Proud

Benjamin came home yesterday with some really great news. He's been chosen Cub of the Month for April!

Sarah was Cub of the Month 6 times during elementary school (that's every year but one...and that one year we were really surprised). Joshua has been Cub of the Month a couple times as well. But Ben...this is his second time. And really, I couldn't be prouder.

Mic tape and other randomness

I love doing shows! This show is especially fun...I'm not overwhelmed with emotion, I'm not trying not to throw up, I'm not crazily trying to find my back up cd. I get to go out on stage, sing and dance for a little bit, smile like crazy, hit a couple of indians and then head back off stage. Good times!

I'm not crazy about mic tape. I know it's absolutely necessary and I appreciate it's effectiveness. But, does it's effectiveness have to show up on the back of my neck days after the tape itself is gone?

My cast has been playing card games in the green room. I love this! Everyone thinks I'm really competitive, and I agree with them, but what they don't realize is that I'm not cheating or even playing cutthroat strategy. I'm just playing smart. For example: last night we played spoons. I play by keeping my head down and watching the spoons. I rarely look at the cards as they go by. I won't ever win...but I'll always come in second.

The three shows on Saturday was a great learning experience for me. I remembered all the words to "Fame", I learned that I'm not the only one who danced like a freak in the 80's, I realized that the other cast is a lot noisier than mine. Oh well. I also learned that I'm capable of pulling a performance out of thin air.

We had lots of technical difficulties last night. Annie's mic went out, Sitting Bull's mic went out, lights came up too soon, the little train got kicked over...just one of those nights. I did my part to help get things back on track. Annie had to change her mic as well as her costume during my indian scene, which is a very short scene by the way, and so...I improvised. Just slightly, not anything really long, just enough to to give her maybe 30 - 45 seconds more time to change. Yeah for me! Thank you, OBT!

The warm weather has been a balm to my soul. My tulips have bloomed. I wore capris yesterday. I want to bask in the sunshine. Too bad it's going away tomorrow.

My kids are crazy! I love them all the more for it!

I did vocal warm ups eight times yesterday. Kelly once said that doing warm ups is what music teachers hate the most, and he would be right. At least in my case. So, I'm thinking that on Wednesday, when I have to do warm ups for the cast, that I'll take my book that has "I Am Not Wearing Underwear Today". I wonder if the cast will like that? I wonder if any of them will even know it?

Here's hoping for a great day!

Unconnected

David is blogging for me at work.

My internet connection is down.

I feel very unconnected from the world.

How did I make it through the 80's?

P.S. This post brought to you by David's stumbling fingers.

The Best Laid Plans...

...went out the window when my double told me she has pneumonia.

Yes, that means I did three shows yesterday.

No ballet.

No dinner with my kids.

Just a day in Hale.

Schedule

Today's schedule:

• Solo and ensemble festival
• Annie Get Your Gun performance
• finish Relief Society lesson
• Swan Lake

I wonder if I'll get a meal sometime today.

Cornbread

Sometimes I hate the weather in Utah. Just when I start to think that it's going to be warm and sunny...BAM! It snows. It could be thought that since I've lived in Utah most of my life that I would be more prepared for days like that than I really am. I don't deal well with sudden spring snow. It makes me so sad. The only thing I can ever think to do about it is make soup. So, yesterday for dinner we had taco soup.

I made the mistake of mentioning to David that I had thought about making cornbread, but had since changed my mind. David understands how much I dislike making cornbread, which is really strange when I stop and think about it, but Joshua doesn't. And Joshua loves cornbread. Not surprisingly, when he heard me mention cornbread he got all excited about it. But I didn't want to make it (is the whine fully evident?).

At this point a random thought crossed my mind. "Wouldn't it be great if Joshua could make his own cornbread?" I think this is a great goal. If my kids can learn how to cook, maybe I won't have to cook to often! Then another thought, not so random this time, went through my mind, "I've taught Sarah to cook...why not start teaching Joshua by having him make cornbread for dinner?" So we did.

Joshua did most of the work, with me working on the soup at the same time. He measured everything. He mixed everything. He learned that dry ingredients go first, mix them well, then add the wet ingredients. He learned that there are different types of measuring cups, dry ones and wet ones. He learned that three teaspoons makes one tablespoon. He's still figuring out how to crack eggs...well, the cracking part he has down. It's the opening part he's struggling with. He learned that shortening comes in many different forms: butter, margarine, oil, shortening. As it turns out, cornbread is a great recipe for a kid to start learning to cook.

I learned something from this: my kids are smarter and more willing than I give them credit for. Maybe I should let them do things like make cornbread more often. It turned out great...bonding time followed by yummy dinner. Everybody wins.

twerp talk

Ella informed me last night that she is a twerp.

None of us were very surprised.

Still, when we tried to get her to say it again, this time on video for posterity, she hummed and hawed and generally behaved...like a twerp.

This morning when she came and cuddled next to me in bed I said, "Good morning, twerp." She answered me, "Good morning, Mama."

It's a relief to know that she knows that she is a twerp. It saves all sorts of time.