Big Apple Whirlwind a Blowing

Man, do I miss writing in a blog...so hard to find the time though to make a moment to post.
So here I am, Labor Day, with a minute.  So let me tell you what I've been doing this afternoon.  I've been fretting over my trip (with Julia) next weekend to NYC.  That's correct, Julia and I will be going next weekend to NYC.  We arrive on Friday, and leave Sunday - a very short amount of time to try to drink anything in.

Our main thing on the agenda is to see "Phantom of the Opera" on Saturday afternoon.  All things will be revolving around the 2:00 matinee time.  If I had been thinking it through (we booked Phantom tickets before anything else was purchased, including the ever affordable Sky Mile tickets to get there).  Had I been thinking it through, I would have booked tickets to NYC sometime later on Thursday afternoon, and taken Julia out of school on Friday (allowing for all day in New York on Friday).  Instead, we don't arrive until 8:05 Friday night.  But Julia has reminded me that we will be in "the city that doesn't sleep".

So, after arrival and checking in to the Hilton in Times Square (another beautifully affordable fare from AAA that I can't seem to duplicate on their website now, and the third hotel I've made reservations for), we will head to our first order of business and go to the Top of the Rock observation deck at Rockefeller Plaza.  I have just booked tickets for a 10:00pm lift to the top.  That should be pretty neat - there's even an app to help us identify the things we'll be seeing that "the Rock" recommends we download for free - I'll be doing that.

I have planned for the hotel to have an M&M stuffed chocolate taxi and bucket of sodas upon arrival (I didn't forget about myself, I'll have a bottle of sparking water waiting too - and of course I'll make Julia share some chocolate with me - haha). Then whatever we feel until we wake on Saturday.

On Saturday, we will enjoy the sights of Times Square, possibly Macy's a bit further south, stores on 5th, we'll just see what happens until we go to the 2:00 showing of Phantom.  After Phantom we'll allow our feet to take us where they may again.  Maybe to another show thanks to the TKTS booth in Times Square that sells same day tickets at savings of 50+%.  Maybe not.  Maybe we'll just be so tired we eat and crash - hope not, but who knows.

On Sunday, our plane doesn't leave until 3:15, so I'm guessing an arrival at the airport may mean we should leave the city by 12:30 or 1:00.  But before that, we'll check out of the room, and hit Dylan's Candy Bar and FAO Schwartz (which both open at 10:00).  Depending on timing of things, and how much we have enjoyed those stores, we may be real industrius and try to at least get a glimpse of the big T-Rex in the lobby of the Musuem of Natural History (that may be being a bit overzealous, but that's on the radar at least), or a quick trip into the edges of Central Park (all near Dylans and FAO).

When we booked this trip - Julia made it clear that she didn't want to go in the window of any morning news shows (that was cheesy and she always felt sorry for those people), no Empire State building, and no Ground Zero.  No Double Decker Buses, but definitely Phantom, shopping and buying something from a street vendor.  Maybe even visiting the NYU campus (you know she is a budding actress, and that's Martin Scorsese's alma matter).

So - I'm a bit nervous (though I have been there once - TWELVE years ago).  Wish me luck.  I know we'll have fun!

A Few Words to Catch Up

Again, it has been a while, but things are going well. Currently I am waiting to go get in carpool line to pick up several little girls to transport to a 13th, joint, birthday party.

Julia turned 13 in September and due to being cast as Betty Parris in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" we didnt' get to really celebrate. So she has joined in with two other of her friends to have a joint 13th birthday party. The whole class (20 people - boys and girls - plus two others - 20) are being transported to Edisto Beach where they will have a "dance" party followed by a game of Man Hunt.

The boys will be transported back and will leave at 10:00 pm and the girls (and several of us Mom's) will spend the night. I am in charge of lunch tomorrow. After lots of questions and turned down suggestions, I finally got from Julia that we should have Nutella and croissants and chicken salad. I have added grapes and potato chips and sodas, and I think I will have a hit of a lunch. I'm only feeding 13 girls and 5 parents, so I should be ok.

Julia did a fantastic job in The Crucible. The whole play was crafted extremely well. The directing, the set, the acting. It was great. I saw it several times and feel as if it were like stew or soup - it got better the longer it went.

The job is going well, 7th and 5th grades are going well. Legare decided he hated football this year. Could be a lazy thing. Could be that due to his birthday he was put on a team that had none of his classmates - only older school mates. He was the youngest boy on a team of 6th and 7th graders. And one of the biggest guys. And their team ended up being one of the smallest ones in the league - which means they didn't even earn a first down until the end of the season and finally scored points in one of the last games. They did win their last game though - having earned several first downs and scoring 3 touchdowns.

Anyway - time to go get in carpool line. Maybe some pictures later.

Oh, My!

Several things to blog about...

The most ornery thing is that my 12 year old's hormone's are really starting to kick in! Did I say that they are starting to "kick in"? I really meant - they are "ROLLING OVER US ALL WITH A STEAM ROLLER". Her included.

How do I know they're kick in/rolling over us, you say? Well - she can't keep her room clean for starters (even if I give it to her clean to start with). She has also shed more tears, thrown more daggers and awful looks, has had more attitude, and given Legare more undeserved crap in the last two weeks than she has done cumulatively for the last 2 years.

I thought hormones effected you for a short period each month. Mine certainly do. But this all month long BS is for the birds.

But then, if I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, I could say it's all because of her diet. All she's eaten lately is citrus. Grapefruits at breakfast, oranges at lunch (among other things) and at snack. it's almost like she's put herself on the grapefruit diet - and she doesn't even know what a Grapefruit Diet is!

So, we are all alive. All in tact, and surviving the storm that is Julia. I know it will get better - I'm already seeing glimpses!

The awful thing that happened last Friday (or RIP Oscar)

It was approximately 6:00am and I realized that I was awake, and awake because I had heard a funny sound.

A few minutes later I heard the sound again and it sounded vaguely familiar. Kind of like the sound that your nose sometimes makes after you've blown it. You know the sound - kind of squeaky - like your nostrils have somehow stuck together at the end of the blow. I instantly felt sorry for Julia - I was thinking she hadn't taken her allergy medicine and was paying for it as she woke.

Then I heard it again...this time it sounded like one of my cats crying out (well, kind of crying out). It was disturbing enough that I jumped up to see what was going on. Was this Julia, or was it a cat? And if it was a cat, which one was it?

As I flew down the hall, I noticed that Julia was sitting up in her bed. I stopped at her door and asked if she was ok. She quickly responded that she was, but that something was wrong with Oscar.

As I rounded the bed, I could see him crouching in the floor. I instantly thought he was dead. Then he looked up at me, with the wildest look in his eyes, and let out the sound again. At this point I also noticed that his tongue was kind of thick looking and starting to turn blue as it fell out of the side of his mouth. My thought instantly took me to thinking he was choking on a fur ball. Having worked for a VET in college, office practices and an old Red Cross class took me over as I grabbed him and began probing his throat to see if I could dislodge the hairball that I knew he must be choking on. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find anything.

I kept on trying to find a blockage, feverishly probing my fingers down his throat. I then began giving him my version of a feline Heimlich maneuver followed by some mouth to mouth and chest compressions. For a split second I just knew I was going to save him. Why else would I have thought to do all of this? My children watched me acting like a fiend with wide eyes. I was calling to Oscar, begging him to stay with us. I wasn't admitting to myself that he had just died in my hands. But he really was gone.

I began crying, all the while checking to make sure that he hadn't miraculously started breathing again. He was like a warm little rag doll in my hands. Felix looked on with a spooked expression. I was sobbing in the floor. Legare was sobbing with me. Julia and Bryan both seemed bewildered and unbelieving of what they had just witnessed.

I then placed my sweet Oscar into a used USPS "Priority Mail" box and kept checking to make sure he wasn't really breathing. Then, my sweet husband took my shell shocked children to school (I sent teachers an email about the mornings happenings) and he came back home to gather up Oscar and take him to the farm to bury him. Oscar now lies in peace in "Pet Row" next to all of the other pets...Drake, Poogan, Calhi, Deacon, and a friends dog whose name I don't recall.

I haven't dwelt too much on it - I still have a cat and two other dogs to love and care for - no time for miring down in sadness. I have shed a few more tears. One when I was reading a Harry Potter book and they described someone's tongue hanging out of the mouth as they struggled, and again tonight as I put together this post.

Oscar was a great pet. He was a bit aloof, but he always purred when petted. He was also very quick to reveal his tummy for you to pet whenever you began petting him elsewhere. Did I mention that his fur felt like mink? Well, it did. He let our neighbor's child carry him around like a Raggedy Ann doll and never seemed to really mind it. Oscar also loved jumping on the back of the couch when I was sitting on it. He would not sit beside me (or on me as Felix often does), instead, he would take that flat spot at the top of his head and rub my head with his several times before he would settle down by my head to purr and sit with me for a while. He could always be found napping somewhere - he loved napping. He would take month long turns at which ever spot he chose. He loved Julia's bed the most, but frequented everyone's. There were lots of times I would wake in the night to the soft feeling of Oscar snuggling down beside my shoulders or head.

Oscar was a truly special cat. I guess that's why I tried so in vane to save him. He wasn't sick (to my knowledge), and certainly didn't act ill. This came out of no where and smacked us all in the face. But life goes on. We rescued him from the pound in '05 when he was around 4 or 5 years old (or so they say). Of course this means that we offered him a much longer life than he was going to have at the shelter (this was NOT a no kill shelter). By best guesses he was 9 or 10. Given the way shelters like to underestimate ages to get animals adopted, he could have been much older than that.

Rest in Peace Sweet Oscar. You were a wonderful part of our family!

Why You Should Always Look Where You're Going

This is what will happen when you walk backwards and hit the mug of hot water that your mother is carrying to the sink. Doing this will also make your mom cry once she has gotten a cold towel on you and mopped up the water that found its way to the floor. A trip to the drugstore for burn cream makes it feel much better. 5:00 medication will help your mother feel better later on today. (approx. 8:30 am)

3:30 pm burn update: The cream has been working ok. The lines are now more definitive. There are some popped as well as unpopped blisters. The portion right below the open, popped, pink blister looks like it may be the worst (besides the open, popped, pink blister). I think the opened blister is due to him grabbing the area as it happened with his shirt still on him. I think that whole action caused all of the blisters that are popped, to pop.

One Down....

So we've had these fish for quite a while. We've lived in this house for three years, and we had them for at least 3 before that. I didn't go out looking for fish to buy, or otherwise add to our brood, it just kind of happened.

I had a friend who gave fish as the "party favor" at her child's first birthday. My daughter was two and my son was not quite 6 weeks old. Both children got a fish that day (Tank and Orange-Orange). One died before the sun set the next day. And since it was already lovingly named by the two year old I felt obligated to get a new one. Thanks to the refractive nature of the glass bowl, she didn't realize there was only one fish until I was able to spend the twenty or so cents to replace.

Not to much time had past (several months, not quite a year), and these guys died. No big deal. And then, sweet Aunt Chelle gave each child a Beta fish while they were in her care for a weekend while we attended a football game. I can't complain - it was free babysitting. Now, my son was around 2, totally into the fish. We went through a few Beta's before I decided no more. Then, the cuteness of the children, and their willingness to spend their own money, got to me and I caved and took them to Walmart to get more fish (Cosmo and Melman). I steered the children to the "Gold" variety, helped them pick their bowls and a decorative bowl statue and we were on our way.

It wasn't until we moved in here that the fish moved in together - thanks to a slip of the bowl in the ceramic sink (my fault, not the children's). With nothing else to move Cosmo into, he and Melman became bunk mates; and have been until last week when Melman died. Upon looking back, I think it wasn't old age that took him, but the jump into the colander during his bowl cleaning that lead to me having to pick him up. I may or may not have had detergent on my hands at the time. This may or may not have killed him.

Well, Cosmo started looking sick. He just sat at the bottom of the bowl. Bryan was convinced he was on the way out too. I had changed the water after Melman's death and thought surely old age was taking the toll on him too. Then cuteness prevailed again, and Julia convinced me to splurge and I spent twenty nine cents and let her get a new fish.

So now we have Kevin. A cute goldfish variety that is silver on his bottom half with a blaze, neon orange top half. Very cute. And much smaller than Cosmo (chalking that up to being much younger). The craziest thing is that Cosmo has perked up and isn't just laying around on the bottom anymore. So instead of being on the countdown, "One Down, One to Go", kind of thing, we're back where we started. Again.

We have all decided that Cosmo was suffering from a bout of depression due to Melman's passing. Now we're all taking bets as to how much longer these guys will be with us.

Funny Thing

So last night we put the kids to bed and I started my nightly couch sitting routine (trying to watch the bunch of nothing that was on TV last night, and starting to play cards on the computer). Bryan was sitting on the other couch, forcing the issue of watching the military channel because "there's nothing else on" (and sadly he was right).

As I sat, with the laptop open and on my lap - cause you know, I'm getting ready to play something, anything other than having to watch whatever it is that Bryan has chosen to watch - and I heard the "bing"on my iPhone, notifying me that I had an email. I chose to go see what the email was on the laptop. And in this day of identity theft, imagine my surprise when this comes from Apple:
"How to reset your Apple password" was the subject. The body of the email read like this:

"To reset your Apple ID password, simply click the link below. That will take you to a web page where you can create a new password.
This link will expire in three hours."

Since I haven't been to my Apple account in a few days, I got a bit nervous until it dawned on me that this must mean that Legare was trying to download a new App to his iPod Touch. While he was supposed to be going to sleep! So I called him to the den to ask him.

Luckily he didn't lie and was honest about trying to enter (multiple times) what he thought my password might be so that he could get a new App. We laughed about how iTunes ratted him out and how he should always come ask me first.

I'm glad he was being honest. I rewarded him for this by not being mad. And Bryan and I got a big kick, and good laugh, out him him being "outed" by the electronic gadgets.

Miracle Worker Pictures

Whew...the play is over. I didn't realize how much time I actually had during the day until I got it back. I miss it a bit (the play that is...I know Julia does too), and I'm so thrilled that Julia was able to be a part of a performance that was truly a great piece of art. I have uploaded a few pictures to share with you. Of course, I wasn't able to take photos during the performances (I was able to attend 3, I was backstage for 3 others). It was a fantastic first time experience.

Here goes.....

These are the directors, the main director, Mark, is an attorney by day, avid actor (you should have seen his bio) and director by night. He had a remarkable attitude and Mary, the Assistant Director and Stage Manager, was equally wonderful. This photo was taken after the final performance.

Helen Keller, the cutie with the blue bow, her "Mom and Dad and Brother" and Annie Sullivan to the left. They were wonderful. It was weird seeing "Helen Keller" being such a normal girl, smiling, laughing and giggling with the rest of the girls during the intermissions when she was able to come sit with us. Sometimes "Brother Keller", aka Tyler would come back stage and sit too. The girls loved him, he was constantly making them laugh.
Julia as her "Old Crone" character standing in the door that she opened during the play to say her lines. She was a Perkins Institute Girl (the school for the Blind that Annie Sullivan came from), and these are some of the friends she made standing with her. She started as a Perkins Girl, and ended the play as a Crone...that's why she looks so creepy. I had several people say she "looked like a booger" and some others say she was a great "Creepy Girl". She was thrilled when she "got" her Crone voice. The director told the three crones that they should play around with what they thought their crone sounded like, and bring him their interpretations. He really left it up the them to come up with the sound and then he directed their delivery.
The smiling Crone. Those are just odd shadows on the dress, there were no stains. Notice the boots. I think she was as excited about the boots as anything. We had to purchase them (the stage/wholesale discount of $11.00), so they are now in her closet. She can't wait to wear them again.
This was actually taken during the curtain call. The girls who saw me take it gave me grief for taking pictures during the performance. My defense was that there was no flash, so they shouldn't have cared, ha.
The theater is very small. There are only two dressing rooms that the principle actors used (and there were a number of costume changes for them), and since there were 9 girls, they got to have a little spot in the props warehouse. Can you say COLD. This was during the run of our unseasonal 20 degree nights. We couldn't get the space heater to get above 55 degrees. Lots of blankets were in use. This shot is in the back part of the warehouse...we didn't go back that far, I just thought it would give a great impression of the kind of place we were being housed.
Julia putting on her creepy makeup - lots of white powder and purple under the eyes and in the hollows of her cheeks.
Cute little Solomon. He was the only little boy hanging with all of the girls. He is 9. He was in charge of the dog that was in the show. He is Annie and Helen's servant that stays with them while they are in the garden house. He is in his "sleeping clothes" here..

Here's Ryan, the dog. He was precious. Much cuter than the picture shows. He was also very gas-y. Lot's of HEAVY air biscuits. Back stage mothers were also in charge of walking him during the two intermissions. We got to go through the door in the back of the warehouse and walk him in the cobblestone, foliage lined alley. He was a hit with the actors and the audiences. He was "Momma Keller's" dog in real life. He won the role after the pretty, yellow lab blew it during opening night. He was never on stage when the house lights were all the way down and when he came out the first time and the audience oohed and aahed at him, he started barking. Annie Sullivan did a great job of doing an ad lib around it.Julia and some of the girls hanging out, waiting. In her Crone makeup.
All of the girls. Hanging out again. Waiting some more.
I'm sure I'll upload some more later, but this should do for now.

Oh, on a total other note, this week I got my hair done. I toned my blonde (I used to really be blonde without any help), and darkened it up. I like it. Only the people at my Bible Study noticed. I guess no one noticing (including husband) must mean it looks fine, otherwise I'm sure he would have said otherwise. Maybe a picture of that soon. Oooh, and of us playing in the snow we're supposed to get tonight. We NEVER get snow that sticks (2000 was the last time and 1989 before that). How exciting!

6 Down, 4 to Go

Julia actually didn't have rehearsal tonight. Or basketball. Or cotillion. We actually got to have supper as a family. And bedtime for her was 8:00, not the 11:00 or 11:30 it has been. And those times have become such the customary thing that she said she wasn't tired at 8:00. So she went to bed and read for while. That must feel like a luxury for her about now.

She's definitely been a trooper. This coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and Sunday's matinee are the final performances. It's been such a long time coming that it really is hard to think of it being almost over. Pictures will be coming soon.

Revelations from the Children

1st...I found out yesterday that my daughter has officially reached the age where "just my presence" embarrasses her. I found this out when I asked what they thought of my presentation of the check for the MUSC Children's Hospital fundraiser that their school did. I was met with some "you did great"'s and even a "you didn't even embarrass me". This statement led to the conversation about when that may have started. Then my precious son blurted out that he still likes having me around.

Thank you, Legare. You are my hero.

We also discussed the workings of a typewriter. This discussion was at the tail end of the kids letting me know how much they enjoy "keyboarding" during computer class. That's when I realized that my children will probably never use a typewriter. They will never know how to properly load paper into one or understand the true meaning of using white out. They'll look at the typwriter (even the electric ones) as I used to look at the old "candlestick" telephones...just some old thing that may be fun to play and pretend with.

The same will probably hold true for lots of things....
cassette players and 8 tracks, lp/record players, walkmen, bag phones, built in car phones, computers that used to fill entire rooms, tests where you fill in the bubble for your answer, just to name a few.

Sad isn't it?

2 Down, 8 to Go

That's right, The Miracle Worker opened Friday night. So far, they've done two performances and there are 8 to go. The next 8 are made up of Thursday, Friday and Saturday night performances and Sunday matinees for the next two weeks.

Aside from the fact that I really feel as if my daughter did a fantastic job....being a blind girl on crutches handing a gift to Annie Sullivan, and then being a scary looking, crotchedy old woman with an eerie voice, the play was fantastic! The cast and director really nailed it. The story was great (as you probably know, who isn't intriged by Helen Keller?), but laced with some funny (to me) unexpected lines. I am so glad to be able to say that if you are to go just to see Julia, you won't be sitting around waiting for her to come on stage, you are really getting a great dose of theater that she just happens to be in.

There is a rumor that there will be a clip on youtube. If that happens, I will be sure to post to let you know. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the Perkin's Girls portion of the play. Julia is the cute one with the crutches.

Suck and Blow

For those folks who don't believe in the power of the central vacuum system...
I changed the bag and cleaned the filter today and found the following...
1 - permanent marker
1 - yellow crayon
1 - partial, card board toilet paper roll (could have been a paper towel roll)
20 lbs of fur and dirt

I was expecting the fur and dirt and maybe the crayon.
I don't recall sucking up a marker OR a cardboard roll.

A shower is a MUST when I'm finished. I'm gray and covered from head to toe.
That sucker kept on sucking even though those things were in the way.

Glad I thought to change the bag today - now I'm sure it will suck even harder. Watch out Legos and American Girl outfits...Here I come!

Happy and Funny Snipits from the Last Week

My college alma mater is going to the ACC Football Championship game in Tampa, Florida. GO TIGERS! (Clemson Univeristy for those of you who may to be familiar).

My husband and I are lucky to have a close group of friends all going together. We are also lucky enough that one of these friends has family that lives in Tampa and her Dad has helped secure a "Suite" of seats in the stadium. We will all be spliting the cost of the tickets (there are 8 seats, 8 of us going) and the catering of food and drinks to the suite. These petite athletic boxes (as I like to call them) are enclosed and climate controlled. But since it's balmy Tampa, there is also the option of opening the window so we can enjoy the weather, the atmosphere and the sounds that go along with college football. We get to do this on December 5th.

Our wonderful team has never been to a conference championship game (our conference has only been big enough to split and have this championship game since 2005). Being conference champion used to be something that happened regularly, but we haven't been Champs in a long time (long string of coaches).

So...Tampa, here we come.

Next...out of the mouths of babes..."So Mom?" (coming from Legare), "what is a taint?"

Seriously...I got this question. I asked how he heard it used in a sentence, because he clearly asked what one was. No "It Ain't" contraction here. And I asked him to use it in a sentence.

He then said that it was on one of the "Harry Potter Puppet Pals" skits on youtube. And then he said, "You know, like Leprechaun Taints".

Hhhmmmm..... This caught me off guard. To say the least.

So after a bit of thinking, and telling him it was a word that could get you in trouble, I told him about the contraction. And then I told him how it described areas of your body. I then reiterated that it was a word that could get you into trouble. And I also let him know he should stop watching things on YouTube without my presence.

He understood the "words that can get you in trouble" concept well due to the trouble made the week after Halloween when the older boys in the neighborhood taught him the game about how you make a word by "taking the first two letters of FUn and the last two letters of duCK". He thought that game was great and took it to school to share it with others. Yay, us! We've been calling it the "Fun Duck Incident".

Let There Be Light. Please!

I have hung a new bathroom fixture in the hall bath. Why? Well...the old light fixture had burned out 2 of the new CFL bulbs in 3 months (both on the same side), and since they're supposed to last for years I was getting nervous that there was a short or something in the old fixture. So OUT it went. And when it came down, guess what I found? The whole socket was hanging on by a thread. Nick of time!

I tried to have the new fixture hung before everyone got home from school/work so it could surprise them when they turned on the light. Before the "hanging" project got started I had to mount a metal "plate" to the outlet box that was behind the sheet rock. Unfortunately for me, the directions left out one, key step of how to attach the light fixture to the "plate" that you just mounted on the outlet box.

(Various shapes and sizes of outlet boxes)

The problem was that the "fixture screws" (that I put through the plate before I mounted it to the wall) were too long. When I added the decorative "nut", that shows on the front of the fixture to hold it on to the wall, there was way too much room between the nut and the surface of the fixture. Like about 1/4 of an inch of screw was showing, NOT securing the fixture to the plate. So because I thought I put the wrong screws in, I found myself re-hanging the thing to put in shorter screws. Which meant I had to take off the fixture AND the plate.

I did this several times with several increasingly shrinking screws (maybe 5 mount jobs in all for this one fixture). I finally called the customer service number and they told me that I had skipped the step about how to adjust the "little nuts" on the "fixture screws". I looked back over the directions and this step WAS NOT THERE. Very frustrating.

Basically the fixture screws got threaded out of the back of the plate and their little nuts hold them tightly in place. Bad thing was that when I went to reattach everything to the wall, the screw heads stuck out of the back of the plate. which they were supposed to do. But since the outlet box wasn't exposed (because it had been sheet rocked over, remember) there was no empty space for the screw heads to back into. So, after detaching everything again, I took a screw driver and poked holes in the sheet rock so that the screw heads could back into the space inside the outlet box.

After all of this, it was very rewarding to show off the new fixture to the family. I didn't get it done in time for the children to be surprised by it, but they got to enjoy helping me finish and getting it ready for when Bryan got home.

And man...I had no idea that there could be so much light! It's almost blinding.

A Star is Born

Well, not quite born, but definitely incubating.
We went to The Miracle Worker callback last night. After arriving and having the group of girls called upstairs for a quick video to introduce themselves and their ages, the director came down and let us know that we were there because our girls were going to be in the production.

What?! IN the production?! Oh my gosh - in the production! Julia's dream is coming true. She is going to be a "Perkin's Institute Girl" in The Miracle Worker. This is going to be a great introduction to theater for her because the role will also have her aiding in the placement of set props during the performance, being a (digitally altered) voice in Annie Sullivan's head during her nightmare sequences, and we'll find out later if she will be an understudy for Helen Keller. The director has promised at least one performance for the understudy. OH MY GOSH! That's all I can keep thinking to myself.

I am so proud of her for wanting something, researching the possibilities and following through with me to help her get there. I hope that this experience will enrich her in good ways. We'll see if this bug sticks, or if this will be enough to cool her jets.

Since We Last Spoke

Since we last spoke I have taken Julia to another audition. This one was for "The Miracle Worker" (you know - the story of Helen Keller). She had me put on the application that she was trying for the role of "A Perkins Institute Girl" (girls from the school Annie Sullivan came from) or Helen Keller (in that order).

That was Monday. I will admit that I think the role of Helen Keller would be a little much being that she's never been in a true theater production before. I was excited at the order she wanted me to put the roles in on the application. Well to be honest, I think she just wants to do something, anything. Right now acting may be a glamorous thing in her head, but I think given the opportunity she would really be good at it.

The director told us on Monday he would let us know one way or the other by Wednesday. That's today. I was told he would touch base by email. Around 7:00 this morning, I went online just because I was killing time while Bryan was getting ready for work (the children had a teacher work/conference day - no school - yay!) and almost overlooked the email from the director. His name wasn't familiar to me and I almost sent it to the spam folder until I read the subject line: "Callback List for the Miracle Worker".

Of course, I got excited. Then I got nervous. This could be a good letter, or a "thanks, but no thanks" letter. The opening of the letter said thanks for bringing our children, the role of Helen Keller had been cast and that the following list of girls (about 15 of them) were being called back to re-read for the Perkin's Institute girls. (still nervous)....

....so I scanned to the bottom of the list looking for her name (our last name starts with "W", remember). No Julia. Shucks.

Then it dawned on me to scan the whole list. And there her name was, right smack in the middle. I was so excited! I shared this new with Bryan. He was excited too. I was going to wait until Julia woke to share the news with her (remember - no school today).

After Bryan went down to go to work, he saw the children in the playroom and brought them back up. When I shared the news with Julia, she was very excited. No wait, she was VERY EXCITED.

So on Monday I'll be taking her back to re-read. If she gets one of the roles of the girls, it will also entail being the voices of some of the voices in Annie Sullivan's head/nightmares, and helping move set pieces on and off the stage during the performance. Oh yeah, and a possible understudy role of Helen.

So, keep your fingers crossed. We'll see what Monday brings. I'll be sure to let you know.

Tea, A drink with Jam and Bread

We just had a very fun weekend at Garden City (thanks, Aileen and Spencer!). We had fun at TWO honest to God arcades, enjoyed some (pretty chilly) pirate Putt-Putt, watched a few great college football games, ate on the waterfront in Murrell's Inlet, and watched some riveting "Moustrap" building. It was a great weekend! It ended with me taking Julia to audition for a part in "The Sound of Music" with one of our local theater companies. The auditions started at 7:30. We arrived a few minutes early and were still 55th.

Julia's music teacher at school has been helping her with an audition song. They settled on (and have been working on at lunch) "In My Own Little Corner" from Cinderella. When I heard it on Thursday night (finally) I was blown away at how good it sounded. Not that I thought it wouldn't sound great, but I was very impressed. She brought tears to my eyes (not really surprising, I know), but she also brought tears to the neighbor's eyes. They were here because we caught them Boo-ing us. I swear Betsy let more tears drop than I did.

We got to the auditions at 7:25, and at 5 til 11:00 we were done. We were a bit encouraged that Julia was one of the few that sang a song NOT from The Sound of Music. Mr. Ivey seemed really pleased with her. I was the mom listening at the door...literally with my ear pressed as hard as I could get it. As she was leaving (when they opened the door) they stopped to ask her another question and then both (Mr. Ivey and the pianist) called out that she was really enjoyable.

Yay, Julia!

Bryan was funny...he didn't say much to me about her auditioning before hand. However, last night as she was in bed and sleeping, he looked at me and said something like, "How about Julia actually wanting to try out and actually doing it." She was, afterall, the one that presented me with the possibility of doing this after Googling "auditions in Charleston for kids". This was all her idea.

Tonight was the second and final night of the auditions. I don't know when or if we'll hear anything, but I'll make sure to keep you posted.

I swear she didn't even seem nervous. Giddy is more how I would describe her. I was glad to be there to witness it.

I Promise This Will Become a Story About Legare

Here I am. (But most of you are probably gone by now, huh?)

Been pretty busy. Who hasn't, right?
I haven't even been online to read my old standby blogs (those in the side bar and others that I vulturize on a daily basis). I don't know if I could tell you what it is I've been doing other than running children to their activities and celebrating birthdays. Bryan's was Sunday.

I had a few people over on Friday for enchiladas and Sangria, we went out on Saturday night with some friends, and then went to his mother's on Sunday. We were out of town weekend before last, and we're headed back out this weekend coming.

So we've been busy, but we've been having fun. I do have a funny, kind of endearing story, to share about Legare though.

Legare has started cub scouts. He loves it, and man is he handsome in his uniform. He is really taking it very seriously so far and every now and then he will even say..."Mom, I'm doing my best. Just like a scout is supposed to do." I say - scouts...why did I wait so long to sign him up?

Well, last night's meeting involved learning about pocket knife care and safety. So I went out to WalMart and Lowe's to see which Swiss Army/Victorinox knife I wanted to get him. I ended up with this one. But at WalMart I paid way less than the price listed here.

Anyway, they learned safety. How to handle it, close the blade, when to use it, when not to use it, etc, etc. They even started whittling/carving a block of soap. Legare was really excited to show me that he had cut his finger but he "didn't even know" he had done it until he looked down and saw blood. The band aid was a nice green, cloth camouflage.

Then, when I encouraged him to show his Dad the new knife, he eagerly grabbed at his cargo pocket on his pants. And that's when the color left his face. Because his knife was not there. Long story short...after many disappointed tears and searching the house, the car, and both again, Bryan took him back down to the car to look one more time. And sure enough, the knife was there - wedged under the seat where it landed when it feel out of the before mentioned cargo pocket. This brought relief and many more "relief" tears. I've never seen him be quite so hard on himself before. It was really sweet.

But I did say this was a funny story. Bryan and I both started laughing about how ironic it was that he was at scouts to get his Pocket Knife Responsibility badge. And that, within 30 minutes, he had cut his finger and lost the knife.

My American Girl is Named Julia

I picked her up from school early. She was brought to the office not knowing I was there to pick her up...she wasn't really sure why she was in the office, she was just going with the flow. The receptionist pretended to be on the phone and handed her the American Girl magazine to look through while Julia waited for her to get off the phone. When I came around the corner this is the look I got when I asked her if she was ready to go to the American Girl Bistro.
This is what happened when she realized we're leaving RIGHT NOW, and on a plane! (a few happy tears in case you can't tell in the picture) . . .


This is the first time she can remember being on a plane (she was about 15 months old during her last flight). She was very excited!

When we landed I took her to eat at the Benihana's Japanese steak house that was down the street from our hotel. This is the birthday hat they made for her and had her wear as they sang Happy Birthday.


The next morning we woke, showered and got ready to go eat breakfast at the Bistro. The empty (clean) table was ours. Notice all of the pink and shades of purple. Any girl's paradise.
Here are some shots of the cute lighting fixtures around the restaurant. . .
This is us enjoying our breakfast. We (and Melanie - the doll) had complimentary strawberry muffins. Julia had the largest chocolate milk I've ever seen served to a child (already cleared in the picture).

The doll even got her own chair and menu too. Then after breakfast, Julia was served a birthday ice cream sundae, complete with chocolate sauce, sprinkles, a Happy Birthday song from everyone in the restaurant and two spoons (yay me!).



This is Julia waiting on her doll, Melanie, to get the "do" of the month and her ears pierced. That's Melanie in the pink/orange outfit almost behind Julia.
All finished with hair and ear piercing (the dolls...Julia's were pierced several years ago - not on this day). Now we're ready to shop in the Boutique!



An hour or so later, we were all finished shopping. Birthday presents included a new doll "Julie", a new winter outfit, shoes, and new earrings (all for the doll of course). The sticker on Julia's shirt was from breakfast and says "It's My Birthday" (it's really this coming Tuesday). I might add that "Julie" is the new historical character from 1974. She has all of the things I had as a child. Makes you feel kind of old when the new historical character is from your childhood. I am not historic! (ha)



Now we're ready to go hit the mall and kill some time before a late lunch and time to travel back to the airport.




There was a beautiful carousel in the mall. The cute frog and it's duck, lady bug and flowers caught her eye. We laughed and said this was the AFLAC frog.

So she rode it.

This is us trying on cute feathery headbands in "Icing" and taking our pictures in the mirrors over head. We had fun pretending we were divas in these things.


This is just a cute shot of her coming out of one of the stores - I just couldn't resist posting this one.



When we went back to the Bistro's dessert counter to have an afternoon ice cream treat. The store allowed Julia to pick a doll to join us since our bags were already in the car. Julia chose this cute thing. She got her own muffin again. Julia didn't eat it this time...her ice cream float filled her up.




This is Julia enjoying her "Black Cow" root beer float. One scoop vanilla, one scoop chocolate, chocolate sauce, and of course root beer. She loved it.



At the end of the day, we drove back to return the rental car and patiently waited for the shuttle to take us to the airport. Julia enjoyed caring her big red bag with her new stuff in it. We both truly enjoyed ourselves. We laughed, we giggled and we tired each other out. This was the best gift ever! And it wasn't even mine. Seeing her smile and glow from excitement these two days was enough to warm my heart for a long time. I highly recommend something like this. Start saving those sky miles now!

And the Next Birthday is.....

The Next Birthday is Julia's (Sept. 15).

So this is what I have cooking for Julia's birthday...
She's turning 11 and still likes American Girl dolls. And even though she wants a Nintendo DSi she would love to go to the American Girl Experience or the American Girl Bistro (basically anywhere she can travel by plane I think would be fine too. And since I've driven around Atlanta before, not Chicago or NYC - Atlanta is what I chose for such a quick trip).

So, since we've accumulated LOTS of sky miles over the years of using the Amex, I decided that I'm going to (surprise) take her to Atlanta next weekend to go to the American Girl Bistro. I have booked the plane, the rental car, the hotel and our breakfast at "The Bistro". I have even gotten the teachers to ok a surprise early dismissal from school. The only thing I have left undone is where we will eat on Friday night (there's a Bennihana's right around the corner from the hotel. There is also a gracious plenty other fun looking restaurants around, so there should be no problem to pick something she will think is a fun thing ).

I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I think what I will do is pick her up from school and have all of her American Girl dolls in the car so that she can chose which one to take to have her hair done while we are there. The nice lady on the American Girl reservations line said we should make sure that Julia has the doll out and in the airport (she has an AG backpack to carry the doll in) because sometimes there are AG ambassadors at the airport handing out certificates to the girls with dolls. So we will definitely be doing that.

I have already started putting together some of our travel liquids...shampoo, conditioner (hotel versions are never good for my hair), travel deodorant, travel toothpaste, moisturizer, etc. The one thing that I'm having trouble with is contact solution for Julia.

The TSA allows you to pack 1 quart size zip lock bag per passenger, holding as many 3 oz. containers as you can fit (they call it the 3-1-1 for Carry ons). the problem is, the small contact solution I'm finding is 4 oz. It states (even shows a picture) right on the package that it is TSA approved, but I wonder how that is true with it being 4 oz? The last thing I want to do is buy a special size but still have it confiscated at the airport, causing us to buy another one once we get there. Of course if we do this, we'll just get to hand it over again as we get ready to return 24 hours later. Money well spent, don't you think?

Well I think I will be making a call to either the maker of Opti Free or Delta to see what I should do. I have only been to two stores, so there may be other options for travel sized solutions at Walmart or Walgreens that I can choose from.

Anyway - wish me luck keeping it secret. I can't wait!!