsburgh Playhouse production of Romeo and Juliet. I hadn't seen a fully staged version since probably ninth grade. The sets, lights, costumes, fight choreography, and music were really good. The acting was...pretty young. Undergrad theater majors, and it really showed. But I enjoyed it and the best part was...on my way in, a lady was giving away her extra tickets, and I got in free! I'd go more often if I could be assured of that happening!!!

Tarzan's Lost Tooth

Look out toothfairy!

More Covers

Okay - just to show how cool and hip I am (ha), this link is to the very concert that I attended on Thursday night - the Hotel Cafe Tour at Mr. Small's Theater. This is Ingrid Michaelson (of "if you are chilly, here take my sweater" fame, and who's awesome song Keep Breathing was featured on last season's finale of Grey's Anatomy) and Cary Brothers, who is a friend of Zach Braff's and who's had songs on Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy and ER. He's probably most famous for "Blue Eyes." Unfortunately, it's only a short snippet of their cover of If You Were Here from Sixteen Candles. Also playing was Josh Radin, who's also had songs on Scrubs and Grey's. (Sensing a theme here?)
The concert was really good - although, I'm too old to STAND for 5 hours. There were no chairs. I guess that's the "in" thing now.

Dancing vs.Dancing

Reasons why Dancing With the Stars is inferior to So You Think You Can Dance:

1. Only half the people can dance
2. The music is horrifying
3. Monica Seles
4. The America's Funniest Videos guy vs. Cat Deely
5. Monica Seles
6. Monica Seles
7. Oh, did I mention? Monica Seles. Good God, that woman is awkward.

Happy Easter!

It was colder here on Easter than it was on Christmas. However, it was sunny, eggs were found, Jesus was worshipped, ham was eaten. Who could ask for anything more?

Poor Tarzan. Last week it was fever and coughing. Today it's been throwing up and...you know, the other end...all day. He just had two Saltines. We'll see if they stay down. Cinderella flared up with the pinkeye today - I knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time.
We actually had a respite yesterday and went to the zoo - everybody was healthy, and it was "Won't You Be My Neighbor" Day, and kids were free. It was also 38 degrees - I've never seen the zoo less crowded! Many of the animals were "put away" for the winter, but we got to spend some really nice quality time with the lions, elephants and gorillas. No crowds, no pushing, no sunburns. Aside from Tarzan dropping his mittens in the toilet, it was a pretty pleasant outing. (And no, we didn't give them back to him, that's NOT why he's sick today)
I also got an email response from Pitt, responding to my inquiry if there was anything I could do to improve my portfolio for future auditions. It's actually very nice, I've quoted part of it below, but strangely, doesn't make me feel a whole lot better. A little, but not a lot.
Here it is:
"I want to tell you first of all that you auditioned/interviewed very well. You were a strong candidate on our list. Of particular note to us, was your teaching session. You did really well and D. and I both agreed that you would make a great candidate for the program. Your fundamental problem with this round of applicants is that we had so many really good people so we had to choose based on complicated criteria that we don't normally consider. Things like balancing what each student would bring to the department. Whether or not the acting skills were as strong with one candidate versus another.I would love to encourage you to apply again if your life circumstances warrant. I say that only based on the strength of this application but I cannot make any promises about how things might shake out. We remain convinced that you would be a great candidate and would love to have you with us.I don't know if that is helpful at all. I'm sorry this didn't work out. I'm sure it is very disappointing. But I hope you can be encouraged by the fact that you did so well."
So yay.

Here's the summary: I got a letter from Pitt on Thursday, saying no. Frankly, I was pretty shocked. I guess I was overconfident, but I really thought that it was going to happen, and I have no plan B in place. I'm extremely disappointed, and not quite sure what I'm going to do with my life now. Most other programs have already passed their submission deadlines, and I'm having a hard time swallowing waiting until Fall of 2009 to begin school. I did just apply to Point Park, but still need to schedule an audition for them, which is where I always seem to blow it. Other news items: Footloose ended last night (Quaker valley's show) and went as well as could be expected, considering the talent level. The audience seemed pleased. AND....Scooby's team came in 2nd at the Odyssey of the Mind competition yesterday, and is going on to the State Competition in Altoona on Apr. 12th!!! I've been coaching his team and it's been VERY time and energy consuming, and I was kind of hoping it would be over this weekend, BUT it's a huge deal to go to States, and so yay for him. He's very proud and excited, and I'm very proud of him too.

.

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"/ Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night." - Charles M. Schulz

The Sap is Running

Things that made me smile today:
Cinderella singing her version of Footloose: "Mommy! Let your foot be cutted and let your foot be loosed!"
60 degrees outside!
Cinderella's teacher dressed up like the Cat in the Hat
Seeing all the buttons, eyes, hat, etc. lying on the ground next to the now-diminutive snowman
Did I mention it's 60 degrees outside?

Several books I've read recently and want to share my thoughts on, but don't have time right now:
Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
Wasted, by Marya Hornbacher

No School - Again!

Another snow day...and it's raining outside. Who the hell makes these decisions and what are they smoking when they do???? Between snow days, conference days, and President's day, the kids have gone to school a total of 11 days in February. I've got a nasty cold, and was really counting on some peace and quiet today, but it wasn't meant to be. They're outside playing in the slush right now, and will probably all have colds by Monday.
This is going to be a pretty whiny post, so if you're done listening to me whine, stop reading now.

Still here?

Okay, I warned you.

There is something wrong with my hip. It's been bugging me for about a month, and it's steadily getting worse. I think it's some kind of tendon or bursa thing, because I can feel it pulling when I stretch it, and it gets a little better if I walk for a half hour or so. However, if I try to teach choreo, it flames up and hurts like a bitch. Also, when I had all-over body aches two nights ago with this cold, my hip felt like it was onfire. So what gets inflamed when you're sick?

Also, how long to I need to wait for Pitt to contact me before I send a politely impatient email? They said after February 15th...but not how LONG after. It would be nice to plan my life.

Sigh. Snow and rain, go away. Don't come back.

FINALLY!!!

We sold the white van! Hooray! Only $1800, and it's worth more, but hey, cash in hand. No school today or tomorrow for parent/teacher conferences. We had 7 kids here this morning for Odyssey of the Mind (plus Tarzan and Cinderella) doing clay, coloring with Sharpies, and PAINTING. Remarkably, the house seems to have survived. Of course, we're doing it all over again tomorrow! Then Mom and Dad come on Saturday - perhaps the house will be cleaned, perhaps not. The rivers are still rising, so it may be a little damp. Hopefully not - they're supposed to crest by midnight tonight, so we'll see. It's very wet and muddy outside - I guess that's a sign of Spring maybe possibly showing up someday, so I can't complain.

Riding in the car with Cinderella

C: Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama.
Me: What.
C: Mama. Mama. Mama.
Me: YES?
C: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
C: What does the dog do to the dog?
Me: I don't know, what?
C: Live with it!!!! (Hysterical laughter)
Me: Ha ha ha.
C: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
C: Why does the man...no, the dog...no, why does the dog live with the man?
Me: I don't know, why?
C: To be with the dog!! (Hysterical laughter)
Me: Wow, good one.
C: Let's play mermaid. I will be the mermaid, and you will be the mommy.
Me: Okay.
C: I will be the princess mermaid, who has superpowers. I have powers that are...who's the girl in that movie?
Me: Violet? From the Incredibles? (I'm an amazing guesser)
C: Yes. I will be Violet. What does she do again?
Me: She goes invisible. And makes a shield.
C: What's a shield?
Me: It protects you from bad guys.
C: Like Jesus?
Me: Sure.
C: Okay, I'm the princess mermaid with superhero shield. And you are the mommy. The stretchy mommy. With elastical arms.
Me: Yep, that's me.
C: Okay. Play.
Me: Actually, I'm driving.
C: How longer until we get there?
Me: We'll be leaving the parking spot any second now.

Friends

There is a woman who's son goes to Cinderella's preschool. She and I have had several conversations, discovered some mutual interests, and shared some laughs. We've run into each other spontaneously in Starbucks, and at the mall (in the Disney store) while the kids were in school, and we've had coffee together twice now.
Now, I don't make friends easily. This is a fault in myself - I hold myself back and evaluate people from a distance for a long time before opening up the window to possible friendships. I'm not really sure why this is, but I've always been this way. I only had one close friend in high school, two in college. One since college. And of course, my husband, who is my best friend, although he aggravates me more than any of my female friends ever have. There are several people that I've wanted to be friends with, who have then moved away and ruined my chances. And there are some that I can strike up easy conversations with and totally enjoy being with them when I'm around them (hi, Linnie!), but don't get to be around them enough to cultivate a depth to the friendship. And then there's family - a different story altogether, for better or worse!
I don't mean to sound like a total misanthrope - I get along perfectly well with almost everyone I come in contact with, and I have lots of "friend-ish" relationships with people. But not many that I'd really call friends. Perhaps I'm too picky with my definitions.
Anyway, I like this woman. I'd even consider trying to become her friend. Now, watch her move to Nebraska, or something.

Well, at least I can get the Halloween pictures off the front page

Today's good things:
Chai Tea Latte - paid for with gift card!
A nap
Finishing today's choreography work
My brother's new blog site
Cinderella's special bundle dance
Seeing Debbie
Finally getting some words onto this blog - lame though they are!

There is so much FREAKIN' candy in my house!

Trick or Treat!Pixie dust, in case you were wondering.
Aaaargh!

Aaargh, again!

Potty break at Starbucks...