Whose House is THAT?

Holy cow! After literally MONTHS of trying to "redo" my family room - the (big) pieces are finally starting to come together. Just under the wire for Christmas!

Our new sectional sofa arrived yesterday and today the window treatments were installed - complete with scaffolding. 

There is still quite a bit to do, but today is the first day the room feels somewhat complete. It's been a long process and it feels good to just SIT and look around and enjoy.

Recital Fever

This is actually a delayed post from Thursday - the day of the "big" recital. Claire and Sydney have been practicing their selections for weeks. 

The recital took place at the Johnson Center - an assisted-living facility in nearby Sterling. It was a nice touch that the students played for residents while they enjoyed their dinners.

Sydney debuted in her very first recital ever, playing "Away in a Manger" - a duet with Miss Erin. See the video at: http://delapaz.smugmug.com/gallery/6870163_cC7vw#439514347_rGKZK

Claire followed afterwards with her own duet with Miss Erin, "Reflection" from Mulan. http://delapaz.smugmug.com/gallery/6870163_cC7vw#439514714_ckL9y and then a solo of "Let it Snow:" http://delapaz.smugmug.com/gallery/6870163_cC7vw#439514502_6bjbu 

The Thrill of the Hunt

We weren't able to get a tree last week, due to all the activity swirling around The Nutcracker, so we knew we needed to bag one either yesterday or today. We decided to wait for Sam to accompany us, so we headed out late, for us, at nearly 2pm. Our regular destination for cut-your-own trees is Jacobsen's, a nearly 30-minute drive, almost all the way to Point of Rocks, MD. 

Imagine our chagrin when we finally reached Jacobsen's, only to be met with a bit "CLOSED - OUT OF TREES" sign. Below that was a friendly note to "take a list of other farms - below." Sadly, those too were all gone. So there we were, having driven miles and miles and without any idea of where we would go next. 

This had happened once before and I vaguely remembered another farm, a good twenty minutes' drive. So we turned the van around and just drove some more, trying several directions before settling on Route 15 south of Leesburg. We were literally at the point of giving up on a cut-your-own, when Tony pulled off to turn around and we saw a sign for a tree farm. 

Salvation? Kind of.

The farm required another five miles, down a dicey, but pretty road. We were all struck by the LACK of tree-topped cars coming in the opposite direction. Uh oh. We finally arrived and found ourselves the only patrons of the farm. We were met by an extremely friendly gentleman, who got us loaded up into a hay wagon and drove us off to the tree fields. In my head I kept thinking, "and they were never heard from again...."

Fortunately, it was all kosher, except that the pickin's were, as they say, real slim. VERY few were tagged as available and those were in pretty bad shape, literally. Our friendly host had mentioned that they had pre-cut some Frasier furs near the parking area, so we head

ed back to take a look.

Most of these trees were the top portions of VERY large trees. The smallest here were at least eight or nine feet - others were larger. Of course, we were slightly fooled by inside vs. outside proportion - those darned trees just LOOK smaller outside. We ended up choosing a big, fat, pre-cut tree (shh! It's out little secret!) and had it loaded onto the car while Tony took the girls for free cider and candy canes. Almost made it worth the tank of gas it required to drive to God's green acre and back. 

Once we got home and tried to wrestle it off the top of the car, Tony and I really got an idea of how big this thing was - not so much tall as FAT and HEAVY. We ended up trimming it quite a bit once we got it into the stand. We have a fairly decent sized family room, but this thing

 just takes up a big chunk of it. 

Now it's all decorated and I guess we have yet another family story regarding the acquisition of a Christmas tree. Why do my forays always seem to have to be so dramatic? Though no story will ever top the year that our tree flew off the top of the car and my brother had to lay in the trunk and hold on to it the rest of the way home. Ah, the good old days...

Next Topic, Please!

In a desperate attempt to change the course of this 'blog from being "All Nutcracker, All The Time," I randomly chose a topic for today's entry.

At right, please see a photo of Claire's library book for this week. I saw it on the table and had to confirm with her that she had intentionally chosen this book. Yup. Okay, I can kind of understand her fascination with snakes, insects, and poisonous creatures, but FLIES? 

Who IS this child? What is she going to grow up to be? 

Nutcracker - The Epilogue

I don't even know where to begin. Saturday and Sunday were mostly a blur, but not a bad blur, surprisingly. Tired, yes, but feel like I was part of something big and pretty cool. Saturday afternoon I actually got to sit through the performance, which was a big treat - especially the sitting down part. Despite his horrible sense of direction, Joe made it to the theatre with about 60 seconds to spare and joined me for the show.

It was the first time I had seen much of the show - particularly Act I, in which Claire had no part. Very cool to see the costumes that I ironed and the makeup I helped to apply and the wings that I had pinned on, etc, etc. In other words, it felt good to know that I had helped in some small way to make the show a success. 

Claire and the other Little Dolls were adorable and got another "awwwww" from the sold out crowd. It was also cool to see her name in the program - almost spelled correctly (but I'm used to it - the spaces and lower cases of de la Paz throw pretty much everyone). 

The show was absolutely magical and to top it off, when Claire and I (and everyone else) left the theatre for the short dinner break, it was snowing! All the girls were entralled and even

 the oldest dancers were running around like little children. Claire and I each had a bowl of pasta and some yummy potstickers at Noodles & Company (see photo at right) before heading back for the second half of the double header.

I was working in the dressing room for the second show and I have to say that the more I do it, the easier it gets. It helps to have even a little experience with how to get costumes ready for all the parts - I even learned how to do the big red circular makeup cheeks that go on the soldiers and Bon Bons (certainly something that will look impressive on my resume). In any case, it seemed that I had "passed muster" with the head of the dressing room volunteers. She was giving me more things to do and even had me help some people who had even less experience than I did. Everything went surprisingly smoothly. We were out of there just before 10pm and home by 10:30.

The highlight of Saturday was that Claire was chosen to present the Sugar Plum Fairy with a bouquet onstage at the end of the show. I asked to sneak out of the dressing room to watch and was able to see it. Of course, I had ordered the DVD for the MORNING show, but now I'll have to switch it so I can have that moment on record.

By Sunday morning, I just wanted to GO and get the last show going so I could finally be DONE. Again, I was working the dressing room and was given even more responsibility - especially as to how all the costumes were to be packed since this was the final performance. Our volunteer "leader" actually wasn't even there - she went to finally see the show - so I really wanted things to run smoothly for her. This "shift" was a lot more work with all the packing up, but we had lots of help and with everyone pitching in, it all got done. This was the show that Tony, Sam, Sydney, and Alan attended.

It was funny that as I was dragging a rack of clothes backstage, I actually caught a glimpse of my dear husband who was handed the baton, so to speak. As I was finished packing up, he went on duty to help load the truck with all the "stuff" that accompanies this kind of show. I was too busy to even say hello. 

As surprising as it is to admit it, I'm really glad we participated in this ordeal called The Nutcracker. Claire got a LOT out of it, made lots of friends, got to be part of a big production, and just learned a lot. I even learned a few things (even more than how to glue on a clown's nose) and made some friends in the bargain.

Nutcracker Death March - Day 7

Wow! What a thrill to be able to sleep in a little this morning (7:30 - yippee!) and to actually have a few hours before we have report back to NOVA. I'm using the time to do laundry and try to apply the finishing touches to my holiday newsletter extravaganza so that Tony can do some printing while I'm gone for at least nine hours today.

Today's schedule is to leave here at 12:30 to have Claire at the theatre for a 1pm check in. The show is at 2 and this is the one I actually get to watch - I am pretty excited. She should be released around 4:30, when we'll go grab some dinner and then be back by 6, when I need to report for chaperone duty. Claire doesn't need to be there until 6:30, but she's sort of stuck with me, so she'll be coming along for the ride.

Last night was not too taxing, though the sitting around was driving me batty. After I dropped Claire off a bit after six, I wandered down Little River Turnpike in search of a noodle restaurant that I recall being in the vicinity. I found it, eventually, and plopped myself down on a chair and had a beer and bowl of noodles while I read my book. 

After having occupied a table in a busy restaurant as long as I dared, I drove back to the theatre and sat in a cold car and read for another half hour. After that, I went inside and tried to find a quiet corner in which to lurk. I found a great corner on the second floor, which just happened to be outside the entrance to the balcony of the theatre. 

Hmmm...as I sat there, the patrons filed out for intermission. Mightn't I just pop my head inside for the beginning of Act II to try to catch a glimpse of Claire? Another mom had the same idea and after a bit of reconnaisance, we determined that there were enough empty seats in the back of the balcony that we could sneak in. 

I'm so glad I did! It was an absolute thrill to be there to see Claire in her "Nutcracker debut." When she and the other dolls came on stage, the entire audience did a collective, "awwww!" Claire had a huge smile on her face the entire time and, as the smallest girl in the show, got the most points for cuteness. 

It happens every time - just when I'm ready to shoot myself for getting involved in something of this magnitude, you get the see the end product - your child having an opportunity to really shine - and suddenly all the hours melt away and you're just glad you did it. 

But I'm still counting down the remaining hours: about 27 to go!

Nutcracker Death March - Day 6

Even though I still have a lot of activity ahead of me over the next few days, I am hugely relieved to have yesterday FINISHED. 

Despite have departed from home a bit late, we managed to arrive at NOVA pretty much on time at 5pm. I was quickly called into action and spent literally the next two hours ironing costumes (soldiers, Bon Bons, Chinese corps, etc.). I kept peeking through the racks of costumes to make sure Claire was okay. She did GREAT with all the waiting around. She and her friends were making these intricately folded paper designs and it kept them occupied for hours. She did a lot of waiting, with a big rush in the middle to get dressed and get onstage. Then they came off, got undressed, and went back to waiting.

I was pretty busy the entire time - which is definitely my preference and the time went quickly enough. Once again, most of the moms are great to work with and just pitch in with whatever needs to be done. (Except for one mom who was sitting on the floor the entire time and whining about how tired she was and how she was going to sleep until noon.) Before I knew it, it was after 10:30 and time to get out of Dodge. Claire had a snack on the way home, but about 20 minutes from home the back seat got VERY quiet. I turned to look and she was sacked out, head thrown back. 

When I got home, I managed to get her completely unbuckled and picked her up and she didn't even BEGIN to wake up. I carried her up to her room (not an easy task anymore - she's about 47 pounds and it was just dead weight). Tony heard me and came in and helped me get her into her pjs. She was still 95% asleep. Had to laugh at the sight of her under her covers with most of her lipstick still in place and her hair crazy from an all-night bun with too much gel and hairspray. 

After getting Claire settled, I quickly checked my email and found one message from the Chairperson of the Ballet School's theatre group. I had volunteered, back in September, to do their newsletter, but hadn't heard back. She emailed me last night to say that if I was still willing, they would like my help in designing and sustaining their newsletter, beginning in the New Year. Although the timing was not great (exhausted, back and feet killing me), I think it will be a fun project. My work on the HHS newsletter will be wrapping up in May, so I guess I'm replacing one volunteer job with another. I said yes, but kept hearing the refrain in my head, "no good deed goes unpunished."

I was hoping Claire would sleep in this morning and she did - a little - until about 7:30. But I can tell she's tired (she cried that I left for work without saying goodbye) so it's best that she just chill today. 

Tonight is the first real-live performance and all the girls are atwitter with excitement. I'm not "working" this evening, but still have to get her to Annandale in Friday rush hour traffic and then find some way to lurk about for the three hours until she's finished. If it was a little warmer out, I would give serious consideration to a nap in my car. With luck, we'll be home by 10 tonight. 

For now, I just have the long work day looming ahead of me. I would have loved to take the day off, but we're a bit short staffed today - I'm the only one in the office at the moment. I will rely on my dear friend, Diet Pepsi to see me through.

Nutcracker Death March - Day 4

I just read on someone else's blog that the busier you are, the less time you have to add to a blog - and yet that's when you have the most to talk about. One of those little ironies of life, I suppose.

I only have one thing to talk about lately, much to the chagrin of my family and friends, and that is Claire's and my involvement in The Nutcracker. Today is Day 4 of 8 and the first REALLY long day. 

I will bolt out of work at 3:30 and go directly to Claire and Syd's school to pick them up. I'll rush home with them, gather up our bags of stuff, gel Claire's hair to within an inch of its life, drop off Sydney, and then jump back into the car for the hour-long trip to Annandale, the site of the performance. We hope to arrive shortly after 5 - I am supposed to be there by 5 to start checking girls in, but there is only so much I can do. I've packed sandwiches for Claire and I to eat in the car on the drive over.

Tonight is a full dress/technical rehearsal and the longest to date. This is the only opportunity to rehearse on the actual stage and get the lighting, music, and costumes just right. Rumor has it that this rehearsal has typically gone on until 11pm and it only ends then because the parking garage closes at 11! 

Foolishly, as part of my four volunteer assignments, I signed up to chaperone this evening. Yesterday I received, via email, a six-page assignment sheet of responsibilities. My head was spinning as I read it. They are SO organized, so I'm not too worried on the one hand, but they're also very exacting, and making things "pretty" is not my strong suit. I think one of my main jobs will be to keep the younger girls quiet and clean for five hours. Again, I would rather be shot, but you gotta do what you gotta do. 

The upside is that Claire is still having the time of her life. She loves every second of it - but who wouldn't? She gets to wear a costume and do her part, and then hang out with her friends. It's the poor parents who end up doing so much of the heavy lifting. I'm drinking my third Diet Pepsi of the day just thinking about how I'll feel at 11 - a time at which I am normally fast asleep. 

The other upside is that this will all be over in three days. Thank goodness this will only occur once a year. 

Just Had to Share

Every once in a while you just marvel at what your kids can do. Sydney drew this picture over the weekend. Even though it says, "for Dad," Tony was kind enough to share it with me.

I love how she got every member of the family with a relative amount of accuracy. This one will be going into the "keep" box.