Photos...because I'm too tired to write a real post.

The inevitable has happened. My body has been a trooper through all this sleep deprivation but it finally reached it's breaking point. I am sick. Awesome. I took my first sick day, I don't know... maybe almost ever, yesterday. Can't call in sick from the mom gig though. And then Baby B slept decently. Go figure. Anyway, here are some photos since I've been too lazy to write.

Crazy kid. I'm almost positive she'll be walking by 9 months. Lord help us.



Since this winter is never ending we are trying to make the most of it.





This was taken at the annual fundraiser/dance party that I/we attend. Although I paid dearly for it the next day in exhaustion it was worth it for the sanity I gained.



I notice the photo is very similar to the one taken two years ago. Strange. I love wearing hats when I dance... don't know what that's about.

Success! (I think.)

So on Monday Miss A had her first dance class. I was so glad she was in school during the afternoon so I didn't have to constantly answer "No, it's not time to go to dance class yet." repeatedly. When we were leaving she was all "BYE DAD!!! I'M GOING TO DANCE CLASS!!!" which amused us both greatly. When we arrived 'Angelina Ballerina' was playing on a television in the lobby.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find that two little girls from her preschool class are in her dance class. Thrilled would be a better word to describe Miss A's feelings. The class was pretty small which I was pleased about. I watched through one way class as the three young instructors led the 'warm up' and the rest of the class. Miss A did amazingly well listening and following instructions. Unfortunately she tended to like to follow when some of the other girls flaked out and just ran around. I'm not sure the young instructors have been equipped with the skills to handle these situations very well. When things get out of hand class comes to a halt while all three girls try to rein them in. I think it would be better if one of the girls continued to teach while the other two get everybody back in line.

I had to listen to this very intense woman complain about this fact. Her granddaughter was one of the older girls (5) in the class and she was very perturbed about how she was missing out because of the ones fooling around. While I could see her point I had a difficult time not laughing in her face because she spoke with such intensity as though the girls who were goofing off were destroying her granddaughter's chances of becoming a professional dancer. She went on and on about it, talking about how it's too expensive to be fooling around etc. I wanted to say to her "Lady, look at what they are doing! It's not rocket science." Sheesh! I kept my lip buttoned for the most part but I did point out that the instructors were young and should be told what to do in those situations and reminded her that they were just kids after all.

I think I made a mistake in telling Miss A that dance class was like school in that she had to listen to what her teacher's said and so on. A mistake because after only a half hour when the class was finished she was devastated. Perhaps because she thought it was going to last as long as school does? And also all the students have a card which they get a sticker on at the end of class. They didn't have a card prepared for A and she was heartbroken despite all their assurances that she'd get one next class.

It was a bad scene when we left and in all the insanity I left my camera behind. I only discovered this yesterday morning and then spent the remainder of the day worried sick about it until I could call and see if it was actually left behind. I clearly have no faith whatsoever in the goodness of people because I was certain that someone would have taken it home. Thankfully, that was not the case, which gave me even more good feelings about this place. I'm thinking next week can only be better. All I have to do is avoid the grumpy lady and I should be good to go.

(Warm up. Crappy picture because it's taken in the reflection of the mirror)

Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

Any of you who have been reading for a while would remember Miss A's month long attempt at dance classes which began like this and ended like this. The whole experience was really quite depressing and I was sure that I'd be waiting for at least another year before trying this again, but... there was this whole matter of Miss A saying on several occasions "Mama, remember when I went to dance class? Maybe, I could go to dance class again." I was talking to a client of mine about it and she gave me the name of the studio that her daughter dances at. She started at the same age, the classes are much smaller than the studio we tried last time. Her daughter is loving it and doing very well. I figured since I'm back at work I could put some of my tips towards her classes and give it another try.

Not unlike last time she was thrilled to get her dance gear. Here she is practicing her moves in both her ballet and tap shoes. I'm surprised that all of the photos aren't blurry because she really didn't stop moving from the moment she put her shoes on.











This one looks posed but was totally by accident. (A good sign?)



I am trying not to get my hopes up to high this time but I think it will go a lot better. She's been in preschool for several months now so I think she'll find settling down and following instructions much easier. Monday is her first class, feel free to keep your fingers crossed.

As you can see the hairstylist in me couldn't resist giving her some 'ballet hair'.

Ring a Ding Ding

My ears are ringing. I just arrived home from an evening of dancing. My old school friend/DJ was in town doing a gig at a local boutique/eatery (weird location). I would just like to say that I am officially old. Don't. Don't argue with me. Because my body would like to tell you otherwise. My back is stiff and aching (I don't even want to think about what it's going to feel like tomorrow), my knee is hurting as is my ankle which also got stiffer and stiffer the longer I danced. I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I can't remember the last time I danced for about 3 hours straight.

I went by myself and not one of the people I invited were able to make it. I ran into an acquaintance who invited me to dance with her which I did, the whole night. She is this drop dead gorgeous Czechoslovakian woman and I was staring at and coveting her cheekbones all evening. The music was superb but the crowd was irritating at best. The following would be my personal messages to some of the characters I was surrounded by.

To the girl with the hooker boots on that ended up in bare feet by the end of the night - Those boots aren't very practical for dancing. They aren't really practical for life actually.

To the two eighteen year old amorous couples - I could do without seeing you grind each other on the dance floor. This is not a club. People like you are specifically the reason why I decided to come to this event and why I avoid clubs. Please take your dirty business elsewhere.

To the drunk woman with the sparkly shirt - Please stop bumping into me. Your shirt is giving me road rash every time you touch me. If you are too intoxicated to dance perhaps you should sit down. Or another novel idea would be, go home, sleep it off and rethink that shirt.

To the guy with the 90's Matchbox 20 hair - You are not cool. No one is attracted to you. I know you were a stud once and could probably get any girl you wanted but those days have long passed. Now you are just a short, drunk guy with an outdated haircut who everyone is trying to ignore.

To my Czechoslovakian acquaintance - Why must you be so beautiful? You are very nice and I love listening to your accent but you are making me look bad. Also, I can't stop envying your cheekbones.

And this is what several people were probably thinking about me.

To the lady in the pigtails - Dude. Don't you think you are a little too old for pigtails? Why don't you get a cute short haircut like that gorgeous Czechoslovakian woman you're dancing with? You dance like someone who doesn't get out much and what is with your boobs? You totally look like you need to go and feed a baby or something.

And guess what? I do.

Fly Girl

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!!

Interesting Wardrobe Choices

Lately Miss A has been more opinionated about her wardrobe. On some level I think she realizes her choices are for home only. She hasn't requested to wear any of these outfits anywhere else.

Speedo with pink socks (Personally, I was impressed she chose matching socks...)



Faux fur coat (AKA-bunny suit) worn with diaper.



Ladybug (Last years Halloween costume)





And finally, my personal favorite - Tap shoes and a diaper (And of course we need to dance!)

YouTubesday

I feel dancey. Do you feel dancey?

Dance

A faliure. For now. Not to say I don't find this terribly depressing. We just arrived home from the fourth, and what I decided would be the last, dance class. I am SURE we will be back but right now it is only an extended exercise in frustration for me.

What I find extremely difficult are the 'I told you so' s some of which have come already from the likes of my mother and sister and some of which I know are coming. The saddest part of all is that the reasons most people tried to convince me NOT to put her into dance yet aren't really the problem. Those reasons mostly consisted of 'she's too young' and 'she won't want to follow instruction'. Both of these contributed to my decision to temporarily remove her from class.

But the main reason is that her class has SEVENTEEN kids in it. Seventeen. Imagine if you will Mamas, your child in a class for 2-5 year olds, sitting on their little bums while their teacher takes attendance. And they are all decked out in their dance gear. And ballet shoes, don't forget the shoes! And then also imagine these seventeen having to stand with their backs to the wall as they are calling one by one to skip, or jump or gallop across the floor to give their teacher a high five. Can you picture how excruciating it might be for some children (especially any who find it difficult to stay still unless they are sound asleep, and even then it's a stretch) to have to stand there watching as sixteen other kids do this ahead of them? And lets not even talk about the nightmare of getting them all to hold hands in a circle. For pete's sake.

To recap: Yes, she is young. Yes, she does have some difficulty following instruction. But I have to wonder... If there were say, ten kids instead of seventeen, would she have an easier time because it wouldn't take so long to do everything? Because they would be spending more time doing stuff instead of trying to organize SEVENTEEN kids to do said stuff? Did I mention there were seventeen kids in her class? Under the age of five?

People often say if you are going to complain you ought to have a solution. And guess what? I do! The trouble is I know that the studio won't give a crap because it involves capping the class size which would also mean capping the profit. See the problem? I did speak to A's instructor today who also happens to be the studio owner. I casually mentioned that I thought the class was large and this was partly the reason she was having difficulty. She listened attentively and said "Let's just see how it goes today." And I guess you can tell by this post it didn't go very well at all.

So yeah. We'll wait for a few months. When she'll be able to listen better (we hope), follow directions more easily and have more patience. And then we'll go back. And I'm sure I'll still be frustrated because the class will STILL be too large which will still be a problem. Miss A will just be one of the kids waiting patiently to dance while the other kids are running around. Welcome to the wonderful world of parenting right?

No Doubt

Last night I took Miss A to be registered for dance class. At first I was a bit uptight since of course she refused to stand beside me, she had to be running around through the various adjoined dance studio rooms. A slightly older girl seemed to get a kick out of her and kept tabs on her while I waited in line and then filled out the paperwork.

She is enrolled in a toddler ballet/tap combo class. I also had to pick up ballet and tap shoes and luckily they have used ones on hand to buy for a reasonable price. Trying on these shoes stopped A in her tracks. She was thrilled with the tap shoes and once they were on she stood in front of the vast wall of mirror and tapped her feet on the floor while also swaying her hips. Then she noticed a ghetto blaster and attempted to turn it on for musical accompaniment. Everyone beamed at her.

This continued when we went to the dance store to buy her tights and bodysuit. We tried the bodysuit on over her onesie and she wouldn't let us take it off. She was prancing around in her shoes. There was also a bunny rabbit about her height that was dressed as a ballerina. It spent a great deal of time as her dance partner.

The thing I couldn't figure out was when we first arrived at the studio she was saying "I wanna dance, I wanna dance." as if she knew. But I have to wonder how? I guess I don't give her enough credit. All I know is that I no longer have any doubt that I should put her into dance class. It was only a matter of time.

I Wanna Dance!

I know that everyone has dreams and aspirations for their children. I also know that all parents are deluded and blinded by love when it comes to their child's talent. But I've gotta tell you guys. My daughter is the most amazing 2 (almost) year old dancer I've ever seen. She digs music so much. In fact, she will groove to any sort of beat at all. Like the rhythmic noise of the grocery cart wheels on the tile floor in the mall. The sound of a train going by on the tracks. Wherever we go that there is music playing she immediately perks up and starts bopping around.

When she dances she moves her whole body. She moves her shoulders, her hips, everything. She does little spins with her arms stretched out. And she's smiling the whole time too.

At her Grandma's place you can see the television from the table. Since it was a novelty we always used to have cartoons on while we had lunch. It used to distract so that she wouldn't decide she didn't like something, she'd just watch her show and eat anything. The other day we discovered we can no longer have cartoons on while we eat. What happened was when music came on she loudly proclaimed:

“I want DOWN!” “I wanna DANCE.”

I quickly changed the channel to something she was not at all interested in. But I had to admit her words were music to my ears. Now every time I watch this show I daydream that maybe one day I'll be the geeky parent in the audience watching Miss A on the stage. Holding up a sign that says “Miss A is DA BOMB!”

Last night a DJ Saved my Life

First of all I was lazy on Sunday and I didn't announce that BON won Say WHAT? this week. 'Red Dawn' is one of Peter's favorite 80's movies. I mostly just like it because it has Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in it, pre-Dirty Dancing.





And speaking of dancing... I went dancing on Saturday as I mentioned here. Almost everything went according to plan.

-Baby to bed on time CHECK
-Babysitters settled in CHECK
-Dancing attire donned CHECK
-Husband CHECK
-Have a great time CHECK
-Baby sleeps till morning ?

Unfortunately not. I had a 5:15 wake up call and a baby that didn't want to stay in her bed. So I did something that I haven't ever really done since she was tiny and we were desperate. I let her sleep in our bed. I have tried it other times in desperation but it has never worked. She has never actually slept. She just picks our noses or puts her fingers in our ears. But this time she did sleep. And I grabbed whatever extra ZZZ's I could so my fatigued body could somehow function the next day.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. The evening was perfect. I was so happy that Peter actually came along. He sat with our friends and chatted while I was on the dance floor. Every once in a while I came back for a kiss and a glass of coke. He looks a little pained in this picture but that's probably because I was ridiculously hyper.



I danced. And danced. And danced. DJ Hunnicutt and Mama Cutsworth were amazing. Everyone loved them. The dance floor was packed until the bitter end. Between sets I was able to have a chat with my former school mate which was nice. I asked for his permission to take a photo and put it on my blog. He told me he would “love that”. So, cool. Here we are. For some reason I look bored, which I absolutely wasn't. Let's pretend I look cool instead.



And here is a photo that appeared on the front of our local newspaper yesterday. I usually miss hearing about these events until they are over. I am glad that I made it to this one. It was worth losing sleep over.