The Nutcracker

One of the big events planned for the holiday season was a girls trip to see the Nutcracker ballet with my mom, sisters and two women that I've considered second moms since I was in fifth grade. These ladies and their families have had a hand in help shaping me into the woman I've become and it's such a blessing to have the opportunity to pull qualities and characteristics from them that I hope to emulate as a mom. The fact that they were able to join us made the day that much better.

At three and a half I wanted to make sure that Bella had the best chance possible of making it through the ballet without any meltdowns so about a week before Thanksgiving we started reading the book every couple nights and I borrowed Barbie and the Nutcracker from the library (the Barbie movie, while keeping true to the Nutcracker story, was brutal). Prior to the ballet she was able to recite the parts of the story she was looking forward to seeing so I was confident we'd make it through.

While the whole ballet was amazing, nothing was better than Bella's awe watching it. When the curtains raised and the orchestra was loudly playing, her head looked like a typewriter scanning left to right and back again trying to soak it all in. Not to say she wasn't a little confused though - about twenty minutes into the performance she asked me when the ballerinas were coming out. Apparently if you're not wearing a tutu, you're just not that serious. She also lost interest pretty quickly into the second act when al the different dancers in the Land of Sweets were performing. She wanted to dance in front of her seat, and as long as she was quiet I didn't have a problem with it. -until I turned to get her some fruit snacks to buy time and by the time I turned back around she was standing on her tiptoes hands raised above her head dancing her own ballet down the aisle... fortunately when the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince (?) came out for their performance Bean was completely captivated once again.

When the final curtain fell and we were herded out of the auditorium the dancers were in the lobby to greet everyone for pictures, which was a really nice surprise because Bella was stoicly excited to see them up close and immediately followed her cousin Lili's lead to ask for autographs and pose pretty for a picture. I'm pretty sure we either got a picture or an autograph from 90% of the performers and were definitely among the last ones to leave. If she chooses to be a ballet roadie I suppose I should count my blessings...

a holiday girls night to the Nutcracker - makes my heart happy

for every cute picture there were about five goofy ones... come on, just. say. cheese.

To One of the Best

As per usual, there is much to blog about. For some reason I can’t commit to the keystrokes to make them happen… I need to give an update on the pregnancy with Baby Gump (previa is still firmly in place so c-section it is. meh.), a treasured and must needed visit from my sister and her kiddos, the car shopping experience for a car I don’t even want (just call me Soccer Mom!) and general updates on my Littles including speech screenings for Bella, development milestones for Austin, some one liners from Bell and pictures and videos that make my heart happy. None of those will be covered today though, instead in honor of one of my best friends’ birthdays I want to talk about Miss Mandy Lee.

To date one of my favorite summers of my life started immediately after high school graduation and lasted until the day my new found friend went to college. It’s been dubbed the summer of Dana and Mandy and we have countless inside jokes that always come up when we’re reminiscing – and we laugh every time because separately we’re pretty funny but together we’re downright hilarious. at least that’s what we’ll tell you with every opportunity.

Mandy and I were in similar social circles in high school – which is a lie because she was way more popular than I was but we at least had overlapping friends so I’ll call it a similar circle – and during one off period toward the end of the school year we were talking about how unfair it was that we don’t get to wear any special ropes to signify our almost-smarty pants, because we may not have had a high enough GPA to warrant them, but we sure tried hard. sometimes. We exchanged numbers and decided we were going to go to the craft store and find our own that we’d wear for good measure. That of course never happened but it was enough to start us on our merry way…

That summer we went to Rockies games, youth group outings, crashed boys only trips to Water World, celebrated birthdays, had our first drink (okay, mine.), went to clubs for the first time (okay, again mine. yeah, 18 and up. haha!) a most-memorable trip to Kansas, speeding tickets, crushes, etc. etc. A few highlights include the time we were at the water park bouncing our tube back and forth to each other while waiting in line, and when I almost fell down the stairs of the tower of the ride we were waiting for because I wasn’t looking when she bounced it to me, this old guy told us our stupidity was a team effort. I’m pretty sure we were meant to be offended but we found it hysterical and it’s been our mantra ever since. On our drive to KU to visit my sister we stopped at a gas station to pee – which happened at least ten times – and each time we’d don our Hawaiian hats and leis and make our way in. One stop a little boy tugged on his dad’s shirt and asked why we’re dressed like that. His response was that we clearly didn’t get enough attention as children. Again, may offend most but we laugh about it still.

Even though we’re not able to talk as much as we once did, I don’t feel like we’ve ever drifted. My life settled quickly with a husband, babies and a mortgage while she’s traveled all over and lived in Miami, New York City and now Los Angeles. It’s such a blessing how even with fairly different lifestyles our unspoken connection and similarities compliment each other and I truly believe we bring out the best in each other. She has one of the kindest hearts I know and a child-like innocence in the way she chooses to view the world around her that draws you in and makes you want to be around her. At the same time, she’s a strong woman that knows her value and doesn’t allow others to take advantage of it. Best part is, at the end of the day she’s much like me – feisty as hell. a perfect compliment!

Here’s to you Mandy – MissYouLoveYou!

Them are fighting words

Today I experienced a serious case of mama bear when I took Bella to a bounce house playroom. I was already at a disadvantage to the day when I forgot the umbrella stroller so had to carry Austin in the baby bjorn atop of my pregnant belly. (super comfortable… false.) Bean was doing really well, playing far more fearlessly than I thought she would, even trying games I thought she’d be far too little for.

She was in an actual bounce house really enjoying herself when she wasn’t being knocked over by an overly aggressive boy who must have had seven pixie sticks before coming. I told her when she got knocked down to just get up quickly and move to an area not as many kids were playing. It was working wonderfully until she was knocked down and pinned by a little girl in the middle of the mat. She didn’t cry but was obviously upset so when a group of boys bounced them and the girl was knocked off Bell tried to get up and move. Then the girl tackled her and pinned her by lying on her face – again.

The girl was no bigger than Bella but my girl wouldn’t fight back so she just laid there eyes locked with mine and an uncomfortable, confused and scared look on her face as this girl pinned her and kids bounced around her. I started yelling at the girl trying to get her attention and when she looked up I saw that she had Downs Syndrome – she smiled at me then placed her attention back to her task at hand, smothering my daughter. A little unsure what to do I looked around at the other moms watching their kids and demanded to know whose daughter the girl in pink was… nothing.

By this point Bella had managed to try to get up again after the girl fell off after a bad bounce, but was unable to get away prior to being knocked over and laid on again by Pink Lady. I was seriously pissed because Bella was starting to cry and get frantic so I started unsnapping Austin from the baby bjorn ready to climb in after her when Bell was finally able to get away after she fell off again.

Her mom finally came over and came up to me after getting her daughter out of the bounce house and asked me not if Bella was okay but what the problem was. Ummmm where do I start? So I explained what had happened and she blew it off excusing her daughter for not knowing what she was doing. Like hell she didn’t know what she was doing – she may not have known what she was doing was wrong, but that’s this mom’s fault. Instead I just told her she obviously needs to be keeping an eye on her kid more if she behaves aggressively and doesn’t know that it’s wrong. Not what the mom wanted to hear, not that I care, and she started to lay into me a little and I just walked away with Bella in hand. My blood was boiling for hours and I kept coming up with retorts I coulda/shoulda/woulda said… I know I’m better for not saying anything, but I came up with some good stuff!

I know that you shouldn't judge someone without walking a mile in their shoes, and I can't even imagine raising a child with additional obstancles to overcome... but it was especially frustrating because instead of making it a teaching moment she enabled it with quick excuses and I wonder how long she'll continue doing that and to what degree. You don't have to do as I do, but if you're not willing to teach your child right from wrong what does that set them up for? ugh.

Anyway, I’ve realized recently that I have to start legit parenting now… more than making sure they’re still breathing by each birthday. Bella was watching me as I talked to that other mom. I want her to know that I will always always have her back and support her, but I also need her to see me be kind to someone making me mad since I continuously tell her to be kind to others. I have to set an example, because her little eyes and ears are watching and retaining things now.

Pressure’s on.