Entries from August 19, 2007 - August 25, 2007
THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY!!
THE Daddy comes home this afternoon. His arrival will be just in time to catch Princess in her first stage performance ever. I know, you're probably thinking that an almost 5 year old is way too young to perform onstage. I'd say that for 99.9% of the 5 year olds out there, I'd agree. I certainly do not want to become one of those horrid "stage moms" who make the news. Princess has been belting out songs such as Natasha Beddingfield's "Unwritten" since she was a mere 3 1/2. She was born a diva. The lactation consultant in the hospital even knicknamed her "Madame xxx".
Princess is attending a Broadway Kids Camp this week at the Dover Bell Center. Neither THE Daddy nor myself are musically inclined and never would have heard of the place if it hadn't been for a child care worker at our local gym. Princess was in the Play Hut over a year ago while I was working out. When I came back into the room, a couple of the moms approached me and asked if I ever heard of the Dover Bell Center...nope. Apparently, Princess had been entertaining them with her repetoire of songs. We're used to the little peanut singing her way through the grocery store and the local mall while we shop. Her voice literally turns heads. I just laughed and said something like, "yeah, she likes to sing"...and they came back with "NO, you NEED to get her into classes at the Bell Center. She has an amazing voice." I noticed this summer that they were offering a week long camp and thought, what the hell, let's give it a try.
The first day of camp, the teacher sent home a tape with her song...one that she would be performing SOLO on Friday (today). She is the youngest in the class and didn't quite meet the 5 year old age limit, however, they had space and let her in the class. When I got home and heard the tape, my first thought was "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?!". They gave her "A Candle on the Water" from Pete's Dragon. Not a song we were familiar with. Not an easy song for any person to sing, let alone my little Princess...sure, she has a pretty voice, but how the heck is she supposed to learn the words in just 5 days?!? Well, she's been working on it all week and the kid can NAIL IT. I'm still skeptical about her getting up on stage to sing in front of 100+ people. The teacher swears that she's only had 1 kid in 12 years NOT sing their solo. We'll see. To make it even more stressful (for me), we have 7 other family members attending. Princess is tickled pink...I'm going to throw up before curtain call!
My TGIF is twofold...first because I will not have to listen to the song 50+ times a day after today AND second, because MY stress of her getting up on stage will be over after the performance tonight. She is totally not stressed out, but I'm scared to death!!
THE Mommy
We had such a great time last night!! There was a wide range of talent...from a scared little 5 year old boy who forgot his words to 9 year old "pros" who nailed their songs. Princess definitely was amongst the top few performances. She looked so pretty in her little dress...and so tiny compared to the older kids. Phew! Glad that's over. She's too young to join the Broadway Kids program this fall. The cut off is 6 years. We're thinking about joining a Theatre Tots class instead. She'd definitely have a great time, but I'm not sure I can handle the stress!!
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Our Australian Cattle Dog, Jasper, almost died 3 years ago. He came down with a mysterious “virus” about a week after receiving his rabies and Lyme Disease vaccines. Long story, short version: He developed symptoms similar to Lyme Disease and ended up getting vasculitis so severe that the knuckles in his front paws burst and he developed an infection from the inside-out. We had to remove almost all of his toes in order to save his life. He came home after a month at the animal hospital with a $3500.00 bill!
At the time, we were struggling with the issue of whether or not to resume vaccinations with Princess. You see, she had a reaction to her 2 month shots which caused us to hold off until her 2nd birthday to make a decision about where we stood on the vaccination issue.
We were a bit “on the fence” until Jasper’s unfortunate near-death experience. We took our cues from the universe and committed to being one of those vaccine-free families. For the record, every state has a loophole. New Hampshire allows for a “religious exemption”. We simply sign the form and have it notarized prior to each start of school. So far, we haven’t had any issues, not even from the private-Catholic school where Princess will be attending kindergarten. (I held my breath when I submitted that one!!) I will expand on the topic of childhood vaccination in a future post.
Getting back to the dog, Jasper is a strong and feisty soul. He gets around just fine despite his lack of toes…a close friend of ours has nicknamed him “paws”. SO, he was due for another rabies shot this month. The town where we live is diligent about dog licenses. Our state almost never allows for exemptions and will not accept a titer as replacement for having the shot. I was extremely hopeful that the vet would support us if we opted to NOT give him the vaccine. Unfortunately, there was no way around it.
My WTF moment this week was the realization that it’s easier to exempt the kids from vaccinations than the poor dog!! Another WTF moment…I cried twice yesterday, and I’m not a crier…once when I dropped off BamBam at day care and the other when the needle was going into Jasper
I had the BEST omelet ever when I was on Nantucket last weekend. The host had a fresh herb and vegetable garden. She picked fresh basil, tarragon and a tomato. I’ve never thought to put herbs in with my egg mixture…WOW. It was amazing and stuck with me enough that I had to try to make one this morning!
Recipe:
2-4 eggs per person
milk
fresh tarragon
fresh basil
any fresh veggies you desire
cheese
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Drizzle a small amount of EVOO around a frying pan. Set at medium heat.
Beat the eggs with about a teaspoon of milk per egg
chop fresh basil and tarragon into small pieces, add to egg mixture
pour egg mixture into heated pan and allow to sit until top starts to firm
add fresh tomato and other veggies
add shredded cheese (or even crumbled feta, yum)
when cheese is almost melted, fold omelet in half and allow to cook until middle looks heated through.
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If you’re not the type of person to have fresh herbs and veggies in your garden, you can do as I did this morning…use dried herbs and whatever you can scrounge up from the fridge. Just having the herbs in the egg mixture is YUMMY!
My heart shattered into a million pieces this morning. It was BamBam’s first day of “school”. We enrolled him in a local day care because I’m trying to work more hours and it’s getting impossible to do so with a 2 year old in the house. Princess starts full-day kindergarten next week, so I thought it would be nice to start BamBam a week earlier and spend some quality girl time together before her big 1st day. Great theory.
Drop off went well. The school had everything ready for him. His name was on his cubby and lunch seat. The teachers were very friendly and kept saying how it was the best drop off ever b/c he just ran off to play. He is used to babysitters at the house when I coach softball in the spring, so I wasn’t worried about drop off. I’m worried about the “oh, crap!” moment when he realizes that I’m not there. Unfortunately, I caught a glimpse of it as I was leaving. I have really hyped the whole “school” thing. He’s always been with me when dropping off Princess at pre-school and summer camp, so he understands the concept. I said goodbye and left him playing with his class on the playground. I felt a twinge of guilt as I was walking away. The clincher happened as I was pulling out of the parking lot…I saw him looking frantically for me. He looked under the slide and through the gate. I cried the whole way home. Princess even noticed b/c she said “OH, BamBam is looking for us, mommy. He must be so sad.”
I have friends who have always sent their kids to day care…they told me that I probably will have a harder time than him. God, I hope so because I’ve been spending the last hour wondering if I’m doing the right thing. Am I being selfish wanting to work? On one hand, I’ve been “at home” with Princess for 5 years and BamBam for all of his 2 years. THE Daddy thinks I’ve done my time and I shouldn’t feel guilty. On the other hand, how much time is enough time?!?!
I survived my weekend in Nantucket with the girls. Overall, we had a great time and it was very relaxing. THE Bride was doing well until someone started sending “3 Wise Men” shots her way, ouch. She was very, very sick and said in the morning that she vomited so much it felt like she’d been through an “exorcism”. I shared a room with her and heard the multiple trips to the WC throughout the morning and can attest that it indeed sounded like an exorcism was occurring! It’s a shame that we went out for a $350 meal of tapas and high-end cocktails.
Anyhow, she was unable to keep down even water in the morning, so we went in search of some homeopathic pellets. I have started using them with my family in recent years. My pediatrician recommended “Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child” and it has become our BIBLE. It is my favorite reference book for anything related to health for Princess and Bambam. I truly believe in homeopathy and have seen the benefits with my family and friends. This book is great for the family looking to dabble in more natural remedies because it lists various ailments and offers conventional treatments, dietary guidelines, nutritional supplements, herbal treatments, and homeopathy. It then groups everything together for “general recommendations”. It’s very easy to read and I like that it isn’t biased towards any one method.
I purchased some Ipecacuanha at the local pharmacy. THE Bride let the pellets dissolve under her tongue and within minutes the demon was exorcised. She slept comfortably for a few hours and bounced back enough to make the boat and the long car ride home. Congrats to THE Bride…and to THE Groom: for the record, she was very well behaved. We only had to delete 2 pictures from the camera
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