Today's Agenda

My parents will arrive in about an hour to spend the day with my son so that my husband and I can spend the day with my daughter. Today is the first of two dress rehearsals on stage for her dance recital. This is her fifth year dancing, her fifth show, and every year we have followed the same routine.

We drive 30 minutes (with out traffic) to the performing arts center. We park across the street and feed her a bite of some protein as she is wrapped in a towel to cover her gorgeous, one of a kind, better-not-even-think there's a replacement costume. Then we enter the extremely cold air conditioned arts center; to the point where I usually get a headache from the freeze.

I am spotted by the teachers as the go-to-mom for the group every year, which means I get the job of being chaperon for the class. It is a very easy job and lets you get the front seats of the auditorium, so I never opt out. I have to sit with the class to make sure they are 1) behaving with no talking and no slouching their feet on the chair in front of them 2) they do not leave the row with out either myself or their parent and 3) make sure they get backstage at the appropriate time to dance. The studio is very strict about safety and manners and I applaud them for that. The owner takes her responsibility very seriously that all the children are accounted for ... the chaperons help enforce her rules.

Meanwhile, my husband is sitting rows up in the auditorium capturing the entire show with his magic touch of the Canon. He rented new, high power lens' this weekend to get an even higher quality print. He is fabulous and I can't wait to see and share his photos. He loves the challenge and the artistry of capturing this genre of photographs ... for fun! We are fortunate.

At some point during the rehearsal, the photographer's assistant will come gather the class for their group photo. And at another designated time, I am to take the class to the bathroom and to snack time in the foyer. All the while the other classes are doing the same thing, or back stage waiting their entrance, or actually dancing. It is chaos, but well managed chaos.

Five hours later, we leave the building to come home to take our own individual photos of my daughter. My husband, thankfully, has the lights, camera and screens possible to compose a nice professional shot of my girl in each of her costumes in the comfort of our living room. We get to skip the solo photograph this week at the studio which is complete chaos; and expensive.

Once that is complete, my girl can change just in time for dinner and bed. A packed day that will be ground hog day tomorrow, when we get to start at the beginning and repeat for the same show, but this time we'll start after school and into the night.

However, some reason it never gets old, we enjoy it that much.

A second grade boy

I love these photos captured by my husband this week. My son is not one to volunteer to get his photo taken, but he wanted the attention on this particular night. My husband was in our backyard taking photos of flowers while my son was inside finishing his dessert. We had the last portion of the Rhubarb over ice cream as an extra "why not" Wednesday treat, because otherwise the kids only have dessert or treats on Sundays (notice how I told the truth and said "the kids"). We call it Sundae Sundays, and yes, we usually end up having Sundaes, even though that part is not a family rule, it just happens to be our favorite dessert downfall. As my son finished, he gathered his shoes and yelled, "Wait, Dad, take some photos of me." and ran out the back door.

It was that good ...

*my beautiful daughter playing Edelweiss, and Spring by Vivaldi

What an amazing night!! My end of the year piano recital was tonight and it could not have gone any better. As my husband said, "It was even better than last year." Always a good sign when you travel forward with success.

I hosted the night at our church and the grand piano had a gorgeous tone. With the soft spot lights on the sanctuary front, it created a very calm atmosphere for the students. It was not a very sunny day, so it was a welcomed relief from the 90+ temps we had been experiencing all week. We did not have to worry about extra sweat other than from nerves.

*my sweet sixth grade niece on my husband's side of the family

The children had not played on this piano prior, so I had them gather at 7pm to rehearse their songs or to play scales. I wanted them to get a feeling of what it would be like to walk up the steps to the piano, say their name and music titles, and sit down to position their music and play. I wanted their mind to know that they had been there before; even if it was just minutes before the real event. While they warmed up minutes before the show, the audience was in our church's Fireside Room socializing. It was really perfect.
*the mother said that her Kindergarten son could handle piano lessons ~ glad I listened ~ she was right. A third grader now, this star student knows his Jazz, Rhythm, and Blues.

Then the audience filtered through as the students were already seated in order. It was fun to see the kids' eyes grow bigger as the snickering started and comments were heard like, "When will the line of people stop?!" It was very kid-like-cute. And eventually the sea of people did stop and we got started.*presenting the personalized CDs before the reception

Some of my students, like my daughter, just started a few months ago and some have been playing for four-plus years. But I received many compliments that the audience would never have known ~ the students were well prepared. I was thrilled that one particular student "wowed" me with her playing as she has struggled the most, and another more experienced student just nailed it to where you heard talking and sighs of amazement during the applause. Of course the CD gifts were a hit ... as were the cookies at the reception.

To sum it up ~ when you get chills and have to swallow hard to fight back the emotion, you know it's good. It was that good.

differences

It was five years ago and I was waiting to pick up my daughter from kindergarten. I had noticed this other mom standing around waiting to pick up her son. She and I did the same routine just about every day, but we never really talked as there were other moms we both knew that we tended to cling to.

Then came the first day of first grade and this woman and I struck up a conversation. Knowing our children had been in the previous grade together, we talked about how we could not believe that "we" survived the full day of school of first grade. She was very talkative and very entertaining. Our routine has remained the same, we both pick up our students after school, my daughter and her son have been in the same class two years in a row, and we talk at least three times per week during pickup. I just dropped off a package at the Post Office and there she was, we chatted for an extra 30 minutes on the sidewalk.

Born and raised in Germany, she came to the United States after she married her American husband years ago, but her accent is very strong and her word choices are sometimes not American-like. Her son is an only child, well behaved, respectful person, you can tell she adores him, and they have a strong family unit. Educated, smart, put together.

What am I getting at? I am getting at the fact that I think many judge her by her appearance. I can tell by the way parents will eye her while she walks past them at school; some are so obvious. I wonder if she notices too? Her haircut is very alternative, bowl-cut short over her ears, with an elaborate Betty Boop tattoo going down the right arm and a mixture of other tattoos down her left, and piercings. She dresses in a mixture of preppy-punk-classic. In other words, you notice.

I remember that first year we became friends it was the first scorching hot day and she was in long sleeves. She brought it up, "I have to wear this shirt because people look at me funny here with my tattoos." Sad. Having never seen what she was talking about, I encouraged her to wear short sleeves, because really, who cares? The next sunny day and all the nice days after, she's worn short sleeves during pick up time at school.

One day I would like to get up the courage to ask her the story behind her tattoos, her choices, her style. I find it fascinating, not judging. That is just me, I love to hear peoples stories whether I agree with their choices or not. I should have been born earlier and been Barbara Walters!

Not Just Soup

Today my jaw and teeth hurt and I am starting a new raw patch on the inside of my lower lip which means my braces are shifting my teeth. Just when I thought everything was in place, then it starts moving all over again. Not to mention that I caught my son's sore throat. I opted to stay home from volunteering in the over heated school in order to rest because my end of the year piano recital is only two days away. I am finally 100% complete on all the burning and label making of the students' CD's. I will unveil a photo soon ...

For now ... another great summer salad recipe. I have brought this as a side dish to many bbq gatherings with rave reviews. Taken from 101 Things To Do With Ramen Noodles ... here it is:

2 pkg chicken ramen noodles with seasoning packets
2 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbl lemon juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp sugar
1 C halved seedless grapes (either color or mixed)
1/2 C diced apple (any variety or mixed)
1/2 C pineapple chunks
3 Tbl chopped green onion
8 oz smoked, cubed Turkey Breast
1/4 C walnut pieces

Cook noodles in water according to package directions and drain. Rinse with cold water. Add sesame oil and refrigerate.

For dressing, combine lemon juice, vegetable oil, seasoning packets, and sugar. Pour over noodles and then add remaining ingredients. Toss to coat.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tween Closet

Fifth grade is inching close to our front door. It will be my girl's last year in the innocent (yeah, right) elementary school before she is thrown into the wacky world of middle school and pre-teen years. Am I ready? Is she ready?

Looking at her closet this last year has been fun. I wonder when the cool Save The Planet and I Am Important motivational posters will be turned into a celebrity boy craze gallery. Hopefully never, but just in case, I am taking photos and holding on to this sweet age of 10.

*Click on the photo to read posters

Rhubarb

Being a responsible mom, I am keeping my son home from school to help fight the germ spread among his classmates. To keep occupied this morning we pulled our ripened Rhubarb from our backyard to make Rhubarb sauce. This recipe is from my mom. We pour it over ice cream or short cake and it is another yummy summer treat.

I thought this process was going to take awhile, but no, this cooked up fast and we are already done. Tick. Tick. Tick. Now what to do to keep my son occupied the rest of the day? Hmm. Well, here's the recipe.

*Cut Rhubarb into small pieces.*For every 4 cups of Rhubarb add 1/4 cup of water to a pan. If you like thicker sauce, then decrease the water.*Heat on high and stir, watching carefully because this cooks faster than you would think.*When the Rhubarb looks soupy ~ add 1 cup of sugar.
*Continue to stir and when the consistency of the Rhubarb can be mashed along the side of the pan, then it is ready.
*Take the pan off the stove and let it cool completely.
*Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.